There’s something intrinsically different about putting together an ‘albums of the year’ list compared to a ‘tracks of the year’ list. On one hand, it feels slightly at odds to place such importance on the LPs when the numbers show that fewer people are listening to them, and fewer still buying them (unless it’s ‘The Greatest Showman’ OST). But then, there’s just something different about ranking songs against one another. Maybe it’s the brevity of a song format, or the colossal amount there is to consider. Often they can feel like a piece, when the album represents the full puzzle. Whatever it is, instinct tells us that boiling down 2018 into 100, or 40, or 20 songs just feels a bit shitty. Or a bit hard. Instead, we’ve put together this mixtape, and make it on Spotify and Apple Music. Some of it – but not all of it – appeared on our No Shit playlist on Spotify (which is updated every week), so if you don’t think our taste is complete crap that might be worth a follow. For those who don’t use those streaming services, there’s a full list below.

Everybody’s Coming To My House – David Byrne
Jeannie Becomes A Mom – Caroline Rose
Addictions – Lucy Dacus
Eus Keus? – Gwenno
Catch It – IceAge
Antidote – Preoccupations
Rosebud – U.S. Girls
Hot Pink – Let’s Eat Grandma
An Air Conditioned Man – Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Desire – Ought
Drab Measure – Crack Cloud
Curse of the Contemporary – LUMP
Perdida – Biig Piig
Flight Home – SHIRT
Game Changer – MIST
Preach – Ghetts
Pat Earrings – CASISDEAD
Come Thru – Ms Banks
Ladies – Slowthai
Pounce – Flohio
Just A Stranger – Kali Uchis
I See You Shining – Nines
I Can Speak Spanish – Jimothy Lacoste
Singularity – Jon Hopkins
Devotion – Tirzah
Helix – Kelly Moran
Noid – Yves Tumor
Ultra Clear Sound – Gabe Gurnsey
So Right – Marie Davidson
Perla – Glows
One More – Yaeji
Pick Up – DJ Koze
It Makes You Forget (Itgehane) – Peggy Gou
Hobby Horse – Gazelle Twin
Dunce – Ed Shrader’s Music Beat
The Oaks – Gaz Coombes
Short Court Style – Natalie Prass
How Did This Happen? – Bodega
Petrol Blue – Sink Ya Teeth
Starstruck – Sorry
Age of the Train – International Teachers of Pop
Fuckin ‘N’ Rollin – Phantastic Ferniture
Sports – Viagra Boys
Never Fight A Man With A Perm – Idles
Cake of Light – Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs
Raise Your Voice Joyce – Fucked Up
Doe-Eyed Girl – Bambara
Seeking Arrangement – Ditz
All Wordz Are Made Up – The Voidz
I Woke Up In A Fucked Up America – Lonnie Holley
Wrestling – Self Esteem
Like Sugar – Chaka Khan
Girlfriend – Chris
Nobody – Mitski
Darlin’ – Jackie Cohen
It’s All Gonna Be Ok – Ron Gallo
Destroyer – Lala Lala
Make Time 4 Love – The Goon Sax
The Dial – Squid
Hiding – Ian Sweet
Future Me Hates Me – The Beths
Millersdale – William Doyle
Jaam Ak Salam – Goatman
Hayley – Joskstrap
My Queen Is Harriet Tubman – Sons of Kemet
Blaxploitation – Noname
Problem Child – Hen Ogledd
Cash Out – Noga Erez
A Nation Of Bloodsuckers – Sons of Raphael
Friends in a Bubble Bath – audiobooks
Started Out – Georgia
Heavyweight Champion of the Year – Nilufer Yanya
Body – Julia Jacklin
Comeback Kid – Sharon van Etten
Suspicion – N0V3L
Outlandish Poetica – Jonathan Something
Violence – Parquet Courts
If You Know You Know – Pusha T
Make Me Feel – Janelle Monae
This Is America – Childish Gambino
Nothing Breaks Like A Heart – Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus
Roll (Burbank Funk) – The Internet
In My View – Young Fathers
Four Out Of Five – Arctic Monkeys
Chasescene – Daniel Knox
Bells & Circles – Iggy Pop and Underworld

And also, check out our list of the top 40 albums from 2018.