Camiele’s 100 Favorite Albums of 2018

40. H.E.R. – I Used to Know Her: The Prelude

Respect to H.E.R. for giving her spin on Ms. Lauryn Hill’s Lost Ones. As with her first album, her voice is a dream. Her thoughts and emotions are lucid, powerful, simple. There’s a rougher edge to her sound, hard times seeming to have added a few crags to the smoothness inherent in her vocal delivery.

A beautiful piece of work, emotional and honest.

Available on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, and H.E.R.’s Soundcloud.

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39. SHINee – The Story of Light pt. 1

The Story of Light is a triumphant piece of music. There’s so much brightness, yet there’s also a great deal of maturity, nothing wasted. This is an emotional body of music, but it doesn’t rest in one feeling of overwhelming sadness. It’s a celebration, a love note, a promise to move forward but always remember. Gorgeous, emotional, yet it KNOCKS like nobody’s business! SHINee came back with a mission!

Available on iTunes and Spotify.

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38. PUNCHNELLO – at 5:43am

You can never, ever go wrong with ’Nello. He just has a style that’s easy to fall for. He’s also easily recognizable as one of the more creative rappers coming from SK. I just smiled like a fool with his reference to Willy Wonk and the Chocolate Factory with his nod to Pure Imagination, which is one of the most ethereal songs ever penned FIGHT ME! (balcony) He’s so natural, his flow is smooth and unbothered, and he doesn’t shy away from bringing deep emotion into his brand of hip-hop.

He’s also a brilliant producer, and I don’t think that part of his skill set gets enough credit.

Available on PUNCHNELLO’s Soundcloud.

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37. PRhyme – PRhyme 2

Emotional, lyrical, some very poetic moments. There’s an unfortunate mount of misogyny. Taking those tracks out of the album, you still have a piece of work that speaks to the foundations of hip-hop, that pushes the concept of collaboration, combination, artists being artists and trading music like thoughts. Gorgeous piece of work.

Available on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, and PRhyme’s Soundcloud.

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36. Mitski – Be the Cowboy

Big. Bold. Daring. No wonder it’s on so many “Best of” lists! So prevalent was this album at the end of the year, I just had to find out what it was all about. Damn, am I ever glad I did. Be the Cowboy is heartfelt warrior music.

Powerful and brazen, with a voice anchoring sounds that could very well be unnecessarily dramatic. Mitski’s vocal elevates the music to something magical, instead of the sounds drowning her out. Gorgeous work!

Available on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal.

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35. Anomalie – Métropole Pt. II

This man is just brilliant. That’s it. As part two to last year’s Métropole, it opens on a softer sigh, something more sensual and smoother to the touch.

The rest of the album follows in much the same vein: smooth, sensual, a more casual pace that allows the listener to just melt into each song. I’m so happy Anomalie released another album! At this point I feel the year is incomplete without his work.

Available on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, and Anamolie’s Soundcloud and Bandcamp.

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34. Samuel Seo – Unity

Samuel Seo is one of the most dependable artists in the industry right now. And by that I mean you can always depend on him to push himself to reach for something more, perhaps something outside of his comfort zone.

In this case, we have an album that opens on a track that’s obviously a live studio recording. That’s not exactly something most artists are wont to do nowadays. As he says in the second track on the album, “I like to keep things simple.” And that’s exactly what he does here: keeps it simple, no frills, and simply lovely. How is it possible one of the best artists from South Korea is so underappreciated?

Available on iTunes, Spotify, and Tidal.

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33. Kim Oki – Saturn Meditation

Saturn Meditation is just raw, impassioned jazz music! I’m absolutely all in for it! Lush soundscapes. Experimental brushstrokes. This is an illustrious piece of jazz music. Sam Oki pushes the boundaries of the genre, adding scope and depth to what’s been relegated to the new “lo-fi” category.

Available on iTunes, Spotify, and Tidal.

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32. Jazzanova – The Pool

I was emotional the instant I found out Jazzanova released new music in 2018. Seems this was the year of the low-key comeback of some of my ultimate musical favorites.

With The Pool, Jazzanova mastered the art of keeping with the times while still maintaining the sound that’s made them so special in the hearts of deep house fans. Also, Jamie Cullum is a revelation on this album! This is by far the biggest and happiest surprise of 2018 for me!

Available on iTunes, Spotify, and Tidal.

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31. Ravyn Lenae – Crush EP

I’ve wanted funky soul like this for SO long! Ravyn Lenae epitomizes the newest generation of soul singers reaching back to the roots of funk and soul to give us that same raw, sensual, honest-to-goodness sound our parents saw firsthand. And she does it with zero gimmicks, just good songwriting, composition, production, and convincing vocal delivery.

Her and Steve Lacy working together is just a stroke of genius. I get serious Denise Williams vibes from her.

Available on iTunes, Spotify, Tidal, and Ravyn Lenae’s Soundcloud.