The Top 10 Albums of 2018

As we say goodbye to the fantastic, star-studded year of music that was 2018, let's take a look at the best of the best in the past twelve months. From terrifying underground rap projects to sample-heavy R&B albums, this year has been a triumph for industry. Like all good things, however, there must be a ranking of the projects that stood out above all else, so, without further ado, this is my ranking of the top 10 albums of 2018.

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10

Room 25 - Noname

Lyricism - 10/10 (powerful, fast, deeply personal)

Production - 6/10 (lo-fi, melancholy, abstract)

Message/Cohesiveness - 8/10 (well-driven, easily identifiable)

SCORE - 8.0/10

*Best 2 songs: "Blaxploitation" & "Ace"

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9

2012-2017 - A.A.L. (Against All Logic)

Lyricism - 8/10 (polished, instrumentally driven vocals/snippets)

Production - 10/10 (beautifully lush samples, highly addictive synths)

Message/Cohesiveness - 7/10 (well-formulated, groovy, highly interpretable)

SCORE - 8.3/10

*Best 2 songs: "This Old House Is All I Have" & "Know You"

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8

Astroworld - Travis Scott

Lyricism - 7/10 (simple yet effective)

Production - 10/10 (hypnotizing, phsychadelic, catchy as hell)

Message/Cohesiveness - 8/10 (theme present throughout album)

SCORE - 8.3/10

*Best 2 songs: "Stargazing" & "Stop Trying To Be God"

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7

Veteran - JPEGMAFIA

Lyricism - 9/10 (macabre, highly-understandable, shocking)

Production - 10/10 (disturbing, dark, industrial)

Message/Cohesiveness - 7/10 (smooth, intense)

SCORE - 8.6/10

*Best 2 songs: "1539 N. Calvert" & "Baby I'm Bleeding"

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6

K.T.S.E. - Teyana Taylor

Lyricism - 8/10 (provocative, soft and glossy)

Production - 10/10 (uniquely driven by samples, especially for an R&B album)

Message/Cohesiveness - 8/10 (highly-sexual, compassionate, short and sweet)

SCORE - 8.6/10

*Best 2 songs: "Gonna Love Me" & "Hurry"

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5

Some Rap Songs - Earl Sweatshirt

Lyricism - 10/10 (impossibly complex, perfectly constructed)

Production - 8/10 (abstract, choppy, artistic)

Message/Cohesiveness - 8.2/10 (personal, incredibly heavy, identifiable)

SCORE - 8.7

*Best 2 songs: "December" 24th & "Nowhere2go"

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4

Whack World - Tierra Whack

Lyricism - 8/10 (cute at some points, dark at others)

Production - 8.2/10 (consistent, catchy, diverse)

Message/Cohesiveness - 10/10 (brilliant concept, 15 one-minute long songs that flow perfectly)

SCORE - 8.7/10

*Best 2 songs: "Hungry Hippo" & "Pet Cemetery"

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3

Oxnard - Anderson .Paak

Lyricism - 8/10 (relatable, humorous, great features)

Production - 10/10 (literally a catalog of instruments and sonic concepts)

Message/Cohesiveness - 9/10 (one of the best story-telling albums of the year)

SCORE - 9/10

*Best 2 songs: "Brother's Keeper" & "The Chase"

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2

Daytona - Pusha T

Lyricism - 10/10 (trademark Pusha T, gritty, real-life wordplay)

Production - 10/10 (nothing short of incredible)

Message/Cohesiveness - 8.2/10 (pretty straight-forward, short and air-tight)

SCORE - 9.4/10

*Best 2 songs: "The Games We Play" & "Santeria"

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1

Kids See Ghosts - Kids See Ghosts

Lyricism - 10/10 (lyrically Kanye's best wordplay since earliest years, Cudi's best bars since MOTM2)

Production - 10/10 (dazzling clash of spacey synths and infectious samples)

Message/Cohesiveness - 9/10 (highly-relatable, deeply-personal)

SCORE - 9.7/10

*Best 2 songs: "Reborn" & "Cudi Montage"

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