It’s always tough to try and sum up an entire year of music in condensed list form. This is particularly the case when talking about songs, given the sheer number that are released. Overwhelming only begins to describe the feeling. Obviously nobody can listen to everything, and even with your best effort there will still be stuff that slips past your radar, only gets one quick distracted listen, or simply just isn’t to your particular taste. Is any Top Songs list truly comprehensive? Probably not, even if you stretch the list all the way out to some absurd number like 500. The point is, we writers, music listeners, and fans do the best we can. A list like this one is put together with the idea that maybe somebody will read it, press play on a few of these songs, and ideally discover something that will totally blow their mind. No pressure!

My sincerest hope is that even the most uninformed and laziest music listener will find plenty to enjoy within these 100 songs. There are big pop hits from Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, The 1975, Lizzo, Beyonce, and The Weeknd. Electronic gets represented well with KH, Daphni, Jamie xx, HAAi, Two Shell, and Braxe + Falcon. Indie stalwarts such as Sharon Van Etten, Fever Ray, Father John Misty, Destroyer, LCD Soundsystem, and Big Thief all make appearances too. You may also want to become acquainted with some fresh new faces like Bob Vylan, Knifeplay, Shygirl, Automatic, Folly Group, piri & tommy, and Rachika Nayar.

To qualify for inclusion on this list, the song must have either been a single or part of an album/EP released at some point during the calendar year of 2022. In an effort to spread the love around as much as possible, no artist may appear on this list more than once (featured guests on a track don’t count). While the full Top 100 Songs of 2022 list is below, if you’d like to hear the whole thing in playlist format I’ve put that together for you in order via YouTube and Spotify. You can also click on any individual song and listen to it via YouTube. Apologies to Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music users…I was too lazy to assemble this playlist more than twice. However you choose to consume these songs, I hope you give them a chance and explore a bit. Test your boundaries and see where that takes you. I feel confident this list represents the year that was 2022 quite well. Enjoy!

100. Winter – atonement (ft. Hatchie)
99. Sunflower Bean – Who Put You Up To This?
98. Miya Folick – Bad Thing
97. Let’s Eat Grandma – Happy New Year
96. Maggie Rogers – That’s Where I Am
95. Sorry – Let the Lights On
94. Just Mustard – Still
93. Julia Jacklin – Love, Try Not To Let Go
92. Bob Vylan – Pretty Songs
91. Luna Li – Silver Into Rain (ft. beabadoobee)
90. Camp Cope – Running With The Hurricane
89. Shygirl – Coochie (a bedtime story)
88. Horsegirl – Anti-glory
87. Sharon Van Etten – Anything
86. Mavi – Baking Soda
85. Plains – Problem With It
84. KH – Looking at Your Pager
83. Automatic – New Beginning
82. Fever Ray – What They Call Us
81. Jamie xx – LET’S DO IT AGAIN
80. Porridge Radio – Back to the Radio
79. Chance the Rapper – The Highs & The Lows (ft. Joey Bada$$)
78. Knifeplay – Promise
77. Taylor Swift – Anti-Hero
76. Daphni – Cherry
75. Yard Act – 100% Endurance
74. Folly Group – I Raise You (The Price of Your Head)
73. Earl Sweatshirt – Tabula Rasa (ft. Armand Hammer)
72. U.S. Girls – So Typically Now
71. Father John Misty – The Next 20th Century
70. Grace Ives – Loose
69. MUNA – What I Want
68. Lizzo – About Damn Time
67. piri & tommy – on & on
66. The Beths – Expert in a Dying Field
65. Cate Le Bon – Moderation
64. Yung Lean – Bliss (ft. FKA twigs)
63. Florence + the Machine – Dream Girl Evil
62. Doechii – Persuasive (ft. SZA)
61. Aldous Harding – Fever
60. Destroyer – It’s In Your Heart Now
59. Paramore – This Is Why
58. Pusha T – Diet Coke
57. Momma – Speeding 72
56. Spoon – Wild
55. Ravyn Lenae – Light Me Up
54. Beach House – Only You Know
53. Wednesday – Bull Believer
52. Bjork – Ancestress
51. The Orielles – Beam/s
50. FKA twigs – lightbeamers
49. Carly Rae Jepsen – Western Wind
48. Charli XCX – Beg for You (ft. Rina Sawayama)
47. HAAi – Baby, We’re Ascending (ft. Jon Hopkins)
46. Little Simz – Gorilla
45. The Dare – Girls
44. LCD Soundsystem – new body rhumba
43. yeule – Bites On My Neck
42. MJ Lenderman – You Are Every Girl to Me
41. Fontaines D.C. – Jackie Down the Line
40. Harry Styles – As It Was
39. The Weeknd – Gasoline
38. Special Interest – Midnight Legend (ft. Mykki Blanco)
37. Big Thief – Simulation Swarm
36. Ice Spice – Munch (Feelin’ U)
35. Two Shell – home
34. Dehd – Bad Love
33. The 1975 – I’m In Love With You
32. Pharrell – Cash In Cash Out (ft. 21 Savage & Tyler, The Creator)
31. Hikaru Utada – Somewhere Near Marseilles
30. Ibibio Sound Machine – Protection From Evil
29. Jessie Ware – Free Yourself
28. Angel Olsen – All The Good Times
27. The Smile – You Will Never Work in Television Again
26. Rachika Nayar – Heaven Come Crashing (ft. Maria BC)
25. Megan Thee Stallion – Plan B
24. Amber Mark – One
23. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Spitting Off the Edge of the World (ft. Perfume Genius)
22. Yaya Bey – alright
21. Nilufer Yanya – stabilise
20. Caroline Polachek – Billions
19. Charlotte Adigéry / Bolis Pupul – It Hit Me
18. Ethel Cain – American Teenager
17. Kendrick Lamar – N95
16. Sudan Archives – Selfish Soul
15. Steve Lacy – Bad Habit
14. Wet Leg – Angelica
13. Weyes Blood – It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody
12. GloRilla – Tomorrow 2 (ft. Cardi B)
11. Soccer Mommy – Shotgun
10. Black Country, New Road – The Place Where He Inserted The Blade
9. SZA – Shirt
8. Bad Bunny – Titi Me Pregunto
7. Phoenix – Tonight (ft. Ezra Koenig)
6. ROSALÍA – CHICKEN TERIYAKI
5. Alex G – Runner
4. Alvvays – Belinda Says
3. Beyonce – ALIEN SUPERSTAR
2. Jockstrap – Concrete Over Water
1. Braxe + Falcon – Step By Step (ft. Panda Bear)