Johnny Cole’s Complete List of Favorite Albums of 2018

The list consist of “full length” albums released between January & December of 2018. They were all listened to throughout the year and compiled by a grading system – 200 brilliant albums + several that could have easily made the list. This involved hundreds of hours of listening and compiling of a list that began in January, 2018. *I have been compiling a yearly album list since 1979. This is my 40th year-end list.

This list only includes full-length albums. EP (extended play recordings) are not included, though 2018 saw many excellent EPs released.

This year’s list:

* 1. It’s Not Like You Don’t Know Me – Eric Erdman
* 1. Warning Bells – Escondido (tied)

3. Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
4. Southern State of Mind – Sugarcane Jane
5. Springsteen on Broadway – Bruce Springsteen
6. Cotton Fields and Blood for Days – Abe Partridge
7. By the Way I Forgive You – Brandi Carlile
8. Bare and Fully Dressed – Melissa Summersell
9. Coyote – John Calvin Abney
10. Songs for the Living and Otherwise – The Mulligan Brothers
11. Green Room, Vol. Two – The Marlow Boys
12. Venom & Faith – Larkin Poe
13. Reflections on the Water – Anthony Crawford
14. To The Sunset – Amanda Shires
15. God’s Favorite Customer – Father John Misty
16. An American Treasure – Tom Petty
17. Traces – Steve Perry
18. False River – Andrew Duhon
19. Ruins – First Aid Kit
20. Chasing Butterflies – Edward David Anderson
21. Redbird – The Krickets
22. Be the Cowboy – Mitski
23. Historian – Lucy Dacus
24. Johnny Cash: The Music – Forever Words – Various Artists
25. The Tree of Forgiveness – John Prine
26. Sparrow – Ashley Monroe
27. Tell Me How You Really Feel – Courtney Barnett
28. Years – Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
29. Gran Pavo Real – Great Peacock
30. Interstate Gospel – Pistol Annies
31. Other Arrangements – Parker Millsap
32. Providence Canyon – Brent Cobb
33. Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’ – Various Artists
34. Lost & Found – Gal Holiday
35. Make Way for Love – Marlon Williams
36. Becoming – Joshua Stephen Ward
37. Sanctuary – Blue Mother Tupelo
38. All Time High – Sugarcane Jane
39. Storm Coming – Jamie Lynn Vessels
40. The Magic Tree – Steve Forbert
41. Tilt & Shine – Kevin Gordon
42. Dying Star – Ruston Kelly
43. Wouldn’t It Be Great – Loretta Lynn
44. Wide Awake – Rayland Baxter
45. Cactus – Elise Davis
46. Karma for Cheap – Aaron Lee Tasjan
47. Cry No More – Danielle Nicole
48. Girl Going Nowhere – Ashley McBryde
49. Change the Whole Thing – Maggie Rose
50. Things That Change – Megan Mcmillan
51. Vanished Gardens – Charles Lloyd & the Marvels & Lucinda Williams
52. Lonesome as a Shadow – Charley Crockett
53. Hell-On – Neko Case
54. American Utopia – David Byrne
55. Western Movies – Traveller
56. Egypt Station – Paul McCartney
57. Mr. Jukebox – Joshua Hedley
58. Tenkiller – Marie/Lepanto
59. It’s All Good – Levi Parham
60. Arden’s Garden – John Milham
61. As Long As I Have You – Roger Daltrey
62. Blue Notes -Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders
63. Stranger To Me -The Black Lillies
64. A Nickel After Midnight – Nick Branch
65. Ain’t It Like The Cosmos – Andrew Bryant
66. May Your Kindness Remain – Courtney Marie Andrews
67. Our Country: Americana Act II – Ray Davies
68. Downey to Lubbock – Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore
69. Crushed Coins – Caleb Caudle
70. My American Dream – Will Hoge
71. Tearing At The Seams – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
72. Songs of the Plains – Colter Wall
73. Blood and Bones – Bob Schneider
74. Don’t Let the Devil Ride – Paul Thorn
75. Last Man Standing – Willie Nelson
76. R.E.M. at the BBC – R.E.M. (also available in 8 CD Box Set)
77. The Lonely One – Ashley Campbell
78. Come Hell or High Water – Malcolm Holcombe
79. Livers and Diers -Jesh Yancey
80. Delta – Mumford & Sons
81. She Remembers Everything – Rosanne Cash
82. MassEducation (acoustic reworking of Masseduction) – St. Vincent
83. Beach Town – Charlie Mars
84. Live At Mauch Chunk Opera House – Seth Walker
85.The Change – Kevin Galloway
86. Blue Mesa – Luke Winslow King
87. Dark Horse – Devin Dawson
88. Natural Rebel – Richard Ashcroft
89. Kindness, A Rebel – River Whyless
90.Take Good Care -The Revivalists
91. Steak Night at the Prairie Rose – Mike and the Moonpies
92. Whistle Down the Wind – Joan Baez
93. Other People’s Stuff – John Mellencamp
94. Here If You Listen – David Crosby
95. Bad Witch – Nine Inch Nails
96. Look Now – Elvis Costello & The Imposters
97. Warm – Jeff Tweedy
98. Time Flies – Jim Lauderdale
99. Rifles & Rosary Beads – Mary Gauthier
100. Young Valley – Young Valley
101.Tuscumbia – Belle Adair
102. Passwords – Dawes
103. Things Change – American Aquarium
104. Hardly Seems Worth It – Long Bony Arms
105. More Blood, More Tracks: The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 – Bob Dylan
106. What a Time to Be Alive – Superchunk
107. Jim Lauderdale and Roland White – Jim Lauderdale and Roland White
108. Young Sick Camellia – St. Paul & The Broken Bones
109. True Meanings – Paul Weller
110. I Don’t Run – Hinds
111. Clean – Soccer Mommy
112. Songs of Hope, Faith and Love – Sugarcane Jane
113. My New Moon – Amos Lee
114. Fire Dream -J.D. Wilkes
115. Port Saint Joe – Brothers Osbourne
116. Greetings from the Neon Frontier – The Wild Feathers
117. The Prodigal Son – Ry Cooder
118. Slings & Arrows – Michelle Malone
119. We Banjo 3 – Haven
120. Finally Free – Daniel Romano
121. Circus of Life – Kinky Friedman
122. In the Blue Light – Paul Simon
123. One Drop of Truth – The Wood Brothers
124. Paco & the Melodic Polaroids – Tim Easton
125. Back Being Blue – Kelly Willis
126. Good Thing – Leon Bridges
127. Healing Tide – The War and Treaty
128. The Crossing – Alejandro Escovedo
129. Beasts of Burgundy – Squirrel Nut Zippers
130.The Eclipse Sessions – John Hiatt
131. Boarding House Reach – Jack White
132. A Star Is Born (Soundtrack album) – Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga
133. Lightsleeper – Liam Finn & Neil Finn
134. Bit Logic – The Bottle Rockets
135. Didn’t He Ramble: Songs of Charlie Poole – David Davis & the Warrior River Boys
136. America’s Child – Shemekia Copeland
137. Loversity – Sam Lewis
138. High as Hope – Florence and the Machine
139. Volunteer – Old Crow Medicine Show
140. Culberson County – Red Shahan
141. Dyna-Mite – Jon Cleary
142. Francis Trouble – Albert Hammond Jr.
143. About All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn’t Do – The Milk Carton Kids
144. Among the Ghosts – Lucero
145. Free Yourself Up – Lake Street Dive
146. Wild! Wild! Wild! – Robbie Fulks and Linda Gail Lewis
147. Dove – Belly
148. Benton County Relic – Cedric Burnside
149. Encore – Anderson East
150. Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino – Arctic Monkeys
151. I Travel On – Jason Eady
152. The Man with Everything – Matt Campbell
153. Deafman Glance – Ryley Walker
154. The Future and the Past – Natalie Prass
155. All Melody – Nils Frahm
156. Lush – Snail Mail
157. In A Poem Unlimited – U.S. Girls
158. Piano and a Microphone 1983 – Prince
159. Acoustic Classics – Rodney Crowell
160. No Mercy In This Land – Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite
161. The Tree – Lori McKenna
162. How to Socialise & Make Friends – Camp Cope
163. Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun – The Smashing Pumpkins
164. All Ashore – Punch Brothers
165. Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album – John Coltrane
166. Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John – Juliana Hatfield
167. 7 – Beach House
168. Shooter – Shooter Jennings
169. Ordinary Corrupt Human Love – Deafheaven
170. Suspiria (Music for the Luca Guadagnino Film) – Thom Yorke
171. I’m All Ears – Let’s Eat Grandma
172. Twentytwo in Blue – Sunflower Bean
173. Pop ‘n’ Downers – Hymn for Her
174. Motel Livin’ – Shawn Williams
175. Now That I’m A River – Charles Watson
176. You’re Driving Me Crazy – Van Morrison
177. Motel Bouquet – Caitlin Canty
178. Heaven & Earth – Kamasi Washington
179. What It’s Like to Fly Alone – Courtney Patton
180. Bitter Sweet – Bryan Ferry
181. Negative Capability – Marianne Faithfull
182. Dream Wife – Dream Wife
183. Black Velvet – Charles Bradley
184. Love is Dead – CHVRCHES
185. C’est La Vie – Phosphorescent
186. Can’t Wake Up – Shakey Graves
187. Aviary – Julia Holter
188. AAARTH – The Joy Formidable
189. Live at the Ryman – Jason Isbell
190. Down The Road Wherever – Mark Knopfler
191. Bottle It In – Kurt Vile
192. Putting on Airs – Erin Rae
193. Greetings From Rock Bottom – J. Jeffrey Messerole
194. Starfire – Caitlyn Smith
195. Wide Awake! – Parquet Courts
196. Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides – Sophie
197. Freedom’s Goblin – Ty Segall
198. The Thread That Keeps Us – Calexico
199. Wanderer – Cat Power
200. 13 Rivers – Richard Thompson

☆ Some definitely worth mentioning:

* abysskiss – Adrianne Lenker
* All at Once – Screaming Females
* All Nerve – The Breeders
* All That Reckoning – Cowboy Junkies
* Anthem of the Peaceful Army – Greta Van Fleet
* Arkansas – John Oates
* The Big Bad Blues – Billy Gibbons
* Both Ways – Donovan Woods
* Call Me Lucky – Chris Smither
* Call The Comet – Johnny Marr
* The Capitol Studios Sessions – Jeff Goldblum
* Carousel – Carson McHone
* Cry Pretty – Carrie Underwood
* Crooked Love – Ike Reilly
* Dance Scandal at the Gymnasium – The Claudettes
* Dancing with the Beast – Gretchen Peters
* Digital Garbage – Mudhoney
* Distant Sky (Live in Copenhagen) – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
* Edgeland – Kim Richey
* Exit 16 – Roosevelt Collier
* First Class Life – Mike Zito
* First Flower – Molly Burch
* 44/876 – Sting & Shaggy
* Future Me Hates Me – The Beths
* Hard Times and White Lines – Whitey Morgan and the 78’s
* Hell on an Angel -Dillon Carmichael
* Honey – Robyn
* How to Solve Our Human Problems (Parts 1-3) – Belle & Sebastian
* I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life – Tune-Yards
* I’ll Be Your Girl – The Decemberists
* Islands – Ash
* Jumping Over Rocks – Jamie Lin Wilson
* The Last American – Ryan Culwell
* Last Building Burning – Cloud Nothings
* Liberation – Christina Aguilera
* Liberty – Lindi Ortega
* Lifers – Cody Jinks
* Little Dark Age – MGMT
* Live at the Troubadour – Michael Nesmith and the First National Bank Redux
* Lo Moon – Lo Moon
* Loner – Caroline Rose
* Longwave – Bonny Doon
* The Lookout – Laura Veirs
* Love’s Middle Name – Sarah Borges
* Lucky – Carter Sampson
* Maybe Later – Neighbor Lady
* Mith – Lonnie Holley
* Now Only – Mount Eerie
* Out of the Blues – Boz Scaggs
* Quit the Curse – Anna Burch
* Poor Until Payday – Reverend Payton’s Big Damn Band
* Rainer Fog – Alice In Chains
* Record – Tracey Thorn
* Richard Swift – Richard Swift
* See You Around – I’m With Her
* Somewhere in Between – Adam Hood
* Songs for Judy – Neil Young
* Starter Home – Doug Paisley
* Twin Fantasy – Car Seat Headrest
* Undesirable – Becky Warren
* Vide Noir – Lord Huron
* Whole New Life – Reverend Horton Heat