“Well because of course it is. And Apple Replay has informed me that I’ve played the album for 18K minutes. I love that it reminds me of going to the club in NJ – when I was a kid. Yeah, had no business being there, but family owned it. I was 11-13 years old dancing to house/club music and seeing the greats perform.”

- Yesha Callahan, Entertainment Director

“Probably one of the most underrated rappers out there. Also Kaytranada produced this album. From start to finish, including the interludes, the album has no skips. IDK accomplishes what another sing-songy-rapper attempts to do. His NPR Tiny Desk @ Home concert gives a glimpse into his talent.”

- Y.C.

“This is probably the single best r&b album released in the last 30 years. Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak took special care with arrangements, sound engineering, orchestration and track laying to give each song a vintage sound, but making it modern as well. ‘Leave The Door Open’ was its obvious signature hit, but ‘After Last Night’ with its cameos by Thundercat and Bootsy Collins made for a premium soul song. Probably the best song on the album was their cover of ConFunkShun's 1982 classic ‘Love's Train.’ It showcased Bruno Mars' unique vocals and exhibited talent that will be long remembered when others have been forgotten.”

- Madison Joe Gray, Senior Editor, News

“Happiness looks good on Mary J. Blige as she turns it up on her Grammy-nominated 14th album Good Morning Gorgeous. A few ups and downs didn't knock our girl out, as she sings about finding her peace again in the title record. With great collaborations from Usher, Dave East, and more, the Power star is letting it out and leaving it in the music. Need a pick me up or need to rediscover your worth? This is the album for you.”

- Ty Cole, Staff Writer

“If you started the year off with a broken heart or ending it, playing Syd's Broken Hearts Club is the perfect medicine to heal your emotions. The detailed love story painted a picture the artist told BET.com, showing the ups and downs of a relationship. You learn about Syd's past relationship, which heavily inspired the project, and anyone can resonate with the words sung on each record. Turn this baby on if you're going through it during this holiday season!”

- T.C.

“Is it recency bias? Perhaps. But there’s no doubt that SZA’s long-awaited sophomore album was worth the five-year drought. The deeply intimate, personal soliloquy the TDE singer has perfected over the years shines through once again with the production to land it flawlessly. It’s also impressive how SZA was able to place the singles, ‘Good Days’, ‘I Hate U’ and ‘Shirt’ within the fabric of the 23-track LP. Not one song made it too many.”

- Paul Meara, Music Staff Writer

“LUCKI’s most cohesive and complete projects to date, FLAWLESS LIKE ME was a pleasant surprise in 2022. It’s also one of the most introspective the Chicago rapper has gotten on a project in some time with track’s like ‘DNA’ and ‘LIFE MOCKS ART’ revealing how relatively detached he is from his own music but not his emotions and struggle with drug addiction. The lone Future and Babyface Ray features on FLAWLESS also provide good examples of LUCKI’s crossover appeal, should he be interested in doing so moving forward.”

- P.M.

“I feel like Nas and Hit-Boy truly carved out a new sound and a new feel with their adult contemporary rap album. It's the only album this year that I have turned on and just haven't turned off. ‘Michael + Quincy’ is just brilliant. On ‘Hood2Hood’ Nas is just dropping so many gems, I wanna take notes. I think another thing that is so cool about the album and about their collaboration is that it brings back that good old feeling when two creatives just GET each other. It reminds us how important chemistry is to creativity. I love it.”

- Biba Adams, Staff Writer

“A 24-track album with really no skips, but if one finds there is a skip, it's no more than 2-3 max, and that would be because it's just not your taste, not because the song and production itself isn't quality. Brown shows his versatility flawlessly and with ease.

Want to dance? ‘Call Me Everyday’ and ‘C.A.B.’ is your go-to. Date night, perhaps? ‘Harder,’ (those high notes? Yes!) ‘Warm Embrace’ (timeless sample!) and ‘Dream’ is fire. Trying to get over a heartbreak? ‘Survive the Night!’ Oh, and ‘Sleep at Night’ will easily put you in a trance and the microphone, was, on. Last but not least, the spirit of Michael Jackson himself was in the booth when he recorded ‘Forbidden!’ (Don't believe me, just listen).

Not to mention the features; Lil Wayne, H.E.R., Ella Mai, Jack Harlow, Bryson Tiller, Lil Baby, and others. There's something for everyone. And the Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album doesn't hurt either.”

- Angela Wilson, Video Producer