The 8 Best Albums of 2018
I’m notoriously bad at new music. I mean, I was born in 1998 so just think about all the decades of music that came before that I have to get caught up with! Couple my enthusiasm for uncovering the best music from years gone by with the fact that about eighty-five percent of my year was spent surrounded by either Disney or Christmas music and you get probably one of the worst lists of the best albums you’ll ever see. But the two at the top really stood out to me as some of the best albums I’ve ever heard. The other ones decently help round out the collection. I’ll get better at this! I made a Spotify account so hopefully my modern music knowledge will be better buoyed in 2019.
8. 44/876 by Sting and Shaggy
At the beginning of the year, I never would have expected either of these two to be on the list. One, a 1990s reggae artist. The other, a solo artist who escaped The Police. But they came together for a pretty solid sounding collaborative album that boasted a surprisingly listenable hit, “Don’t Make Me Wait.” It’s probably not great praise for an album to be filled with tempered adverbs like “listenable,” but when expectations are low, the result can be much better than anticipated.
7. In the Blue Light by Paul Simon
An argument can be made that Paul Simon’s 2018 album should not qualify since it consists of revisionist works of classic songs, but fuck it, no one’s reading this anyway. In the album that helped support Simon’s swan song tour, he gives attention and space to some songs that are able to exist in myriad contexts. “Can’t Run But,” with its pseudo-jazzy, softly sung reimagination, is the highlight here.
6. A Legendary Christmas by John Legend
It wouldn’t be a Dave Mello music list without a Christmas album. And it’s too bad that John Legend’s Christmassy endeavors are getting such a small amount of attention. Sure, he had appearances on every possible Christmas special you could think of, including his own with Chrissy Teigen. But people still mostly gravitate towards Mariah Carey and Michael Buble in the Christmas music mainstream. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of them, mind you, but I just think Legend deserves to be up there. This album, including a rare cover of “Purple Snowflakes,” a delightful rendition of “What Christmas Means to Me” with Stevie Wonder, and a new holiday staple in “Bring Me Love,” is going to be a part of my Christmas rotation for many years to come.
5. Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae
With the bomb that was Welcome to Marwen, it’s a good thing Janelle Monae had one of the best albums of the year to look back on with pride. I don’t often agree with the Grammys, but the praise heaped on Monae’s best album was well deserved. It’s soulful and it’s one of the best hip hop albums in recent memory. But above all else, I think Monae excels in her R&B persona. “Django Jane,” though, is my favorite.
4. A Star Is Born by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
I always feel odd about including movie soundtracks on this list, but it’s better when they’re comprised of original songs and covers and even better when they were released in 2018 (see: number two). I couldn’t not feature this gargantuan album that took the world by storm. Lady Gaga is a global icon and, yet, her best work comes from this album, particularly in “Shallow,” which has already been written about to death. She also delivers a devastatingly excellent cover of “La Vie en Rose,” both songs showing off different vocal capabilities of Gaga. It’s Bradley Cooper who is the real surprise, though, as his voice is surprisingly well suited to the Americana, singer songwriter realm. “Maybe It’s Time” is one of my favorite songs of the year!
3. Man of the Woods by Justin Timberlake
No one’s going to agree with me on this, so I’ll just make it quick and say that “Midnight Summer Jam,” “Morning Light,” “Montana,” and “Breeze off the Pond” are true jams that prove to be testaments to Justin Timberlake’s continued growth as an artist.
2. Black Panther by Kendrick Lamar
This is probably the best album of the year, even if it’s not my true favorite. It still is one of my favorites, there’s just one that edges it out slightly more. This could arguably be the best thing that ever came out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If all that work to figure out Thor and all of those Hulk recastings meant anything, it meant we could eventually be given this. Kendrick Lamar curated one of the greatest original movie soundtracks of all-time. Hell, he created one of the greatest albums of all-time. Enlisting contributions from talent like The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Future, James Blake, and more, the Black Panther album is just so perfect. Vince Staples destroys on “Opps.” Jorja Smith delivers on “I Am.” Khalid comes close to crooning on “The Ways.” And that’s all without even mentioning “King’s Dead,” one of the biggest hits of the year! But best of all, this soundtrack gave way to “All the Stars” from Lamar and SZA. It’s got some stiff competition, but it just might be my favorite song of the year. It’ll be one I listen to for years and years and years and for that, it deserves this spot, if not a tie for first.
1: Know. by Jason Mraz
This might not show up on any list aside from mine, but I don’t care. I’ve always loved Jason Mraz and while I liked his 2014 album, Yes!, Know. is a true return to form for him. The whole thing is just beautiful and perfect and it exists strongly in a live capacity, as well. “Have It All,” was the standout single from the album and became another Mraz classic that sounds just as good acoustic as it does from the studio. He collaborated with Meghan Trainor with another delightful duet, this one coming under the name of “More Than Friends.” He also went into a deep cut by finally releasing a studio recording of a fan favorite, “Sleeping to Dream.” But my two favorites from this album, “Let’s See What the Night Can Do,” and “Unlonely” are absolute jams that show what makes love beautiful and fun, respectively. Borrowing riffs from earlier Mraz work, classic music, and altogether original beats that sound breezy and fun, the songs work perfectly in tandem with one another. The whole album is just breezy and fun, too. It’s quite lovely. And if it’s his final album, as he has hinted at, “Love Is Still the Answer” is a very Mrazian effort to go out on. I don’t care what the world says, I will always stick by Mraz. Because he sticks by some really high quality music. I love this album!
