Like Brian, I make no pretension that I’ve listened to any substantial percentage of the albums that were released in 2022. But I’ve listed my favorites of the 2022 albums I did listen to and also the songs released outside of 2022 that provided a soundtrack to my year. Finally, I’ve included some initial thoughts on one of the most fiercely debated issues in rock for the last 40+ years—which Van Halen song contains the definitive David Lee Roth spoken word section.