Year-End Lists

Smithsonian: Favorite Books of 2018, as selected individually by Smithsonian scholars

[see also 2019]

• Light of the Stars

  Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth
  Adam Frank
• The Good Neighbor

  The Life and Work of Fred Rogers
  Maxwell King
• Tinker to Evers to Chance

  The Chicago Cubs and the Dawn of Modern America
  David Rapp
• Care Work

  Dreaming Disability Justice
  Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
• There There
  Tommy Orange
• The Library Book
  Susan Orlean
• Frederick Douglass

  Prophet of Freedom
  David W. Blight
• William Stimpson and the Golden Age of American Natural History
  Ronald Scott Vasile
• Our Germans

  Project Paperclip and the National Security State
  Brian E. Crim
• Mourning
  Eduardo Halfon
• Chesapeake Requiem

  A Year with the Watermen of Vanishing Tangier Island
  Earl Swift

KCRW: Best Albums of 2018

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2020]

1. Heaven and Earth
   Kamasi Washington
2. Good Thing
   Leon Bridges
3. Con Todo El Mundo
   Khruangbin
4. For Ever
   Jungle
5. God’s Favorite Customer
   Father John Misty
6. El Mal Querer
   Rosalía
7. Sex & Food
   Unknown Mortal Orchestra
8. Oxnard
   Anderson .Paak
9. Geography
   Tom Misch
10. Blood
    Rhye

Christopher Borrelli: 10 Best Books of 2018, as published by The Chicago Tribune

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

Fiction

• Motherhood
  Sheila Heti
• The Largesse of the Sea Maiden
  Denis Johnson
• X-Men

  Grand Design
  Ed Piskor
• The Overstory
  Richard Powers
• Heads of the Colored People
  Nafissa Thompson-Spires

Nonfiction

• Boom Town

  The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding, Its Apocalyptic Weather, Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-Class Metropolis
  Sam Anderson
• This Land

  America, Lost and Found
  Dan Barry
• Frederick Douglass

  Prophet of Freedom
  David W. Blight
• Rising

  Dispatches from the New American Shore
  Elizabeth Rush
• Feel Free
  Zadie Smith

Eric Kohn: Best Movies of 2018, as published by IndieWire

[see also 2023 • 2020 • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2012]

1. The Favourite
   Yorgos Lanthimos
2. Roma
   Alfonso Cuaron
3. The Death of Stalin
   Armando Iannucci
4. First Reformed
   Paul Schrader
5. Sorry to Bother You
   Boots Riley
6. Private Life
   Tamara Jenkins
7. Burning
   Lee Chang-dong
8. Madeline’s Madeline
   Josephine Decker
9. If Beale Street Could Talk
   Barry Jenkins
10. Free Solo
    Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin
11. Widows
    Steve McQueen
12. Mandy
    Panos Cosmatos
13. Support the Girls
    Andrew Bujalski
14. Border
    Ali Abbasi
15. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
    Marielle Heller
16. We the Animals
    Jeremiah Zagar
17. Vox Lux
    Brady Corbet
18. Paddington 2
    Paul King

The New York Times: 10 Best Books of 2018

[see also The 10 Best Books of 2023 • 100 Notable Books of 2023 • The 10 Best Books of 2022 • 100 Notable Books of 2022 • The 10 Best Books of 2021 • 100 Notable Books of 2021 • The 10 Best Books of 2020 • 100 Notable Books of 2020 • 100 Notable Books of 2019 • The 10 Best Books of 2019 • 100 Notable Books of 2018 • 100 Notable Books of 2017 • 10 Best Books of 2017 • 10 Best Books of 2016 • 10 Best Books of 2015 • The 10 Best Books of 2014 • The 10 Best Books of 2013 • 100 Notable Books of 2012 • 10 Best Books of 2012 • 100 Notable Books of 2011 • Ten Best Books of 2011]

Fiction

• Asymmetry
  Lisa Halliday
• The Great Believers
  Rebecca Makkai
• The Perfect Nanny
  Leila Slimani
• There There
  Tommy Orange
• Washington Black
  Esi Edugyan

Nonfiction

• American Prison

  A Reporter’s Undercover Journey Into the Business of Punishment
  Shane Bauer
• Educated
  Tara Westover
• Frederick Douglass

  Prophet of Freedom
  David W. Blight
• How to Change Your Mind

  What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence
  Michael Pollan
• Small Fry
  Lisa Brennan-Jobs

Bustle: Best Books of 2018, as separate Fiction and Nonfiction lists

[see also 2020]

Fiction

• Circe
  Madeline Miller
• An American Marriage
  Tayari Jones
• Asymmetry
  Lisa Halliday
• Freshwater
  Akwaeke Emezi
• Washington Black
  Esi Edugyan
• Give Me Your Hand
  Megan Abbott
• The Friend
  Sigrid Nunez
• The Kiss Quotient
  Helen Hoang
• Motherhood
  Sheila Heti
• Tin Man
  Sarah Winman
• The Great Believers
  Rebecca Makkai
• Florida
  Lauren Groff
• My Year of Rest and Relaxation
  Ottessa Moshfegh
• The Proposal
  Jasmine Guillory
• Heads of the Colored People
  Nafissa Thompson-Spires
• Those Who Knew
  Idra Novey
• Severance
  Ling Ma
• The Poppy War
  R.F. Kuang
• The Incendiaries
  R.O. Kwon
• Melmoth
  Sarah Perry
• How Long 'til Black Future Month?
  N.K. Jemisin
• The Pisces
  Melissa Broder
• The Golden State
  Lydia Kiesling
• Crudo
  Olivia Laing
• Kudos
  Rachel Cusk
• Spinning Silver
  Naomi Novik
• Convenience Store Woman
  Sayaka Murata
• Fruit of the Drunken Tree
  Ingrid Rojas Contreras
• Where the Crawdads Sing
  Delia Owens
• Vengeful
  V.E. Schwab

Nonfiction

• I’ll Be Gone in the Dark

  One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
  Michelle McNamara
• The Recovering

  Intoxication and Its Aftermath
  Leslie Jamison
• Heart Berries
  Terese Marie Mailhot
• Heartland

  A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth
  Sarah Smarsh
• Educated
  Tara Westover
• Good and Mad

  The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger
  Rebecca Traister
• Dead Girls

  Essays on Surviving an American Obsession
  Alice Bolin
• All You Can Ever Know
  Nicole Chung
• Sick
  Porochista Khakpour
• Feel Free
  Zadie Smith
• Seduction

  Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood
  Karina Longworth
• One Person, No Vote

  How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy
  Carol Anderson
• The Library Book
  Susan Orlean
• Becoming
  Michelle Obama
• These Truths

  A History of the United States
  Jill Lepore
• The Poison Squad

  One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
  Deborah Blum
• Small Fry
  Lisa Brennan-Jobs
• And Now We Have Everything

  On Motherhood Before I Was Ready
  Meaghan O'Connell
• Monsoon Mansion
  Cinelle Barnes
• Eloquent Rage

  A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower
  Brittney C. Cooper
• Can You Tolerate This?
  Ashleigh Young
• Tell Me More

  Stories About the 12 Hardest Things I'm Learning to Say
  Kelly Corrigan
• The Death of Truth

  Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump
  Michiko Kakutani
• What If This Were Enough?
  Heather Havrilesky
• So You Want to Talk About Race
  Ijeoma Oluo

Albumism: 50 Best Albums of 2018

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2017]

1. Dirty Computer
   Janelle Monáe
2. Golden Hour
   Kacey Musgraves
3. No News Is Good News
   Phonte
4. Be the Cowboy
   Mitski
5. Wax
   KT Tunstall
6. Tell Me How You Really Feel
   Courtney Barnett
7. God’s Favorite Customer
   Father John Misty
8. Record
   Tracey Thorn
9. Please Don't Be Dead
   Fantastic Negrito
10. Clean
    Soccer Mommy
11. 7
    Beach House
12. Ventriloquism
    Meshell Ndegeocello
13. Primal Heart
    Kimbra
14. Marauder
    Interpol
15. Geography
    Tom Misch
16. Hell-On
    Neko Case
17. Honey
    Robyn
18. Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
    Arctic Monkeys
19. Book of Ryan
    Royce da 5'9"
20. Hive Mind
    The Internet
21. May Your Kindness Remain
    Courtney Marie Andrews
22. Khrysis & Elzhi Are Jericho Jackson
    Jericho Jackson
23. Golden
    Kylie Minogue
24. Everything's Fine
    Jeane Grae & Quelle Chris
25. The Now Now
    Gorillaz
26. One
    Dubstar
27. Ruins
    First Aid Kit
28. Life
    Boy George
29. Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John
    Juliana Hatfield
30. Daytona
    Pusha T
31. I'm a Dream
    Seinabo Sey
32. Ruby
    Macy Gray
33. Good Thing
    Leon Bridges
34. Czarface Meets Metal Face
    Czarface
35. Broken Politics
    Neneh Cherry
36. PRhyme 2
    PRhyme
37. In a Poem Unlimited
    U.S. Girls
38. The Midnight Hour
    The Midnight Hour / Ali Shaheed Muhammad / Adrian Younge
39. M3
    DJ Jazzy Jeff
40. The Lookout
    Laura Veirs
41. A Breukelen Story
    Masta Ace & Marco Polo
42. Natural Rebel
    Richard Ashcroft
43. Lush
    Snail Mail
44. All Nerve
    The Breeders
45. For My Crimes
    Marissa Nadler
46. Indigo
    Kandace Springs
47. High As Hope
    Florence + The Machine
48. Heaven and Earth
    Kamasi Washington
49. Resistance Is Futile
    Manic Street Preachers
50. No Shame
    Lily Allen

Paste Magazine: 25 Best TV Shows of 2018

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2010s • 2019 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Atlanta
2. Killing Eve
3. Glow
4. The Americans
5. The Good Place
6. The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
7. The Good Fight
8. Barry
9. Jane the Virgin
10. BoJack Horseman
11. The Haunting of Hill House
12. Adventure Time
13. Better Call Saul
14. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
15. The Handmaid’s Tale
16. Steven Universe
17. Lodge 49
18. One Day at a Time
19. The Expanse
20. High Maintenance
21. Pose
22. Big Mouth
23. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
24. Random Acts of Flyness
25. Sorry for Your Loss

Glide Magazine: 20 Best Albums of 2018, in alphabetical order by artist

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

• Undesirable
  Becky Warren
• LONER
  Caroline Rose
• Songs of the Plains
  Colter Wall
• May Your Kindness Remain
  Courtney Marie Andrews
• Sweet Unknown
  Erika Wennerstrom
• Be More Kind
  Frank Turner
• Prequelle
  Ghost
• Glorietta
  Glorietta
• Lifted
  Israel Nash
• Whatever It Takes
  The James Hunter Six
• Rare Birds
  Jonathan Wilson
• The Other
  King Tuff
• Carolina Confessions
  The Marcus King Band
• Wide Awake!
  Parquet Courts
• How To: Friend, Love, Freefall
  Rainbow Kitten Surprise
• Collagically Speaking
  R+R=NOW
• Onion
  Shannon & The Clams
• Life Is Good on the Open Road
  Trampled By Turtles
• Emanon
  Wayne Shorter
• One Drop of Truth
  The Wood Brothers

20 Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order)

• To the Sunset
  Amanda Shires
• Oxnard
  Anderson .Paak
• All Nerve
  The Breeders
• Black Velvet
  Charles Bradley
• Vanished Gardens
  Charles Lloyd & The Marvels & Lucinda Williams
• Downey to Lubbock
  Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore
• Passwords
  Dawes
• Shake the Spirit
  Elle King
• Dirty Computer
  Janelle Monáe
• The Tree of Forgiveness
  John Prine
• Heaven and Earth
  Kamasi Washington
• Bought to Rot
  Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers
• Dirty Pictures, Pt. 2
  Low Cut Connie
• Years
  Sarah Shook & the Disarmers
• All At Once
  Screaming Females
• Be True
  Sloucher
• Sparkle Hard
  Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
• What a Time to Be Alive
  Superchunk
• Sex & Food
  Unknown Mortal Orchestra
• Rhododendron
  Valley Maker

Paste Magazine: 50 Best Albums of 2018

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Historian
   Lucy Dacus
2. Wide Awake!
   Parquet Courts
3. Tell Me How You Really Feel
   Courtney Barnett
4. Clean
   Soccer Mommy
5. Lush
   Snail Mail
6. Be the Cowboy
   Mitski
7. Daytona
   Pusha T
8. Hope Downs
   Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
9. Double Negative
   Low
10. Bark Your Head Off, Dog
    Hop Along
11. Freedom
    Amen Dunes
12. Songs of Praise
    Shame
13. In a Poem Unlimited
    U.S. Girls
14. Dirty Computer
    Janelle Monáe
15. I’ll Be Your Girl
    The Decemberists
16. Twentytwo in Blue
    Sunflower Bean
17. Little Dark Age
    MGMT
18. God’s Favorite Customer
    Father John Misty
19. Honey
    Robyn
20. Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
    Arctic Monkeys
21. May Your Kindness Remain
    Courtney Marie Andrews
22. Big Red Machine
    Big Red Machine
23. Look Now
    Elvis Costello & The Imposters
24. Beyondless
    Iceage
25. Joy as an Act of Resistance
    Idles
26. What a Time to Be Alive
    Superchunk
27. Room Inside the World
    Ought
28. How to Socialise & Make Friends
    Camp Cope
29. Future Me Hates Me
    The Beths
30. I Need to Start a Garden
    Haley Heynderickx
31. Hell-On
    Neko Case
32. Room 25
    Noname
33. She Remembers Everything
    Rosanne Cash
34. Knock Knock
    DJ Koze
35. See You Around
    I’m With Her
36. MITH
    Lonnie Holley
37. New Material
    Preoccupations
38. The Hex
    Richard Swift
39. The Crossing
    Alejandro Escovedo
40. Ultraviolet
    Kelly Moran
41. abysskiss
    Adrianne Lenker
42. Things Have Changed
    Bettye LaVette
43. LONER
    Caroline Rose
44. Golden Hour
    Kacey Musgraves
45. Nature
    Paul Kelly
46. C’est La Vie
    Phosphorescent
47. Constant Image
    Flasher
48. Girl Going Nowhere
    Ashley McBryde
49. Negro Swan
    Blood Orange
50. There’s a Riot Going On
    Yo La Tengo