Top 10 Albums of 2022: Can you guess which one comes in at No. 1?

It’s was so much fun to be a music fan in 2022.

There were great tunes being released — seemingly every week — from just about every genre, from mainstream pop, R&B and country to heavy metal and hip-hop.

It was a year that saw many superstar acts deliver the goods. Yet, it was also a time for lesser-known musicians — from critics’ darlings to newer acts — to impress.

We’ve spent time with the cream of the crop over the last few weeks, trying to organize a list of the year’s best albums.

After considerable time, and some major back and forth, we’ve come up with our Top 10 list. As expected, it wasn’t easy narrowing the list down to just 10 — and there were several gems left on the cutting room floor — but we’re still happy with the results.

After all, any list that includes both Beyonce and Slipknot is one we’d surely want to read.

Here are the top 10 albums of 2022:

1. ‘Renaissance,’ Beyonce

Think you know everything there is to know about this first-tier superstar? Queen Bey continues to prove that’s simply not possible, as she reinvents herself with seemingly each new project — all the while staying true to her artistry. This time around, Beyonce takes over the dance floor as she convincingly incorporates old-school house music into her R&B/pop mix. The grooves and samples are out of sight, skillfully sewn together by Nova Wav, The-Dream, Symbolyc One, A. G. Cook, Skrillex, Hit-Boy and a number of other producers — including Beyonce herself. And Bey’s vocal work has simply never sounded more luxurious than on “Renaissance,” which is her first solo album since 2016’s “Lemonade.” This is the work that will finally win Beyonce her long-overdue first album of the year Grammy.

2. ‘Everything Was Beautiful,’ Spiritualized

The album definitely lives up to its title, offering up seven wildly appealing songs over the course of 44 mesmerizing minutes. J. Spaceman (whose real name is Jason Pierce) is in full-on genius mode as he leads Spiritualized through this fully realized space-rock suite, stitching together elements of lush orchestral pop, fuzzed-out garage rock and intergalactic special effect sounds in this worthy companion piece to the 1997 masterwork “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space.” It’s a dizzying — and, at times, more than a bit jarring — work of art, yet one that, for all of its lane changes, still feels totally cohesive.

3. ‘The End, So Far,’ Slipknot

Push play on “The End, So Far” and you might think there’s been some type of a mix up, as the moody subdued modern-rock sounds that initially fill your ears sound more like Trent Reznor or David Bowie than Slipknot. But make no mistake, you are listening to the heavy metal heroes from Des Moines, Iowa, on what is their most diversely appealing and arguably most ambitious album to date. There is plenty for headbangers to like here, as Slipknot delivers the rapid-fire rhythms, thunderous grooves and growling vocals that it’s known for. Yet, those signature elements share space with some more straight-forward rock attributes — such as clean, tuneful vocals and a stronger focus on hooks — and the result is Slipknot at its most radio friendly. And that’s one sentence we thought we’d never write.

4. ‘Autofiction,’ London Suede

The ultimate Britpop band is in brilliant form on its ninth studio album, a rough-around-the-edges rocker that marks a distinct stylistic detour from the more complicated and orchestrated work that it accomplished on its previous two albums (2016’s “Night Thoughts” and 2018’s “The Blue Hour”). The goal, as London Suede bassist and founding member Mat Osman explained in an interview with this newspaper earlier this year, was “to make something that felt a bit more live.” And they definitely succeeded in that pursuit, as the energy and passion of Suede’s fabled live shows certainly translates on the likes of “She Still Leads Me On” and “That Boy on the Stage.”