NPR Music 2022 Staff Picks: Stephen Thompson

For a year with so many consensus favorites, my own Top 10 has moved around constantly in recent days, thanks to last-minute listening, my own capriciousness and SZA's decision to drop a magnificent record after most Top 10 lists had already been filed. My favorite records of 2022 (or at least my favorite records of one specific moment in December) are about liberation, introspection, identity and joy — sometimes all at once.

Top 10 Albums of 2022

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1. MUNA, MUNA
2. Tove Lo, Dirt Femme
3. SZA, SOS
4. Sudan Archives, Natural Brown Prom Queen
5. Ethel Cain, Preacher's Daughter
6. Beyoncé, RENAISSANCE
7. Taylor Swift, Midnights
8. Alvvays, Blue Rev
9. Leikeli47, Shape Up
10. Wet Leg, Wet Leg

Top 10 Songs of 2022

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1. Lizzo, "About Damn Time"
2. MUNA, "What I Want"
3. Taylor Swift, "You're On Your Own, Kid"
4. The Mountain Goats, "Training Montage"
5. Harry Styles, "As It Was"
6. Chappell Roan, "Casual"
7. Tove Lo, "2 Die 4"
8. Stromae, "L'enfer"
9. The Weeknd, "Less Than Zero"
10. Carly Rae Jepsen, "Beach House"

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