After publishing our list of the 50 Best Albums of 2018, we asked our readers to list their favorite albums of the year. And while you collectively agreed with our top pick of the year, there were several albums you thought we overlooked or underrated. Chief among them were the latest albums from Beach House and Car Seat Headrest. On the flip side, you weren’t nearly as excited about the debuts of Soccer Mommy or Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever as we were, though they both did get votes from our readers.
Here are the 20 best albums of 2018 according to the readers of Paste, along with their rankings from Paste staff (NR = not ranked):
1. Lucy Dacus: Historian (1)
2. Beach House: 7 (NR)
3. Snail Mail: Lush (5)
4. Car Seat Headrest: Twin Fantasy (NR)
5. Janelle Monáe: Dirty Computer (14)
6. Parquet Courts: Wide Awake (2)
7. Low: Double Negative (9)
8. Courtney Barnett: Tell Me How You Really Feel (3)
9. Mitski: Be the Cowboy (6)
10. Amen Dunes: Freedom (11)
11. Pusha T: DAYTONA (7)
12. The Beths: Future Me Hates Me (29)
13. IDLES: Joy as an Act of Resistance (25)
14. Shame: Songs of Praise (12)
15. Damien Jurado: The Horizon Just Laughed (NR)
16. Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour (44)
17. The Decemberists: I’ll Be Your Girl (15)
18. Brandi Carlile: By the Way, I Forgive You (NR)
19. Kali Uchis: Isolation (NR)
20. Half Waif: Lavender (NR)