Another year is almost behind us and what an iconic year for music it was! We witnessed plenty of breakout stars, solo adventurers, memorable collabs, and unexpected returns of Indie artists across all genres. We played hundreds of new songs on the air and continued the music discovery on our curated Spotify playlists. Plus we introduced you to stand out artist in the Colorado music community with our Local 303 program. Out of all the tunes and albums and music videos and artist merchandise to come out of 2022, the Indie staff had the colossal task of picking their favorites. Check out our picks below:
Don't forget to vote in our Listener Poll! We want to hear what songs were your favorites this year. Voting ends on the 23rd. P. S. click on our Hosts' names to listen to their individual playlist.
Alisha Sweeney
Favorite Songs:
- Angel Olsen - "All The Good Times"
- Big Thief - "Change"
- Built To Spill - "Gonna Lose"
- Dehd - "Bad Love"
- Hurray For The Riff Raff - "LIFE ON EARTH"
- Kendrick Lamar - "N95"
- Kevin Morby - "Rock Bottom"
- Sorry - "Let The Lights On"
- Sudan Archives - "Selfish Soul"
- Wet Leg - "Too Late Now"
- Yard Act - "100% Endurance"
Favorite Local 303 Songs:
- Alysia Kraft - "First Light"
- Amlamas - "Electric Eyes"
- Blankslate - "Bell Station"
- bluebook - "I Am The Underneath"
- Caleb Miller - "Handsome"
- Church Fire - "Painless"
- Destino - "Read The Room"
- The Mananas - "Lightheaded Ways"
- MISAS MSL - "RED LION"
- Rootbeer Richie & The Reveille - "Stop, Drop, Rock N' Roll"
- Schama Noel - "Sugar Mom"
Bruce Trujillo
Favorite Songs:
- Black Belt Eagle Scout - “My Blood Runs Through This Land”
- Combo Chimbita - "Memoria"
- Goat - "Under No Nation"
- The Mars Volta - "Blacklight Shine"
- Leikeli47 - "BITM"
- Ritmo Cascabel - "Amor Andino"
- Sampa The Great - "Let Me Be Great ft. Angelique Kidjo"
- Tinariwen - “A l’Histoire”
- Tobe Nwigwe - “Round Here”
- Toro Y Moi - "The Loop"
Favorite Band Shirts:
- Combo Chimbita
- Ezra Furman
- Japanese Breakfast
- Kamasi Washington
- Lido Pimienta
- Mitski
- Phoebe Bridgers
- Rootbeer Ritchie & The Reveille
- Samantha Crain
- Santana
Demi Harvey
Favorite Songs:
- FKA twigs ft. The Weekend - “Tears In the Club”
- Mitski - “The Only Heartbreaker”
- Arlo Parks - “Softly”
- Omar Apollo - “Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me At All)”
- Bad Bunny - “Ojitos Lindos”
- Down Time - “So Far Away”
- Charli XCX ft Rina Sawayama - “Beg For You”
- PinkPantheress ft. WILLOW - “Where you are”
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs ft. Perfume Genius - “Spitting Off the Edge of the World”
- Thee Sacred Souls - “Easier Said Than Done”
Favorite Music Videos:
- SZA - “Shirt”
- MUNA - “Anything But Me”
- Toro y Moi - “Postman”
- Wet Leg - “Ur Mum”
- Rosalia - “SAOKO”
- FKA twigs ft. The Weekend - “Tears In the Club”
- Ethel Cain - “American Teenager”
- Orville Peck - “The Curse of the Blackened Eye”
- Wildermiss - “W.I.F.I”
- Lizzo - “About Damn Time”
Jason Thomas
Favorite Songs:
- Alex G - “Runner”
- Momma - “Speeding 72”
- King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - “Gaia”
- Fontaines D.C. - “Jackie Down the Line”
- Plato III - “Give ‘Em Hell”
- The Smile - “The Smoke”
- Kae Tempest ft. Kevin Abstract - “More Pressure"
- Turnstile - “Holiday”
- Gilla Band - “Post Ryan”
- 070 Shake - “Skin and Bones”
Jeremy Petersen
Favorite Songs:
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs - “Wolf”
- Dehd - “Bad Love”
- Hovvdy - “Ruby”
- Bartees Strange - “Heavy Heart”
- Hot Chip - “Eleanor”
- Allison Ponthier - “Hollywood Forever Cemetery”
- The Black Angels - “Empires Falling”
- Yard Act - “100% Endurance”
- BODEGA - “Doers”
- Daniel Rossen - “Unpeopled Space”
Favorite Albums
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cool It Down
- Archers of Loaf - Reason in Decline
- Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Cheat Codes
- Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa
- Mattiel - Georgia Gothic
- Stars - From Capleton Hill
- Alvvays - Blue Rev
- Beach House - Once Twice Melody
- Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You
- SAULT - 11
Jessi Whitten
Favorite Songs:
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs ft. Perfume Genius - “Spitting Off the Edge of the World”
- Mitski - “Working for the Knife”
- Muna - “Silk Chiffon”
- Genesis Owusu - “Get Inspired”
- Sharon Van Etten - “Mistakes”
- Weyes Blood - “Grapevine”
- Lizzo - “About Damn Time”
- Sudan Archives - “Selfish Soul”
- Alex G - “Runner”
- Wildermiss - “W.I.F.I.”
Willobee Carlan
Favorite Songs:
- Arlo Parks - “Softly”
- Cautious Clay - “Puffer”
- Dehd - “Bad Love”
- Diana Ross ft. Tame Impala and PNAU - “Turn Up The Sunshine”
- Goat - “Under No Nation”
- Gorillaz ft. Thundercat - “Cracker Island”
- LCD Soundsystem - “new body rhumba”
- Turnstile - “Mystery”
- U.S. Girls - "So Typically Now”
- Wildermiss - “W.I.F.I.”
Favorite Albums:
- Alt - J - “The Dream”
- Bartees Strange - “Farm To Table”
- Beabadoobee - “Beatopia”
- Fontaines D.C. - “Skinty Fia”
- Goat – “Oh Death”
- King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - “Omnium Gatherum”
- Mitski - “Laurel Hell”
- Wet Leg – “Wet Leg”
- Spoon - “Lucifer On The Sofa”
- The 1975 - “Being Funny in a Foreign Language”V
Zach Gilltrap
Favorite Songs:
- Spoon - “The Hardest Cut”
- Muse - “Compliance””
- Crosses - “Viven”
- Wet Leg - “Wet Dream”
- Charlie Crockett - “I’m Just a Clown”
- Metric - “All Comes Crashing Down”
- Portugal. the Man - “What, Me Worry”
- TALK - “Run Away to Mars”
- Jawny ft. Beck - “Take it Back”
- Lucius - “Next to Normal”
