2022 blessed music lovers with a variety of top-notch albums that simultaneously crushed the charts and filled hearts with musical bliss. Check out this year's best albums that changed the game.

It's that time of year, when everyone reflects on what the heck occurred over the last 12 months. After all, January 2022 feels like it happened ions ago, and albums that dropped in May already feel outdated.

But 2022 was, without a doubt, a strong year for music in a slew of genres. Numerous artists broke records in both streaming and physical album sales, proving that there is still something special about throwing on your favorite vinyl and dancing the night away in your living room.

Without further ado, here are five standout albums that rocked our world in 2022.

Those who have been paying attention to the Billboard Hot 100 know – dare we say All Too Well – that Taylor Swift's 10th studio album, Midnights, completely dominated the charts after its October 21 release.

Within the first week of its release, Midnights made history by monopolizing the top 10 spots on the Billboard charts. Swift makes history as the first artist to monopolize the entire top 10 in a single week within days of Midnights' release.

In the age of streaming, Swift's Midnights also made history by reportedly selling more vinyls than CDs for the first time since the 1980s with over 800,000 sold.

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Though we don't envy Swift's task of making a set list for The Eras Tour, we do thank the Mastermind singer for releasing the masterpiece that is Midnights.

The Bey Hive and music appreciators around the world likely remember exactly where they were the first time they listened to Beyoncé's seventh studio album Renaissance when it dropped.

The house and disco-inspired album were undoubtedly uncharted waters for the Houston native, and the risk was well worth the reward. Renaissance reportedly enjoyed a record-breaking streaming debut, racking up more than 43 million streams on Spotify, and soared to the top of Apple Music charts in 100 countries.

If that's not the definition of "crushing it," we don't know what is.

Bad Bunny lived up to the hype surrounding his name with the release of his fourth studio album, Un Verano Sin Ti. Upon its May 6 release, the album topped the world’s most-streamed album list.

Un Verano Sin Ti also spent 13 weeks in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, and for good reason.

Like many Bad Bunny projects, the album consisted of seamlessly blended pop, reggaeton, and EDM sounds, making for an unforgettable listening experience.

SZA's sophomore album did what many aspire to do by surpassing Swift's Midnights to become the highest-charting female album on Apple Music in the US.

Not only that, but the 23-track record became SZA's first number-one album, and it surely won't be her last. Though SZA told Rolling Stone that she "never thought in a million years that people would like [SOS]," the album's streaming numbers and chart domination beg to differ.

With SOS garnering 405 million on-demand streams upon its release, it proves that SZA's dominance in the music world has only just begun.

People always seem to have something to say about Machine Gun Kelly. But whether you hate him or love him is irrelevant.

Why? Because his pop-punk record Mainstream Sellout landed at the top of the Billboard charts, giving MGK his second number-one album ever.

The record plays to the misconceptions about who Machine Gun Kelly is – or should be – as an artist, while the rapper-turned-rock star pokes fun at himself and his critics.

Is the album revolutionary? Not really. But it surely hits all the notes that early 2000s pop-punk music lovers had been itching for, making it a standout record that never seems to get old.

Here's hoping the albums of 2023 top what 2022 gave music fans around the world!