June 2, 2024Scott Goldfine

FUNKNSTUFF’s Top 20 Funk-Soul-Jazz Albums of 2022

Some two years of being cooped up, isolated and bombarded with stressful events and news has thankfully led to the generation of some outstanding music. That’s what artists do, turn grief, angst and hardship into aural beauty that helps make everything easier to bear for the rest of us. Thus, 2022 brought forth a slew of stellar new funk, soul and jazz releases.

Following are FUNKNSTUFF’s picks for the top 20 funk, soul and jazz albums of 2022, in alphabetical order by artist. Disagree or have something in mind missing from the list? Let us know!

Each album image is linked to samples and purchase. Happy New Year!

Morris Day – Last Call 

Dopapod – Dopapod

Candy Dulfer – We Never Stop

Enema Squad – Diarrhona Deluxe

Exiles of the Nation – The Obstacle Curse

Fantastic Negrito – White Jesus Black Problems

Funkadrill – Release the Funk

The Headhunters – Speakers in the House

Martha High – Soul Brother Where Art Thou Vol. 2

Brian Jackson – This Is Brian Jackson

Jazz Funk Soul – Forecast

Junie Morrison – Junie Live at Dooley’s 1975 

Joyce Kennedy – Rock’n My Soul

Lettuce – Unify

Marlon McClain – Funky Fridays Vol. 2

Mofo Rising – Mofo Rising III

MuthafunkaholX – No Mo Fuks 2 Give

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Unlimited Love & Return of the Dream Canteen

Saoul – Twateau

Snarky Puppy – Empire Central

CHECK OUT THE 2021 TOP 25 ALBUMS HERE

CHECK OUT THE 2020 TOP 25 ALBUMS HERE

Scott Goldfine

As a fervid lifelong music & film enthusiast / student, I grew up in and around the Los Angeles entertainment industry. I have worked and held many positions in various media realms, since 1998 serving as Editor-in-Chief and now Associate Publisher for Security Sales & Integration, a trade publication serving the electronic security industry. I love several genres of music & film. The former includes funk (Parliament-Funkadelic, Prince, Ohio Players, etc.); blues (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Eric Gales, etc.); rock (Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, etc.); hard rock (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc.); jazz (Herbie Hancock, Bob James, Crusaders, etc.); R&B (Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Gil Scott-Heron, etc.); and more. I was a club disc jockey and ran a mobile DJ company (Musical Moods) for more than 15 years, which is where the name Dr. GX originates (Doctor Good Times). Fave film genres include horror (Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.); science fiction (Aliens, Terminator, 2001, etc.); action (Warriors, Road Warrior, Die Hard); westerns (Outlaw Josey Wales, Showdown at OK Corral; Wild Bunch, etc.); suspense (Jaws, Inception, Silence of the Lambs, etc.); drama (Apocalypse Now, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, etc.); and comedies (Life of Brian, Superbad, Ruthless People, etc.). I have attended many hundreds of concerts and movies (in theaters or screenings). I may as well also throw in a few favorite TV shows to give an even broader taste of my sensibilities. A handful would be Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Lost, Justified, Fargo, Seinfeld, Sopranos, South Park, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Key & Peele, Monty Python, Inside Amy Schumer, Louie, Modern Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Last Man on Earth, Bob Newhart Show, All in the Family and The Office. Fave authors are Stephen King, Clive Barker and Michael Crichton. I am also a big sports fan and lifelong supporter of the Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB). Also enjoy my family of course, electronics/computers/AV gear, and animals, nature and outdoor activities. Graduate of Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica College and California State University Northridge (Radio-TV-Film, Psychology minor). Also studied at UCLA for kinesiology/psychology and earned post-grad Certificate in Accounting from Santa Monica College. Present main occupation is as Associate Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Security Sales & Integration (SSI), which I joined in 1998. I am responsible for overseeing all editorial content in print. online, electronic, in-person and any other media or products for the electronic security industry's leading business-to-business trade publication. SSI is part of Framingham, Mass.-based Emerald Expositions.