The best albums of Summer 2022


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Photo of Harry Styles on stage performing.
Summer 2022 is marked by beach days, ice cream runs and, of course, great music. Here is a list of the most notable albums to be released so far this break including Harry Styles, Bad Bunny and Tate McRae. (Photo credit Getty Images)

“blue water road” by Kehlani 

With the warm summer ambiance of the track “little story,” which pays homage to the vibes of Lorde’s “Solar Power,” to the melodic calmness of “tangerine,” Kehlani’s summer album makes for a perfect soundtrack to support self-love and trips down the Pacific Coast Highway. 

Released on April 29, Kehlani’s intention for the album is to take you through “an emotional journey, a sexual journey and a spiritual journey.” 

With tracks like “up at night” featuring Justin Bieber, which spotlights the highs of a summer fling, the album successfully takes the audience through an infectious summer experience, one of the first albums released for this year’s summer music season.

“Un Verano Sin Ti” by Bad Bunny 

Just off the first few introductory sounds on this album — seagulls and ocean waves crashing — it’s clear that no outline of summer albums would be complete without mentioning the No. 1 phenomenon by Bad Bunny. 

On the album, whose title literally translates to “A Summer Without You,” Bad Bunny discusses the fleeting romance of summer love in “Agosto,” the struggle of summer in Puerto Rico with the power outage of 2017 in “El Apagón” and of course, the beauty of spending time with a special someone in songs like “Callaita” and “Aguacero.”

The album takes you on a roller coaster of emotions that all can be tied to the simple theme of what summer is meant to encompass: love, loss and growth. 

“Harry’s House” by Harry Styles 

In Harry’s words, “Should we just keep driving” into the list of amazing albums to come out this summer? Next on the list is “Harry’s House,” released May 20. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with all 13 of the album’s tracks making the top 30.

Taking audiences on a drive, the project leaves behind the long, drab school days and promises new love. The songs from “Harry’s House” vary from radio tracks like “As it Was” to ballads like “Matilda,” but all of them exemplify the idea of homecoming and warmness, which many associate with summer breaks away from the University. 

“i used to think i could fly” by Tate McRae 

Whoever said summer was only about love clearly did not account for the queen of pop, Olivia Rodrigo, who released “SOUR” last summer to mark a sad girl summer for the ages. This year is no exception, with Tate McRae coming in clutch for all those fellow sad girls who ended things with their significant others.

“i used to think i could fly,” released May 27, was duly underrated, with fast-paced bops like “don’t come back” and TikTok sensation “she’s all i wanna be.”

The album exemplifies sad girl summer and is the perfect evocation of the heartbreak-healing tracks on “SOUR” to remedy a broken heart. 

“Proof” by BTS

The anthology album walks through the band’s nine-year career, recounting their journey to current stardom, expressing various emotions and thoughts on the meaning of greatness, fulfillment and the future of BTS. 

Containing three CDs with 48 tracks total, “Proof” presents evidence of BTS’ success. CD 1 chronicles every BTS album title track, from “No More Dream” from their debut album “2 Cool 4 Skool,” to the 2021 record-breaking single, “Butter.”

Overall, “Proof” neatly immortalizes the iconic monuments of BTS’ career so far. Imparting notable memories, the anthology album instills the pillars of BTS’ expanding legacy for fans — and provides a “rough idea of who BTS is” to new listeners.