My Top 50 Albums of 2018
So many great new artists this year |
| 50 |  | Jesus Piece
Only Self
Straightforward, but somehow refreshing, hardcore |
| 49 |  | Toundra
Vortex
Solid post-rock with more emphasis on the "rock" |
| 48 |  | Frontierer
Unloved
A bit long as a full album listen, but some crazy metalcore sounds on here |
| 47 |  | Tides of Man
Every Nothing
Tides of Man continues releasing some of the catchiest post rock |
| 46 |  | Just Friends (CA)
Nothing But Love
A ska/pop-punk/hip-hop album in 2018 seems a little late to the game, but this is just a fun listen to me |
| 45 |  | Self Defense Family
Have You Considered Punk Music
A journey of an album narrated by Patrick Kindlon's calmer alter ego |
| 44 |  | Rolo Tomassi
Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It
Not as high up as on other lists, I just thought the clean and hectic parts weren't blended as well as I liked. Still an enjoyable and intense listen |
| 43 |  | Emma Ruth Rundle
On Dark Horses
Think Fleetwood Mac, but slower and sadder |
| 42 |  | Yashira
Shrine
They're heavy, but know when to give a little space with some lighter moments |
| 41 |  | Beach House
7
I've listened to Beach House before this, but for some reason nothing really pulled me in until this album |
| 40 |  | Tangled Hair
We Do What We Can
This album took a long time to release so some of the songs may sound dated, but this doesn't take away from the fact that they know how to write catchy math rock |
| 39 |  | Screaming Females
All At Once
Solid album from a consistent rock band |
| 38 |  | Deafheaven
Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
It's Deafheaven. It's good |
| 37 |  | Trash Boat
Crown Shyness
Did not expect to like this pop-punk/post-hardcore album as much as I did |
| 36 |  | Snail Mail
Lush
All the songs are good, but Pristine is one of the catchiest songs this year |
| 35 |  | Parquet Courts
Wide Awake
Can't help but love wordy rock, and this one has an old school twist |
| 34 |  | Hop Along
Bark Your Head Off, Dog
Very pleasant listen all the way through this indie rock album |
| 33 |  | Thou
Magus
More unsettling doom metal from Thou |
| 32 |  | Seattle's New Gods
Burnpile
Dirty, and slightly concerning, punk rock |
| 31 |  | Sleep
The Sciences
I'd listened to Dopesmoker before, but this is the first work from Sleep I've gotten into |
| 30 |  | Big Bite
Big Bite
Great reverby and occasionally heavy guitar sounds here |
| 29 |  | Black Peaks
All That Divides
Modern progressive metal with better songwriting and without the squeaky clean production that most of its contemporaries have |
| 28 |  | Slow Mass
On Watch
Took me a few listens to appreciate the subtleties, but this is a well-written and dynamic indie/punk record |
| 27 |  | Between the Buried and Me
Automata II
The better half of BTBAM's Automata releases this year |
| 26 |  | Greyhaven
Empty Black
Blood-pumping metalcore with captivating vocal and instrumental passages |
| 25 |  | Slothrust
The Pact
Cleaner production than their previous work, but no song is skippable on this indie/punk record |
| 24 |  | Drug Church
CHEER
Catchy and smart punk music |
| 23 |  | Listener
Being Empty : Being Filled
Listener's wordy rock style finally feeling like a fully produced album |
| 22 |  | Svalbard
It's Hard To Have Hope
Black metal-tinged screamo with a strong message |
| 21 |  | Fiddlehead
Springtime And Blind
Filling the void that Title Fight's absence left |
| 20 |  | Single Mothers
Through A Wall
Most aggressive release from the Canadian punk band |
| 19 |  | The Ocean
Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic
Intense post-metal hitting in similar ways that Precambrian did |
| 18 |  | The Dirty Nil
Master Volume
Rock and roll with a modern punk twist |
| 17 |  | IDLES
Joy as an Act of Resistance
Wasn't as good as Brutalism in my opinion but still a great set of British punk songs |
| 16 |  | Birds in Row
We Already Lost The World
Solid French post-hardcore |
| 15 |  | Animal Flag
Void Ripper
Carefully crafted emo & pop-punk |
| 14 |  | Camp Cope
How to Socialise and Make Friends
This album was very divisive for some reason, but I thought it had a great and refreshing emo sound |
| 13 |  | Hot Mulligan
Pilot
Calls back to the early 2000's pop-punk sound to create a super fun listen |
| 12 |  | Holy Fawn
Death Spells
Some beautiful and massive sounds on here |
| 11 |  | Super Unison
Stella
The screams on this hardcore album are scary, and I'm loving it |
| 10 |  | Gouge Away
Burnt Sugar
Gouge Away experiments with their aggressive sound and it pays off |
| 9 |  | Culture Abuse
Bay Dream
There was a lot of backlash for softening their sound, but all I see here are 10 infectious beachy punk songs |
| 8 |  | Spanish Love Songs
Schmaltz
Maybe a little too influenced by the Menzingers, but what's wrong with that? |
| 7 |  | mewithoutYou
[Untitled]
Some of the mellow songs prevented this from being higher, but still a lot of intense moments and lyrics to unpack |
| 6 |  | Worlds Greatest Dad
Get Well Soon
Underrated album of the year. Incredible sounding emotional pop-punk and emo songs |
| 5 |  | Pianos Become the Teeth
Wait For Love
Another album with mixed reviews, but the vocals are even better than Keep You and I just keep going back to it |
| 4 |  | Daughters
You Won't Get What You Want
They weren't lying about this one. Love the sounds here |
| 3 |  | Hopesfall
Arbiter
Covers so many genres at once. Combine the spaciness of Rosetta with the intensity of Poison the Well. Great listen all the way through. |
| 2 |  | Vein
Errorzone
The album that shook hardcore in 2018 |
| 1 |  | Night Verses
From the Gallery of Sleep
Everything I've wanted to hear from an instrumental album. Extremely technical without the lack of song structure. Fairly easy choice for number 1 this year |
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