2022 is behind us, but we're still reeling from all the great music the year gave us. We've already seen top albums from our DJs and our listeners in the Best of 2022 countdown, but what about the rest of the KEXP staff? Below find lists from the behind-the-scenes crew of KEXP.
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Cataldo | Dumber and Older | Porchlight Records |
| Stars | From Capelton Hill | Last Gang Records |
| Sylvan Esso | No Rules Sandy | Loma Vista |
| Chris Ballew | Primitive God | self-released |
| Peach Pit | From 2 to 3 | Columbia |
| BOAT | No Plans to Stick the Landing | Magic Marker Records |
| Death Cab for Cutie | Asphalt Meadows | Barsuk Records |
| ODESZA | The Last Goodbye | Foreign Family Collective |
| alt-J | The Dream | Infectious Music |
| Wallows | Tell Me That It's Over | Atlantic |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Haunted Youth | Dawn of the Freak | Mayway Records |
| 2 | Wet Leg | Wet Leg | Domino |
| 3 | Fontaines DC | Skinty Fia | Partisan |
| 4 | Sudan Archives | Natural Brown Prom Queen | Stones Throw |
| 5 | Confidence Man | Heavenly | Tilt |
| 6 | Spoon | Lucifer on the Sofa | Matador |
| 7 | Enumclaw | Save the Baby | Luminelle |
| 8 | Orville Peck | Bronco | Columbia |
| 9 | Honey Dijon | Black Girl Magic | Defected |
| 10 | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Cool It Down | Secretly Canadian |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Built to Spill | When the Wind Forgets Your Name | Sub Pop |
| Dry Cleaning | Stumpwork | 4AD |
| MorMor | Semblance | Don't Guess |
| NoSo | Stay Proud of Me | Partisan Records |
| Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs | When the Lights Go | Nice Age |
| Adrian Quesada | Boleros Psicodélicos | ATO |
| Danielle Ponder | Some Of Us Are Brave | Future Classic |
| Bartees Strange | Farm to Table | 4AD |
| Spoon | Lucifer on the Moon | Matador |
| Greentea Peng | GREENZONE 108 | EMI |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Camp Cope | Running with the Hurricane | Run For Cover |
| Mitski | Laurel Hell | Dead Oceans |
| Beach House | Once Twice Melody | Sub Pop |
| Bonobo | Fragments | Ninja Tune |
| Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| Plains | I Walked With You a Ways | Anti- |
| The A's | Fruit | Psychic Hotline |
| The Weeknd | Dawn FM | Republic |
| ODESZA | The Last Goodbye | Foreign Family Collective |
| Taylor Swift | Midnights | Republic |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Callous Daoboys | Celebrity Therapist | MNRK Heavy |
| 2 | Greta Morgan | Desert Lullabies | self-released |
| 3 | Sweet Pill | Where The Heart Is | Topshelf |
| 4 | Lynn Avery & Cole Pulice | To Live & Die in Space & Time | Moon Glyph |
| 5 | White Ward | False Light | Debemur Morti |
| 6 | To Be Gentle | It Always Hurts and One Day It Will Win | self-released |
| 7 | Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul | Topical Dancer | DEEWEE |
| 8 | Drowse | Wane Into It | The Flenser |
| 9 | Destroyer | LABYRINTHITIS | Merge |
| 10 | Confidence Man | TILT | Heavenly |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| SASAMI | Squeeze | Domino |
| NoSo | Stay Proud of Me | Partisan |
| Okay Kaya | SAP | Jagjaguwar |
| Beach House | Once Twice Melody | Sub Pop |
| Sudan Archives | Natural Brown Prom Queen | Stones Throw |
| Nilüfer Yanya | PAINLESS | ATO |
| Sharon Van Etten | We've Been Going About This All Wrong | Jagjaguwar |
| Mitski | Laurel Hell | Dead Oceans |
| Destroyer | Labyrinthitis | Merge |
| Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Fontaines D.C. | Skinty Fia | Partisan |
| Julia Jacklin | Pre Pleasure | Polyvinyl |
| Walter Martin | The Bear | Ile Fllottante |
| Metric | Formentera | Metric Music International |
| Röyksopp | Profound Mysteries I, II, & III | Dog Triumph |
| Santigold | Spirituals | Little Jerk Records |
| The Smile | A Light for Attracting Attention | XL |
| Tenebrae | When Sleep Comes | Signum Records |
| Trentemøller | Memoria | In My Room Records |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Cool It Down | Secretly Canadian |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lizzo | Special | Nice Life/Atlantic |
| 2 | The 1975 | Being Funny in a Foreign Language | Dirty Hit |
| 3 | Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| 4 | Florence + the Machine | Dance Fever | Polydor Records |
| 5 | Gabriels | Angels & Queens: Part 1 | Parlophone |
| 6 | Wet Leg | Wet Leg | Domino |
| 7 | Foals | Life is Yours | Warner |
| 8 | The Beths | Expert in a Dying Field | Carpark Records |
| 9 | Hot Chip | Freakout/Release | Domino |
| 10 | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Cool It Down | Secretly Canadian |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Bernardes | Mil Coisas Invisiveis | Psychic Hotline |
| Danielle Ponder | Some of Us Are Brave | Future Classic |
| Denzel Curry | Melt My Eyez See Your Future | Loma Vista |
| Katalyst / Ali Shaheed Muhammad / Adrian Younge | Katalyst JID013 | Jazz Is Dead |
| PLOSIVS | Plosivs | Swami Records |
| Sault | 11 | Forever Living Originals |
| Silvana Estrada | Marchita | Glassnote |
| Erin Rae | Lighten Up | Good Memory Records |
| Alvvays | Blue Rev | Polyvinyl |
| Makaya McCraven | In These Times | Nonesuch |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Beach House | Once Twice Melody | Sub Pop |
| Boy Harsher | The Runner (Original Soundtrack) | NUDE CLUB |
| Editors | EBM | Play It Again Sam |
| Hot Chip | Freakout/Releasee | Domino |
| Letting Up Despite Great Faults | IV | New Words |
| PVA | Blush | Ninja Tune |
| Röyksopp | Profound Mysteries III | Dog Triumph |
| Tegan and Sara | Crybaby | Superclose Music Inc. |
| The Weeknd | Dawn FM | Republic |
| Working Men's Club | Fear Fear | Heavenly Recordings |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Ibibio Sound Machine | Electricity | Merge |
| Kae Tempest | The Line Is a Curve | Fiction |
| Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| Various Artists | Live at KEXP, vol. 10 | KEXP |
| Alvvays | Blue Rev | Polyvinyl |
| Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin | Ali | Dead Oceans |
| Σtella | Up and Away | Sub Pop |
| Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio | Cold as Weiss | Colemine |
| Wet Leg | Wet Leg | Domino |
| SAULT | Untitled (God), 11, AIIR, Earth, Today & Tomorrow, 10, Air | Forever Living Originals |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Makaya McCraven | In These Times | International Anthem Recording |
| 2 | Sofie Birch | Holotropica | Intercourse |
| 3 | billy woods | Aethiopes | Backwoodz Studios |
| 4 | Rocky Votolato | Wild Roots | Spartan Records |
| 5 | Alvvays | Blue Rev | Polyvinyl |
| 6 | Toro y Moi | MAHAL | Dead Oceans |
| 7 | Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| 8 | Earl Sweatshirt | SICK! | Tan Cressida |
| 9 | Syd | Broken Hearts Club | Columbia |
| 10 | OMBIIGIZI | Sewn Back Together | Arts & Crafts |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danger Mouse and Black Thought | Cheat Codes | Bertelsmann Music Group |
| 2 | The Smile | A Light for Attracting Attention | XL |
| 3 | Denzel Curry | Melt my Eyez, see your future | Loma Vista |
| 4 | Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| 5 | Beach House | Once Twice Melody | Sub Pop |
| 6 | Ibibio Sound Machine | Electricity | Soundway - Merge |
| 7 | Royksopp | Profound Mysteries III | Dog Triumph |
| 8 | Sudan Archives | Natural Brown Prom Queen | Stones Throw |
| 9 | Bonobo | Fragments | Ninja Tune |
| 10 | Hot Chip | Freakout/Release | Domino |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wet Leg | Wet Leg | Domino |
| 2 | Julia Jacklin | Pre Pleasure | Polyvinyl |
| 3 | FKA Twigs | Caprisongs | Young Recordings |
| 4 | Ethel Cain | Preacher's Daughter | Daughters of Cain 2022 |
| 5 | Charli XCX | CRASH | An Asylum Records |
| 6 | Beabadoobee | Beatopia | Dirty Hit |
| 7 | Mitski | Laurel Hell | Dead Oceans |
| 8 | Steve Lacy | Gemini Rights | L-M Records |
| 9 | The 1975 | Being Funny in a Foreign Languagee | Dirty Hit |
| 10 | Enumclaw | Save The Baby | Luminelle Recordings |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | There Will Be No Super Slave | Ghais Guevera | self-released |
| 2 | The Smile | A Light for Attracting Attention | XL |
| 3 | Chat Pile | God's Country | The Flenser |
| 4 | Bladee & Ecco2k | Crest | YEAR0001 |
| 5 | Kendrick Lamar | Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers | pgLang |
| 6 | Alex G | God Save the Animals | Domino |
| 7 | Jockstrap | I Love You Jennifer B | Rough Trade |
| 8 | nouns | WHILE OF AN UNSOUND MIND | self-released |
| 9 | Ryoji Ikeda | ultratronics | NOTON |
| 10 | Perfume Genius | Ugly Season | Matador |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| 070 Shake | You Can't Kill Me | Def Jam/UMG |
| Little Simz | NO THANK YOU | AWAL |
| Symba | Results Take Time | Atlantic |
| Sofi Tukker | WET TENNIS | Ultra Records |
| BROCKHAMPTON | The Family | RCA |
| Denzel Curry | Melt My Eyez See Your Future | Loma Vista |
| Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| Steve Lacy | Gemini Rights | RCA |
| Bad Bunny | Un Verano Sin Ti | Rimas Entertainment |
| JID | The Forever Story | Dreamville/Interscope |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| George Riley | Running In Waves | PLZ Make It Ruins |
| Maral | Ground Groove | Leaving Records |
| Klein Zage | Feed the Dog | Rhythm Section |
| dreamcastmoe | Sound is Like Water | Spectral Sound / Ghostly International |
| Duval Timothy | Meeting with a Judas Tree | Carrying Colour |
| Rosalía | MOTOMAMI | Columbia |
| SAULT | Untitled (God) | Forever Living Originals |
| Sofie Birch | Holotropica | Intercourse |
| caroline | caroline | Rough Trade |
| Carlos Niño & Friends | EXTRA PRESENCE | International Anthem |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin | Ali | Dead Oceans |
| 2 | Sarah Vaughan | The Single Sessions | Warner Music Group |
| 3 | Ibibio Sound Machine | Electricity | Merge |
| 4 | Samara Joy | Linger Awhile | Verve Records |
| 5 | Mr JazziQ | ALL YOU NEED IS PIANO | Sony Music Entertainment |
| 6 | Julia Jacklin | PRE PLEASURE | Polyvinyl |
| 7 | Mitski | Laurel Hell | Dead Oceans |
| 8 | Koffee | Gifted | Promised Land Recordings |
| 9 | Thee Sacred Souls | The Sacred Souls | Daptone Records |
| 10 | King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard | Omnium Gatherum | KGLW |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Black Country, New Road | Ants From Up There | Ninja Tune |
| Bill Callahan | YTI⅃AƎЯ | Drag City |
| Fontaines D.C. | Skinty Fia | Partisan |
| Gilla Band | Most Normal | Rough Trade |
| Kikagaku Moyo | Kumoyo Island | Guruguru Brain |
| King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard | Ice, Death, Planet, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava | KGLW |
| Makaya McCraven | In These Times | International Anthem/Nonesuch |
| Petrol Girls | Baby | Hassle Records |
| Joel Ross | The Parable of the Poet | Blue Note Records |
| Spiritualized | Everything Was Beautiful | Fat Possum |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Confidence Man | Tilt | Heavenly Recordings |
| Foals | Life Is Yours | Warner |
| Fontaines D.C. | Skinty Fia | Partisan |
| Garrett Saracho, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad | Garret Saracho - Jazz Is Dead 015 | Jazz Is Dead |
| Makaya McCraven | In These Times | International Anthem |
| Melody's Echo Chamber | Emotional Eternal | Domino |
| Sault | AIIR | Forever Living Originals |
| Sally Shapiro | Sad Cities | Italians Do It Better |
| Σtella | Up and Away | Sub Pop |
| Kae Tempest | The Line Is a Curve | American Recordings |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Morby | This Is A Photograph | Dead Oceans |
| 2 | Bill Callahan & Bonnie "Prince" Billy | Blind Date Party | Drag City |
| 3 | Rocky Votolato | Wild Roots | Spartan Records |
| 4 | Aimee Mann | Queen Of The Summer | SuperEgo Records |
| 5 | Amyl and The Sniffers | Comfort To Me | ATO |
| 6 | Wet Leg | Wet Leg | Domino |
| 7 | The Beths | Expert in a Dying Field | Carpark Records |
| 8 | Jacob Miller | Around My Head | self-released |
| 9 | Seth Avett | Seth Avett Sings Greg Brown | Ramseur Records, Thirty Tigers |
| 10 | The Smile | A Light For Attracting Attention | XL |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Beyonce | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| Bonobo | Fragments | Ninja Tune |
| Danger Mouse & Black Thought | Cheat Codes | BMG |
| Sara Hebe | Sucia Estrella | self-released |
| ODESZA | The Last Goodbye | Foreign Family Collective |
| Stromae | Multitude | Mosaert; Polydor |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Cool It Down | Secretly Canadian |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Holy Fawn | Dimensional Bleed | Triple Crown Records |
| Monophonics | Sage Motel | Colemine Records |
| CASTLEBEAT | Half Life | Spirit Goth Records |
| Deepchord | Functional Designs | Soma Records |
| Purl | Tesseract | Pyramid Blood |
| The Smile | A Light for Attracting Attention | XL |
| Red Ribbon | Planet X | Danger Collective Records |
| Murcof | The Alias Sessions | The Leaf Label Ltd |
| Miss Kittin & The Hacker | Third Album | Nobody's Bizzness |
| Minuit Machine | 24 | Synth Religion |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Thee Sacred Souls | Thee Sacred Souls | Daptone Records |
| Fana Hues | flora + fana | Bright Antenna Recordds |
| Toro y Moi | MAHAL | Dead Oceans |
| Kendrick Lamar | Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers | TDE |
| Σtella | Up and Away | Sub Pop |
| Steve Lacy | Gemini Rights | RCA |
| Kenny Beats | Louie | XL |
| Coco & ClairClair | Sexy | self-released |
| River Tiber | Dreaming Eyes | self-released |
| SZA | SOS | TDE |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghum | Bitter | Everything Sucks Music |
| 2 | Sidewalks and Skeletons | Exorcism | self-released |
| 3 | Russian Circles | Gnosis | Sargent House |
| 4 | Mathbonus | Big Bad Dream | self-released |
| 5 | Thou | Myopia | Gilead Media |
| 6 | Beacon | Along the Lethe | Apparent Movement |
| 7 | Boy Is Fiction | Deeper Than Static | n5MD |
| 8 | Dehd | Blue Skies | Fat Possum |
| 9 | The Smile | A Light For Attracting Attention | XL |
| 10 | Beach House | Once Twice Melody | Sub Pop |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Rosalía | MOTOMAMI | Columbia |
| Carmen Sánchez Viamonte | La Fuerza | self-released |
| Robert Glasper | Black Radio III | Loma Vista |
| Marilina Bertoldi | Mojigata | Pelo Music |
| Bad Bunny | Un Verano Sin Ti | Rimas Entertainment |
| Weste | Wish Wish | self-released |
| Mia Zeta | Hasta en los sueños... | self-released |
| Kendrick Lamar | Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers | PGLang/Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope |
| Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| Trueno | BIEN O MAL | Sur Capital Records |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vanum | Legend | Profound Lore Records |
| 2 | Blackbraid | Blackbraid I | self-released |
| 3 | Ripped to Shreds | Jubian | Relapse Records |
| 4 | Fugitive | Maniac EP | self-released |
| 5 | Sadistic Ritual | The Enigma, Boundless | Prosthetic Records |
| 6 | Gaerea | Mirage | Season of Mist |
| 7 | Incandescence | Le Coeur de l'Homme | Profound Lore Records |
| 8 | Egregore | The Word of His Law | 20 Buck Spin |
| 9 | Tzompantli | Tlazcaltiliztli | 20 Buck Spin |
| 10 | Soul Glo | Diaspora Problems | Epitaph Records |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Alex G | God Save the Animals | Domino |
| Alvvays | Blue Rev | Polyvinyl |
| The Beths | Expert in a Dying Field | Carpark |
| Camp Cope | Running with the Hurricane | Run For Cover |
| Hatchie | Giving the World Away | Secretly Canadian |
| Keep for Cheap | Bundle | Refresh Records |
| PUP | THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND | Rise |
| Sweet Trip | Seen/Unseen | Darla |
| Various Artists | Good Music to Ensure Safe Abortion Access to All | N/A |
| Winter | What Kind of Blue Are You? | Bar/None Records |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | billy woods & Messiah Musik | Church | Backwoodz Studioz |
| 2 | ELUCID | I Told Bessie | Backwoodz Studioz |
| 3 | billy woods & Preservation | Aethiopes | Backwoodz Studioz |
| 4 | Judy and the Jerks | Music to Go Nuts | Thrilling Living |
| 5 | Quelle Chris | DEATHFAME | Mello Music Group |
| 6 | OSEES | A Foul Form | Castle Face |
| 7 | Open Mike Eagle | an tape called component system with the auto reverse | Auto Reverse |
| 8 | Curren$y & the Alchemist | Continuance | Jet Life/ALC |
| 9 | Roc Marciano & the Alchemist | The Elephant Man's Bones | Marci Enterprises/ALC |
| 10 | Ribbon Stage | HIT WITH THE MOST | Perennial/K |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| Lizzo | Special | Nice Life/Atlantic |
| Shygirl | Nymph | Because Music |
| Honey Dijon | Black Girl Magic | Classic |
| Sara Hebe | Sucia Estrella | self-released |
| Combo Chimbita | IRE | Anti- |
| Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn | Pigments | Merge |
| Moor Mother | Jazz Codes | Anti- |
| Ibeyi | Spell 31 | XL |
| Ibibio Sound Machine | Electricity | Merge |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Julia Jacklin | PRE PLEASURE | Polyvinyl |
| Plains | I Walked With you A Ways | Anti- |
| Taylor Swift | Midnights | Republic |
| Weyes Blood | And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow | Sub Pop |
| Carly Rae Jepsen | The Loneliest Time | Interscope |
| SZA | SOS | RCA |
| Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| DOMi & JD BECK | NOT TiGHT | Blue Note Records |
| Steve Lacy | Gemini Rights | RCA |
| Angel Olsen | Big Time | Jagjaguwar |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic | Excess | Stones Throw |
| Bonobo | Fragments | Ninja Tune |
| Danger Mouse & Black Thought | Cheat Codes | BMG |
| Just Mustard | Heart Under | Partisan |
| O’Flynn x Frazer Ray | Shimmer | Ninja Tune |
| Greentea Peng | Greenzonee 108 | EMI |
| PVA | Blush | Ninja Tune |
| TSHA | Capricorn Sun | Ninja Tune |
| Vieux Farka Touré & Khruangbin | Ali | Dead Oceans |
| Working Men's Club | Fear Fear | Heavenly |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Danger Mouse & Black Thought | Cheat Codes | BMG |
| DOMi and JD BECK | NOT TiGHT | Apeshit, Inc. / Blue Note |
| Katalyst / Adrian Younge / Ali Shaheed Muhammed | Katalyst JID 013 | Jazz Is Dead |
| Lady Wray | Piece of Me | Big Crown Records |
| Robert Glasper | Black Radio III | Loma Vista |
| Rosalía | MOTOMAMI | Columbia |
| SAULT | 11 | Forever Living Originals |
| Sudan Archives | Natural Brown Prom Queen | Stones Throw |
| Tank & the Bangas | Red Balloon | UMG |
| Yahritza y Su Esencia | Obsessed | Lumbre |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Ibibio Sound Machine | Electricity | Merge |
| Wet Leg | Wet Leg | Domino |
| Lizzo | Special | Atlantic |
| The Beths | Expert In A Dying Field | Carpark |
| The Smile | A Light for Attracting Attention | XL |
| Sault | 11 | Forever Living Originals |
| ODESZA | The Last Goodbye | Foreign Familly Collective |
| Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Cool It Down | Secretly Canadian |
| Enumclaw | Save The Baby | Luminelle |
| Automatic | Excess | Stones Throw |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul | Topical Dancer | Deewee |
| Automatic | Excess | Stones Throw |
| Confidence Man | Tilt | Heavenly Recordings |
| Fontaines D.C. | Skinty Fia | Partisan Records |
| Ibibio Sound Machine | Electricity | Merge |
| Alanis Morissette | The Storm Before The Calm | Epiphany Music |
| Mt Fog | Spells of Silence | Save The Forest For The Trees |
| Sinead O’Brien | Time Bend And Break The Bower | Chess Club Records |
| Thus Love | Memorial | Captured Tracks |
| Working Men's Club | Fear Fear | Heavenly Recordings |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| 2 | Little Simz | NO THANK YOU | Forever Living Originals |
| 3 | Sylvan Esso | No Rules Sandy | Loma Vista |
| 4 | Sudan Archives | Natural Brown Prom Queen | Stones Throw |
| 5 | Sharon Van Etten | We've Been Going About This All Wrong | Jagjaguwar |
| 6 | SAULT | Untitled (God) & 11 | Forever Living Originals |
| 7 | Death Cab for Cutie | Asphalt Meadows | Atlantic |
| 8 | Lizzo | Special | Nice Life/Atlantic |
| 9 | Spoon | Lucifer on the Sofa | Matador |
| 10 | Steve Lacy | Gemini Rights | L-M Records |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Soft Kill | Canary Yellow | Cercle Social Records |
| The Haunted Youth | Dawn Of The Freak | Mayway Records |
| Camp Trash | The Long Way, The Slow Way | Count Your Lucky Stars |
| Been Stellar | Been Stellar EP | So Young Records |
| Alvvays | Blue Rev | Polyvinyl |
| they are gutting a body of water | S | Top Shelf Records |
| Knifeplay | Animal Drowning | Top Shelf Records |
| Launder | Happening | Ghostly |
| Anxious | Little Green House | Run For Cover |
| Say Sue Me | The Last Thing Left | Damnably |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| And So I Watch You From Afar | Jettison | Velocity Records |
| Square Peg Round Hole | Reservoir | None |
| Lumenette | All Around My Head | Hammock Music |
| The Album Leaf | Past and Future Tense EP | Eastern Glow Recordings |
| Beach House | Once Twice Melody | Sub Pop |
| Destroyer | Labyrinthitis | Merge |
| The Mountain Goats | Bleed Out | Merge |
| Built to Spill | When the Wind Forgets Your Name | Sub Pop |
| Marco Benevento | Benevento | Royal Potato Family |
| Ghost Island | Monumentt | None |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| The 1975 | Being Funny in a Foreign Language | Dirty Hit |
| Banks | Serpentina | Her Name is Banks, Inc. |
| Beach Bunny | Emotional Creature | Mom + Pop |
| The Beths | Expert in a Dying Field | Carpark |
| Bodega | Broken Equipment | What's Your Rupture |
| Bonny Light Horseman | Rolling Golden Holy | 37d03d |
| Cheekface | Too Much to Ask | Original Cheekface Compositions ASCAP |
| Florence + The Machine | Dance Fever | Polydor |
| Tobe Nwigwe | moMINTs | The Good Stewards |
| Viagra Boys | Cave World | YEAR0001 |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| Kendrick Lamar | Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers | pgLang |
| First Aid Kit | Palomino | Columbia |
| Odesza | The Last Goodbye | Ninja Tune |
| Protoje | Third Time's the Charm | In.Digg.Nation Collective |
| Danger Mouse & Black Thought | Cheat Codes | BMG |
| Wet Leg | Wet Leg | Domino |
| Lady Wray | Piece of Me | Big Crown |
| Ibibio Sound Machine | Electricity | Merge |
| Sault | 11 | Forever Living Originals |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Deslondes | Ways & Means | New West Records |
| 2 | Gina Leslie | No, You're Crying | self-released |
| 3 | Wet Leg | Wet Leg | Domino |
| 4 | Nora Brown | Long Time To Be Gone | Jalopy Records |
| 5 | Los Bitchos | Let the Festivities Begin! | City Slang |
| 6 | Hurray For the Riff Raff | Life on Earth | Nonesuch |
| 7 | Jake Xerxes Fussell | Good and Green Again | Paradise of Bachelors |
| 8 | Leyla McCalla | Breaking The Thermometer | ANTI- |
| 9 | Father John Misty | Chloe and the Next 20th Century | Sub Pop |
| 10 | Bonny Light Horseman | Rolling Golden Holy | 37d03d |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Orville Peck | Bronco | Columbia/Sub Pop |
| The Black Angels | Wilderness of Mirrors | Partisan |
| Courtney Marie Andrews | Loose Future | Fat Possum |
| Brian Eno | FOREVERANDEVERNOMORE | Universal |
| Robert Glasper | Black Radio III | Loma Vista |
| Delvon Lammar Organ Trio | Cold As Weiss | Colemine |
| The Smile | A Light For Attracting Attention | XL |
| Psychedlic Porn Crumpets | Night Gnomes | Marathon Artists |
| Kae Tempest | The Line is a Curve | American Recordings |
| Built to Spill | When The Wind Forgets Your Name | Sub Pop |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Broken Bells | Into the Blue | 30th Century/AWAL |
| 2 | Spoon | Lucifer on the Sofa | Matador |
| 3 | Lucius | Second Nature | Mom + Pop |
| 4 | Spencer Krug | Twenty Twenty Twenty Twenty One | Pronounced Kroog |
| 5 | Alvvays | Blue Rev | Polyvinyl |
| 6 | Harry Styles | Harry's House | Columbia Records |
| 7 | Bonny Light Horseman | Rolling Golden Holy | 37d03d |
| 8 | Death Cab For Cutie | Asphalt Meadows | Atlantic |
| 9 | The Beths | Expert in a Dying Field | Carpark |
| 10 | Belle & Sebastian | A Bit of Previous | Matador |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stromae | Multitude | Mosaert / Darkroom / Interscope |
| 2 | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | Cool It Down | Secretly Canadian |
| 3 | Bonobo | Fragments | Ninja Tune |
| 4 | Lucy Patané | Hékate | Lucy Patané |
| 5 | Crooked Colours | Tomorrows | Atlantic |
| 6 | Lizzo | Special | Nice Life Recording Company and Atlantic Recording Corporation |
| 7 | Taylor Swift | Midnights | Republic |
| 8 | Pahua & Terror/Cactus | Amuleto EP | Nacional Rrecords |
| 9 | Alt-J | The Dream | Atlantic |
| 10 | Beyoncé | Renaissance | Parkwood Entertainment |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Petty | Wild Flowers | Warner Records |
| dodie | Human | doddleoddle (Self-Released) |
| Doja Cat | Hot Pink | Kemosabe Records/RCA Records |
| Lizzo | Cuz I Love You | Atlantic |
| Cavetown | Man's Best Friend | Sire |
| Finale | Visión de Futuro | Peroquébien |
| Ricky Montgomery | Montgomery Ricky | Warner |
| Tears For Fears | Songs from the Big Chair | Mercury Records |
| Lemon Demon | Spirit Phone | Needlejuice Records |
| Glass Animals | How to Be a Human Being | Wolf Tone |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kendrick Lamar | Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers | pgLang |
| 2 | Regina Spektor | Home, before and after | Sire |
| 3 | The Smile | A Light for Attracting Attention | XL |
| 4 | Black Midi | Hellfire | Rough Trade |
| 5 | ORANGEPURPLEBEACH, John Vanderslice | d E A T h ~ b U g | Tiny Telephone |
| 6 | Marta Sofia Honer, Jeremiah Chiu | Recordings from the Åland Islands | International Anthem |
| 7 | Björk | Fossora | One Little Independent Records |
| 8 | Horsegirl | Versions of Modern Performance | Matador |
| 9 | Black Country, New Road | Ants From Up There | Ninja Tune |
| 10 | Weyes Blood | And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow | Sub Pop |
| rank | artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mom Jeans | Sweet Tooth | Sequel Music Group |
| 2 | Sylvan Esso | No Rules Sandy | Loma Vista |
| 3 | Sampa The Great | As Above, So Below | Loma Vista |
| 4 | SASAMI | Squeeze | Domino |
| 5 | Wet Leg | Wet Leg | Domino |
| 6 | Action/Adventure | Imposter Syndrome | Pure Noise Records |
| 7 | Guerilla Toss | Famously Alive | Sub Pop |
| 8 | Tunde Olaniran | Ephemerrreality | Magic Wheel |
| 9 | Divino Niño | Last Spa on Earth | Winspear |
| 10 | ODESZA | The Last Goodbye | Foreign Family Collective |
| artist | album | label |
|---|---|---|
| Nilufer Yanya | PAINLESS | ATO |
| Fred again.. | Actual Life 3 | Atlantic Records UK |
| NoSo | Stay Proud of Me | Partisan |
| Alvvays | Blue Rev | Polyvinyl |
| SASAMI | Squeeze | Domino |
| Sylvan Esso | No Rules Sandy | Loma Vista |
| Bonobo | Fragments | Ninja Tune |
| SZA | SOS | Top Dawg Entertainment |
| Dehd | Blue Skies | Fat Possum Records |
| Fontaines D.C. | Skinty Fia | Partisan |
2022 is coming to a close, and it's time for the KEXP DJs to share their Top Albums of the year. And don't forget to tune in this Friday, December 16th as KEXP counts down the Top 90.3 Albums of 2021, as voted on by our listeners! Will your favorites — or theirs! — make the list? Vote now!
KEXP's staff share the albums that moved them most in 2021.
As you may have heard, we are offering a special KEXP Apron during the Spring Drive. With social distancing and the closure of in-restaurant dining, more of us are spending time building our skills in the kitchen, and what better pairing is there than food and music? Two of the greatest joys in li…
