af 2018 in review: our favorite albums and singles of the year

Here we are again! As the new year approaches, it's time to look back and take stock of the albums and singles that defined this moment in music history. 2018 was an eclectic year, to say the least, and there are a lot of new names on the list: Tirzah, Snail Mail, Soccer Mommy, Noname, King Princess, and Kali Uchis all had phenomenal debuts this year, not to mention the inimitable Cardi B, who made good on the promise of last year's smash hit "Bodak Yellow" with Invasion of Privacy in April. There were established artists who still managed to surprise us, whether in the form of unearthed Prince demos, The Arctic Monkeys' loungey sci-fi concept album, Tim Hecker introducing us to ancient Japanese court music, Dev Hynes making his most personal Blood Orange record yet, or Lil Wayne finally dropping Tha Carter V. And then there are those artists who fall somewhere in between, their ascendant careers a thrill to watch as 2018 saw them finally hit their stride. US Girls. Yves Tumor. serpentwithfeet. And perhaps most spectacularly, Mitski and Janelle Monáe. As each of our writers (and editors, too) created their own mini-lists, those were two names that kept cropping up, and there's no doubt you've seen them on just about every year-end list on the interwebs. If there's any chance you haven't heard Be The Cowboy or Dirty Computer, by all means, fire up that Spotify Premium post haste. But the recommendations here are as diverse as our writers themselves, so we hope you'll take time to explore some of the lesser-known, hardly hyped artists we've highlighted, too - and keep your eyes peeled for more year-end coverage as we cruise in to 2019.

EDITOR LISTS

• Marianne White (Executive Director)

  Top 10 Albums: 1) boygenuis - boygenius 2) Soccer Mommy - Clean 3) Nenah Cherry - Broken Politics 4) Mitski - Be the Cowboy 5) serpentwithfeet - soil 6) CupcakKE - Ephorize 7) Blood Orange - Negro Swan 8) Autechre - NTS Sessions 1-4 9) Snail Mail - Lush 10) Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy Top 5 Singles: 1) Let's Eat Grandma - “Hot Pink” 2) Jon Hopkins - “Emerald Rush” 3) The Internet - “Look What You Started” 4) Cardi B, Bad Bunny, J Balvin - “I Like It” 5) boygenius - "Bite The Hand"

• Lindsey Rhoades (Editor-in-Chief)

  Top 10 Albums: 1) Low - Double Negative 2) US Girls - In A Poem Unlimited 3) Madeline Kenney - Perfect Shapes  4) Yves Tumor - Safe In The Hands of Love 5) DJ Koze - Knock Knock 6) Caroline Rose - Loner 7) Tim Hecker - Konoyo 8) Virginia Wing - Ecstatic Arrow 9) Frigs - Basic Behaviour 10) bedbug - i'll count to heaven in years without seasons Top 10 Singles: 1) Janelle Monáe - "Make Me Feel" 2) Loma - “Black Willow” 3) The Breeders - “All Nerve” 4) SOPHIE - "Is It Cold In The Water?" 5) Jonathan Wilson - "Loving You" 6) Empath - "The Eye" 7) Sibile Attar - "Paloma" 8) Jono Ma & Dreems - “Can't Stop My Dreaming (Of You)” 9) Shopping - "Discover" 10) Ed Schrader's Music Beat - "Dunce"

• Mandy Brownholtz (Social Media)

  Top 5 Albums: 1) Miserable - Lover Boy/Dog Days 2) Snail Mail - Lush 3) Mitski - Be The Cowboy 4) Teyana Taylor - K.T.S.E. 5) Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer Top 3 Singles: 1) Nothing - "Blue Line Baby" 2) Hinds - "The Club" 3) Mitski - "Nobody"

• Lauren Zambri (Events)

  Top 5 Albums: 1) Amen Dunes - Freedom 2) US Girls - In A Poem Unlimited 3) Beach House - 7 4) Iceage - Beyondless 5) Tirzah - Devotion Top 5 Singles: 1) Jenny Hval - "Spells" 2) US Girls - "Velvet 4 Sale" 3) Yves Tumor - "Licking An Orchid" 4) Amen Dunes - "Believe" 5) Low - "Always Trying to Work it Out"

STAFF LISTS

• Ashley Prillaman (Premieres, AudioMama)

  Top 5 Albums: 1) Alice Ivy - I'm Dreaming 2) Sudan Archives - Sink 3) Marlon Williams - Make Way For Love 4) Earth Girl Helen Brown - Venus 5) Rüfüs Du Sol - Solace Top 3 Singles: 1) Rhye - "Taste" 2) Alice Ivy - "Chasing Stars" 3) Sudan Archives - "Nont For Sale"

• Tarra Thiessen (Check the Spreadsheet)

  Top 5 Albums: 1) DRINKS - Hippo Lite 2) Shannon & the Clams - Onion 3) Lost Boy ? - Paranoid Fiction 4) Prince - Piano & a Microphone 1983  5) Sloppy Jane - Willow Top 3 Singles: 1) Public Practice - "Fate/Glory" 2) The Nude Party - "Chevrolet Van" 3) Big Bliss - "Surface"

• Natalie Kirch (Pet Politics)

  Top 10 Releases Out of the Brooklyn DIY Scene (in Chronological Order): 1) THICK — Would You Rather? (Self-Released) 2) BODEGA — Endless Scroll (What’s Your Rupture?) 3) Baked — II (Exploding In Sound) 4) Pecas — After Dark (Broken Circles) 5) Big Bliss – At Middle Distance (Exit Stencil Recordings) 6) Kevin Hairs — Freak In The Streets (GP Stripes) 7) PILL – Soft Hell (Mexican Summer) 8) Stove – 's Favorite Friend (Exploding In Sound) 9) Lost Boy ? – Paranoid Fiction (Little Dickman Records/ Rich Moms) 10) Janet LaBelle – I Only See You (Loantaka Records)

• Sara Barron (Playing Detroit)

  Top 5 Albums: 1) Kali Uchis - Isolation 2) Blood Orange - Negro Swan 3) Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy 4) Mitski - Be the Cowboy 5) Noname - Room 25 Top 3 Singles: 1) Ama Lou - "Tried Up" 2) Britney Stoney - "OD" 3) Janelle Monáe - "PYNK"

• Luci Turner (Playing Atlanta)

  Top 5 Albums: 1) The Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino 2) The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships 3) Charles Bradley - Black Velvet 4) Brandi Carlile - By The Way, I Forgive You 5) Jack White - Boarding House Reach Top 3 Singles: 1) The Raconteurs - “Now That You’re Gone" 2) Mac Miller - “2009” 3) Dead Naked Hippies - “Rare”

• Victoria Moorwood (Playing Cincy)

  Top 5 Albums: 1) Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy 2) Lil Wayne - Tha Carter V 3) J. Cole - KOD 4) Preme - Light of Day 5) Jazz Cartier - Fleurever Top 3 Singles: 1) Lil Wayne feat. Reginae Carter - “Famous" 2) Cardi B - “Thru Your Phone” 3) J. Cole - “Brackets”

• Desdemona Dallas

  Top 5 Albums: 1) Noname - Room 25 2) Flatbush Zombies - Vacation In Hell 3) Mountain Man - Magic Ship 4) Lucy Dacus - Historian 5) Nao - Saturn Top 3 Singles: 1)  Janelle Monáe - "Make Me Feel" 2) Twin Shadow - "Saturdays" 3) Sudan Archives - "Nont For Sale"

• Erin Rose O'Brien

  Top 5 Albums: 1) Mitski — Be The Cowboy 2) Antarctigo Vespucci — Love in the Time of E-mail 3) Car Seat Headrest — Twin Fantasy 4) Soccer Mommy — Clean 5) Janelle Monáe — Dirty Computer Top 3 Singles: 1) Bad Moves — "Cool Generator" 2) The Beths — "Future Me Hates Me" 3) Miya Folick — "Stop Talking"

• Ysabella Monton

  Top 5 Albums: 1) Mitski - Be The Cowboy 2) Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer 3) Brockhampton - Iridescence 4) Soccer Mommy - Clean 5) Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy Top 3 Singles: 1) King Princess - "1950" 2) Childish Gambino - "This is America" 3) Pusha T - "If You Know You Know"