With Spotify Wrapped 2022 right around the corner, many people look back at all the music they’ve obsessed over, sang with, and danced to in this eventful year. As such, in this short list, I will detail the albums that have truly meant something to me in the past year and tell you a little about why. And, hey, maybe you’ll find a new artist that you like with this list. 

10. The Cry – Beautiful Reasons 

The Cry is a relatively unknown band that popped up around the 90s and released a single album that captured the essence of music from the 80s. It was then regarded as a cult classic with the release of Polar Skate Co.’s “I like it here inside my mind, don’t wake me this time, “a skateboard video from 2016. An album that was anything but a product of its time — music that sounds straight from the 80s and didn’t gain much popularity until 20-plus years later.

I found out about this album in April of this year after watching the same skateboard video that many people did to find this band. The segment in which the album appears might be my favorite scene from the whole video. The low quality of the video, the tricks performed by Dane Brady, and the song all together form an enthralling viewing experience for anyone, even if they do not like skate videos.  The album encapsulates the essence and eccentricity of the 80s and it’s most clear in the album’s most iconic song, “Alone,” which is used in Polar Skate Co.’s video. 

9. Pink Floyd – The Wall

Pink Floyd’s The Wall is regarded as the best concept album of all time, and it’s for a reason.

Their 1979, 80-minute, eleventh studio album should be viewed as more of a novel that was split into many songs. The album tells the story of a man and his struggles throughout his life, to put it simply. Though some songs are more of a dialogue than an actual song, the album seamlessly blends together the songs and their narrative to the point you can’t even tell when some songs end and some begin.

Now, much like many of you, I had always known about this album and about Pink Floyd because of my parents or other relatives. However, I’d never sat down and listened to the album in its entirety until July of this year and it made me see the album in an entirely different light. And though it’s not my favorite album by Pink Floyd, I’m confident in calling it a masterpiece of a concept album.

8. Misfits – Static Age

The Misfits are possibly one of the most influential punk bands of their time.

The Misfit’s Static Age was the first album they ever recorded yet it was released in 1996. While the punk rock album can’t certainly be called a masterpiece, The Misfits deliver a myriad of songs that sound exactly like what you would expect from an album recorded in the 70s. Grimy, distorted, and loud; the songs on this album show that The Misfits always had a clear idea of what music they wanted to make as musicians.

I first listened to this album in June of this year and it took no time for me to become a fan. I’d always liked The Misfit’s other songs, but this whole album quickly became my favorite after I listened to songs like “TV Casualty” and “Some Kinda Hate.”

The energy that they have during this time is representative of not only them but the broader UK punk scene as a whole. The energy in their studio albums was always carried over onto the stage, and sometimes it even exceeded the albums. Sex Pistols, The Clash, and Misfits are all just some examples of this era of music that led to one of the most chaotic and high-energy eras of modern music ever. 

7. Alkaloides – Alkaloides

Ecuadorean rock music has been on the rise for the longest time now, and it’s starting to take shape.

The Alkaloides are an Ecuadorean indie music band that has been releasing music since 2014. Their self-titled album was the first one they ever released in 2014 and it’s now become one of the most popular albums in the local music scene in Ecuador. It’s become so popular it is their most listened-to album.

Recently, I even heard a cover of their most popular song “Ella Viene del Futuro” by an up-and-coming band at a recent concert, which shows that the music has become a staple of the music scene eight years after it was released. As usual, I’d only heard their most popular song, yet I decided to listen to the album in its entirety in February of this year and I’m glad I did. I managed to find plenty of songs that I consider even better than the last and that all provide fun tunes to listen to any day.

6. Mac Miller – Circles

Everyone that likes Mac Miller has listened to Circles and if you haven’t, go do so right now.

The last album he ever worked on before his tragic death in September of 2018, this album wasn’t released until 2020. This album shows how much Mac Miller really changed over the years. If you compare this album with an album like K.I.D.S., which was released 10 years prior, the difference is astonishing.

It’s heartbreaking to think that such a talented artist will never be able to express himself and his ideas through his music any longer. It’s songs like “Once A Day” that show that even though Mac Miller might have been in a tough situation, music still truly meant something to him.

It was clear the change that Mac Miller had experienced as a person and as a musician. He recounted how he had changed as a rapper and how much of a different person he was. He often expresses the feelings of isolation and disdain he experienced throughout his career, even since songs like “Small Worlds” from the 2018 album: Swimming. 

5. Fleetwood Mac – Rumors

Rumors is an album that anyone who even remotely likes Fleetwood Mac will consider to be an incredible album or even their best.

Released in 1977, their eleventh studio album contains everything that fans of the band had expected it to contain and much more. Amazing guitar, percussion, bass, and of course the amazing vocals that Stevie Nicks brought to the band. It can’t be denied that the album has many songs that surpass their early work, but there’s always one song that manages to rise above the rest. “Dreams” is considered by many to be the band’s greatest song, and with good reason too; however, I would like to take the time to highlight a personal favorite of mine.

As someone that’s been learning guitar for almost two years now, there are many styles and techniques that I want to learn more about, but none come close to my desire of learning to play fingerstyle guitar. In this regard, I consider “Never Going Back Again” to be sort of a finish line. See, this song might sound simple but it is actually so difficult that even experienced guitar players struggle to learn it. As such, ever since I heard the whole album August, the album has not only been one of my favorites, but it also has pushed me to improve my guitar playing.

4. John Lennon – Plastic Ono Band

John Lennon might be one of the prime examples of the journey a musician goes through and how they express themselves through their music. And, though this is credited to John Lennon, The Plastic Ono Band is the first album of the collaborative band made composed of John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono.

The 1970 album is the debut of the previously mentioned Plastic Ono Band and it was released simultaneously with an album of the same name by Yoko Ono. It’s an album that shows how John Lennon wanted to develop his music moving forward in his career

You can still hear The Beatles in his music but it’s much more John Lennon than anything. It’s also a much more personal album because of songs like “Mother.” It’s clear that the album meant something to him.

I first heard this album in its entirety after watching the 2009 movie “Nowhere Boy,” a biographical film of John Lennon’s years as a teenager, in which “Mother” is the last song played at the end of the movie. Though the movie is not some critically acclaimed work of art, it gives you insight into the life John Lennon led and how that influenced much of the music he made in his career. 

3. Earl Sweatshirt – Some Rap Songs

Earl Sweatshirt’s third studio album released in 2018 shows why Earl Sweatshirt is considered one of the greatest rappers of our time by many.

The album is an example of Earl Sweatshirt’s style of rapping and way of making lyrics. After his first release, Doris, it became clear that Earl Sweatshirt wanted to write more about how he’s lived his life. In Doris, it’s obvious that “Chum” was the first attempt at that; however, in Some Rap Songs we have many songs with that same style of personal emotions and experiences being told.

“Playing Possum” is an example of Earl Sweatshirt exploring the relationship between himself and his parents, a topic that he often likes to talk about in his songs, as he samples the voices of his parents posthumously. I first listened to this album in January of this year and instantly fell in love with the way he samples voices and instrumentals to give off a nostalgic feeling for all and it has now become my overall favorite album of his.

2. Nick Drake – Pink Moon

Nick Drake was a musician from the UK that many believe to be one of the most influential folk artists of all time, and this is his magnum opus.

Drake had struggled with depression for a large part of his adult life and it was three years before his tragic death at the age of 26 that he had an idea. Having already released two albums that did not sell well and did not gain much popularity, Drake wanted to record an album by himself.

The only instruments featured in the entire album are Nick Drake’s guitar and his piano, which is featured in only one song, the titular “Pink Moon.” The whole album shows Drake with his guitar singing about sadness, melancholy, loneliness, and any other feelings he might’ve experienced in his life.

I first heard this album in July of this year and it became one of my favorite albums of all time. Everything from the complexity of the notes being played to the sadness that can be heard in Nick’s voice, it all creates an album that is truly phenomenal. 

1. The Velvet Underground – Loaded

The Velvet Underground might’ve been one of the most influential rock bands of all time, and yet it only released five albums. Loaded is The Velvet Underground’s fourth studio album, released in 1970.

The album was designed to be more of a commercial hit rather than the experimental and outgoing music that the band was known for. However, this didn’t mean that the band had completely changed its tone and essence. The Velvet Underground cared more for their music and their own happiness as musicians. The songs featured may be completely different from what can be heard in albums like White Light/White Heat, however the topics are as familiar as the name Lou Reed to fans of the band.

The band always displays the most accurate depiction of life as they had experienced it in their time as musicians, and most of all they just express their love for music. I think that the best example of this is the song “Rock & Roll,” in which the song tells the story of Jenny, a girl who pretty much had nothing going on in her life and felt empty inside; however, she’s “saved” by rock music.

I first listened to this album during my obsession with the band in 2020 and 2021. Since then it has become tied for my favorite album of my favorite band of all time. Whenever I feel down on my luck or exhausted, I’m certain that I can put this album on and forget about all my problems for at least a minute.

Well, as they say in the album, “You know you could just go out and dance to a rock ‘n’ roll station.”