Best of 2022
Here are my favorite songs and albums, along with my favorite movies, shows, books, and even a few products and articles.
Albums
10. The Weeknd - Dawn FM
9. Royal Philharmonic Symphony - Bond 25
8. Death Cab For Cutie - Asphalt Medows
7. Wild Rivers - Sidelines
6. The Lone Bellow - Love Songs for Losers
5. Taylor Swift - Midnights
4. Half Alive - Conditions of a Punk
3. Maya Hawke - Moss
2. Phoenix - Alpha Zulu
1. Yumi Zouma - Present Tense
Songs
These are 10 of my favorite songs from the year in no particular order. These are not the only good songs of the year, however. I made a playlist with 31 great songs if you’re curious about more selections.
The Knocks - “Slow Song”
Yumi Zouma - “Where the Light Used to Lay”
Ben Rector - “Steady Love”
Inhaler - “These Are The Days”
Taylor Swift - “Mastermind”
Oh Wonder - “True Romance”
Phoenix - “Identical”
Watashi Wa - “Let Me Prepare You”
Maya Hawke - “Luna Moth”
Half Alive - “High Up”
TV Shows
In order, these are the shows I enjoyed this year. Hopefully, Severance can deliver the same tension and mystery next season as it did the first time around, but even if it falls off a cliff, season one will remain a masterclass in TV drama.
I thought that Stranger Things had lost its magic, but season four delivered a compelling story built around characters we know so well now.
7. Guilded Age
6. Only Murders In The Building (Season 2)
5. Yellowjackets
4. Fleishman is in Trouble
3. For All Mankind (Season 3)
2. Stranger Things (Season 4)
1. Severance
Movies
The Gray Man has plot issues and a lot of the action is too over the top, but it did execute on being a compelling spy movie. The movie’s pacing helps it overcome some of its problems because it moves quickly and hardly ever slows.
Kimi is simplistic, but one of the best attempts at capturing time during the pandemic.
5. Glass Onion
4. Kimi
3. Cha Cha Real Smooth
2. The Batman
1. The Gray Man
Books
My biggest regret of the year was putting off reading The Cartographers when it came out in March. It mixes the adventure of The Goonies with hints of magic to create a unique and wonderful story.
5. Fake
4. Upgrade
3. Sea of Tranquility
2. The Maid
1. The Cartographers
Articles
Most of my writing in 2022 was with Newsweek. I reviewed a lot of products, but I also mixed in some interviews and personal stories along the way.