To the extent that these lists mean much of anything, here are our favorite recordings of 2018. Many of these albums have been reviewed here at AMN, and such reviews have been linked in the list below.

This year, our list is so lengthy that we broke it into two separate postings. The “best of” is today, and the honorable mentions were yesterday. As usual, let me add the usual disclaimer that this list is incomplete, I have not heard all 2018 releases, and have probably missed a few really good ones. Enjoy.

Like this list? Feel free to peruse previous years’ lists.

Albums of the Year

All Traps on Earth – A Drop of Light

Ari Chersky – Fear Sharpens the Dagger

Philipp Gropper / Philm – Live at Bimhaus

Lauren Redhead – Hearmleoþ-Gieddunga

YAK – Bardo

Best of 2018

4 Airports – 4 Airports

John Luther Adams – Everything That Rises

Ajna – Lucid Intrusion

Albatre – The Fall of the Damned

Anguish – Anguish

Aseptic Void – Ideazione di Contrasto

Steve Ashby & Daniel Barbiero – The Elongated Path

Bangladeafy – Ribboncutter

Big Heart Machine – Big Heart Machine

Bonini Bulga (Pär Boström) – Sealed

Carter / Holmes / Putman / Greene / Ughi – Telepathia Liquida

Chaos Echoes with Mats Gustafsson – Sustain

Josh Charney – Chaos Magic

Common Eider, King Eider – A Wound of Body

Cruel Diagonals – Disambiguation

Death Drag – Shifted

Christi Denton – Meduse

Desiderii Marginis – Vita Arkivet

Alvaro Domene – The Compass

David Dominique – Mask

Evil Genius – Experiments on Human Subjects

Far Corner – Risk

Ghost Flute & Dice – Kropsbygning

Jelena Glasova – The Malady of Death

Jordan Glenn – BEAK

Ross Hammond – Riding Dragons in Winter

Hezaliel – Paradise Lost

Christopher Hoffman – Multifariam

Adam Hopkins – Crickets

Jeton Hoxha – Vowel

Ignite – Ignition (EP)

Ikizukuri – Hexum

Christoph Irniger / Pilgrim – Crosswinds

Jack O’ The Clock – Repetitions of the Old City – II

Pandelis Karayorgis / Damon Smith / E. Rosenthal – Cliff

Reid Karris Group – Ghost Dancers Slay Together

Kiss the Frog – Days of Wrath

Kyoko Kitamura – Protean Labyrinth

Kreysing / Penschuck / Stadlmeier – Re-encypher

Ingrid Laubrock – Contemporary Chaos Practices

The League of Assholes – IM PEACH The Sequel

Lore – Lore EP

Rene Lussier Quintet – Rene Lussier Quintet

Matthew Lux / Communication Arts Quartet – Contra/Fact

Moloch Conpiracy – The Cave of Metaphysical Darkness & Lights

Monolithes – Limites

Michael Moss / Accidental Orchestra – HELIX

William Parker – Lake of Light: Compositions for AquaSonics

Jo Quail – Exsolve

Jo Quail / Hands of Ruin – Hands of Ruin Remixes (Single)

Abbey Rader / West Coast Quartet – Second Gathering

Raison d’Etre – Alchymeia

Alec K. Redfearn & The Eyesores – The Opposite

Robert Rich / Markus Reuter – Flood Expeditions: The Gatherings, 19 May 2018

Stephanie Richards – Fullmoon

Rivener – Rivener

Rent Romus / Life Blood Ensemble – Rogue Star

Devin Sarno – Visitor (Suite)

Shatner’s Bassoon – Disco Erosion

Patrick Shiroishi / Dylan Fujioka / Paco Casanova – Kage Cometa

Shrine – Celestial Fire

Josh Sinton / Predicate Trio – Making Bones

Maryam Sirvan – Untamed Terror

SUSS – Ghost Box

Jennifer Thiessen / Ida Toninato – The Space Between Us

The Thing – Again

Robert Scott Thompson – Phonotopological

Henry Threadgill / 14 or 15 Kestra: AGG – Dirt… And More Dirt

Tunnels of Ah – Charnel Transmissions

Peeter Uuskyla / Tellef Øgrim / Anders Berg – Oslo Hærverk

Visions & Phurpa – Monad

Warren Schoenbright – Excavations

Dan Weiss – Starebaby

Mars Williams – An Ayler Xmas Vol. 2

Gabriel Zucker – Weighting