The Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 2022
It's very late and I need to go to bed. When I wake up I'm sure you all will have caught many mistakes I made. Thanks so much.
And as always don't forget to vote in the Song vs. Song poll. We're doing "Whip It" vs. "Cars." https://www.patreon.com/posts/new-poll-devos-77151858
Comments (90)
I'm a bit shaken that there is nothing from the weeknd... "less than zero" at least should have been honorable mentions. Snubbed!
1000000%. Dawn FM is an 11/10.
This is actually a really killer list, and I totally agree with your top pick.
"F.N.F. (Let's Go)" didn't end up being a top 10 pick for me, but I am probably way more fond of that song than a lot of people are and I'm glad to see it on your list. I agree, it does indeed whip ass. GloRilla isn't that polished a rapper yet, but it's clear she's got talent and attitude and I'm rooting for her to blow up big time. The only real eyebrow-raising pick for me was "23", but you explained it pretty well honestly. Unfortunately I really can't shake the possessive feel of that "You'll never be 23 with anyone but me" part of the chorus, so I don't think I'll ever fully vibe with the song for that reason. You made me appreciate the instrumental parts and the overall arc of the song more than I did before at least, though. That's a mark of quality for all your lists IMO, that you can make me understand and appreciate your picks even when I personally am not on the same page.
Antihero at no. 1 is worse than that time you put Closer in the same spot. Happy to see Bad Habit so high though! Great work as always x
It's funny, there are so many jokes in this video that land but my favorite is definitely the joke at the very end. Me too, Todd, me too.
Hey Todd, just a thought - would you ever make some Spotify playlists of your top and bottom songs of each year, share the links in the Youtube description? I bet you could curate some other playlists that we would all enjoy as well.
I doubt he'll ever do that, but at least for the best song lists he's made each year, I have made a list of all of them https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1qLorfcvWU27YzBdGz53HV it's funny cause I hadn't thought about it for a while but watching this list reminded me that it needed an update, so I did that.
i knew your ass was gonna talk me into liking as it was. man. the sam hunt shit is nothing, i was so sick of as it was this year that when i switched the radio station and bebe rexhas “i’m good” was playing i was glad to listen to that instead. but yeah i guess it’s pretty good fuck you
Definitely can't argue with that #1 choice. My favorite pop song of the year as well, and just a great combination of Taylor lyrics and music - and of course that killer "she's laughing up at us from hell!" joke. I remember ages ago, you once said that Taylor Swift had a really keen eye for detail - and holy shit does it show in that line. Great stuff.
What was the mashup used for the transitions?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGR7S7GRmRs
A… very Todd list, lol. The best/worst lists always serve as a year in pop summary for me. Usually half the best list immediately goes on my playlist, half I go “…. I get why *you* like it Todd, but no thanks.” About Damn Time deserved a higher spot, IMHO. Bad Habit is goddamn fantastic, love it; not so sure how I feel about As It Was and Anti-Hero.
So a while back Todd, you tweeted something to the effect of “Is Lizzo mainstream or really popular?” And I specifically remember one of the top replies was someone saying “only to fat women”. So, if you’re going to ask the question “why is it harder for Lizzo to climb the charts than someone like Katy Perry”…. people like that might be why. Just something to think about. Anyway love the video as always!
What's the song that plays around 26:53-27:01, right before "Shut up and Dance with Me"? It used to come on at my old job, but I've never been able to make out any of the lyrics to search for it.
Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream!
The second through fourth best songs of the year were by Alvvays. But the Lizzo and Taylor Swift songs, the only ones here I’d heard before the best-of lists came out, are pretty good. The best song of the year, of course, was Brandi Carlile’s Broken Horses. Yeah, country-ish music is having a moment.
just full force shouted HELL YEAH when chris stapleton showed up, “you should probably leave” immediately became one of my all time favorite country songs when i first heard it
thank you for this list, i look forward to it so much every year. now how the hell can we help you get eras tour tickets.
I was so curious whether you were going to wimp out on putting Kate Bush on the Best List or not, but an honorary number 0 is good enough. The year definitely redeemed itself by the end and I do agree with the number 1. Shame you're not doing the honorable mention best non-hits any more, my personal favourites are 3. 'Talking To Yourself' by Carly Rae Jepsen, 2. 'Ikiru' by Haru Nemuri, and 1. 'This Hell' by Rina Sawayama.
I'm not sure if it's him not doing non-hits anymore more as it is him being overwhelmed by how much good charting stuff there was. (As he said, it's insane that the Beyoncé track had to settle for being #4 for this year)
the way my heart soared when I saw your number one pick
I hate Sam Hunt. I've never liked a single Sam Hunt song ... UNTIL I heard "23" last year. I feel vindicated!
I like when redemption stories happen on these lists. I welcome the Sam Hunt entry myself just on that ground.
I love these lists of Todd's, because they always introduce me to a bunch of songs I've never heard of before, and probably never will again, unless he decides to do episodes on them. It's always kinda interesting. This time, it's the *entire* list, instead of just most of it.
After 8 long years, is this it? Did Taylor Swift finally release another ‘Style’? And more importantly, are we over with the “hundred Bad Bloods” it took us to get to that point?
I feel like Reputation is where at least 50 of the Bad Bloods have been concentrated in, and even that album still had stuff like "New year's Day"
I just noticed that you always play the end of the song before moving onto the next number which is what VH1 countdowns and countdown shows in general would always do
I really hope "F.N.F" the song, and especially the music video, weren't intended to be taken seriously because they seem like self-parody.
Yeah, that song was painful.
re: Jelly Roll song - I knew a guy who found religion in college. He said he had a hole inside him he used to fill by smoking a lot of pot, and now he fills it with Jesus.
was surprised something in the orange never showed up
Great job as always! I’m now particularly intrigued by Jelly Roll and GloRilla. Can’t wait to add these to my Todd playlist!
Obvious question: What do you prefer between your two Taylor #1's, Style or Anti-Hero?
Style without a doubt.
Mostly fine list though that Styles song was pretty meh and I honestly would've put "I'm Good" on there instead as I do not find him remotely interesting as an artist. Also Enemy is truly terrible, i'll listen to "Made You Look" over that dreck any day.
I am absolutely here for the transition into Todd: Country Edition. Also I was going to take umbrage on your Bonny Raitt slander until you walked it back. And your timing for dropping this video was perfect, as I'm currently waiting to find out if my spouse has been laid off. Thanks for 41 minutes of mostly forgetting that!
Fun fact: Every year you put these lists out, one of these songs you actually change my mind on and make me a fan of it after finding it at best, ok and at worst, actively bad. So I'd say you're very good at making a case for why X songs are very good.
Thank you Todd!
Great work as always, Todd. Love seeing the best list to get some suggestions for my own playlists. Anyone remember the name of the channel that does the mashups Todd uses as interludes for these? I remember really liking this year's.
I appreciate the OneRepublic nod for the intro. As someone who was extremely hyped for Harry’s album off the sound of As It Was but a little let down by the entirety of it, I gotta agree on basically every point there.
I'm almost certain that the writer that you're referring to at 24:08 is sports and entertainment reporter Chris Connelly, who said the exact line about Beyonce usurping Christina and Britney in the early aughts on CNN's seminal "The 2000s" miniseries, which is currently lost to the streaming ether in the whole Warner/Discovery mess
No major editing mistakes that I could see on this one. I appreciate how you're getting more sentimental on the Best Of lists each year. Thanks for a great video.
#1 ATE!!!!!!
This is a good list of course, but... no Carly Rae honorable mention? :'( The Loneliest Time was one of my favourite songs this year!
I had Bad Habit as #1, both mine and prediction. But, Anti-Hero is solid Top 10 level. Didn't see any mistakes. Thanks for the video, been looking forward to it for WEEEEEKS!
Country Todd is on full force this video.
Had to hold back from shouting "YESSSSS" at #6
Great list. I'm probably one of the only ones here that's heard the country songs on the list (I've never heard the Sam Hunt one, tho, I'll check that one out) I absolutely loved #3 and #2 and honestly #4 is her best big hit in years. And #6 I agree is a better song than his album, which is also good. #7 is a bop, glad she wasn't a one year thing. Loved most of the honorable mentions except the last one. As for the #1, I must admit I've just never cared much for her outside of a few songs and I've never cared for this song, but your analysis made me respect it a lot more. I won't go out of my way to listen to it, but I have more respect for it now and it's well written. Great list, worth the wait.
i've heard the Sam Hunt song a few times on country radio but i've never heard of either of the other two country songs before.
Great video as always Todd!
Hi Todd, I noticed a pretty big mistake at 18:23. You named a Sam Hunt song as the fifth best song of the year when you could have put literally anything else there. I'm kidding, of course. I actually think this is one of your best lists, especially since it has a few entries that weren't overplayed.
Great video. Not sure I understand the joke with the Blue Oyster Cult cover?
GODzilla.
I'm projecting but You Should Probably Leave is like too tragic to be sexy to me. Like I don't think they hook up at the end of that song, I think he just calls an uber
yeah that song was kinda meh for me.
As somebody who apparently has missed many signals from people romantically interested in me, Bad Habit was my anthem of 2022
As someone who related heavily to Anti hero moreso then she should, I feel p validated rn.
let's go!!!! so worth the wait
I admire your guts to put songs that (according to the comments on the Patreon post) most of your viewers rated as “mid” at your #1 and #3 spots. However, I think you occupy a rarefied critical space where people enjoy listening to your opinions because they are so astute and well-written, even if their personal tastes (including mine) differ dramatically from yours. And I didn’t catch any significant errors in the video.
I'm glad As It Was managed to survive the overplay for you Todd, that song still sounds as good to me as the first listen did. Add me to the pile of people surprised Carly didn't get a non-hit mention, thought The Loneliest Time would get a nod for sure (honestly thought Unholy would too!)
Sad to see no Carly, but incredible video as always and well worth the wait!!!
I thought the Carly honorable mention was a legal requirement at this point, even if the current album isn’t my favorite
so Jelly Roll is just American Rag 'n Bone Man. Got it.
YES! I’m so happy with your number one. I knew it was going to be on the list because of the song vs song episode and seeing the Harry Styles thumbnail but I’m so thrilled it made it to the top 😍
This is always the highlight of the year for me. Much as I love when Todd tears into a bad song, the way he articulates his enthusiasm for the songs that truly move him is so infectious.
Indeed! If these end-of-year lists are ever at risk of not appearing in the future, I would hope the Best List survives the chopping block :--)
Absolute banger, Todd. Dropped right at the end of my terrible work week and instantly put a smile on my face. The quality and honesty of your writing puts to rest the ways in which our tastes differ. Please get some sleep. You earned it.
YES, I was blindsided when Todd put family ties on the list last year, but this time I was ready with Heart pt 5. Pt5 is such a great song, the video gets the attention but the lyrics are so good, flow is great and the Marvin Gaye sample is *immaculate*. It's easily my fave of the Mr Morale songs (he added pt 5 to Mr Morale as "Volume 3" a month later or so).
Minor, minor edit: at 1:08, when it cuts from that pic of Lady Gaga to Ed Sheeran, there’s a slightly ‘off’ cut. But it’s super minor! Fantastic list as usual. 👏 (BTW, surprised you didn’t give an Honorable Mention spot to Carly this year. The Loneliest Time had some of her best songs which is saying a whole lot!)
I did not expect so much country to make the Best Of list this year, much less the "Body Like a Backroad" guy, but I appreciate how much outside-the-box thinking that you put into the list this year, Todd. Not the most conventional list, but certainly one that kept me engaged.
Just wanted to tell you that me and my two sisters have been holding bets over this list for months now and now that it's out we are all having fun just laughing and validating each other so thanks for that. (Btw my little sister won the bet that you'll put 3 country songs on this years list. I have no idea how she knew)
Is putting Numb Little Bug over the end credits an acknowledgement of it being another honourable mention of sorts that perhaps you didn't have any commentary for? I remember you mentioning it with praise during the Taylor Vs Harry episode of Song Vs Song and was surprised to see it didn't get an official nod.
And the intro song was I Ain’t Worried, so I guess that’s in the same place as Numb Little Bug
I was definitely waiting for the end to be “OKAY FINE FOUR COUNTRY SONGS” and cue in Cody Johnson but I suppose the Song Vs Song the previous week left that unrealistic. Tate McRae gets a free pass for a Chorus Line pastiche and also making “feel like shit” which should’ve been gigantic
"No I definitely don't know what it's like to be a self-loathing insomniac" she said as she clicked on this video from an email at 4 am
But wasn't the loneliest time a tik tok hit?? Loved it either way
The thumbnail is so beautiful. Your parents look really proud of you ♥️
I feel like I need a refund this list was so bad
Real Toddheads know the more people cringe at his picks the more powerful he becomes. Sam Hunt alone probably added a decade to his lifespan.
I was the type to just put Kate Bush at the top. Second place was Late Night Talking
Honestly, as far as favorite songs from this year, there are some I'm kind of surprised *I* liked that didn't appear on...I think anyone's lists.
That Secret of NIMH gag returning is absolute GOLD
"Reeeeed lights, stooooop signs, I still see your faaaaace"
Yeah you say that but I didn't catch any errors either. Pretty surprised you put a country song on the list, even though I shouldn't have been.
I'm probably the only one who thinks this, but imo, Tate McRae's song is to Neon Trees what "Good 4 U" was to Paramore. It's also one of the very best uses of Pop Song Chords in recent times.
Woohoo, year isn't fully over till the 2nd of the todd videos is out.
Didn't catch any errors, but I was hoping for the return of the non-hit section. Was also curious as to what the metrics for qualifying for the list are, but that's just me being a 🤓. Not just a nerd, an emoji nerd.
For the most part it seems like he extended it using @ChartEssentials’s year end projections - to what distance I’m not sure
Looks good to me man, nailed it in one! Get some rest 😊