Year-End Lists

Esquire: Best TV Shows of 2018

[see also 2023 • 2020 • 2010s • 2017]

1. Atlanta
2. Glow
3. Killing Eve
4. Pose
5. Patrick Melrose
6. Sharp Objects
7. The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
8. Barry
9. Wild Wild Country
10. BoJack Horseman
11. The Americans
12. Homecoming
13. The Good Place
14. Succession
15. The Good Fight
16. Big Mouth
17. Better Call Saul
18. The Handmaid’s Tale
19. Westworld
20. The Haunting of Hill House
21. High Maintenance
22. Maniac
23. Forever
24. Queer Eye

Nick Schager: 25 Best Movies of 2018, as published by Esquire

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

Honorable Mention

• Dead Souls
  Wang Bing
• The Sisters Brothers
  Jacques Audiard
• Hold the Dark
  Jeremy Saulnier
• November
  Rainer Sarnet
• Revenge
  Coralie Fargeat
• Terrified
  Demián Rugna
• BlacKkKlansman
  Spike Lee
• Sweet Country
  Warwick Thornton
• Let the Sunshine In
  Claire Denis
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?
  Marielle Heller

1. Mandy
   Panos Cosmatos
2. Annihilation
   Alex Garland
3. Love After Love
   Russell Harbaugh
4. The Rider
   Chloé Zhao
5. Cold War
   Pawel Pawlikowski
6. You Were Never Really Here
   Lynne Ramsay
7. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
8. Zama
   Lucrecia Martel
9. Eighth Grade
   Bo Burnham
10. Thunder Road
    Jim Cummings
11. A Private War
    Matthew Heineman
12. Shoplifters
    Hirokazu Kore-eda
13. 24 Frames
    Abbas Kiarostami
14. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
    Joel & Ethan Coen
15. Filmworker
    Tony Zierra
16. Paddington 2
    Paul King
17. The Endless
    Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead
18. A Prayer Before Dawn
    Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
19. Leave No Trace
    Debra Granik
20. Burning
    Lee Chang-dong
21. Bisbee '17
    Robert Greene
22. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
    Christopher McQuarrie
23. The Favourite
    Yorgos Lanthimos
24. I Am Not a Witch
    Rungano Nyoni
25. The Mule
    Clint Eastwood

Genevieve Koski: Top 20 Films of 2018, as posted to Twitter

[see also 2017 • 2014]

1. The Favourite
   Yorgos Lanthimos
2. Annihilation
   Alex Garland
3. The Rider
   Chloé Zhao
4. Support the Girls
   Andrew Bujalski
5. Private Life
   Tamara Jenkins
6. Eighth Grade
   Bo Burnham
7. Leave No Trace
   Debra Granik
8. Widows
   Steve McQueen
9. Sorry to Bother You
   Boots Riley
10. Bad Times at the El Royale
    Drew Goddard
11. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
    Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
12. First Reformed
    Paul Schrader
13. BlacKkKlansman
    Spike Lee
14. Minding the Gap
    Bing Liu
15. The Little Stranger
    Lenny Abrahamson
16. Paddington 2
    Paul King
17. The Old Man & the Gun
    David Lowery
18. Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
    Peter Rida Michail and Aaron Horvath
19. The Sisters Brothers
    Jacques Audiard
20. Blindspotting
    Carlos López Estrada

Darren Hughes: Favorite US Releases of 2018, as posted to Long Pauses along with several other great lists of premieres, shorts, and first-viewings

[see also 2021 • 2010s • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2012]

1. Zama
   Lucrecia Martel
2. Western
   Valeska Grisebach
3. Dead Souls
   Wang Bing
4. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
5. If Beale Street Could Talk
   Barry Jenkins
6. Bisbee '17
   Robert Greene
7. Let the Sunshine In
   Claire Denis
8. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
9. Milla
   Valérie Massadian
10. PROTOTYPE
    Blake Williams

Book Riot: Best Poetry of 2018

• The Carrying
  Ada Limón
• Oceanic
  Aimee Nezhukumatathil
• Virgin
  Analicia Sotelo
• If They Come for Us
  Fatimah Asghar
• Not Here
  Hieu Minh Nguyen
• Eye Level
  Jenny Xie
• Citizen Illegal
  José Olivarez
• Indecency
  Justin Phillip Reed
• Lo terciario
  Raquel Salas Rivera
• Registers of Illuminated Villages
  Tarfia Faizullah
• Junk
  Tommy Pico
• I Can't Talk About the Trees Without the Blood
  Tiana Clark
• Wade in the Water
  Tracy K. Smith
• Nepantla

  An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color
  Christopher Soto (editor)

David Hudson: Top Ten Films of 2018, as posted to Twitter

[see also 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015]

Emphatic mentions (alphabetical)

• Ash is Purest White
  Jia Zhang-ke
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  Joel & Ethan Coen
• BlacKkKlansman
  Spike Lee
• The Favourite
  Yorgos Lanthimos
• Grass
  Hong Sang-soo
• The Green Fog
  Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson
• In My Room
  Ulrich Köhler
• Isle of Dogs
  Wes Anderson
• Private Life
  Tamara Jenkins
• Support the Girls
  Andrew Bujalski
• The Wild Pear Tree
  Nuri Bilge Ceylan

1. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
2. Roma
   Alfonso Cuaron
3. Transit
   Christian Petzold
4. Zama
   Lucrecia Martel
5. Madeline’s Madeline
   Josephine Decker
6. Long Day's Journey Into Night
   Bi Gan
7. Shoplifters
   Hirokazu Kore-eda
8. Happy as Lazzaro
   Alice Rohrwacher
9. An Elephant Sitting Still
   Hu Bo
10. Burning
    Lee Chang-dong

Another Gaze: Top Ten Films by Women in 2018, as posted to Twitter along with a list of under-released, under-appreciated films

[see also 2017]

1. Happy as Lazzaro
   Alice Rohrwacher
2. Madeline’s Madeline
   Josephine Decker
3. Summer 1993
   Carla Simón
4. Shirkers
   Sandi Tan
5. Let the Sunshine In
   Claire Denis
6. Private Life
   Tamara Jenkins
7. The Miseducation of Cameron Post
   Desiree Akhavan
8. The Rider
   Chloé Zhao
9. Leave No Trace
   Debra Granik
10. Wajib
    Annemarie Jacir

Under the Radar: Top 100 Albums of 2018

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2011]

1. Heaven and Earth
   Kamasi Washington
2. Be the Cowboy
   Mitski
3. boygenius
   boygenius
4. Double Negative
   Low
5. Tell Me How You Really Feel
   Courtney Barnett
6. 7
   Beach House
7. God’s Favorite Customer
   Father John Misty
8. Wide Awake!
   Parquet Courts
9. Bottle It In
   Kurt Vile
10. Aviary
    Julia Holter
11. Cocoa Sugar
    Young Fathers
12. In a Poem Unlimited
    U.S. Girls
13. Hope Downs
    Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
14. Lump
    Lump
15. The Future and the Past
    Natalie Prass
16. Loma
    Loma
17. Little Dark Age
    MGMT
18. I’m All Ears
    Let’s Eat Grandma
19. Indigo
    Wild Nothing
20. Joy as an Act of Resistance
    Idles
21. Love is Magic
    John Grant
22. Tracyanne & Danny
    Tracyanne & Danny
23. The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs
    Wye Oak
24. Now Only
    Mount Eerie
25. Lush
    Snail Mail
26. Singularity
    Jon Hopkins
27. LONER
    Caroline Rose
28. World’s Strongest Man
    Gaz Coombes
29. And Nothing Hurt
    Spiritualized
30. Dirty Computer
    Janelle Monáe
31. Songs of Praise
    Shame
32. Chris
    Christine and the Queens
33. Sparkle Hard
    Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
34. Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
    Arctic Monkeys
35. Clean
    Soccer Mommy
36. Sugar & Spice
    Hatchie
37. Le Kov
    Gwenno
38. C’est La Vie
    Phosphorescent
39. Negro Swan
    Blood Orange
40. Beyondless
    Iceage
41. Room Inside the World
    Ought
42. Hunter
    Anna Calvi
43. Historian
    Lucy Dacus
44. Dose Your Dreams
    Fucked Up
45. Broken Politics
    Neneh Cherry
46. Riddles
    Ed Schrader’s Music Beat
47. There’s a Riot Going On
    Yo La Tengo
48. Babelsberg
    Gruff Rhys
49. Transangelic Exodus
    Ezra Furman
50. Superorganism
    Superorganism
51. How to Solve Our Human Problems
    Belle and Sebastian
52. Room 25
    Noname
53. Make Way for Love
    Marlon Williams
54. abysskiss
    Adrianne Lenker
55. Freedom
    Amen Dunes
56. All Melody
    Nils Frahm
57. High As Hope
    Florence + The Machine
58. Post-
    Jeff Rosenstock
59. Slow Air
    Still Corners
60. Always Ascending
    Franz Ferdinand
61. I can feel you creep into my private life
    Tune-Yards
62. Merrie Land
    The Good, the Bad & the Queen
63. Hell-On
    Neko Case
64. The Lamb
    Lala Lala
65. Your Queen Is a Reptile
    Sons of Kemet
66. Mother of My Children
    Black Belt Eagle Scout
67. soil
    serpentwithfeet
68. Sex & Food
    Unknown Mortal Orchestra
69. Honey
    Robyn
70. Deafman Glance
    Ryley Walker
71. Dance Music
    Mastersystem
72. >>>
    Beak>
73. Perfect Shapes
    Madeline Kenney
74. Cosmic Wink
    Jess Williamson
75. This One’s for the Dancer & This One’s for the Dancer’s Bouquet
    Moonface
76. Wanderer
    Cat Power
77. Constant Image
    Flasher
78. Open Here
    Field Music
79. The Blue Hour
    Suede
80. Frontrunner
    Frontperson
81. Rebound
    Eleanor Friedberger
82. Parcels
    Parcels
83. Bark Your Head Off, Dog
    Hop Along
84. Dead Magic
    Anna von Hausswolff
85. Suspiria (Music for the Luca Guadagnino Film)
    Thom Yorke
86. The More I Sleep the Less I Dream
    We Were Promised Jetpacks
87. Love Is Dead
    Chvrches
88. White Is Relic / Irrealis Mood
    of Montreal
89. The Whole Thing Is Just There
    Young Jesus
90. Bon Voyage
    Melody’s Echo Chamber
91. Out of Touch
    Jaakko Eino Kalevi
92. We’re Not Talking
    The Goon Sax
93. Quit the Curse
    Anna Burch
94. Marble Skies
    Django Django
95. Goat Girl
    Goat Girl
96. Konoyo
    Tim Hecker
97. Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
    Deafheaven
98. Future Me Hates Me
    The Beths
99. Songs You Make at Night
    Tunng
100. The Art of Pretending to Swim
     Villagers

Saige Walton: Films I Adored in 2018, as posted to Twitter

[see also 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017]

• You Were Never Really Here
  Lynne Ramsay
• Roma
  Alfonso Cuaron
• Leave No Trace
  Debra Granik
• At Eternity’s Gate
  Julian Schnabel
• 3 Faces
  Jafar Panahi
• Cold War
  Pawel Pawlikowski
• Gauguin
  Edouard Deluc

Films that I expected to love but proved to be glorious messes

• Suspiria
  Luca Guadagnino
• The Favourite
  Yorgos Lanthimos
• Let the Sunshine In
  Claire Denis

Anthony Fantano: Top 50 Albums of 2018, as aired on The Needle Drop

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017]

1. You Won't Get What You Want
   Daughters
2. Kids See Ghosts
   Kids See Ghosts
3. Veteran
   JPEGMAFIA
4. Musas
   Natalia Lafourcade
5. Wide Awake!
   Parquet Courts
6. 2012-2017
   Against All Logic
7. Harutosyura
   Harunemuri
8. Room 25
   Noname
9. Year of the Snitch
   Death Grips
10. Your Queen Is a Reptile
    Sons of Kemet
11. In a Poem Unlimited
    U.S. Girls
12. Boarding House Reach
    Jack White
13. Isolation
    Kali Uchis
14. TA13OO
    Denzel Curry
15. Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides
    Sophie
16. Little Dark Age
    MGMT
17. Prequelle
    Ghost
18. Joy as an Act of Resistance
    Idles
19. Idol
    Horrendous
20. The Sciences
    Sleep
21. El Mal Querer
    Rosalía
22. Time 'n' Place
    Kero Kero Bonito
23. Firepower
    Judas Priest
24. Paraffin
    Armand Hammer
25. Ion
    Portal
26. Some Rap Songs
    Earl Sweatshirt
27. Oxnard
    Anderson .Paak
28. Die Lit
    Playboi Carti
29. Virtue
    The Voidz
30. Everything's Fine
    Jeane Grae & Quelle Chris
31. You're Not Alone
    Andrew W.K.
32. ye
    Kanye West
33. Trench
    twenty one pilots
34. New Levels New Devils
    Polyphia
35. Dead Magic
    Anna von Hausswolff
36. Dirty Computer
    Janelle Monáe
37. Daytona
    Pusha T
38. Orpheus vs. The Sirens
    Hermit and the Recluse
39. Aviary
    Julia Holter
40. Twin Fantasy
    Car Seat Headrest
41. DiCaprio 2
    JID
42. Stranger Fruit
    Zeal & Ardor
43. Vile Luxury
    Imperial Triumphant
44. Whack World
    Tierra Whack
45. All At Once
    Screaming Females
46. Bark Your Head Off, Dog
    Hop Along
47. Twisted Crystal
    Guerilla Toss
48. A Laughing Death in Meatspace
    Tropical Fuck Storm
49. Negro Swan
    Blood Orange
50. The Light Is Leaving Us All
    Current 93