ILM’s Top 77 Albums of 2018

Here’s the Top 77 Albums of 2018 Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/user/forksclovetofu/playlist/4DzRiNP3gnIu4icC69zypd

Here’s the complete list of all 1148 albums nominated:
https://pastebin.com/RB81mE8b

Your poll runners are myself (posting, playlisting), Moka (posting, graphics) and Seandalai (organization and vote tabulation).

With each winning song, I’ll link to the appropriate ILX thread and a pair of representative album reviews. Moka needed an extra day or two to organize, so I’m starting us for the week; she may organize differently once she’s back, so don’t get too comfortable with the format. I got a busy day tomorrow and, given that I need to be sufficiently productive tomorrow, we’re getting going in the wee hours rather than in the EST morning.

As per the tracks poll, bragging rights to you if you can name the #78 before we finish.

If you missed it, here’s the tracks thread: ILM’s Top 77 Tracks of 2018

That’s housekeeping taken care of; I’ll try to take it to #61 before Tuesday.

ESSKEETIT

👍

Lol, everyone is asleep. Ah well. Needs must.

http://i.imgur.com/GfqSIcD.jpg

#77: Amen Dunes – Freedom - 189 points – 7votes

thread of amen dunes

Barnaby Smith: “A momentous, unprecedentedly confessional record for the New Yorker, who’s treading new ground musically and lyrically.”

Ben Homewood: “A grand, pop-rock masterpiece.”

Unconventional approach!

Ooh, glad this got in.

the only reason i'm up is that i'm on deadline so yeah sure let's do this

ayyyyy

I guess I should check this out huh

dang the borad is genuinely dead, huh. Alright, maybe i put a pin in it and come back in the morning.

Give us #76 and then return in the morning.

Its unlikely I will have heard any of these albums, so it only seems fair to comment if anything good pops up in any skipping through!

too low

oh this is starting at a weird time, but it's good for me

A friend of mine pointed out how much his voice sounds like David Gray and I can't unhear it.

Great, now I can't either.

Tunes are still better tho

dang the borad is genuinely dead, huh

past midnight on the east coast and monday's tomorrow. the internet is dead

maybe less so for people who watched the super bowl i guess

i wasn't looking at ilm because it's always dead at this time even though i'm always wide awake

there were a few good tracks on Freedom but it didn't really click for me overall, i'm not really sold on the sort of loops he builds his songs around i guess?

on first listen his delivery and vocal melodies remind me of richard ashcroft

that gap between everyone here falling asleep and everyone in the uk waking up is usually when i'm updating the third eye blind thread really stoned

Freedom jambs so right

save us johnny forks

I can sort of see comparisons to Gray, Ashcroft, but his voice is much more interesting-sounding to me

Good timing for antipodeans and commuters in Europe / the UK but not many others. Anyway, looking forward to this rollout despite the dull first cab off the rank.

This album is comfort food - listenable, if you're not engaging too much, and maybe suitable for the sleepy nothingness of a rainy morning commute (hai), but...yeah that's all

I haven't turned it off yet, which feels like sufficient praise

uhh... what time.. uh?

forks sleep posting again

forks should continue to post the rest of the rollout at the least expected times

i'm here for it

strangely, i listened to that amen dunes album this afternoon, for the first time in ages. i've listened to it about 10 times and i still have no idea if i'd recommend it to another person. but yet i keep coming back.

Comfort food ftw.

On an unrelated note, are there any iOS apps that make browsing ILX on mobile less of an early 00s experience?

here you go

Zing Touch is the official ilx app

Awesome, thanks.

Totally going to miss the first ten of these before I wake up tomorrow.

i'm down for one reveal at 5am for the next 76 days

I don't mind this tbh, sounds like something that could've been runner-up in Ptolemaic Terrascope's AOTY in 1993

comfort food just another way to say you like something when you fear the wrath of the tastemakers

^^ da troot

any predictions out there for what's going to win this year?

Monáe?

kacey musgraves seems like the most obviously likely to me but i think there's plenty of room to be surprised too

fingers x'd for mitski

musgraves or 1975

You could always vote or start compiling a shortlist! The 2018 ILX Metal n' Heavy Rock Poll VOTING + CAMPAIGNING thread! Ballots due Saturday, Feb. 9th!

while you wait!

as much as i love the 1975 i'd be really disappointed if they do better than they did in 2016 with a worse album but i could see it happening

if they'd won in 2016 it would have been a triumph (though king winning certainly was anyway) but if they win this year it's just 'lol i love them but come on it was only like the 20th best album this year'

fair points - think theyd be the favourite to win this still tbh

I thought Christine & The Queens would have been a contender for #1, but they didn't feature strongly in the tracks so have tempered my expectations.

It'll be an 'M': Musgraves, Monae or Mitski. For all the love I can't see 1975 reaching the top spot.

Autechre cracking the top 20 would be sweet.

the vladislav delay outtakes digital release, for anyone who likes his music, is great. possibly better than some released album pieces, and the circa 2014 bit irrelevant

the review that sparked my road trip https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/review-lily-allen-drops-subtle-truth-bombs-on-no-shame-629876/

ended up actually buying the cd at electric fetus in mpls (I bought a number of albums), which was a weird experience due to road construction. they had one entrance left against a wave of road construction mud

the long tail of music purchases against ecological experiences

I can't even remember the last time I went to the Electric Fetus there. Could be a couple of years ago now. I usually pop into the one in Duluth when I'm there but often leave empty handed. I'm more of a vinyl guy and the selection isn't always the best.

Many thanks to the poll-runners!

I've never voted in one of these previously, because I don't ordinarily think in "x of the year" terms. But I definitely heard countless great things I might never have got around to as a result of the playlists and discussion, and I'm way better informed about recent releases than I have been for at least a couple of years.

It's quite difficult to complain about Chvrches not placing when Charlie Puth sucked the credibility out of the roll-out pretty much near the beginning.

chvrches are shite mate

thanks to the poll runners- great images again !

a worthy winner

You're wrong.

(x-post)

Surprised Chvrches didn't place. Wasn't their previous album pretty well loved here?

And the Charlie Puth album is very good

sons of kemet lp is out of print, impulse need to get their act together

xp yeah but everyone except their biggest fan (turrican) thought that the new chvrches was a massive letdown

Second Chvrches album is great, new one is shite but the one thing an ILM poll does NOT need is more watery electropop.

I scrolled through the entire Top 10 after getting in from the pub but somehow missed Sun-El Musician at #9. When I saw Kasey at #2 I thought he'd won and celebrated like he'd just won the World Cup.

The Low record is clearly good but, I dunno, I just hope I'm rarely in the frame of mind to actually want to listen to it.

Thanks to everyone who organised it. For all the US dominance it actually felt like a more globally diverse list than we've had in a while.

There were people that thought the second Chvrches album was shite too. They were also wrong!

Was almost quite enjoying the Tracey Thorn record until that 8-minute thing turned up and drowned me. Morning is not the time for Yves Tumor so I'm onto MGMT now. I mean the album starts quite strong (in an objective, not-entirely-for-me sense) but will it be able to sustain itself beyond the first four tracks?

I love the Julia Holter album even if it was the first time she didn't make an album that was better than her last one. I might be on my own on that one.

I agree. HYIMW was her best yet.

I know Metal is niche around here but we do take a loose definition of the word and its really a noisy/heavy rock/metal and subgenres poll which means we have nominations .
It's also not US-centric at all and many non-English singing bands get in.

So if everybody could just take a wee look at the nominations and if you like anything please vote.

The 2018 ILX Metal n' Heavy Rock Poll VOTING + CAMPAIGNING thread! NEW EXTENDED DEADLINE! Ballots due by Friday, February 15th 11.59pm PST

So where DID Koenji Hyakkei place?

they got like 92 points iirc, 2 votes

good album

this Low album... Well it certainly sounds different from what I've heard from them before. A bit like listening to a Low album but with a really trippy cold

Monae album has some great deep cuts - So Afraid, for example

It's quite difficult to complain about Chvrches not placing when Charlie Puth sucked the credibility out of the roll-out pretty much near the beginning.

― Le Baton Rose (Turrican),

The second album was great and was worthy of making the top 20 that year. The new one deserved to miss out. I'm surprised it got as high as it did!

i think he's complaining about a poll he didn't vote in again

if i'd known charlie puth would've kept turrican away from this thread, i would've voted for it

charlie puth is good now

Charlie Puth's transformation from "terrible joke" into "legitimately decent pop musician" has been fascinating. I liked the singles off of his album a lot when they came on the radio, something I never would have guessed/imagined would happen after that terrible Fast & Furious song.

I actually have no Charlie Puth opinions but mentioning his name is apparently a powerful ward

i dug into Puth when he placed here and I'll agree that the the front half up until Patient is surprisingly good. It's when he dips into adult contemporary that he loses me completely; the james taylor duet is terrifying.

But yeah, I associated him in 2016/2017 with the worst of pop and took to calling him "The Puth"

still kinda gonna keep calling him "The Puth" i think

was that him who duetted with meghan trainor on that truly awful song?

yes, will not embed out of self preservation but it includes the phrase "let's marvin gaye and get it on"

"Puth" - the sound you make when you spit out something that tastes horrible

https://i.imgur.com/zywVsz0.jpg

It's true. If you don't vote in metal poll, you're a cop

Monae album has some great deep cuts - So Afraid, for example

The prog-rock synth that blows up midway through So Afraid is one of my favourite moments on the album.

haha you're just trying to get imago to listen, right?

It's a fantastic album, everyone should listen to it.

Love Gritty, hate metal. A true conundrum.

For those who haven't heard it, the Switched on Pop about Charlie Puth's "Boy" is excellent and can be heard here:

http://www.switchedonpop.com/87-the-pure-pop-of-charlie-puth-carly-rae-ft-hanif-abdurraqib/

Was almost quite enjoying the Tracey Thorn record until that 8-minute thing turned up and drowned me

Ach, you cannot even listen like a girl? Fair enough; then skip it and play "Babies" and "Dancefloor" after the midpoint on that album at least.

I had never heard of The Armed before and god this album rules.

fuckin the grammys picked a better AOTY than ilm this year

yeah, don't agree

I missed the last part of the rollout, thank you Moka, seandalai, ulysses for all the hard work!

I had a lot of fun following these rollouts this year. I voted. A few of the albums I voted for made it. Best thing I hadn’t heard is probably Skee Mask (I guess the name threw me off). Also excited by a preview of Szun Waves. Album I was most surprised by not making top 77 was Konoyo.

Did anyone post the ordered list (for copy-paste) and do we have the cool Moka-images list ?

Actually I can try doing that myself

ILM Top 77 Albums of 2018

1 Low - Double Negative 1440 45 6
2 Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour 1078 30 5
3 Robyn - Honey 933 27 3
4 Julia Holter - Aviary 916 27 4
5 Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer 748 25 1
6 Mitski - Be the Cowboy 747 23 1
7 The 1975 - A brief inquiry into online relationships 739 23 3
8 Autechre - NTS Sessions 1-4 649 18 4
9 sun-el musician - africa to the world 606 19 3
10 The Beths - Future Me Hates Me 602 17 3
11 Sons of Kemet - Your Queen is a Reptile 586 19 1
12 oneohtrix point never - age of 540 20 0
13 Beach House - 7 539 18 1
14 Rosalía - El mal querer 532 16 1
15 U.S. Girls - In a Poem Unlimited 515 20 2
16 Mr Twin Sister - Salt 492 16 1
17 MGMT - Little Dark Age 486 16 1
18 Yves Tumor - Safe In The Hands Of Love 483 13 3
19 Tracey Thorn - Record 482 13 3
20 Daphne & Celeste - Daphne & Celeste Save The World 455 13 0
21 Christine & The Queens - Chris 437 16 1
22 Let's Eat Grandma - I'm All Ears 431 14 1
23 Kali Uchis - Isolation 430 13 0
24 SOPHIE - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides 413 15 1
25 Pusha T - DAYTONA 410 12 2
26 Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog 398 13 0
27 Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs 389 14 0
28 Against All Logic - 2012-2017 380 12 0
29 Ariana Grande - Sweetener 364 11 1
30 Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino 359 12 0
31 Tropical Fuck Storm - A Laughing Death in Meatspace 356 12 1
32 Makaya McCraven - Universal Beings 350 12 0
33 Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs 340 10 1
34 Tirzah - Devotion 334 10 0
35 DJ Koze - Knock Knock 330 13 0
36 Meshell Ndegeocello - Ventriloquism 329 13 0
37 mewithoutyou - (untitled) 328 9 3
38 Parquet Courts - Wide Awake 323 10 0
39 Snail Mail - Lush 308 9 1
40 Natalie Prass - The Future and the Past 306 11 0
41 ashley monroe - sparrow 304 12 0
42 Gang Gang Dance - Kazuashita 300 13 0
43 Black Dresses - Waste Isolation 285 7 1
44 Eiko Ishibashi - The Dream My Bones Dream 282 10 0
45 Helena Hauff - Qualm 280 9 0
46 Saba - Care for Me 276 9 1
47 Neneh Cherry - Broken Politics 275 9 0
48 Sleep - The Sciences 270 8 0
49 The Breeders - All Nerve 267 10 0
50 Laurel Halo - Raw Silk Uncut Wood 260 10 1
51 boygenius - boygenius EP 260 9 1
52 Noname - Room 25 257 11 0
53 Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love 254 7 0
54 Domenique Dumont - Miniatures De Auto Rhythm 253 10 0
55 The Armed - Only Love 251 9 1
56 Foxing - Nearer My God 247 9 0
57 Wye Oak - The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs 243 8 0
58 Jon Hopkins - Singularity 240 10 0
59 Burna Boy - Outside 240 9 1
60 Mount Eerie - Now Only 234 8 0
61 Andrew WK - You Are Not Alone 233 8 1
62 Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy 230 10 0
63 Mariah Carey - Caution 228 11 0
64 YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN - Dirt 227 8 0
65 Skee Mask - Compro 225 9 0
66 Hailu Mergia - Lala Belu 221 10 0
67 Kamasi Washington - Heaven And Earth 216 10 0
68 YOB - Our Raw Heart 214 8 1
69 Ghost - Prequelle 214 6 0
70 Kadhja Bonet - Childqueen 208 9 0
71 Kero Kero Bonito - Time 'n' Place 208 8 0
72 Wednesday Campanella - Galapagos 206 7 0
73 Senyawa - Sujud 204 6 0
74 Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything's Fine 202 11 0
75 charlie puth - voicenotes 192 6 1
76 Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel 190 7 1
77 Amen Dunes - Freedom 189 7 0

Did anyone post the ordered list (for copy-paste) and do we have the cool Moka-images list ?

― Nabozo

Here you go:

Albums - https://imgur.com/a/FfH9LSQ

Tracks - https://imgur.com/a/gqEoTrs

Thanks Moka !