Best Albums of 2018

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1.

Twin Fantasy (2018) 

 Car Seat Headrest

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"The courage to put out an album like Twin Fantasy is in itself moving. It always sat as a personal favourite of mine, but one that I never put on a list because a) I couldn't bring myself to, and b) I'd convinced myself it wasn't good enough, as if the despair of listening to it was the only valu...""The courage to put out an album like Twin Fantasy is in itself moving. It always sat as a personal favourite of mine, but one that I never put on a list because a) I couldn't bring myself to, and b) I'd convinced myself it wasn't good enough, as if the despair of listening to it was the only value I derived from it. In fact I hadn't listened to the album in years when I heard it was going to be re-worked. Something I was both excited about and terrified of. The album was already canonical, what might be if this rework changes the experience for the worse? would it kill my memory of it? That said, I was deep down excited because I've found myself listening to newer Car Seat Headrest album and loving the production. I'd been waiting for an album to come out that had the power and profundity of Twin Fantasy but the production chops of later works, like deep down I'd convinced myself if I could take the album (or whatever post teens of denial masterpiece I thought was coming) seriously, and still be moved as I was a teenager to bandcamp Toledo, then I could happily herald the work a masterpiece, and deservingly so. I think deep down I was waiting for this to happen, and I couldn't be happier it did. "  [+]  Reply

- Arthurknight | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

548 charts

Rank Score:

5,577

Rank in 2018:

1

Rank in 2010s:

38

Overall Rank:

294

Average Rating:

 82 (846 votes)

Comments:

95

2.

Kids See Ghosts 

 Kids See Ghosts

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"Fantastic album, if Ghost town had been left on it, it would be perfect, Kanye gives Cudi a most needed opportunity to shine, selflessly letting Cudi take over most of the songs while chiming in with fairly short but hard hitting introspective verses, I hope to God Kanye releases the album he had...""Fantastic album, if Ghost town had been left on it, it would be perfect, Kanye gives Cudi a most needed opportunity to shine, selflessly letting Cudi take over most of the songs while chiming in with fairly short but hard hitting introspective verses, I hope to God Kanye releases the album he had planned initially before scrapping it to create Ye."  [+]  Reply

- Sisterray24 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +8 votes (8 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

539 charts

Rank Score:

4,048

Rank in 2018:

2

Rank in 2010s:

54

Overall Rank:

405

Average Rating:

 82 (841 votes)

Comments:

76

3.

Joy As An Act Of Resistance. 

 Idles

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"This is what 2018 was missing, a punk rock album that makes you feel angry and happy at the same time, that asks for unity and rebellion while it makes you feel like dancing and getting into a fight, all at the same time"  Reply

- ivanbermudez | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

471 charts

Rank Score:

3,276

Rank in 2018:

3

Rank in 2010s:

74

Overall Rank:

530

Average Rating:

 80 (500 votes)

Comments:

38

4.

7 

 Beach House

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"This record is exactly what I've been waiting for from Beach House. Their past few records (Bloom, Depression Cherry, TYLS) have been excellent, particularly Bloom, but I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they would truly go all in on the weird bits of experimentation we've gotten on ...""This record is exactly what I've been waiting for from Beach House. Their past few records (Bloom, Depression Cherry, TYLS) have been excellent, particularly Bloom, but I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they would truly go all in on the weird bits of experimentation we've gotten on these past few releases. Tracks like Elegy to the Void, Days of Candy, New Year, and Sparks have left me yearning for them to really cut loose and make a wild record of roaring guitars and entrancing psychedelia. And here were are. 7 is the culmination of all of these ideas, and what we've gotten is quite possibly Beach House's best record and what will almost surely be my AOTY barring a huge surprise. This record is a trifecta of shoegaze, neo-psychedelia, and surrealist dream pop. The noisy/electrifying guitar melodies and entrancing synths co-exist with each other very well instead of simply washing each other out into a blur. Last Ride and Woo are sterling examples of this; the guitar exists in a different section of the mix (almost a different ear, entirely) than the synths and the two play off each other like a conversation. I will say that Beach House fans who were pulled to the band specifically by the Depression Cherry era might have a hard time enjoying this one as much as I -- whereas their previous records have slammed you in the face with clear and straightforward celestial melodies, this record is a much more challenging listen. Many of the beautiful ideas here (particularly on tracks like Drunk in LA, Dark Spring, Dive, and Last Ride) are buried in the mix waiting to be deciphered out of the dark trance-like abyss of this record. Think less Cocteau Twins and more Slowdive. It's not often that I can hear an album this diverse from song-to-song still come together as a totally coherent whole. There is a hypnotic dark texture that runs through the entire record, but there are so many ideas explored here...like the dreamy noir (almost Blade Runner-like) chimes of Black Car, the noisy yet introspective Drunk in LA, the sunny acoustic guitar-driven Lose Your Smile, the surreal and blissful L'Inconnue, or the sheer heavyhanded darkness of Dark Spring. The end product is a thrilling record that manages to be aggressive, strange, tender, and blissful all at once. Not only that, but it's a record that has grown on me after several listens. Like an MBV or Slowdive record, it has many hidden depths that add something new to each listen. This album hit many of my individual tastes of music in the right spot and is an instant classic for my listening. The album is a beautiful progression from beginning to end, ordered almost cinematically -- the "Teen Dream" has come to a bitter end and in the first half of the record we are faced with bleak, intoxicating nostalgia both lyrically and musically. Black Car is the climax of this idea, before the record suddenly opens up into sheer dreamy bliss with the final 4 tracks, where we see the soft, tender Beach House we know and love break through. The layered guitar-wailing chime ending to Last Ride is unreal and is probably the most powerful and overwhelming way they've ended a record thus far. Favorite Tracks: L'Inconnue, Black Car, Girl of the Year, Last Ride, Dark Spring"  [+]  Reply

- Cosmo | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

509 charts

Rank Score:

3,204

Rank in 2018:

4

Rank in 2010s:

76

Overall Rank:

541

Average Rating:

 80 (695 votes)

Comments:

71

5.

Wide Awake! 

 Parquet Courts

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"This will easily be one of my albums of the year if not THE album of the year. Really catchy tunes and some really clever lyrical work here. The production here is also of exceptional quality. Highlight - the baseline intro to Violence and this track in general. Fav tracks - Violence, Total Footb...""This will easily be one of my albums of the year if not THE album of the year. Really catchy tunes and some really clever lyrical work here. The production here is also of exceptional quality. Highlight - the baseline intro to Violence and this track in general. Fav tracks - Violence, Total Football, Before the Water Gets Too High, Back to Earth, Wide Awake, Death Will Bring Change, Tenderness Weakest track (but still good) - NYC Observation 9/10 could be higher on repeat listens"  [+]  Reply

- RomanRelic | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

445 charts

Rank Score:

2,914

Rank in 2018:

5

Rank in 2010s:

81

Overall Rank:

582

Average Rating:

 80 (537 votes)

Comments:

28

6.

You Won't Get What You Want 

 Daughters

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"I am so confused listening to this album right now... feel like it deserves a 0/10 but I don't know how to rate something like this. Update: Masterpiece!"  Reply

- Leonidas | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +9 votes (9 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

353 charts

Rank Score:

2,817

Rank in 2018:

6

Rank in 2010s:

84

Overall Rank:

599

Average Rating:

 80 (476 votes)

Comments:

59

7.

Little Dark Age 

 MGMT

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"MGMT back on form, as they present us with a series of catchy, weird, synth-tinged tunes. This album may be kind of weird, but this is their most accessible outing since their 2008 debut. Best Songs: Little Dark Age, When You Die, One Thing Left to Try, When You're Small, Hand It Over"  Reply

- lukeberrie | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

465 charts

Rank Score:

2,548

Rank in 2018:

7

Rank in 2010s:

97

Overall Rank:

672

Average Rating:

 80 (782 votes)

Comments:

68

8.

Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino 

 Arctic Monkeys

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"Well, somebody’s been listening to David Bowie."  Reply

- Radioscope | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +16 votes (17 helpful | 1 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

387 charts

Rank Score:

2,225

Rank in 2018:

8

Rank in 2010s:

113

Overall Rank:

771

Average Rating:

 72 (714 votes)

Comments:

72

9.

Golden Hour 

 Kacey Musgraves

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"Kacey bestows country hometown charm on her two previous albums, the quirky, down-the-road girl who tells it like she sees it. "Pagaent Material" seemed like an attempt to copy the success of her debut. But on "golden hour", our girl has grown up, taking on a more serious tone losing none of the ...""Kacey bestows country hometown charm on her two previous albums, the quirky, down-the-road girl who tells it like she sees it. "Pagaent Material" seemed like an attempt to copy the success of her debut. But on "golden hour", our girl has grown up, taking on a more serious tone losing none of the small-town perspective or charm, layering other pop sounds onto her accepting and friendly country style. Delivering a very mature album with great, insightful and relatable songwriting and a warm, if melancholy, delivery, Kacey has yet to disappoint me."  [+]  Reply

- paladisiac | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

358 charts

Rank Score:

2,137

Rank in 2018:

9

Rank in 2010s:

116

Overall Rank:

814

Average Rating:

 76 (386 votes)

Comments:

33

10.

Be The Cowboy 

 Mitski

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"(Warning: this comment is kinda long.) I'll be honest, this album took some time to grow on me, as I had some expectations about it before listening. But eventually, I came to appreciate it and thought that it was pretty solid. Around the end of 2018, I was a bit surprised to see this record very...""(Warning: this comment is kinda long.) I'll be honest, this album took some time to grow on me, as I had some expectations about it before listening. But eventually, I came to appreciate it and thought that it was pretty solid. Around the end of 2018, I was a bit surprised to see this record very high up in most "best of 2018" lists, sometimes getting a perfect rating, and even earning the title "album of the year" from many music sites. So I thought that I might have missed something, and decided to revisit the record. While I still think that it's good, I still don't seem to enjoy the album to the extent that others do. Now, I'm not trying to be negative. I like Mitski and I'm super happy to see her do well! But I just think that there are things that hold this project back, the main culprit being the track lengths. At times, some songs seem like they could be really great, but their brevity results in them having little impact instead. Many songs seem to end abruptly, sometimes right when it feels like the music could be going somewhere interesting. It feels like running a race and you're making amazing time - but halfway through you just lose all of your energy and stop in your tracks. For me, one example of this is "Come Into the Water." But basically, that's my only complaint. I don't mean to seem too harsh, because I do think that this album is good! There a good amount of genuinely moving moments on here, especially the closing track "Two Slow Dancers." Truly deep, gorgeous, and filled to the brim with emotion. And "Nobody" is a great track too, very fun to jam out to. In addition, there are some cases where I think that the short track length works well, such as with "Geyser." That track flows very nicely! Overall, this is a good record, and is definitely worth a listen. It's not perfect, but maybe I'm still missing something. Let me know if I am! Either way, it shows an enormous amount of potential. If Mitski takes her ideas from this album and then really expands on them and fleshes them out, I think that she can come out with something absolutely amazing. Excited for what she puts out in the future!"  [+]  Reply

- sguy157 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful) A maximum of 5 top-voted qualifying comments are selected for each album. To provide the best experience for visitors, comments are excluded if they refer to data corrections, contain excessive profanity, are written in all caps, are non-English, are too short, consist of conversations between users, or contain lists of best tracks etc.

Year of Release:

2018

Appears in:

376 charts

Rank Score:

2,054

Rank in 2018:

10

Rank in 2010s:

119

Overall Rank:

847

Average Rating:

 77 (376 votes)

Comments:

29

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of 2018 composition

Top 1,000 Top 500 Top 250 Top 100

Artist	Albums	%
Various Artists	5	1%
Bruce Springsteen	3	0%
Neil Young	3	0%
Mark Kozelek	2	0%
Between The Buried And Me	2	0%
Rory Ferreira	2	0%
King Crimson	2	0%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	475	48%
	187	19%
	39	4%
	37	4%
	36	4%
	28	3%
	22	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	985	99%
Yes	15	2%

Live?	Albums	%
No	976	98%
Yes	24	2%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	12	1%