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Top 89

Top 89 of 2022: Best albums

Left to right: Mitski, Maggie Rogers, Kendrick Lamar
Left to right: Mitski, Maggie Rogers, Kendrick LamarArtwork by Natalia Toledo | MPR; Mitski: Ebru Yildiz; Maggie Rogers: Amy Sussman/Getty Images; Kendrick Lamar: Renell medrano

by Staff

December 30, 2022

The Current’s staff have chosen the top 15 albums of 2022.

Maggie Rogers – Surrender  

The upper half of Maggie Rogers' face in black and white
Maggie Rogers, 'Surrender'
Capitol Records

Album of the Week: Maggie Rogers, 'Surrender'

Lizzo – Special

Lizzo, 'Special'
Lizzo, 'Special'
Atlantic Records

Lizzo spreads love at Xcel Energy Center show

Coffee Break: Lizzo Day

Lizzo played James Madison's crystal flute onstage in D.C.

Lizzo talks to Jill Riley about music, tour, awards — and what motivates her

Album of the Week: Lizzo, 'Special'

Mitski – Laurel Hell  

Mitski
Mitski - Laurel Hell
Dead Oceans

Music You Should Know: 50 Best of 2022 So Far

Review: Mitski unleashes 'Laurel Hell' at the Palace Theatre

Mitski's 'Laurel Hell' confronts the wild complexity of feeling

Album of the Week: Mitski, 'Laurel Hell'

Spoon – Lucifer on the Sofa

Illustration of a two-toned mask
Spoon, 'Lucifer on the Sofa'
Matador Records

Album of the Week: Spoon, 'Lucifer On the Sofa'

Spoon's Britt Daniel talks about "Lucifer On The Sofa," and growing up with radio

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down 

Album art for Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Cool It Down'
Yeah Yeah Yeahs' 'Cool It Down'
Secretly Canadian


Album of the Week: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 'Cool It Down'

Yeah Yeah Yeahs (feat. Perfume Genius), 'Spitting Off the Edge of the World'

Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers

A man holds a child next to a woman sitting on a bed holding a baby
Kendrick Lamar's 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers' album cover
Renell Medrano

Kendrick Lamar makes explosive return to St. Paul

Album of the Week: Kendrick Lamar, 'Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers'

Kendrick Lamar is ready to talk. Is he ready to listen?

The 1975 – Being Funny in a Foreign Language

Person stands on abandoned car with arms out to the sides
The 1975's Being Funny in a Foreign Language
Dirty Hit

The 1975 fill the Armory with theatrics and love

Interview: Matty Healy of The 1975

Album of the Week: The 1975's "Being Funny in a Foreign Language"

Angel Olsen – Big Time 

A woman standing on a peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains
Angel Olsen's new album, "Big Time," releases June 3, 2022.
Jagjaguwar

Sharon Van Etten leads night of combustible emotion with Angel Olsen and Julien Baker at Surly Festival Field

Album of the Week: Angel Olsen, 'Big Time'

Angel Olsen discusses her bittersweet new album, 'Big Time'

For Angel Olsen, the shortest distance between loss and love is a country song

Jack White – Entering Heaven Alive

A black and white picture of a woman with her hair tied back
Jack White's 'Entering Heaven Alive" cover art
Third Man Records

Slideshow: Jack White rocks the Armory

Album of the Week: Jack White, 'Entering Heaven Alive'

Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You 

A pencil sketch of animals playing and listening to music
Big Thief, 'Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You,' releases February 11, 2022.
4AD

Big Thief: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Big Thief spreads its bets

Durry – Suburban Legend

Durry
Durry - Suburban Legend
Artist

LineCheck: How Minnesota musicians are thriving on TikTok

The best burgers, according to Minnesota musicians

Live highlights from Mid West Music Fest 2022

Minnesota Sessions: Durry perform songs from 'Suburban Legend' at Flowers Studio

'You're singing my life': Durry on their meteoric rise

Steve Lacy – Gemini Rights 

An image of a red face against a blue background with horns collaged on
Steve Lacy's "Gemini Rights" album cover
RCA Records

Album of the Week: Steve Lacy, "Gemini Rights"

Beach House – Once Twice Melody 

Beach House, 'Once Twice Melody'
Beach House, 'Once Twice Melody,' releases February 18, 2022.
Sub Pop Records

Build the ultimate road trip playlist

The hits keep coming for Pachyderm Studio

Album of the Week: Beach House, 'Once Twice Melody'

Death Cab for Cutie – Asphalt Meadows

Two people look out over edge of a cliff to a city landscape
Death Cab for Cutie, 'Asphalt Meadows'
Atlantic

Album of the Week: Death Cab for Cutie, 'Asphalt Meadows'

Danger Mouse and Black Thought – Cheat Codes

Album art featuring a group of faces with target circles over the eyes
Danger Mouse and Black Thought, 'Cheat Codes'
BMG

'Cheat Codes' is the solo album Black Thought couldn't have made until now

Album of the Week: Danger Mouse and Black Thought, 'Cheat Codes'

The Current's Top 89 Songs of 2022 will air on Sunday, Jan. 1. At 10 a.m. CT, we'll look back on past Top 89 winners. Then, around 12 p.m., we'll start this year's countdown, which wraps at 6 p.m. Hear it again starting at 8 a.m. on Jan. 2.