Top Songs of 2022

It's the end of the year, here are my top songs of 2022. No long intro needed here, if you've seen my past lists already you know the deal.

*I try to stay away from posting any songs that went completely mainstream as you all are probably aware of them already, so here are some ones that may have flown under the radar that I really appreciated and why. Some you may like, some you may not, that's fine- but if you do like them, please try to show some appreciation to the musicians by either supporting them or just sharing their music with others. Enjoy!

"Dizzy" by Black Rose

A fun song to start us off. I enjoyed the little quips that are throughout the song and definitely takes the ear-worm of the year title for me on the chorus.

"Life Was Easier When I Only Cared About Me" by Bad Suns

What can I say, I'm a sucker for that 80's retro-sound... also it's a great title to a song, is it not? It's a very pop-heavy song... the first one is pretty pop-heavy as well, they won't all be like this though, I swear.

"Pages" by White Reaper

I was unaware of the band White Reaper until this year- this is their best song of 2022, however definitely go back in their catalog and give them a listen! "Judy French" and "Might Be Right" are two I'd suggest you start off with if you like the sound of this one.

"Some Kind of Way" by Sitting On Stacy

Is this song like the MOST generic Reggae style of song you could possibly make? Kinda, yes! But that it's not trying to break any mold or put some weird jarring-spin musically or lyrically to stand out is basically why I like it. In my opinion, too many new songs are trying to find this "magic key change" or just some sort of diversion so they don't sound like songs of the past- which then makes them sound... kinda shitty. No very shitty in a lot of them to be honest. This song was just a refreshing "ahhh" worry free listen. No surprises. Even the name of the song is so non-specific that they must have done this intentionally.

"Magical Thinking" by Sloan

This was one of the last songs I came across this year and it was a pleasant surprise. I guess it has that 70's rock feel to it? Like it could easily be a UFO song or something like that. Solid.

"All Alone" by Best Coast

Solid song, solid lyrics- again it's nothing over the top- it's doesn't have some controversial lyrics or aggression or anything. It's theme of feeling lonely in a crowded place resonated a bit with me earlier in the year when we still stuck in Brooklyn without many friends to hang out with and tourists had started to come back in waves.

"Head in the Clouds" by The Beths

Song grew on me a bit. Throughout the year I'll tag every song that's remotely a contender to make this list on YouTube music. The first time I... wait, I don't need to describe what "grew on me a bit" means... you get it.

"After the Earthquake" by Alvvays

The lead singer has a very nice voice and this song flows rather nicely.

"Target Practice" by carolesdaughter

It's power-punk, pop-punk, whatever you want to call it to a T, but damn that stuffs catchy. Again I think in general for this year I was really just sick and tired of hearing bad music that was "trying to be different". A lot of people may gravitate towards that sound too because they are dying for the next revolutionary sound and want to be surprised. I wouldn't mind that either, but it still has to sound good. I'm ok with some new stuff that doesn't deviate too much from the established norm if it sounds good.

That's it for this year. I'll be completely honest though- it was hard coming up with this list this year. I went out of my way to try a bunch of different avenues and there was a lot of bleh stuff being released. I work from home, I have A TON of time to listen to songs in the background and try out... and I removed how many slots from last year when finally posting this? I'd LOVE to see good bands/musicians starting up something new and good. I really want a "knock your socks off" type of album to come out (despite these songs above being good-to-very-good, the albums they were on definitely had clunkers). Maybe 2023 is the year where it all clicks!