Here’s my list of best music for 2018. I begin with the top 30 albums of 2018, then the top 10 hip-hop albums, followed by the top 10 jazz albums. Please enjoy!
Top 30 Albums of 2018:
- Blood Orange • Negro Swan (Domino)
- Sons of Kemet • Your Queen is a Reptile (Impulse)
- Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band • The Serpents Mouth (Big Crown)
- Unknown Mortal Orchestra • Sex & Food (Jajjaguwar)
- Kamasi Washington • Heaven and Earth (Young Turks)
- Wooden Shjips • V. (Thrill Jockey)
- Low • Double Negative (Sub Pop)
- Tangents • New Bodies (Temporary Residence)
- Ty Segall • Freedom’s Goblin (Drag City)
- Glenn Jones • The Giant Who Ate Himself… (Thrill Jockey)
- Santigold • I Don’t Want: The Gold Fire Sessions (Downtown)
- Spiritualized • And Nothing Hurt (Fat Possum)
- Mark Lanegan & Duke Garwood • With Animals (Heavenly)
- Agnarkea • Black Helicopters (Natural Sciences)
- Wolfgang Muthspiel • Where the River Goes (ECM)
- Preoccupations • New Material (Jagjaguwar)
- Courtney Marie Andrews • May Your Kindness Remain (Fat Possum)
- Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks • Sparkle Hard (Matador)
- Parquet Courts • Wide Awake (Rough Trade)
- The Eastern Sleds • There’s No Place Left To Go (Burst & Bloom)
- Makaya McCraven • Universal Beings (International Anthem)
- Sarah Louise • Deeper Woods (Thrill Jockey)
- Hilary Woods • Colt (Sacred Bones)
- Cat Power • Wanderer (Domino)
- Khruangbin • Con Todo El Mundo (Dead Oceans)
- The Messthetics • The Messthetics (Dischord)
- The Sea and Cake • Any Day (Thrill Jockey)
- Sandro Perri • In Another Life (Constellation)
- The Molochs • Flowers in the Spring (Innovative Leisure)
- Marissa Nadler • For My Crimes (Sacred Bones)
Top 10 Hip Hop Albums of 2018:
- Agnarkea • Black Helicopters (Natural Sciences)
- Vince Staples • FM! (Def Jam)
- Earl Sweatshirt • Some Rap Songs (Columbia)
- Rejjie Snow • Dear Annie (Honeymoon)
- Noname • Room 25 (self released)
- Evidence • Weather or Not (Rhymesayers)
- Anderson Paak • Oxnard (Aftermath)
- Joey Purp • Quarterthing (self released)
- Saba • Care For Me (Saba Pivot)
- Phonte • No News Is Good News (Foreign Exchange)
Top 10 Jazz Albums of 2018:
- Sons of Kemet • Your Queen is a Reptile (Impulse)
- Kamasi Washington • Heaven and Earth (Young Turks)
- Wolfgang Muthspiel • Where the River Goes (ECM)
- Makaya McCraven • Universal Beings (International Anthem)
- The Bad Plus • Never Stop II (Legbreaker)
- Joshua Redman, Ron Miles, Scott Colley and Brian Blade • Still Dreaming (Nonesuch)
- Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas, Joey Baron a.k.a. “Sound Prints” • Scandal (Greenleaf)
- Various Artists • We Out Here (Brownswood)
- Andrew Cyrille, Wadada Leo Smith, Bill Frisell • Lebroba (ECM)
- Peter Brötzmann and Heather Leigh • Sparrow Nights (Trost)
