The Top 5 Best Albums of 2018

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5. Not All Heroes Wear Capes – Metro Boomin

(99,000 albums sold first week)

Multi-Platinum Producer, Metro Boomin, landed his first No. 1 album with Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Announced only three days before release, this album came as a surprise for many fans who have been anticipating a new body of work by Metro. Heroes features some of the top artists in the game, including Travis Scott, 21 Savage, Young Thug, along with many others. This project showcases Metro’s dark & gritty style of production that has made him the most successful rap producer within the last 5 years.

4. Tha Carter V – Lil Wayne

(480,000 albums sold first week)

Half a decade, long spanning legal troubles and millions of waiting fans. The wait for Tha Carter V was the thing of legend for years. Many believed it was more likely to see Dr. Dre’s long awaited “Detox”, then Weezy’s recent release. Against all odds however, Wayne finally dropped the album. The 23 track, hour and a half long album seems pretty intimidating. Admittedly, it is a lot however, trying to find a low-quality song is difficult to do. The album seems to switch between two styles, the more current, trap-inspired sound of “Let it Fly” and “Don’t Cry” and the more 2012, classic sounding Wayne on “Uproar” and “Mona Lisa”. It’s rare to see an album with so much hype live up to expectations however, Tha Carter V does.

3. Kids See Ghosts – Kanye West & Kid Cudi

(142,000 albums sold first week)

Ten years since their first collaboration on 808s and Heartbreaks, Kanye and Cudi finally released a full collaborative project titled Kids See Ghosts. Kanye’s Wyoming experience gave himself and Cudi the ability to confidently create a concise, seven song tracklist that keeps the listeners’ attention throughout the whole duration. This album is self-reflective for both artists, as they address their mental health with verses on “Reborn” and “Cudi Montage”. Ye reflects on his recent behaviors throughout the year on “Reborn”: “What an awesome thing, engulfed in shame/I want all the pain/I want all the smoke/I want all the blame”. Kids See Ghosts marked the true return of both Kanye and Cudi, and will be remembered as one of the few memorable albums from 2018’s Ye season of releases.

2. Daytona – Pusha T

(77,000 albums sold first week)

As a part of G.O.O.D. Music’s wave of albums this summer, Daytona is the highly-anticipated solo album by King Push. Seven songs, being completely produced by Kanye West, lasting only 21 minutes in length makes this album Pusha’s best work to date. Push comes through with incredible wordplay and sounds as bloodthirsty as ever. Spitting lines like, “Angel on my shoulder, ‘What should we do?’/Devil on the other, ‘What would Meek do?’/Pop a wheelie, tell the judge to Akinyele/Middle fingers out the Ghost, screamin’ ‘Makaveli”, it’s safe to say Push went off. Easily the best album to come out of Wyoming, Pusha’s album was welcome shift from current trends in hip hop.

1. Astroworld – Travis Scott

(537,000 albums sold first week)

2018 was Travis Scott’s year. He signed one of the biggest artists of the year; Sheck Wes, to his label, released his own pair of sneakers, had a #1 song and album, not to mention had a child during all of this. Astroworld is truest depiction of rap right now. It has fast trap bangers, softer, slower bops and the wavey, mesmerizing melodies of Soundcloud rap. There is no standout tracks on Astroworld, the entire album is standout. From perfect introduction that is “Stargazing”, all the way to the essential “Coffee Bean” that closes out the album. Astroworld is, without a doubt, this year’s best rap album.

 

Honorable Mentions:

  • KOD – J Cole
  • ? – XXXTENTACION
  • TA13OO – Denzel Curry
  • Swimming – Mac Miller
  • Scorpion – Drake