KCRW's Best of 2022

KCRW's Best of 2022

2022 marked the first full year of art born in the “after” — the progeny of time spent off schedules and outside of expectation, deep within ourselves and together in existential freefall. As we venture into whatever it is that comes next, chaos may not be going anywhere, but it does make for some damn fine company. These are the sounds, words, and tastes that defined our year.

Best Of: Music

From experimental hip-hop to jazz electronica, post-Instagram post-punk to neo-discodelia, these are the albums that defined our year.

KCRW Music’s genre experts and airwave curators play favorites. Plus, the most popular Today’s Top Tunes and KCRW’s most played songs of the year!

Unranked and individually selected, these are the songs that kept us moving, thinking, and feeling in 2022.

The Belgian duo flex an uncanny knack for skating on the bleeding edge of minimalist avant-house alongside lyrics that peg the zeitgeist without succumbing to didacticism.

We asked, and y’all answered.

Best Of: Culture

A well-stocked pantry is the key to a happy culinary life. Here are the must-haves the Good Food team relies on to keep us well-fed and sane.

Life Examined shares the best reads of 2022. From books about joy, heartbreak, and the superpowers of animals, this list has something for everyone.




Past Years

From iconoclast jazz to astral punk, minimal psychedelia to raw soul, knockout debuts to long-anticipated returns, these are the albums that defined the triumphs, defiance, and surreality of 2021.

KCRW’s Best of 2020 Music showcases the best songs, best albums, and best artists picked by our DJs. And our Best New Artist represents a local, LA musician you oughta know.

KCRW's annual Best Of recognizes the music and performances that caught our DJs' attention in 2018. These artists continually innovate and inspire, while pushing culture forward. Explore the best music from the past year.

KCRW's Best of 2017 Music Awards – The annual Best Of 2017 list recognizes the best artists to cross our airwaves and push music culture forward during the past year. Nominees are selected by KCRW's panel of independent DJs for originality, buzz and total number of mentions.