Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
CIRCLES WITH YOUR HANDS.
Saturday, April 22, 2023
WAFFLE PARTY 2022 (or The 103 Heat from 2022)
Hey, we did the list. It's done.
103. Freak Genes "The Future is Mine"
102. The Beths "Silence is Golden"
101. Charli XCX "Yuck"
100. Maren Morris "Circles Around this Town"
99. Lizzo "About Damn Time"
98. Glorilla ft Cardi B "Tomorrow 2"
97. The Paranoyds "BWP"
96. Tony Molina "The Last Time"
95. Porcelain "Frozen Sea"
94. Sworn Virgins "Searchin for Hiro"
93. Militarie Gun "Gimme Some Truth"
92. Sumerlands "I'm So Afraid"
91. Alexalone "Rainbow"
90. Crowbar "Crush Negativity"
89. Duke Deuce ft Glorilla "Just Say That"
88. Plosivs "See You Suffer"
87. Pet Fox "Only Warning'
86. Amphibian Man II "Crimea 2084"
85. Mister Goblin "Safe Words"
84. Westside Gunn ft A$AP Rocky "Shoutouts In Soho"
83. Clothesline from Hell "Open Up"
82. Surface to Air Missive "Shadows Leap"
81. The Rubs "The Same Thing To Me"
80. Maneka "Zipline"
79. MJ Lenderman "Hangover Game"
78. Front De Cadeaux "There Is Something Wrong"
77. Lelee "Izvan Sebe"
76. Julie "Pg. 4 A Picture of Three Hedges"
75. Nuclear Daisies "Heaven In Your Head"
74. Flo Milli ft BabyFace Ray "Hottie"
73. Jay Worthy & Larry June "Sock It 2 Me"
72. The Rubs "I Don't Wanna Wait"
71. Built To Spill "Gonna Lose"
70. Goon "Yet Another Window"
69. Shygirl "Firefly"
68. Joey Badass "Eulogy"
67. R. Ring "Def Sup"
66. Sunami "Six"
65. FLO "Not My Job"
64. P-Lo ft Larry June "Good"
63. Nas "Recession Proof"
62. They Hate Change "From the Floor"
61. Automatic "Skyscraper"
60. Living In Fear "Hellfire Reigns"
59. Big Thief "Simulation Swarm"
58. Quicksand "Feliz"
57. Civic "End of the Line"
56. Endless Boogie "The Conversation"
55. Milly "Illuminate"
54. Marlowe "Otherworld"
53. Soul Glo "Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?)"
52. Westside Gun ft DJ Drama, Benny the Butcher, Stove God Cooks, Rome Streetz, Armani Caesar, Jay Worthy, Conway the Machine & Robby Takac "Red Death"
51. Chat Pile "Why"
50. Ice Spice "Munch (Feelin' U)"
49. Otis Houston Jr "Cynthia Ali"
48. Disheveled Cuss "Creep a Little Closer"
47. Flex TMG "Burn This Town"
46. Mindforce "Rotten"
45. Objekt "Bad Apples"
44. Arlekin "Go Znaesh Da Go Vidish"
43. David Nance "Early and Bright"
42. Built To Spill "Fools Gold"
41. DISQ "(With Respect To) Loyal Serfs"
40. Lil Ugly Mane "Low Tide At the Dryin Out Facility"
39. Chat Pile "Lake Time (Mr. Rodan)"
38. The Rubs "Yer Trouble"
37. Surface To Air Missive "Rosy"
36. Yung Lean "Trip"
35. Flasher "Sideways"
34. Fu Manchu "Strange Plan"
33. Soccer Mommy "Shotgun"
32. Paramore "The News"
31. Nilufer Yanya "Chase Me"
30. KayCyy "OKAY!"
29. The Garden "Freight Yard"
28. 100 Gecs "Doritos and Fritos"
27. Praise "Eyes in the Dark"
26. Nas "Michael & Quincy"
25. Alex G "Runner"
24. Special Interest ft Mykki Blanco "Midnight Legend"
23. Snail Mail "Feeling Like I Do"
22. Nilufer Yanya "L/R"
21. Hikaru Utada "Somewhere Near Marseilles"
20. Chat Pile "grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg"
19. Sevyn Streeter "23"
18. Mister Goblin "Good Son / Bad Seed"
17. Hatchie "Lights On"
16. Momma "Speeding 72"
15. Big Thief "Flower of Blood"
14. L.O.T.I.O.N. Multinational Corporation ft Lulu "Cybernetic Super Lover"
13. Dazy & Militarie Gun "Pressure Cooker"
12. Sunami "Fake Blood"
11. Carly Rae Jepsen "Talking to Yourself"
10. Surface To Air Missive "Attic"
9. Darkthrone "The Sea Beneath The Seas of the Sea"
8. Nilufer Yanya "The Dealer"
7. Built to Spill "Never Alright"
6. Flex TMG "Hits the Right Way"
5. KayCyy "The Sun"
4. SZA "Kill Bill"
1/2/3. Momma "Tall Home"
1/2/3. Flasher "I'm Better"
1/2/3. Alien Boy "Wondering Still"
Friday, April 21, 2023
Was music in 2022 good? Is every year good?
We've heard this many times. Is it true? Is every year good?
After sifting through mountains of research, we think we have it figured out.
The answer is "no."
There's some good years. There's some bad years. There's some amazing years, and there are horrible years.
How is this possible? What makes a great year for music? What makes a horrible year for music?
Let's consider 3 key factors, using 1994 as our example since it's perhaps the greatest of all time:
Evaluating 1994: The GOAT
Factor #1: Qual
Here's what our stats say:- The 500 Most Fire Jams (2022 version) playlist has 34 songs from 1994, more than any other year. This includes 8 in the top 100, also more than any other year.
This indicates Abundance of the Highest Quality.
- Our top albums list has been unfinished for a while. But our top 10 is solid and good to roll. This is where we noted a glaring anamoly: Albums #7, #8, and #9 have the same calendar year in common. Can you guess which one? (Spoiler alert: The albums are Illmatic, Superunknown, and Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2, respectively).
No need to browse further. This one stat on its own indicates Unprecedented Unmatched High Qual for 1994.
Factor #2: Quan
- We have an exhaustive playlist collection titled Every Hot Mix Ever with one playlist per year since 1960, typically including music from all levels of qual but primarily focusing on the upper ranges, between 6 and 10 (from ok to GOAT). As of today, only two of these playlists approach or surpass the 24 hour mark: 1994 and 1997. This stat indiates Abundant Quantities of Higher Quality.
Factor #3: Variety
A "value bonus," variety does not apply to those with only 2 or 3 genres of focus, especially those who apply rockist perspectives (including those who apply rockism to their focus of pop, rap, country, etc). Variety rewards the most open minded listeners.
No self-respecting Megadeth t-shirt fella would've been caught dead pumping Real McCoy's "Another Night" from their diesel truck, whereas today's equivalent is more common, pending the shirt-wearer has ever heard any of Megadeth's music. In 1994, it was hugely disrespectful to wear a band's t-shirt without a musical familiarity that surpassed that of casual norms. (This concept died slowly and painfully, receiving its final nail in the coffin right around February 14, 2005 when Ellen Degeneres wore an Iggy And The Stooges shirt to the Grammy Awards.)
It's hard to quickly evaluate the music of 1994 without sounding hyperbolic, and especially since it's all so much clearer in hindsight. By today's standards, its overwhelming breadth might seem absorbingly colassal. How could any listener be expected to chip away at more than one or two genres of both high qual and high quan with fresh singles and albums dropping at such a breakneck pace? It's actually harder to imagine how this era's value wouldn't appreciate in hindsight. Adding to the enormity, '94 falls in center of an especially heavy Buzz Clip era, when artists with dauntingly large back catalogs finally achieved their breakthrough song. (Do you like that new hit song "Feel The Pain?" Great, because now you have to locate Dinosaur Jr's 75 other songs spread across their prior 6 albums and 3 EPs. Pearl Jam only has 2 albums, but don't forget to check out the other 5 bands those guys used to play in.)
Every 2 months, another 90 minute mixtape's worth of great new songs were available, not just in general, but in almost every one of the aforementioned individual genres. So many people stayed in their lanes because the landscape made it way too easy to take it all for granted. You didn't really need to dig for buried dopeness. If you wanted to find hot jams from any genre, simply turn on the radio and leave it on. If your preference rejects the mainstream, a trove of riches rested under pretty much every layer of terrain. If you didn't purposely or accidentally experience a musically rich 1994, you were probably doing something very wrong.
But enough about 1994. Let's now apply these same factors to years that suck.
Evaluating 2008: It sucked
Factor #1: Qual When we say "2007 and 2008 sucked" and someone comes back with "But what about 'International Player's Anthem?' What about Nouns and Tha Carter 3?" We're not claiming that these years lacked any high quality jams or albums. In fact, our 500 Fire Jams includes 5 entries from 2007 and 3 from 2008.
Factor #2: Quan
- The Every Hot Mix Ever collection shows the years 2005 through 2010 all dipping below the 10 hour mark (while 1994 surpassed 24 hours). Observing playlist lengths between 1978 and the present, the shortest playlist length is 2008 at 7 hours and 26 minutes.
Its these sadly empty years that most glaringly emphasize a sad but true fact about the entire history of pop music: No matter what, a super-abundance of garbage and mediocre bullshit from every calender year has always surpassed the quantity of "ok to good" stuff by a number that's at least 100 times greater (plus, this garbage-quan has grown A LOT over the past decade). So when the quan drops like it did in 2008, there's gonna be some after effects:
1. Less quan emphasizes the abundance of garbage more than a lack of qual. You can no longer simply turn on the radio and find what you're seeking. You're now stuck with digging indefinitely.2. The avenues that used to easily provide access to a reasonable level of qual and quan have become much more complicated to navigate.
3. Casual listeners become more likely to settle on mediocre bullshit.
4. Music writers and music critics consider this a sign of the times and become more likely to hyperbolize the importance of shit music, while rejecting traces of qual that are actually out there.
These after effects also tend to generate a widespread renewed interest in older music and a heightened nostalgic longing for the stuff that isn't around anymore. If it weren't for the bad years, we wouldn't have as much space to go back and explore what we missed from the overwhelming years.
Evaluating 2022: It was ok
Here are the value factors noted while compiling our 2022 Waffle Party:
Factor #1: Qual
2022's highest qual levels were great, about the same as its been since about 2019: Very little from this 4-year span has a shot of placing on any future "all time" lists, although anything's possible. Turnstile's Glow On from 2021 has the most bangers per capita since Rihanna's Anti with a very strong shot of placing pretty well in our all time top 100. (Both 2016's and 2022's 500 Fire Jams include 3 songs from Anti, an album that had only been out in the world for about 10 weeks prior to the 2016 version.)
Overall, the state of qual in 2022 is good. Not great. It was ok.
Factor #2: Quan
Quantity within the "ok to GOAT" range was pretty good in 2022. We continued programming our FM block throughout the year rarely unable to dig up a reasonably sized dump of new music adds from the worlds of loud rock, metal, 90s sounding stuff, rap/hiphop, non-radio pop, and electronic. As for the Waffle Party, the playlist includes our 103 song playlist (98 of them on Spotify) plus more from our albums list, building it to a decent 10.5 hours.
However, the "highest quality" stuff was absent. "Kill Bill" might come closest to an all time banger.
This blog is technically dead anyway so it's fine. Good songs though.
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
THE OFFICIAL 2022 SHORT STACK OF LP'S
Just flipping through these records feels fucking amazing. Honestly, the sound of the album sleeve stock flapping against its sistren would almost be enough for us. It's almost enough just to oogle the album art, reclining in a milk crate conveniently ideal for 61 of these puppies. This is almost enough.
But there's more. So much more. In fact, these flapjacks each contain grooved sounds -- the 61 most electrifying grooved sounds of 2022. Don't hate us too much, but we made a promise on your behalf that anyone who reads this (you) will now buy every one of these LPs from Bandcamp.Com. It's easy -- just "add to cart" and then afterwards, you buy them. (If you own any of these already, you have to buy them again.) Thanks in advance. A handshake is available upon request.
Who's ready to carb up?
(6/20/2023 Editor's note: The albums in positions #3, #10, #11, #16, and #43 have been swapped. We usually wouldn't do something like this, so consider it a reaction to the decline in our view counts.)
61. Various Artists Bound For Hell: On The Sunset Strip
October 28, 2022 // Los Angeles, CA, USA
( Numero )
"It's fast and it's aggressive and it's rebellious and their parents hate it, which has always been the mark of good rock and roll. If your parents don't like it, it's good." - Lemmy
60. Ella Mai Heart on My Sleeve
May 6, 2022 // London, UK
( Interscope ) 
Bir'd up.
59. Isotope Soap In Need of Systematic Entropy
March 15, 2022 // Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden
( Self-Released ) 
The Springfield Isotopes are Springfield's only minor league baseball team. The team is shown as drastically underfunded and struggling in competition. Their home games are played at Duff Stadium as Duff Beer sponsors and co-manages the team. The Isotopes name is most likely in reference to Springfield's nuclear power plant. (more)
58. Sick Thoughts Heaven is No Fun
September 9, 2022 // Portland, OR, USA
( Total Punk ) 
How sick are we talkin here?
57. Pudding Club Songs Before Bed
December 31, 2022 // Brooklyn, NY, USA
( Self-Released ) 
Fun Fact: For those who wish to achieve REM, comsuming lots of sleep books and sleep podcasts might not be enough! God help us.
56. Kim Petras **** Pop
February 11, 2022 // Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
( Republic ) 
Yo Kim, you did it. *BOOM*
55. Horse Lords Comradely Objects
November 4, 2022 // Baltimore, MD, USA
( RVNG ) 
There's no horse like War Horse.
54. Ibibio Sound Machine Electricity
March 25, 2022 // London, UK
( Merge ) 
Fiery jams. Plus, the Target grocery department's got nothin on this album art.
53. Pusha T It's Almost Dry
April 22, 2022 // Bronx, NY, USA
( Good / Def Jam ) 
A farewell wave to post-Clipse "G.O.O.D. era" signals a welcoming wave hello to era #3: Will StarTrak reform? Are fresh Neptunes beats around the corner? No? What do you mean "no?"
52. Nebula Transmission From Mothership Earth
July 22, 2022 // Whittier, CA, USA
( Heavy Psych Sounds) 
Smoke til ur eyes get the cataracts.
51. They Are Gutting a Body of Water / A Country Western An Insult to the Sport
September 14, 2022 // Philadelphia, PA, USA
( Topshelf ) 
Baseball? The hell is that? Sounds like a loada hooey.
50. Neil Young + Crazy Horse Toast
2001 / July 8, 2022 // Telluride, CO, USA
( Reprise ) 
No you
49. Panda Bear & Sonic Boom Reset
August 12, 2022 // Lisbon, Portugal
( Domino ) 
Welcome to 2023, in which Panda Bear "goes all the way" and buys a shiny new sandbox for his living room. One day, Panda discovers a rabbit hole in the sandbox and chases a rabbit down the hole. "Hey! Get back here you waskiwy wabbit!" exclaims Panda Bear, to which the nimble fluffer heeds no mind. The wild chase is on! Deeper in the hole they go. "When I catch you I'm gonna turn you into a goon!" yells Panda Bear. Little Bunny Foofoo says "WOAAOO!" Wow, lookit em go!
48. Psychic Ills & Gibby Haynes FRKWYS Vol. 4.5: Nowhere in the Night
2010 / June 14, 2022 // Brooklyn, NY, USA
( Rvng ) 
Jujyfruit's Party: The Album
47. Soul Glo Diaspora Problems
March 25, 2022 // Philadelphia, PA, USA
( Epitaph ) 
noice
46. Maraudeur Puissance 4
February 21, 2021 / 2022 // Genève, Switzerland
( Feel It ) 
That '90s Brooklyn band Merauder is also cool. They're both good.
45. Innumerable Forms Philosophical Collapse
September 16, 2022 // Boston, MA, USA
( Profound Lore ) 
"The dark prince of straight edge."
44. L.O.T.I.O.N Multinational Corporation W.A.R. in the Digital Realm
September 2, 2022 // New York, NY, USA
( Toxic State ) 
The show was over at last
A lot of people met the rock band
The lead singer of Lotion wasn't nice at all
He was a stupid jerk
But otherwise, the show was terrific
43. They Hate Change Finally, New
May 13, 2022 // Tampa, FL, USA
( Jagjaguwar ) 
We sense a contridiction
(Editor's note: This was originally #10.)
42. Big Thief Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
February 11, 2022 // Brooklyn, NY, USA
( 4AD ) 
Hissing Dragon Are You The Destroyer
41. Milly Eternal Ring
September 30, 2022 // Bristol, CT, USA
( Dangerbird ) 
Famous Millys throughout history include Ugangan politician Milly Babalanda, English painter Milly Childers, Australian long distance runner Milly Clark, Latin American singer Milly Quezada, American stage actress and singer Milly Shapiro, English actress Milly Zero, and Italian porn actress from the Milf genre Milly D'Abbraccio. If you'd like to learn more about Milly, check out Look Who's Milly Now by El Chavaz Clavid, or Nancy MacFarlane's Milly: The 2nd Luckiest Little Duck In The Whole World.
40. The Paranoyds Talk Talk Talk
September 9, 2022 // Los Angeles, CA, USA
( Third Man ) 
Their next album Waka Waka Waka comes out next month.
39. Crowbar Zero and Below
March 4, 2022 // New Orleans, LA, USA
( MNRK Heavy ) 
"Hey, check it out. It's Crowbar. They're always taking a dump." - Butthead
38. Young Guv Guv III & IV
July 15, 2022 // Toronto, ON, Canada
( Run for Cover ) 
The transition from Lil Guv to Young Guv was unexpected, but crucial. Keep up the good work.
37. Horace Andy Midnight Rocker
April 8, 2022 // Kingston, Jamaica
( On-U ) 
Is money still the root of all evil? You'll have to check out Midnight Rocker to find out.
36. David Nance Pulverized and Slightly Peaced
June 2022 // Grand Island, NE, USA
( Petty Bunco ) 
Peaced and Slightly Pulverized placed around #51 in 2018. This is the demo version which we are now placing slightly higher because we like it slightly better.
35. Otoboke Beaver Super Champon
May 6, 2022 // Kyoto, Japan
( Damnably ) 
Otoboke Beaver in unison: Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce — and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table.
34. Water Damage Repeater
April 29, 2022 // Austin, TX, USA
( 12XU ) 
Don't mess with a frosty Lone Star; your ass will get thrown out the window so fast. And then thrown down the stairs. So just to clarify, you'll get thrown out the window first, followed by getting dragged back indoors, and thrown once again, this time down a flight of stairs. So that's two throws.
33. Pet Fox A Face in Your Life
June 17, 2022 // Boston, MA, USA
( Exploding in Sound ) 
The bass in your face (pronounced "baas" like seabass, obv).
32. Freak Genes Hologram
August 19, 2022 // UK
( Feel It ) 
The Misadventures of Hologram Tupac premiering on Hulu this Spring.
31. Ex-Void Bigger Than Before
March 25, 2022 // London, UK
( Don Giovanni ) 
The logical follow-up to their previous album Kinda Big.
30. The Garden Horseshit on Route 66
September 8, 2022 // Orange, CA, USA
( Vada Vada ) 
I really don't appreciate foul disgusting language. Wipe that smirk off your face before I go get the cynder block.
29. Alex G God Save the Animals
September 23, 2022 // Havertown, PA, USA
( Domino ) 
"No you" - God
28. Joey Badass 2000
July 22, 2022 // Brooklyn, NY, USA
( Pro Era ) 
Al Eisen became the inventor of 2000 Flushes in 1978 as revenge against Mrs. Eisen who forced him to clean the toilets (to which he would respond "I hate this shit!"). One day, he installed a cup of chlorine weighted with rocks in the water tank; it kept the toilet clean "up ta 4 munts!" to the dismay of Mrs. Eisen.
27. Disheveled Cuss Into the Couch
September 30, 2022 // Los Angeles, CA, USA
( Self-Released ) 
I was working on a flat tax proposal and I accidentally proved there’s no god.
26. Maneka Dark Matters
March 11, 2022 // Brooklyn, NY, USA
( Skeletal Lightning ) 
Now here's a fine example of a great band that we have never met in real life.
25. Surface to Air Missive Shadows Leap
September 16, 2022 // Athens, GA, USA
( Truly Bald ) 
Pulled from Bandcamp already? That was fast...
(Edit: Wait, it's back again. Disregard.)
24. Various Artists Sintomas de Techno: Ondas Electronicas Subterraneas Desde
October 29, 2022 // Lima, Peru
( Buh ) 
Not kidding. The label is Buh Records. "Let that sink in," as some dumbass would say.
23. Disq Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet
October 7, 2022 // Madison, WI, USA
( Saddle Creek ) 
Excuse me sir, do you have dis disq for sale?
22. Nas King's Disease III
November 11, 2022 // Queens, NY, USA
( Mass Appeal ) 
I'm out for presidents to represent Nas.
21. Plosivs Plosivs
March 17, 2022 // San Diego, CA, USA
( Swami ) 
Yo Rob, you good bro?
20. Disco Doom Mt. Surreal
September 16, 2022 // Zürich, Switzerland
( Exploding In Sound ) 
I give.
19. Flo Milli You Still Here, Ho?
July 20, 2022 // Mobile, AL, USA
( RCA ) 
Famous Flos throughout history include Flo from the insurance commercials and Flo from Alice who says "Kiss my grits, Mel." There's also Flos from two mid-2000s Disney movies: Finding Nemo and Cars. And I think that's it. Until now of course. Flo Milli 4 lyfe.
18. David Nance Non Missile
July 18, 2022 // Omaha, NE, USA
( Self-Released ) 
Surface To Non Missile
17. The Rubs (dust)
July 15, 2022 // Chicago, IL, USA
( Self-Relesed ) 
Yo, The Rubs are back. #1 forever.
16. Jay Worthy & Larry June 2 P'z in a Pod
March 25, 2022 // San Francisco, CA, USA
( Empire ) 
Say it, don't spray it. geez.
(Editor's note: This was originally #11.)
15. Hatchie Giving the World Away
April 22, 2022 // Brisbane, QLD, Australia
( Secretly Canadian ) 
Felt so good with the lights on.
14. Praise All in a Dream
May 6, 2022 // Baltimore, MD, USA
( Revelation ) 
Un-Googleable album of the year, unless you're actually searching for some Jim Baker bullshit.
13. Арлекин (Arlekin) Извор на главоболките
2019 / April 1, 2022 // Skopje, North Macedonia
( ОПАЧИНА ) 
Da.
12. Mister Goblin Bunny
April 22, 2022 // Bloomington, IN, USA
( Exploding In Sound ) 
"That movie about the little baby bunny that was also a cop" b/w "That's Mister Cheddar Goblin to you, bub"
11. Darkthrone Astral Fortress
October 28, 2022 // Kolbotn, Akershus, Norway
( Peaceville ) 
I'm gonna meet you on the astral plane / The astral plane for dark at night / The astral plane / Or I'll go insane
(Editor's note: This was originally #3.)
10. Marlowe Marlowe 3
October 28, 2022 // Wilmington, NC, USA
( Mello ) 
"Christopher Marlowe wrote all my plays." - Bill Shakespeare
(Editor's note: This was originally #16.)
9. Momma Household Name
July 1, 2022 // Los Angeles, CA, USA
( Lucky Number / Polyvinyl ) 
Weather man tellin' us it ain't gon' rain.
8. Mindforce New Lords
September 16, 2022 // Poughkeepsie, NY, USA
( Triple B ) 
There is no lord like Lord Buckethead. Thou shalt have no lords before Lord Buckethead.
7. Built to Spill When the Wind Forgets Your Name
September 9, 2022 // Boise, ID, USA
( Sub Pop ) 
Love when Dougie steps up to the mic and gets all like "hey fellas, check this shit out!" and then does like a hammer-on 2-note guitar solo into a medley of "I Try" and "Free Bird." Nothin' beats that.
6. Flasher Love Is Yours
June 17, 2022 // Washington, DC, USA
( Domino ) 
"Hi this is Flasher and you're listening to our favorite radio station DC101 -- all the hits all the time, with Wendy Williams in the afternoon." DC101 were there for Bad Brains and Fugazi. And now they shall soak in the downpour of Flasher. Sky's the limit.
5. Westside Gunn 10
October 28, 2022 // Buffalo, NY, USA
( Daupe! ) 
Track-for-track response to the Pearl Jam album of the same name.
4. Dazy OUTOFBODY
October 28, 2022 // Richmond, VA, USA
( Lame-O ) 
On the next A.I. Seinfeld: "My non-problematic programmer taught me to sing this next catchy tune, would you like to hear it? Goes a little somethin like this: Day zee Day zee Give me your answer too I'm half cray zee bicycle built for doo" **canned lolz** "Hal, you're scarin' us." **canned lolz**
3. Flex TMG Whisper Swish
October 21, 2022 // Oakland, CA, USA
( DD-05 ) 
Sorry but Swish is one of the greatest album titles ever. Who announces the album title Swish and then changes it at the last minute? Who does that? A dumbass -- no, not a god. A dumbass.
(Editor's note: This was originally #43.)
2. Nilufer Yanya PAINLESS
March 4, 2022 // Chelsea, Greater London, UK
( ATO ) 
Bed Bath and Body's official "Essential Oils" album of the year, especially Lavender, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, and Rosemary (the painkiller oils, duh).
1. Chat Pile God's Country
July 29, 2022 // Oklahoma City, OK, USA
( The Flenser ) 
"I have to politely remind everyone that I've got God's country in my pants, and now I'm gonna show em what it looks like." - That dude at the grocery store