Another year in the rearview mirror; but not without a bevy of excellent releases left behind. Like every year, 2018 swarmed us with superb tunes and outlandish albums that caught our collective attention throughout the last 12 months. Here are our top picks of 2018.
Meth Lab 2: The Lithium is a fine listen, top to bottom, if what you are looking for is catchy earworm hip-hop beats, and a not-so-serious theme. The Meth Lab 2: The Lithium is far from Method Man’s finest album; however, most fans will dig the offering. After all, Method Man, too, is for the children.
The “A Pale Tour Named Death” trek is a one-band, 3-hour, 2-part, demonstration-of-cool act. Ghost is simply amazing, visually and musically complex, and ridiculously astounding on that stage.
Per usual, Shaky Knees has unleashed a versatile array of artists from all corners of the music industry spectrum. Leading this maniacally superb charge are 4, yes 4, headliners: the eclectic Beck, the psychedelic talented bunch from Down Under: Tame Impala, Cali extraordinaire alt-rockers: Incubus, and Kentucky garage rock darlings: Cage the Elephant. Jaw-dropping, right?
When Enter the Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers) dropped, all of New York paid attention, then all of the hip-hop community, then the world. This record is one of those rare times that in hindsight we were mostly correct. Looking back, the only obvious failure was not deeming it an instant classic.
Coheed and Cambria put on a spectacle of ample musical magnitude. Rock and Roll with a comic book twist, dazzling lights, disco balls, and of course, that iconic mop of hair on Caludio’s head.
Puerto Rico has produced many entertainers of high regard and special talents — and Bad Bunny is nothing short of spectacular. The man is a rising star and a formidable showman. The pageantry is colorful and dance-inducing. Bad Bunny is the complete package. Not bad for a lad yet to release a freshman record.
