High dividend yields don't always come with tremendous share appreciation. In many cases, the high yields are a direct result of a declining stock. But that's not always true.

Quite a few stocks with high yields have delivered huge gains this year. Here are the three best high-yield dividend stocks of 2022 so far.

1. BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust

BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (BPT 2.74%) is a business trust created by Standard Oil, BP Alaska (now Hilcorp North Slope), The Bank of New York Mellon, and BNY Mellon Trust of Delaware. It owns and administers royalty interest on oil production from Alaska's Prudhoe Bay field. 

The stock has been a huge winner so far this year, skyrocketing nearly 300%. That's actually down from the peak year-to-date gain of 532% set on June 10, 2022. Increased demand for North American oil along with higher prices for the commodity has served as a huge tailwind for the trust.

BP Prudhoe Bay's dividend yield currently stands at nearly 18.6%. However, the yield has fluctuated wildly in recent years. 

Despite the super-high yield and great stock performance this year, BP Prudhoe Bay isn't a safe long-term pick for investors. The dividend depends heavily on oil prices and demand, which can be highly volatile. Also, the Prudhoe Bay field will run out of oil at some point. 

2. Mesa Royalty Trust

Mesa Royalty Trust (MTR -4.55%) is another trust with The Bank of New York Mellon serving as trustee. This trust was created to administer the royalty interest on production from certain oil and gas properties in Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico. 

Like BP Prudhoe Bay, Mesa Royalty Trust has benefited from higher commodity prices driven, in part, by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The energy stock has soared close to 170% year to date.

Mesa Royalty Trust's dividend yield tops 8.1%. That level is actually lower than the yield has been throughout much of the past five years.

The same issues for BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust also impact Mesa. Investors can't count on steady dividends. And while the stock is up so far this year, it's fallen around 30% over the past 10 years.

3. Alliance Resource Partners, L.P.

Not all of the top-performing high-yield dividend stocks of 2022 are royalty trusts. Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (ARLP 1.51%) is organized as a master limited partnership (MLP). The company is the largest coal producer in the eastern U.S. 

Alliance's share price has nearly doubled this year. The tailwinds behind the stock are the same as those for BP Prudhoe Bay and Mesa Royalty Trust. The demand for energy sources in the U.S. has risen as a result of global oil and gas market dynamics.

Currently, Alliance's dividend yields 6.3%. As was the case for BP Prudhoe Bay, the company's dividend yield has experienced a high degree of volatility in recent years.

The main problem for Alliance Resource Partners is that the world continues to shift away from coal in favor of cleaner energy sources. The company is attempting to position itself to compete outside of coal. For example, Alliance has invested in Francis Energy, a leader in electric-vehicle charging stations in the U.S., and Infinitum Electric, a manufacturer of electric motors.

Perhaps Alliance will be able to successfully navigate this transition. In the meantime, investors are probably better off avoiding this high-yield dividend stock.