Originally Posted by Blarobbarg

With only days to spare, here are my top 50 releases of the year. These are mostly albums, but includes a few EPs, too- also, while Coltrane and Prince's albums this year aren't really new recordings, they are newly discovered and therefore count. Don't @ me if you disagree. Oh, and if an artist released more than one thing that I consider to be a part of a series (see: Thou, Iglooghost) I just stuck them together.

These are all good, if not great albums, though for different reasons. If the genres they're tagged as pique your interest, even if they're not in my top 20, you should still listen.

Enjoy.

1. Tomb Mold, “Manor of Infinite Forms” (death metal)
2. John Coltrane, “Both Directions At Once” (jazz)
3. Brandi Carlile, “By the Way, I Forgive You” (country, americana)
4. Imperial Triumphant, “Vile Luxury” (experimental metal, blackened death metal, jazz)
5. Jeff Rosenstock, “POST-“ (pop punk, indie rock)
6. Obliteration, “Cenotaph Obscure” (cavernous death metal)
7. Portal, “Ion” (experimental metal, cavernous death metal)
8. Rolo Tomasi, “Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It” (mathcore, metalcore, pop rock)
9. Earl Sweatshirt, “Some Rap Songs” (hip hop)
10. Mitski, “Be the Cowboy” (power pop, indie rock)

11. Prince, “Piano & A Microphone 1983” (blues, pop, solo piano)
12. Robyn, “Honey” (dance pop)
13. Body Void, “I Live Inside a Burning House” (doom metal, sludge metal, crust punk)
14. Grouper, “Grid of Points” (ambient, solo piano)
15. Makaya McCraven, “Where We Come From” (jazz, instrumental hip hop)
16. Ben Lamar Gay, “Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun” (jazz, spoken word, experimental hip hop)
17. Infernal Coil, “Within a World Forgotten” (war metal, deathgrind)
18. Vince Staples, “FM!” (hip hop)
19. Sleep, “The Sciences” (doom metal)
20. Thou, “The House Primordial / Inconsolable / Rhea Sylvia / Magus” (sludge metal, dark ambient, atmoblack, folk rock, grunge)

21. Ripped to Shreds, “Mai-Zang” (death metal)
22. Sumac, “Love In Shadow” (post-metal)
23. ROSALIA, “El Mal Querer” (flamenco, pop)
24. Cult Leader, “A Patient Man” (mathcore, slowcore)
25. Neckbeard Deathcamp, “White Nationalism is for Basement Dwelling Losers” (black metal, noise)
26. Armand Hammer, “Paraffin” (hip hop)
27. The HIRS Collective, “Friends. Lovers. Favorites” (grindcore)
28. Schnell, “Live at Sowieso” (avant garde jazz)
29. Margot, “Busy & Lonely” (americana, folk)
30. Bog Body, “Through the Burial Bog” (death metal, doom metal)

31. Freddie Gibbs, “Freddie” (hip hop)
32. Binker and Moses, “Alive in the East?” (avant grade jazz)
33. Mortuous, “Through Wilderness” (doom metal, death metal)
34. Iglooghost, “Clear Tamei / Steel Mogu” (wonky, breakcore, IDM)
35. Tony Molina, “Kill the Lights” (power pop, psychedelic rock, pop punk)
36. Sepulcher, “Panoptic Horror” (crossover thrash, cavernous death metal)
37. Sectioned, “Annihilated” (mathcore)
38. The Myrrors, “Borderlands” (psychedelic folk, krautrock)
39. Gaerea, “Unsettling Whispers” (black metal)
40. Duval Timothy, “2 Sim” (ambient, spoken word, field recordings)

41. Messa, “Feast for Water” (doom metal, post-metal)
42. boygenius, “boygenius” (indie rock, folk)
43. Spiritflesh, “Spiritflesh” (techno, dark ambient, industrial)
44. Anna von Hausswolff, “Dead Magic” (experimental, doom folk)
45. Primitive Man / Unearthly Trance, “Split” (harsh noise, sludge metal)
46. Beta Boys, “Late Nite Acts” (punk)
47. Feminazgul, “The Age of Men Is Over” (atmoblack)
48. Beach House, “7” (indie rock)
49. Warthog, “Warthog” (hardcore punk)
50. Leon Bridges, “Good Thing” (RNB, pop)

Originally Posted by Frownland

Listening time played a big role in my ranking as well. That's how the OME album ranked so high.

Originally Posted by Frownland

I'm comfortable with this. Had to choose between a lot of awesome albums, what a great year!

1. John Coltrane - Both Directions at Once
2. Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs
3. Julia Holter - Aviary
4. Demdike Stare x Il Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza - The Feed-Back Loop
5. 700 Bliss - Spa 700
6. Armand Hammer - Paraffin
7. Esoctrilihum - Inhüma
8. Anna & Elizabeth - The Invisible Comes to Us
9. Konstrukt + Keiji Haino - A Philosophy Warping, Little by Little That Way Lies a Quagmire
10. The Caretaker - Everywhere at the End of Time - Stage 5
11. The Caretaker - Everywhere at the End of Time - Stage 4
12. Open Mike Eagle - What Happens When I Try to Relax
13. William Parker - Lake of Light
14. Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt - Brace Up!
15. Mamaleek - Out of Time
16. Clarence Clarity - Think: Peace
17. Lost Girls - Feeling
18. Death Drag - Shifted
19. Autechre - NTS Sessions 1-4
20. Mika Vainio + Ryoji Ikeda + Alva Noto - Live 2002
21. Lack the Low - One Eye Closed
22. Hermit and the Recluse - Orpheus Versus the Sirens
23. Drew Daniel & John Wiese - Continuous Hole
24. Actress x London Contemporary Orchestra - LAGEOS
25. Low - Double Negative
26. Ben Lamar Gay - Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun
27. Ash Koosha - Stamina
28. Christoph el Truento - LWMP18
29. Anguish - Anguish
30. Aïsha Devi - DNA Feelings
31. Dolphin Midwives - Live on KBOO.fm
32. Jpegmafia - Veteran
33. Meitei - Kwaidan
34. Young Echo - Young Echo
35. Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything's Fine
36. PinioL - Bran cocou
37. Alameda 5 - CDTE
38. Ondřej Adámek - Sinuous Voices
39. Wolf Müller & Niklas Wandt - Instrumentalmusik von der Mitte der World
40. Denzel Curry - TA13OO
41. Merzbow / Keiji Haino / Balázs Pándi - Live @ Metz 17​/​02​/​2018
42. Jad & David Fair - Scuse Us While We Kiss the Sky
43. Machine Girl - The Ugly Art
44. Special Interest - Spiraling
45. Beans - Night Without Smiles
46. Dan Lao - Functioning Anoomie
47. DJ Khalab - Black Noise 2084
48. East Man - Red, White, and Zero
49. Tim Hecker - Konoyo
50. JID - Dicaprio 2

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

I was called upon by the muses for greatness.

Originally Posted by Frownland

I'm bald, ja.

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Obviously a great list but I don’t think anything in your top 50 is in my top ten (the Coltrane is ineligible by the rules I’m using). Honestly, there are so many records that got 5 stars on Free Jazz Collective Blog that I haven’t heard then add a bias to things I stumbled on Vs things recommended I don’t know. I do know everything on my top ten is hella unassailable. I’m also wearing jazz tinted goggles this year. But very justifiably. I’d say my top six are all gonna be jazz records.