CLOSURE / CONTINUATION Album • Porcupine Tree • 2022

Closure/Continuation is the eleventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. The album is their first since 2009's The Incident. Despite public uncertainty of the band's future after frontman Steven Wilson's focus on a solo career in 2010, the album was recorded intermittently in complete secrecy among Wilson, Gavin Harrison, and Richard Barbieri across the course of the following decade, without long-time bassist Colin Edwin. With the COVID-19 pandemic putting member's separate plans on hold, the band found time to completely finish the album in September 2021. Towards the end of the year, the band's reformation was publicly announced, alongside the album's release date of 24 June 2022. Four singles were released ahead of the album—"Harridan", "Of the New Day", "Herd Culling", and "Rats Return".

Big Pakachino Album • Pak-Man • 2022

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The Highlights Album • The Weeknd • 2021

The Highlights is the second greatest hits album (and first released globally) by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on February 5, 2021, and follows the release of his fourth studio album After Hours (2020) and his first greatest hits album The Weeknd in Japan (2018). It was released in anticipation of his performance at the Super Bowl LV halftime show. The track list is composed of songs from his three Billboard 200 number one studio albums: Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), Starboy (2016), and After Hours (2020), his debut mixtape House of Balloons (2011), his EP My Dear Melancholy (2018), and his two co-lead collaborations "Love Me Harder" and "Pray for Me", with Ariana Grande and Kendrick Lamar respectively, from the albums My Everything (2014) and Black Panther: The Album (2018)

Greatest Hits Album • Queen • 1981

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen, released worldwide on 26 October 1981. The album consisted of Queen's biggest hits since their first chart appearance in 1974 with "Seven Seas of Rhye", up to their 1980 hit "Flash" (though in some countries "Under Pressure", the band's 1981 chart-topper with David Bowie, was included). There was no universal track listing or cover art for the album, and each territory's tracks were dependent on what singles had been released there and which were successful. In 1992, the US version of the album Classic Queen was released following the band's rekindled popularity in the nation.

Greatest Hits is the band's best-selling album to date, with total sales of over 25 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, spending four weeks at the top and sold consistently well throughout the 1980s, becoming the fourth-biggest selling album of the decade. The single "Under Pressure", which was released the same week as Greatest Hits, also topped the UK Singles Chart.

As of November 2021, Greatest Hits has spent over 900 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, and has been certified 23× platinum with sales of over six million copies, making it the best-selling album of all time in the UK. Greatest Hits peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 in November 2020, the second-slowest ascent to the top ten of the US album chart in history. Among the longest charting albums in the US, as of November 2020, it has spent over 400 weeks on the Billboard 200, and has been certified 9× platinum in the US. It has also been certified 15× platinum in Australia, 10× platinum in New Zealand, and 3× platinum in Canada. Following the release of the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018, it re-entered the charts worldwide.

Unprecedented Album • UB40 featuring Ali Campbell & Astro • 2022

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SOUR Album • Olivia Rodrigo • 2021

Sour is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo. It was released on May 21, 2021, via Geffen Records. The album was written by Rodrigo and her producer Dan Nigro. Originally planned as an EP, Rodrigo expanded Sour into a full-length album following the viral success of her debut single, "Drivers License".

Influenced by Rodrigo's favorite genres and singer-songwriters, Sour is primarily a pop record that spans from energetic pop punk songs to bedroom pop ballads. Its subject matter centers on adolescence, failed romance, and heartache. She said the album explores her perils and discoveries as a 17-year-old, with its title referring to the "sour" emotions young people experience but are often criticized for, such as anger, jealousy, and unhappiness.

Three singles preceded Sour's release, all of which entered the top three of the US Billboard Hot 100. The lead single, "Drivers License", topped the chart and propelled Rodrigo to mainstream prominence. It was followed by "Deja Vu", which peaked at number 3, and "Good 4 U", the album's second chart-topper. It made Rodrigo the first artist in history to debut their first three singles in the top 10 of the Hot 100, and Sour the first debut album in history to spawn two number-one debuts on the chart. The album broke the global Spotify record for the biggest opening week for an album by a female artist. It topped the charts in several countries, including the US Billboard 200. "Traitor", prior to becoming the fourth single, landed at number nine on the Hot 100 as the fourth top-10 song from the album. Sour was one of the best-selling albums of 2021.

Sour received widespread acclaim upon release, with it being regarded as a solid debut album, underscoring Rodrigo's realistic lyrics and appeal to Generation Z. Various publications listed it among the best albums of 2021, including Billboard and Rolling Stone that placed the album at number one on their year-end rankings. At the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, Sour and "Drivers License" won Best Pop Vocal Album and Pop Solo Performance, respectively; Rodrigo won Best New Artist as well. A YouTube concert film and a Disney+ documentary, titled Sour Prom and Driving Home 2 U respectively, supplement the album. Rodrigo embarked on the Sour Tour, her first headlining concert tour, on April 5, 2022.

Honestly, Nevermind Album • Drake • 2022

Honestly, Nevermind is the seventh studio album by Canadian rapper and singer Drake, which was surprise-released on June 17, 2022, through OVO Sound and Republic Records. The album includes a sole feature from 21 Savage, and production from a variety of producers, including Gordo, Black Coffee, and 40.

A stylistic departure from Drake's previous releases, Honestly, Nevermind adopts house and Baltimore club. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 204,000 album-equivalent units. It became Drake's eleventh US number-one album and broke several streaming records for a dance album. Its singles, "Sticky" and "Massive" debuted within the top 20 in the US Billboard Hot 100, while "Jimmy Cooks" became Drake's eleventh US number-one song.

Gold Rush Kid Album • George Ezra • 2022

Gold Rush Kid is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter George Ezra. The album was released on 10 June 2022 by Columbia Records. The album was promoted by three singles, "Anyone for You (Tiger Lily)", "Green Green Grass", and "I Went Hunting".

It became his third consecutive number-one album in the UK.

Planet Zero Album • Shinedown • 2022

Planet Zero is the seventh studio album by American rock band Shinedown, released on July 1, 2022. The release date was originally set for April 22, 2022, but was postponed due to a delay in CD and vinyl production.

It was announced on January 26, 2022, alongside the lead single of the same name. It was produced and mixed by bassist Eric Bass, making it the second album to be handled by Bass following Attention Attention. It was written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bass' newly built Big Animal Studio in Charleston, South Carolina. The sound is described by lead singer Brent Smith as much more stripped down in terms of sound than previous records. He also describes it as "controversial" and it would touch upon subjects that the band has shied away from in the past.

= Album • Ed Sheeran • 2021

= ("equals") is the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, released on 29 October 2021 by Asylum and Atlantic Records. The album was supported by the singles "Bad Habits", "Shivers", "Overpass Graffiti", "The Joker and the Queen", "2step" and a promotional single, "Visiting Hours".

Upon release, = received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who appreciated Sheeran's emerging sonic experimentation but criticised its production nevertheless. The album reached number one in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Christmas edition of the album was released on 3 December 2021, although it was removed later on. It contains a sole guest appearance from fellow English singer-songwriter Elton John on the song "Merry Christmas", while the standard edition does not have any guest appearances.

The tour edition of the album was released on 27 May 2022. It contains his 2 songs from the 2019 film Yesterday, "One Life" and "Penguins", and 2 brand new songs, "I Will Remember You" and "Welcome to the World". The reissue also contains the 2020 single "Afterglow", the single version of "The Joker and the Queen" featuring American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, the single version of "2step", featuring American rapper Lil Baby, a remix of "Bad Habits" featuring British rock band Bring Me the Horizon, and his collaboration with Nigerian singer Fireboy DML, "Peru". A second remix of "2step" is also included in the reissue in some countries.