Aaaaaand…we’re back! This the 11th annual Everything Ecstatic Best Albums of the Year roundup and for 2018, I’ve laid out the 60 albums that meant the most to me this year along with six EPs in a separate section about a third of the way down.
I covered a good number of these artists throughout the year and am linking to some of my favorite features or podcast interviews I did with them if it applies. This was also definitely my most fulfilling year in music festival coverage so you’ll notice that a lot of these interviews may have even happened on site in Montréal, San Francisco, Austin, etc…
Keeping the words brief, but including cover art, scattered audio/video/photos and a Spotify playlist at the bottom of the post. My hope is that you can come back to this list and discover artists that you may have skimmed through the first time around or click on a different link and really get to know them. Click the ‘Albums of the Year’ tab on the top of this site to re-visit past years and hit me at @AGSpinelli on Twitter or Instagram to follow along with my year-round escapades in music. Lastly, Everything Ecstatic has been producing not just features and blog posts, but also events! Like us on Facebook to stay connected! Enjoy and cheers!
Spinelli
61-51: Stellar Spins
61. Khruangbin – Con Todo El Mundo
60. Cornelia Murr – Lake Tear of the Clouds
59. Tom Misch – Geography
58. The Ophelias – Almost
57. Saba – CARE FOR ME
56. Kurt Vile – Bottle It In
55. Steady Holiday – Nobody’s Watching
54. Jim James – Uniform Distortion
53. Soccer Mommy – Clean
52 . Young Fathers – Cocoa Sugar
51 . Kamasi Washington – Heaven And Earth
The Top 50 (+ some EP’s)
50. tune-yards – I can feel you creep into my private life
An uncomfortable album on the surface, but a brilliant and important one when you dig deeper.
I wrote about it for the KQEDArts Best of the Bay Series.
49. Jefferson Park Boys – Casual Horns, Dog
A stellar beat tape from Mr. Carmack + Kenny Segal + Mike Parvizi.
48. Kamaal Williams – The Return
One half of nu-jazz group Yussef Kamaal, Williams teams with keys player Henry Wu for one of this year’s many stellar jazz releases in the budding London scene.
47. Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Tearing At The Seams
One song to rule them all:
46. Robyn – Honey
One song to rule them all part 2:
45. Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Sex & Food
One of the best band’s on the planet, straight up.
44. JAIN – Souldier
My favorite globally-inspired French pop singer belongs in the same conversation as the Charli XCX’s and Carly Rae Jepsen’s of the world.
I got the great pleasure to sit down with JAIN for an interview at the Montreal Jazz festival.
42. Speedy Ortiz – Twerp Verse
On her third LP, Sadie Dupuis has really settled into one of the most consistent indie acts of the last five years.
43. Tierra Whack – Whack World
The 15 song Whack World video was the best 15 minutes of the year.
Everything Ecstatic 