Remember 2022? The Philadelphia Weekly Guide to the Best of Everything from Yesterday

I’ve always hated early round-up lists of a year’s finest (or worst) accomplishments – the ones that come before the annum has truly ended. How can you (or critics like me) assume that everything great came before October? December 2022, alone, yielded one of the year’s finest albums (SZA’s SOS) and two of its best films (Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of Don Delillo’s White Noise, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Bardo). Two of the best cocktails I had this year came from new saloons/drinking salons after Thanksgiving. The best stand-up comedy show that I saw all year snuck in under the wire – comic/podcaster Shane Gillis’s pre-Christmas gig at Helium.

So, I waited – until now.

Here is A.D. Amorosi’s List of Lists of the Bests of the Best of 2022’s Arts & Entertainment for Philadelphia Weekly that I could think of to guide you through the first few days of January 2023.

I’m saving the Best of Cocktails and Dining and such for the year to come.

Rather than give you explanations, I’ll just leave you hanging so that you can fight among yourselves. And I don’t know if there is any particular order as mood shifts could always put one moment over another. All of my lists, however – especially their omissions, I mean, NO for me to Avatar: The Way of the Water and Taylor Swift’s Midnights – in whatever numeric sequence you choose, are guaranteed to cause arguments and inspire ire.  So. Have at it.

The 17 Best Scripted Films of 2022

• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• The Banshees of Inisherin
• The Batman
• Hustle
• Elvis
• Vengeance
• Cyrano
• Blonde
• Crimes of the Future
• Official Competition
• Tar
• The Menu
• Bardo
• Emily the Criminal
• Top Gun: Maverick
• The Invitation
• White Noise

The Ten Best Documentaries of 2022

• Good Night Oppy
• Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues
• All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
• Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song
• Is That Black Enough for You?!?
• The Ghost of Richard Harris
• The Andy Warhol Diaries
• Sr.
• The Janes
• The Return of Tanya Tucker

The 12 Best Stand-Up Comedy Performances – in person and streaming

• Shane Gillis at Helium Comedy Club
• Steve Hofstetter – The Recipe on YouTube
• Aziz Ansari – Nightclub Comedian on Netflix
• Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend at the Beacon Theatre
• Kate Berlant – Cinnamon in the Wind on FX
• Adam Sandler at Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
• Jerrod Carmichael – Rothaniel on HBO Max
• Randy Rainbow at the Miller Theatre on the Kimmel Cultural Campus
• Nick Kroll – Little Big Boy on Netflix
• Alonzo Bodden at Helium Comedy Club
• Ali Wong – Don Wong on Netflix
• Ian Fidance at Punch Line

The 10 Best Live Music Events of 2022

• Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, the Kings Theatre, Brooklyn
• The Weeknd After Hours ‘Til Dawn tour opener with Mike Dean, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
• The B-52s, Ocean Casino Resort, Atlantic City
• Maneskin, The Fillmore, Philadelphia
• The Town Hall and T Bone Burnett Present a Tribute to Bob Dylan, The Town Hall, New York
• My Chemical Romance, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
• Joe Iconis & Friends, Feinstein’s/54 Below, New York,
• Martin Scorsese in conversation with Olivia Harrison, 92^nd Street Y, New York
• Kendrick Lamar, Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
• KPOP, Circle in the Square Theatre, New York

The 20 Best Television Series of 2022

• Only Murders in the Building season 2
• Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
• Fleischman Is in Trouble
• The Big Brunch
• The Bear
• Bad Sisters
• The White Lotus season 2
• Euphoria season 2
• The Offer
• House of the Dragon
• Inside Amy Schumer
• Wednesday
• Under the Banner of Heaven
• The Sandman
• Tulsa King
• Life and Beth
• Somebody Somewhere
• The Handmaid’s Tale season 5
• Servant season 4
• The Man Who Fell to Earth

The 12 Best Books of 2022

• Richard Osman – The Bullet That Missed
• Nick Cave and Sean O’Hagan – Faith, Hope and Carnage
• Janice Hallett – The Twyford Code
• Patti Smith – A Book of Days
• Chuck Klosterman – The Nineties
• Amit Katwala – Tremors in the Blood
• James Lapine – Putting It Together
• Shana Goldin-Perschbacher – Queer Country
• Percival Everett – Dr. No|
• Richard Koloda – Holy Ghost: The Life and Death of Free Jazz Pioneer Albert Ayler
• Hernan Diaz – Trust
• Kid Congo Powers – Some Kind of Kick

The 30 Best New Albums of 2022

• Bjork – Fossara
• Bad Bunny  – Un Varano Sin Ti
• SZA – SOS
• Moor Mother – Jazz Codes
• Kendrick Lamar –  Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
• Show Me The Body – Trouble the Waters
• Rosalia – Motomati
• Immanuel WIlkins -The 7th Hand
• Father John Misty – Chloe and the Next 20th Century
• Jean Carne – JID012
• FKA twigs – Caprisongs
• Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days (Deluxe)
• Sun Ra Arkestra – Living Sky
• Beyonce – Renaissance
• Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant – Séances
• GloRilla – Anyways, Life’s Great
• Robert Gordon with Chris Spedding  – Hellafied
• Sudan Archives – Natural Brown Prom Queen
• Various artists – A Stranger Loop cast recording
• Soccer Mommy – Sometimes, Forever
• Denzel Curry – Melt My Eyez See Your Future
• Arctic Monkeys – The Car
• Various Artists – A Tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto: To the Moon and Back
• Future – I Never Liked You
• Charles Lloyd Trios- Ocean/Trios-Chapel/Trios-Sacred Thread
• Brian Eno – Foreverandevermore
• Wizkid – More Love, Less Ego
• Lil Simz – No Thank You
• Various Artists – A Very Philly Christmas
• Caroline Shaw – Fleishman Is In Trouble Original Soundtrack

The 21 Best Music Box Sets/Collections/Reissues of 2022

• David Bowie – Divine Symmetry
• Ornette Coleman Round Trip: Ornette Coleman on Blue Note
• The Beatles – Revolver Super Deluxe
• Frank Zappa – Zappa/Erie
• Joni Mitchell – The Asylum Albums
• Marc Almond – A Live Treasury of Song 1992-2008
• Melvin Van Peebles – Watermelon Man OST
• Alice in Chains – Dirt
• The Cure – Wish: 30th Anniversary Edition
• Korla Pandit – Genie of the Keys
• The Angels of Light – We Are Him
• Blondie – Against the Odds 1974-1982
• Eric Burdon & War – The Complete Vinyl Collection
• Janis Joplin & Jorma Kaukonen, The Legendary Typewriter Tape: 6/25/64 Jorma’s House
• PJ Harvey – B-Sides, Demos and Rarities
• Neu! – 50
• Jaco Pastorius, “Truth, Liberty & Soul – Live In NYC: The Complete 1982 NPR Jazz Alive! Recording
• The Beach Boys – Sail on Sailor
• Ronnie Foster – Two Headed Freap
• Joe Strummer – 002: The Mescaleros Years
• Frank Sinatra – Watertown