The 50 Best Albums Of 2018
Art is identity, scream these best albums of 2018. Even when it's pure invention. The most striking things we heard this year mined personal experiences that could feel intimate as whispers or bold and overstuffed as superhero science fiction. Even in an era where listeners have been primed for the unexpected, genuine surprises arrived steadily across the last 12 months – a cascade of introductions, breakthroughs, revelations and rebirths to reward whatever precious attention you could give. (Not a huge surprise: Most of them, after the votes from our staff and member station partners were tallied, turned out to have been made by women.) We're happy to share NPR Music's list of the 50 best albums of 2018. You can listen to them here and hear a discussion on the year in music on All Songs Considered. We'll have lots more before the year ends.
40.
The HIRS Collective
Friends. Lovers. Favorites.
There were times this year when reckoning with the continual violence against and erasure of queer and trans people felt like drowning — like even opening your mouth to speak was, as plainly descriptive: Punk legends like Laura Jane Grace, Shirley Manson, Martin Crudo and Alice Bag all lend their voices. But it's also a mission statement, or maybe a dedication. Embedded in each of its 20 tracks of blistering, boundary-pushing grindcore — which explore themes like gratefulness ("Wake Up Tomorrow," "Friends. Lovers. Favorites."), community ("It's Ok to Be Sad," "Women in Hordes"), anti-racist rage ("I'm Tired") and queer supremacy ("Hard to Get," "Outnumbered") — is a testament to the power of communal anger, and a reminder that there is no survival without solidarity.
