The Best Music of 2018
Catch up on all of PopMatters' year-end best music features, including our deep and rich genre lists. Check back each weekday for new additions through to the holidays.
04 December
Music
The 10 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2018
From Kanye tweets to Drake and Pusha T diss tracks to literary masterpiece "This Is America", 2018 was quite the year for rap. But if we had to boil it all down to just 10 albums, we think these are the cuts that truly rose above and summed up 2018 the best.
7h
The 10 Best Country Albums of 2018
As our 2018 list demonstrates, women continue to make some of today's most spectacular country music, regardless of what gets played on the radio.
7h
The 10 Best Indie Rock Albums of 2018
Indie rock represents a spirit that's found where folk songsters and punk rockers come together to dialogue about what they're fed up with in mainstream culture.
12 December
Kaz James Remixes Tall Heights' "The Deep End" (premiere)
Australian producer Kaz James gives the song by the electro-folk outfit a deep house makeover, turning into a guaranteed floor-filler.
4h
Cyclone Static Meditates on Commitment with Powerful Track "Walk This Line" (premiere)
New Jersey punk trio Cyclone Static blends tradition with a sense of the now on "Walk This Line".
4h
Indie Label Mom + Pop's 10th Anniversary Celebration
Courtney Barnett, Tom Morello, Sleigh Bells, and more performed at Brooklyn Steel for Mom + Pop's party.
12 December
The Best Shoegaze and Dream Pop of 2018
Significant shoegaze storylines came around full circle last year, and in 2018 the plot thickened. Meanwhile, the chilling effects of dream pop continue to reverberate across other musical spheres.
11 December
The 70 Best Albums of 2018
From forward-looking electronic and experimental to new approaches in the ever-evolving R&B scene, from hip-hop and punk to rock and pop, 2018 bestowed an embarrassment of musical riches upon us.
10 December
'Vox Lux' Is an Oblique Meditation on Innocence, Celebrity and Trauma
Brady Corbet's second film, Vox Lux, has a chaotic relationship with celebrity and carries a heavy — some might say overloaded — symbolic heft. How is it that it's still so fun?
11 December
Aretha Franklin: Context, Intersectionality, and the Rock Canon
Viewing Aretha Franklin's work through a focus on race, gender, and other categories of analysis can challenge us to do the same with all music, acknowledging how multiple points of oppression and privilege impact the production, consumption, and reception of a wide range of music.
11 December
Ryan Bingham Dazzles with Troubadour Charm at the Sweetwater
Solo acoustic "Songs & Stories" format proves a winning formula for Ryan Bingham, the Texas-raised singer/songwriter with California charisma.
11 December
Robert Christgau's 'Is It Still Good to Ya?'
Robert Christgau is the rare critic who can write insightfully and passionately about a sweaty performance by a popular Congolese soukous band and a magisterial show by Senegal's Youssou N'Dour. That magic is captured in his latest anthology, Is It Still Good to Ya?
11 December
The 25 Best Electronic Albums of 2018
Electronic music is one of the broadest-reaching genres by design, and 2018 highlights that as well as any other year on record. These are the 25 best albums.
07 December
A Place for Us: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and the Legacy Captured in 'Imagine John Yoko'
Imagine John Yoko is a beautifully curated recollection of a song, an album, successive films, and the legacy of peaceful idealism from the people who made it happen and carry on with the message.
07 December
Track By Track: George FitzGerald - All That Must Be
In his own words, let George FitzGerald guide you through the best work of his career and the best electronic album of 2018.
07 December
Harmony with the Irish Feminine: An Interview with Colm Mac Con Iomaire
Colm Mac Con Iomaire is currently collaborating on dancer Maureen Fleming's Wildflowers performance in New York City.
07 December
Lubomyr Melnyk's 'Fallen Trees' Is a Thing of Uncommon Beauty
The latest album from the Ukranian-born pianist Lubomyr Melnyk combines lush melodies with stunning instrumental technique.
07 December
British Duo TENDER Debut Video for New Single "Bottled Up" (premiere)
On their first release from forthcoming album, TENDER examine the flawed character traits that we all possess on intricately refined pop song.
07 December
A Perfect Circle Kicks off the Final Leg of 2018 World Tour
A Perfect Circle embarks on the final stretch of an extended journey to promote their new release, Eat the Elephant.
07 December
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