NPR Music: 50 Best Albums of 2018
[see also 2019, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011]
- Janelle Monáe — Dirty Computer
- Mitski — Be the Cowboy
- Kacey Musgraves — Golden Hour
- Lucy Dacus — Historian
- Noname — Room 25
- Cardi B — Invasion of Privacy
- Robyn — Honey
- Rosalía — El Mal Querer
- Kali Uchis — Isolation
- Tierra Whack — Whack World
- Hop Along — Bark Your Head Off, Dog
- boygenius — boygenius
- Pistol Annies — Interstate Gospel
- Superorganism — Superorganism
- Magos Herrera & Brooklyn Rider — Dreamers
- Courtney Barnett — Tell Me How You Really Feel
- Low — Double Negative
- Kamasi Washington — Heaven and Earth
- Brandi Carlile — By The Way, I Forgive You
- Jeremy Dutcher — Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa
- Christine and the Queens — Chris
- Ariana Grande — Sweetener
- Mary Gauthier — Rifles and Rosary Beads
- serpentwithfeet — soil
- Khruangbin — Con Todo El Mundo
- Saba — Care for Me
- Christian Tetzlaff, The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra & Hannu Lintu — Bartók: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
- John Prine — The Tree of Forgiveness
- Leikeli47 — Acrylic
- Makaya McCraven — Universal Beings
- Orquesta Akokán — Orquesta Akokán
- Ólafur Arnalds — re:member
- Colin Self — Siblings
- J Balvin — Vibras
- Travis Scott — ASTROWORLD
- Vince Staples — FM!
- Boston Symphony Orchestra & Andris Nelsons — Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11 "The Year 1905"
- Ambrose Akinmusire — Origami Harvest
- Ammar 808 — Maghreb United
- The Hirs Collective — Friends. Lovers. Favorites
- The Beths — Future Me Hates Me
- Myra Melford's Snowy Egret — The Other Side of Air
- Thou — Magus
- Alice Bag — Blueprint
- Vikingur Ólafsson — Johann Sebastian Bach
- Balún — Prisma Tropical
- 700 Bliss — Spa 700
- JID — DiCaprio 2
- Snail Mail — Lush
- The Carters — Everything Is Love