The Freshman 15: 2022's Best Debut Albums

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 8, 2022

Next week, we'll release our final overall list of this year's best overall albums. But our ongoing best of 2022 coverage continues right now with a look at this year's top newcomers in music.

Above is our list of the 15 best-reviewed debut albums of 2022, ranked by Metascore. Note that albums must have at least 7 reviews—and be a full-length LP (or mixtape) rather than an EP—to be eligible for inclusion. Albums are ranked by Metascore prior to rounding based on scores as of December 6, 2022.

2 of 16 photo by Matador

82Versions of Modern Performance by Horsegirl

(#14) Signed to esteemed indie label Matador as teenagers (which they still are) on the strength of their early EP Horsegirl: Ballroom Dance Scene, Horsegirl are a noise-rock trio from Chicago. The three members trade off on instruments and vocal duties on their full-length debut produced by John Agnello (Waxahatchee, Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth).

“They’ve delivered a certain-to-be-beloved debut – one that separates itself from its peers.” —Beats Per Minute

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