Year In Review 2018 - Top Ten Albums Part 2 (10-6)

Another great year is finishing up for @RockBodElec and we wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE Presents the Best of 2018 Top Ten Albums numbers 10-6:

In the instance that RtBE has reviewed the album either on the site or somewhere else we will link to that review and just give a quick summation, just click on the name and title and you can read our full opinion. RtBE worked with the Glide Team to give input on their Top 20 so you can expect some overlap if you already have seen that list.

Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but full releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle or singles for us. You can view the first part of this feature, the just misses and let downs as well.

Today we start our top ten, in retrospect it was an incredibly solid year of releases with a ton of records that were great. While few are All-Time classics the top level of releases are deep. However, there isn't a very wide range in the 2018 top ten; it's mostly rock and roll of various levels as opposed to even last year which was noticeably weaker but wider. Click that 'Read More' button to get started with #10-6 today.


#10 Magic Numbers - Outsiders

This was a major surprise as RtBE reviewed the bands last album and did not like it. Outsiders is a damn solid record which seems to calcify all of the best things about the quartet. In this disposable age, many fair-weather fans might not have even realized this record came out and people will always love their first record, but their newest is actually their best. Damn fine songs from the opening to the finale with a great standout track to solidify it. "Great Divide" is a thrill to listen to, the fact it only has 700+ views is a damn shame...listen to it twice.


#9 River Whyless - Kindness, A Rebel

A deeper pop record then most released in 2018. River Whyless keep growing and keep exploring our country/world/religion through accessible yet never easy indie-pop-rock. The group has a good sense of what is going on where things mesh and how the world is trying to evolve or not. A pretty killer record.


#8 Jack White - Boarding House Reach

RtBE never once have hid our love for Jack White. This review was effusive as we overrated it initially but it is a transitional album which has some killer high points. Granted there are some low points which are clearly skip-able and that has never happened on a Jack solo record before. His last two topped our lists the years they were released but this isn't the best record of the year and while we love Jack if people want to cherry pick this one and skip it as whole that's fine. As fans, we can't, we love even most of the failed experiments.
  

#7 High On Fire - Electric Messiah

The best metal album of the year to RtBE's ears. While Sleep got the hype, we were underwhelmed by that compared to Pike's other band's release this year. High On Fire are one of the most consistently great metal bands of all time and a release like this, dedicated to Lemmy no less, proves it.


#6 The Breeders - All Nerve

With their classic lineup back united The Breeders produced an excellent comeback album, on par with the best releases of their career. While there wasn't a stand out single, each of the short angular songs reverberated with taut energy or were intriguing.


That is the back half of our top ten, numbers five to one are coming soon. Feel free to leave comments below.