KRCL Best of 2018 DJ Picks

KRCL is your home for music discovery, and musicians in 2018 produced so many great new albums for all of us to dig into. From indie to blues, soul to Americana, electronica to everything in-between, here are some of KRCL DJs favorite albums of 2018. 

Ebay's Best of 2018:

Jan 19: First Aid Kit / Ruins
Jan 19: Tune-Yards / I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life
Jan 26: Khrungbin / Con Todo El Mundo
Jan 26: Ty Segall / Freedom's Goblin
Feb 16: Brandi Carlile / By the Way, I Forgive You
Mar 2: Lucy Dacus / Historian
Mar 9: Nathaniel Rateliffe & The Night Sweats / Tearing At The Seams
Mar 9: Jimi Hendrix / Both Sides of the Sky
Mar 23: Erika Wennerstrom / Sweet Unknown
Mar 30: Amen Dunes / Freedom
Apr 6: Hop Along / Bark Your Head Off, Dog
Apr 20: Lord Huron / Vide Noir
Apr 27: Dr. Dog / Critical Equation
May 4: Leon Bridges / Good Thing
May 18th: Parquet Courts / Wide Awake!
May 18th: Courtney Barnett / Tell Me How You Really Feel
May 25: Brownout / Fear of a Brown Planet
June 1: Neko Case / Hell-On
June 1: Father John Misty / God's Favorite Customer
June 8th: Angelique Kidjo / Remain In Light
June 15: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever / Hope Downs
June 22: Kamasi Washington / Heaven And Earth
June 29: Gorillaz / The Now Now
July 13: Dirty Projectors / Lamp Lit Prose
July 20: The Internet / Hive Mind
Aug 17: Death Cab for Cutie / Thank You For Today
Aug 24: White Denim / Performance
Aug 31: Idles / Joy as an Act of Resistance
Sept 14: Jungle / For Ever
Sept 21: Richard Swift / The Hex
Sept 21: Prince / Piano & a Microphone 1983
Oct 12: Kurt Vile / Bottle It In
Nov 9th: Charles Bradley / Black Velvet
Nov 16: Anderson .Paak / Oxnard
(and we can't forget the standout single "This Is America" by Childish Gambino!)

Best Soul Albums of 2018:
Jan 26: Khrungbin / Con Todo El Mundo
Feb 2: James Hunter Six / Whatever It Takes
April 27: Janelle Monae / Dirty Computer
May 4: Leon Bridges / Good Thing
May 25: Brownout / Fear of a Brown Planet
June 22: Kamasi Washington / Heaven And Earth
July 20: The Internet / Hive Mind
Sept 21: Prince / Piano & a Microphone 1983
Nov 9: Charles Bradley / Black Velvet
Nov 16: Anderson .Paak / Oxnard

Eugenie's Best Women Who Rock Albums of 2018

Angelique Kidjo – Remain in Light
Brandi Carlile – by the way I forgive you
Caroline Rose – Loner
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
Deva Mahal – Run Deep
Erika Winnerstrom – Sweet Unknown
Janelle Monae – Dirty Computer
Lucius – Nudes
Mitski – Be the Cowboy
Meshell Ndegeocello – Ventriloquism
Natalie Prass – The Future and the Past
Neko Case – Bad Luck
Snail Mail – Lush
Soccer Mommy – Clean
Tash Sultana – Flow State

Courtney Blair of Afternoon Delight Top 30 albums in alphabetical order
Amen Dunes - Blue Rose
Anna Calvi – Hunter
Beach House – 7
Black Belt Eagle Scout - Mother of My Children
Blood Orange - Negro Swan
Christine & the Queens – Chris
Flasher - Constant Image
Gaz Coombes - World's Strongest Man
Goat Girl - S/T
Gwenno - Le Kov
Half Waif – Lavender
Hater – Siesta
Hookworms – Microshift
Iceage – Beyondless
Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer
Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour
MGMT - Little Dark Age
Mitski – Cowboy
Mr Twin Sister – Salt
Ought - Room Inside the World
Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!
Preoccupations - New Material
Rolling Blackouts C.F. - Hope Downs
Screaming Females - All at Once
Shame - Songs of Praise
Soccer Mommy – Clean
Totally Mild – Her
U.S. Girls - In a Poem Unlimited
Virginia Wing - Ecstatic Arrow

Circus Brown of Not A Side Show Favorite Albums of 2018
Mien – Mien
Oh Sees - Smote Reverser
Kikagaku Moyo - Masana Temples
Sleep - The Sciences
Wand – Perfume
Ty Segall and White Fence – Joy

Brian Kelm of Red, White and Blues 2018 - Top Blues CD's (in no particular order) (Disclaimer - it should be noted that these are simply 20 of my favorite CD’s that came into KRCL and/or I otherwise came across. There are simply too many good blues CD’s out there for me to buy them all up!)
Curtis Salgado and Alan Hager – Rough Cut (Alligator 1/12/18
Peter Karp – Blue Flame (Rose Cottage 2/2/18)
Bernard Allison – Let It Go (Ruf 2/2/18)
Victor Wainwright and the Train – Self Titled (Ruf 3/9/18)
Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling – The High Cost of Low Living (Alligator 3/9/18)
Marcia Ball – Shine Bright (Alligator 4/20/18)
Mike Zito – First Class Life (Ruf 5/11/18)
JP Soars – Southbound I-95 (Soars High Productions 5/31/18)
Buddy Guy – The Blues Is Alive And Well (Silvertone RCA 6/15/18)
Bob Corritore & Friends – Don’t Let The Devil Ride! (SWMAF/VizzTone 6/22/18)
Damon Fowler – The Whiskey Bayou Session (Whiskey Bayou 7/20/18)
Whitney Shay – A Woman Rules the World (Little Village Foundation 8/1/18)
Ben Rice – Wish the World Away (Self 6/30/18) Another fab acoustic CD!
Chicago Plays the Stones (Raisin Music 9/14/18)
Shemekia Copeland – America’s Child (Alligator 8/3/18)

Backporch Blues Ramble’s 2018 Albums of Note
John Akapo – Paradise Blues
Rory Block – A Woman’s Soul: A Tribute to Bessie Smith
Blue & Lonesome Duo – Pacing the Floor
Joe Filisko & Eric Noden – Destination Unknown
Maria Muldaur – Don’t You Feel My Leg
Lino Muoio – Mandolin Blues - Acoustic Party
Ben Rice – Wish The World Away
Curtis Salgado & Alan Hager – Rough Cut
Jack Broadbent - One Night Stand (Live)
Catfish Keith - Reefer Hound
Cary Morin - When I Rise
Jeffrey Foucault - Horse Latitudes
Lino Muoio - Mandolin Blues - Acoustic Party
Ben Rice - Wish The World Away
Curtis Salgado & Alan Hager - Rough Cut

John Florence’s Best Albums of 2018
Neko Case – Hell-On
Jeff Tweedy – WARM
John Prine – Tree of Forgiveness
David Byrne – American Utopia
Leon Bridges – Good Thing
Kasey Musgraves – Golden Hour
Lake Street Dive – Free Yourself Up
Dirty Projectors – Lamp Lit Prose (That’s a Lifestyle) (single)
Van Morrison – The Prophet Speaks
Brandi Carlile – By the Way I Forgive You
Jade Bird – Uh-Huh (single)
Jayhawks – Backroads and Abandoned Hotels
Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
Nathaniel Rateliff – Tearing at the Seams
Cowboy Junkies – All that Reckoning
Phosphoresent – New Birth in New England

Legacy Artists
Elvis Costello & the Imposters – Look Now
Paul Simon – In the Blue Light
Mark Knopfler – Down the Road Wherever
Bruce Springsteen – Springsteen On Broadway
David Crosby – Here if You Listen
Bob Dylan – More Blood on the Tracks
Tom Petty – American Treasure Box Set
Paul McCartney – Egypt Station

And then there is Neil Young! 2018 Output
Neil Young – Tonight’s the Night (Live)
Neil Young – Songs for Judy
Neil Young and Promise of the Real – Paradox
Neil Young – Acoustic Tour 1976
Neil Young – Transmission Impossible (3 CDs)
Neil Young – The Early Years Live in Concert
Neil Young – The Broadcast Collection
Neil Young – Rock and Roll Cowboy: A Life on the Road

Emily of Mixtape Best Albums of 2018
boygenius - boygenius ep
lucy dacus - historian
beach house - 7
blood orange - negro swan
soccer mommy - clean
snail mail - lush
hop along - bark your head off
tomberlin - at weddings
hayley heynderickx - i need to start a garden
middle kids - lost friends
wye oak - the louder i call the faster it runs
adrienne lenker - abysskiss
the beths - future me hates me
richard swift - the hex
mount eerie - now only

Supersounds with Chovy Best of 2018
This Is America / Childish Gambino / Single (May 5, 2018)
Duel Part 2 / Weekend Affair / Du Vague (January 26, 2018)
Humility (feat. George Benson) / Gorillaz / The Now Now (June 29, 2018)
Tokin' The Night Away / Montero / Performer (February 2, 2018)
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (2018 Mix) / The Beatles / The Beatles (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [November 9, 2018]
Thin // Thick / Breakfast In Silence / It's Hard To Be Open-Minded When You Wanna Die (May 5, 2018)
True Love / Dr. Dog / Critical Equation (April 27, 2018)
Nature Boy / John Coltrane / Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album [Disc 1] (June 29, 2018)
Nocturne No. 1 in D Minor / Jonathan Batiste / Hollywood Africans (September 28, 2018)
Como Me Quieres / Khruangbin / Con Todo El Mundo (January 26, 2018)
The Great Salt Lake City / Kyle James Alm / An Evening of Highbrow Saloon (April 2, 2018)
Tslamp / MGMT / Little Dark Age (February 9, 2018)
Pilot / Montero / Performer (February 2, 2018)
Nail House Needle Boys / Oh Sees / Smote Reverser (August 17, 2018)
green / Robohands / Green (May 23, 2018)
Shô! / Shô! / Shô! (March 27, 2018)
Brethren / Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks / Sparkle Hard (May 18, 2018)
New Attitude / The Babe Rainbow / Double Rainbow (July 13, 2018)

The Night Train with Michelle Top Albums of 2018
Kasey Musgraves - Golden Hour
Lake Street Dive – Free Yourself Up
I’m With Her – See You Around
John Prine – The Tree of Forgiveness
The Wood Brothers – One Drop of Truth
Balsam Range – Mountain Overture with Atlanta Pops Orchestra
Willie Nelson – My Way
Mary Gauthier – Rifles & Rosary Beads
Paul Thorn – Don’t Let the Devil Ride
Brandi Carlile – By the Way, I Forgive You
Mike Farris – Silver & Stone

Phil of Sunday Sagebrush Serenade Favorite's

Various - Johnny Cash: Forever Words
Brandi Carlile - By The Way, I Forgive You
Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel
David Byrne - American Utopia
Various- Essentials of Americana 2018
Jade Bird - Uh-Huh (Single)
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Live From The Ryman
John Hiatt - The Eclipse Sessions
John Prine - The Tree Of Forgiveness
Kurt Vile - Bottle It In
Mumford & Sons - Delta
Neil Young - Acoustic Tour 1976
Songs for Judy
Neko Case - Hell-On
Ray LaMontagne - Part Of The Light
Richard Thompson - 13 Rivers
Steep Canyon Rangers - Out In The Open
Trampled By Turtles - Life Is Good On The Open Road
Willie Nelson - Last Man Standing
Jack White - Boarding House Reach
Kasey Chambersand the Fireside Disciples - Campfire
Lake Street Dive - Free Yourself Up
Cowboy Junkies - All That Reckoning
Mark Knopfler - Down the Road Wherever
Nathanial Rateliff & The Night Sweats - Tearing At The Seams
Bruce Springsteen - Springsteen on Broadway