The Needle Drop's Top 50 Albums of 2018

The Light Is Leaving Us All might not be particularly strange or unique in the grand scheme of Current 93's extensive discography, but it's nevertheless a lovely return to the band's neofolk sound.

Blood Orange's latest is a dreamy, sensual, and holistic album with a message.

Twisted Crystal is all the zany pop fun of GT Ultra, but set in space and on LSD.

Hop Along's song structures and storytelling mature on Bark Your Head Off, Dog.

All at Once boasts Screaming Females' sharpest and catchiest songwriting in a long time.

Zeal & Ardor's unique blend of black metal and slave spirituals comes together in an exciting and blasphemous display on Stranger Fruit.

Car Seat Headrest's remake of its Bandcamp classic Twin Fantasy is an improvement on all fronts.

With its well executed concept, tight sequencing, and top-notch production from Animoss, Orpheus vs. the Sirens is probably the best album with which to introduce someone to the work of Ka.

At seven tracks and just over 21 minutes, the Kanye West-helmed DAYTONA is pretty much watertight and finds Pusha T in top form.

Dirty Computer is Janelle Monáe's poppiest album to date, as well as her most deeply sexual and political.

Dead Magic is Swedish singer-songwriter and organist Anna von Hausswolff's best work to date.

Polyphia comes through with a tight and versatile modern math rock album.

Twenty One Pilots take their catchy songwriting, genre blending, and emotional lyricism up a few notches on Trench.

Ye paints a vivid picture of Kanye's current state of self and, for as brief as it is, succeeds as an intimate exploration of family and mental health.

Exuding copious amounts of raw positivity, You're Not Alone is a triumphant return to music for Andrew W.K.

Jean Grae and Quelle Chris have a yin and yang chemistry on Everything's Fine, one of the smartest, funniest, and most eclectic hip hop albums I've heard this year.

Playboi Carti's debut album is intoxicating in its simplicity.

Oxnard has a stronger sense of direction than its predecessor and is a breath of fresh air in the current state of pop rap and neo-soul.

Some Rap Songs is Earl Sweatshirt's most emotionally intense and artistically defined project yet.

Horrifying! Portal's Ion is one of the most dystopian and sound-rich technical death metal records of the decade.

At nearly 50 years old as a band, Judas Priest has just released not only a late career highlight, but one of the greatest heavy metal albums of the decade.

Kero Kero Bonito make their Polyvinyl debut with a pretty radical departure from the signature sound cemented on Bonito Generation. Thankfully, Time 'n' Place is every bit as good as that album.

Rosalía makes a fantastic transition into modern pop aesthetics without sacrificing her flamenco roots.

Stoner metal titan Sleep makes a hell of a comeback with The Sciences, which encompasses both the band's classic sound and influences from the members' other creative endeavors over the past 15 years.

Horrendous takes a mighty step forward with the visceral and multi-faceted compositions that make up Idol.

UK punk outfit IDLES return with an album that improves on the brutal and politically charged style the band delivered on their debut last year. One of the best punk albums of the decade without question!

Prequelle may be slightly less edgy than Ghost's previous work, but is one of the band's most well written and produced batches of songs to date, and its loose concept keeps things just fresh enough.

NY pop duo MGMT executes a fantastic return to form with the sounds of synth pop on Little Dark Age.

TA13OO's three-act concept could have used some fleshing out, but the music at the core is easily Denzel Curry's best yet.

Thanks to its strong melodies and aesthetic, Isolation is a great and promising full-length debut from the Colombian soul singer.

Jack White's Boarding House Reach is his most unorthodox stroke of genius since going solo.

With In a Poem Unlimited, U.S. Girls delivers what is sure to be one of the year's most versatile and lyrically intriguing pop albums.

Your Queen Is a Reptile should go down as one of the most exhilarating and revolutionary jazz records of 2018.

Noname's music has only gotten even more gorgeous and charming since her breakthrough mixtape Telefone.

Haru Nemuri's debut album pushes J-pop/rap in an exciting direction by channeling Japan's rich history of underground rock music.

Not only is Wide Awake! better performed and written than any Parquet Courts album thus far, but on it the band consistently manages to make interesting artistic statements on some very difficult topics.

Natalia Lafourcade and Los Macorinos explore the wide world of Latin American folk music with a generous tracklist of quality originals and creative revisions on Musas Vol. 2.

Veteran is sure to be one of the most in-your-face, off-the-wall and creative rap projects of 2018.

KIDS SEE GHOSTS finds both Kanye West and Kid Cudi in top form as they host a psychedelic odyssey through the darkest and brightest corners of their psyches.

Daughters return with the most effectively terrifying album I've heard all decade.