Melissa Kacar

2022 was yet another great year for music! This list is made up of a mix of artists that are long-time favorites as well as many new discoveries across a range of genres. This is always my favorite post to write every year, I love looking back at all of the great art that was released in the past year and sharing some of the highlights with you. Several of these albums I also wrote dedicated long-form reviews for, which are linked throughout if you are interested in reading more! Harry's House // Harry Styles Harry Styles delivered yet another incredible release that easily is my favorite album of the year. "Imagine it’s a day in my house or a day in my mind. What do I go through? I’m playing fun music. I’m playing sad music. I’m playing this, I’m playing that. I have doubts. I’m feeling stuff. And it’s all mine," Harry said in an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music earlier this year. Harry's House was the perfect next step for Harry and is a great evolution t...

5SOS5 is 5 Seconds of Summer 's fifth studio album, one that marks a new creative era for the band over a decade into their career. It is very obvious that they had more creative freedom while making this album than some of their previous releases, with it being largely self-written, produced and performed by every member of the band for the first time. I have been a huge fan of 5SOS since their debut album was released in 2014 and I have truly loved seeing how much their artistry has grown and evolved since that time. Just when I think they have reached their peak with an album like Youngblood or with CALM , they always find a way to come back even better than before. The progression of their sound and style has always been very natural and has done nothing but improve since their debut album. In many ways,  5SOS5 actually feels like a more mature version of their debut album, as if they are reintroducing themselves to their audience as the band they are today. I also love that th...