Digital Trends' Best Albums of 2018

From blockbuster releases to hidden gems, we've spent the year listening to new music from near and far, culling that massive list into our 50 favorites. Whether you like jazz, hip-hop, rock, pop, or anything in between, these are the 50 best records of the year.

Published: December 12, 2018 23:27 Source

# 1

CARE FOR ME by Saba

Album • Apr 05 / 2018 Conscious Hip Hop Jazz Rap

# 2

Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves

Album • Mar 30 / 2018 Country Pop Singer-Songwriter

# 3

Freedom by Amen Dunes

Album • Mar 30 / 2018 Neo-Psychedelia Singer-Songwriter

# 4

Lush by Snail Mail

Album • Jun 08 / 2018 Indie Rock Indie Pop

# 5

It's a New Day Tonight by Michael Rault

Album • May 18 / 2018 Indie Rock Psychedelic Pop

# 6

Historian by Lucy Dacus

Album • Mar 02 / 2018 Indie Rock Singer-Songwriter

# 7

Clean by Soccer Mommy

Album • Mar 02 / 2018 Singer-Songwriter Indie Pop Indie Rock

# 8

Freedom's Goblin by Ty Segall

Album • Jan 26 / 2018 Garage Rock Glam Rock Psychedelic Rock

# 9

Be the Cowboy by Mitski

Album • Aug 17 / 2018 Art Pop Indie Rock

# 10

Vessel by Frankie Cosmos

Album • Mar 30 / 2018 Indie Pop Twee Pop Bedroom Pop

# 11

Room 25 by noname

Album • Sep 14 / 2018 Jazz Rap Conscious Hip Hop

# 12

Superorganism by Superorganism

Album • Mar 02 / 2018 Indietronica Neo-Psychedelia Glitch Pop

# 13

Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe

Album • Apr 27 / 2018 Contemporary R&B Art Pop

# 14

Con Todo El Mundo by Khruangbin

Album • Jan 26 / 2018 Psychedelic Rock

# 15

DAYTONA by Pusha T

Album • May 25 / 2018 Hardcore Hip Hop Southern Hip Hop

# 16

Cranberry by Hovvdy

Album • Feb 09 / 2018 Lo-Fi / Slacker Rock Indie Folk Bedroom Pop

# 17

I Need to Start a Garden by Haley Heynderickx

Album • Mar 02 / 2018 Indie Folk Singer-Songwriter

# 18

Modern Lore by Julian Lage

Album • Feb 02 / 2018 Jazz Post-Bop

# 19

Forth Wanderers by Forth Wanderers

Album • Apr 27 / 2018 Indie Rock

# 20

abysskiss by Adrianne Lenker

Album • Oct 05 / 2018 Singer-Songwriter Indie Folk

# 21

Negro Swan by Blood Orange

Album • Aug 24 / 2018 Alternative R&B Sophisti-Pop

# 22

Streams of Thought Vol. 1 by Black Thought

EP • Jun 01 / 2018 East Coast Hip Hop Boom Bap

# 23

7 by Beach House

Album • May 11 / 2018 Dream Pop Neo-Psychedelia

# 24

Bark Your Head Off, Dog by Hop Along

Album • Apr 06 / 2018 Indie Rock

# 25

Boygenius by boygenius

EP • Oct 26 / 2018 Indie Rock Indie Folk Singer-Songwriter

# 26

Songs of the Plains by Colter Wall

Album • Oct 12 / 2018 Outlaw Country Americana

# 27

The Horizon Just Laughed by Damien Jurado

Album • Jul 06 / 2018 Singer-Songwriter Indie Folk

# 28

Skylight by Pinegrove

Album • Oct 05 / 2018 Indie Rock Alt-Country

# 29

C’est La Vie by Phosphorescent

Album • Oct 05 / 2018 Americana

# 30

Uniform Clarity by Jim James

Album • Oct 05 / 2018 Contemporary Folk Singer-Songwriter

# 31

Mother of My Children by Black Belt Eagle Scout

Album • Sep 14 / 2018 Indie Rock Dream Pop

# 32

Now Only by Mount Eerie

Album • Mar 16 / 2018 Indie Folk Singer-Songwriter

# 33

Only Love by The Armed

Album • Apr 27 / 2018 Post-Hardcore Noise Rock

# 34

Isolation by Kali Uchis

Album • Apr 06 / 2018 Neo-Soul Contemporary R&B

# 35

Future Me Hates Me by The Beths

Album • Aug 10 / 2018 Power Pop Indie Rock

# 36

re:member by Ólafur Arnalds

Album • Aug 24 / 2018 Ambient Modern Classical

# 37

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Courtney Barnett

Album • May 18 / 2018 Indie Rock Singer-Songwriter

# 38

Bottle It In by Kurt Vile

Album • Oct 12 / 2018 Folk Rock Singer-Songwriter

# 39

The Sciences by Sleep

Album • Apr 20 / 2018 Stoner Metal Doom Metal

# 40

All Melody by Nils Frahm

Album • Jan 26 / 2018 Post-Minimalism Electronic

# 41

Origami Harvest by Ambrose Akinmusire

Album • Oct 12 / 2018 Chamber Jazz

# 42

God's Favorite Customer by Father John Misty

Album • Jun 01 / 2018 Singer-Songwriter Chamber Pop

# 43

Oxnard by Anderson .Paak

Album • Nov 16 / 2018 West Coast Hip Hop Neo-Soul Funk

# 44

WARM by Jeff Tweedy

Album • Nov 30 / 2018 Alt-Country Singer-Songwriter

# 45

Wide Awake! by Parquet Courts

Album • May 18 / 2018

# 46

You, Forever by Sam Evian

Album • Jun 01 / 2018 Indie Pop

# 47

Chime by Sandy's

EP • Apr 20 / 2018 Neo-Psychedelia Jangle Pop

# 48

Some Rap Songs by Earl Sweatshirt

Album • Nov 30 / 2018 Abstract Hip Hop Experimental Hip Hop

# 49

And Nothing Hurt by Spiritualized

Album • Sep 07 / 2018 Neo-Psychedelia Art Rock

# 50

Redemption by Jay Rock

Album • Jun 15 / 2018 West Coast Hip Hop Trap