First, no one can be objective, there’s no truth in music. Then, it can be mentally difficult for artists to accept these insights. We are music fans above all and we never want to hurt anyone. Our goal is only to discover new talents and to bring them to our readers’ ears. We know they don’t always have the time to listen to everything we scan and write about during the year so these lists are just recommendations of what they should first focus on. Nothing more.

We know it’s a shared subjective feeling: 2018 has been another great year for music. We got introduced to fascinating newcomers with strong concepts that prove that albums are certainly not dead yet. Some rising singer-songwriters confirmed their defining style while a few established artists successfully re-recorded their masterpiece or explored challenging new soundscapes. You can find below the 30 albums that made 2018 according to our staff and stay tuned for our usual 100 Tracks of the year list next week.

30) Amen Dunes – Freedom

[su_divider]

29) Kadhja Bonet – Childqueen

[su_divider]

28) Yves Tumor – Safe in the Hands of Love

[su_divider]

27) Whitney Ballen – You’re A Shooting Star, I’m A Sinking Ship

[su_divider]

26) Tirzah – Devotion

[su_divider]

25) CupcakKe – Eden

[su_divider]

24) Rosalía – El Mal Querer

[su_divider]

23) Tomberlin – At Weddings

[su_divider]

22) Sidney Gish – No Dogs Allowed

[su_divider]

21) Ezra Furman – Transangelic Exodus

[su_divider]

20) Kali Uchis – Isolation

[su_divider]

19) Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer

[su_divider]

18) Frankie Cosmos – Vessel

[su_divider]

17) U.S. Girls – In A Poem Unlimited

[su_divider]

16) Ariana Grande – Sweetener

[su_divider]

15) Ex:Re – Ex:Re

[su_divider]

14) Car Seat Headrest – Twin Fantasy

[su_divider]

13) Tierra Whack – Whack World

[su_divider]

12) IDLES – Joy As An Act of Resistance.

[su_divider]

11) illuminaties hoties – Kiss Yr Frenemies

[su_divider]

10) Mr Twin Sister – Salt

[su_divider]

9) SOPHIE – Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Sides

[su_divider]

8) Low – Double Negative

[su_divider]

7) noname – Room 25

[su_divider]

6) Soccer Mommy – Clean

[su_divider]

5) Beach House – 7

[su_divider]

4) Robyn – Honey

[su_divider]

3) Lucy Dacus – Historian

[su_divider]

2) Snail Mail – Lush

[su_divider]

1) Mitski – Be The Cowboy

[su_divider]

As you might know it, Janelle Monáe will drop her third studio album on Friday but Thursday night, she will also premiere the whole project as a 44-minute accompanying film on MTV and BET. So far, we had the amazing visuals for the previously shared singles “Make Me Feel,” “Django Jane,” and “PYNK” and today, she decided to unveil “I Like That” stylish video. Watch it below.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://youtu.be/uovntV3ZMDc”]

Besides the video, she also announced a North American tour. Check her itinerary on her website.

Only a few days after the release of her amazing video for Grimes-assisted single “PYNK” and following up on “Make Me Feel” and “Django Jane,” Janelle Monáe is back with a brand new track titled “I Like That” where she both raps and sings. We don’t know if this new offering will also get a video treatment but “Dirty Computer”, the follow-up to her 2013’s album “The Electric Lady,” will also be released as a full music video.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xAMnJgc3oA”]

Following up on “Make Me Feel” and “Django Jane”, Janelle Monáe has shared a new video from her upcoming album. “PYNK” is a collaboration with Grimes (the two of them already linked up on 2015’s Grimes‘ excellent album “Art Angels”) and it comes once again with amazing visuals. Where the first single “Make Me Feel” has been perceived as a queer song, the new video is a feminist anthem. Monáe has always stood up for women rights. About the track and the Emma Westenberg-directed visuals, the artist wrote:

[su_quote]PYNK is a brash celebration of creation. self love. sexuality. and p-ssy power! PYNK is the color that unites us all, for pink is the color found in the deepest and darkest nooks and crannies of humans everywhere… PYNK is where the future is born…[/su_quote]

Actresses Tessa Thompson and Michaela Coel are also starring in the video. Watch it below.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaYvlVR_BEc”]

Almost five years after “The Electric Lady”, Janelle Monáe is back with the announcement of a new LP. As she probably knows people were waiting for her comeback for too long, the American artist decided to spoil us by dropping two videos in a row. For the funky and futuristic “Make Me Feel”, Monáe wows us with choreographed and colourful Alan Ferguson-directed visuals. The second single, “Django Jane” is a surprising rap track. Watch both videos below.

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGRzz0oqgUE”]

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTjQq5rMlEY”]

“Make Me Feel” and “Django Jane” will be featured on Janelle Monáe‘s new album “Dirty Computer” due out on April 27. The announcement also comes with a statement from the artist:

[su_quote]I actually had this title on this concept before my first album The ArchAndroid, and it scared me because a lot of the things that I knew that I needed to say were very deep, very personal, from the heart. You know, this is an extremely vulnerable album and it took me a while to make it because I’m a self editor.[/su_quote]

Connect with Janelle Monáe via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.