Top 20 Albums Of 2018

Another great year for music, though how we listened to our favorite music continues to change. We find ourselves streaming more and more music, even streaming full albums before deciding on whether to purchase or not. And when we do purchase, more and more often we're finding that purchasing a compact disc is becoming less of an option. In fact, 3 out of the top 5 releases in our list were digital only (or vinyl!?) releases. Definitely not a trend we like and one we'll need time to get used to as the music industry makes the shift to streaming music (even over downloading) and more artists take the independent route to get their music to fans.

However, whether we purchased a physical copy of a CD, downloaded it, or simply streamed it on our favorite streaming service, we spent many hours listening and re-listening to albums to make sure we selected the right twenty albums for our list and that the album at the #1 spot is right where it belongs. So, without further ado, here are the 20 albums that were released between January 1st and December 31st of 2018 that we felt deserved some added attention and the recognition of being one of the 20 best of the year. We hope you enjoy the list and take the time to search out & listen to albums you aren't familiar with. You may just find your new favorite artist!

20. 'Fight The Good Fight' by The Interrupters

19. 'Golden' by Kylie Minogue

18. 'Golden Hour' by Kacey Musgraves

17. 'Art Of Doubt' by Metric

16. 'One Big Nothing' by CLOVES

15. 'Be More Kind' by Frank Turner

14. 'Love Is Dead' by CHVRCHES

13. 'Somethingness' by Our Lady Peace

12. 'Love Monster' by Amy Shark

11. 'Pray For The Wicked' by Panic! At The Disco

10. 'Wildness' by Snow Patrol

9. 'Sings His Sad Heart' by Matt Nathanson

8. 'Electric Light' by James Bay

7. 'Starfire' by Caitlyn Smith

6. 'Ivory' by Gin Wigmore

5. 'Castles' by Lissie

4. 'Warning Bells' by Escondido

3. 'Sleepwalkers' by Brian Fallon

2. 'New Compassion' by Haerts

1.

Artist: Coyle Girelli

Album: Love Kills

Standout Tracks: Disappear, My Blue Heart, Isabella Dances, I Might As Well Die With You, In Your Arms, Where's My Girl?...

RIYL: The Chevin, Your Vegas, Roy Orbison, Michael Buble, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Chris Isaak

Comments: We fell in love with Coyle's voice back in 2008 when we heard 'A Town And Two Cities' by Your Vegas. The song "Salvador" is still one of our favorites to this day. With vocals that are at times operatic, cinematic, dramatic, and just plain impressive, there's no denying this guy can sing. 'Love Kills' is filled with raw emotion, soaring melodies, and memorable hooks, with touches of shimmering guitar, Ennio Morricone spaghetti western influences and crooner era styling.

Honorable Mention:

'Is This Thing Cursed?' by Alkaline Trio

'Church Of Scars' by Bishop Briggs

'M A N I A' by Fall Out Boy

'Lost Friends' by Middle Kids

'Boom Boom Room (Side B)' by Palaye Royale

'Immortelle' by Say Lou Lou

'Northern Sun Sessions' by The Virginmarys

Disappointments:

We didn't dislike these albums, but after loving previous releases or really digging the initial single, these albums fell short of our expectations:

'Past Lives' by Against The Current

'Take Me To The Disco' by Meg Myers

2019:

2019 is already shaping up to be an exciting year...starting with anticipation for some albums that didn't see the light of day in 2018 like we thought. Here are some artists we're expecting to see new music from this year...Zella Day (her long overdue follow-up to 'Kicker' should finally hit after she separated ties with her record label), Nina Nesbitt ('The Sun Will Come Up The Seasons Will Change' is set for a February 8th release), machineheart ('People Change' is also set to drop February 8th), Wild Belle, The Airborne Toxic Event, LIGHTS (an acoustic take on 'Skin & Earth'), Gabrielle Aplin, Night Riots, Heather Nova ('Pearl' is set for an early Spring release), Lauren Jenkins ('No Saint' is set for release on March 15th), AFI, Bring Me The Horizon, LEON, White Lies, Halsey, Annie Stela, Cassadee Pope ('Stages' is set for release on February 1st), Christina Perri...just to name a few. Should be an awesome year for music!