December is more than half over, and we at Stereogum are just about finished reviewing 2018’s musical highs and lows. Having listed just about every list that can be listed, it’s time set our sights on the future — also in list form, of course. Yes, reader: We are once again counting down next year’s most anticipated albums.
Some of these albums have been announced or teased, either in interviews or with official rollouts. Some are based on… things we’ve heard. Some are educated guesses and/or pure speculation. All would be extremely welcome additions to our 2019 listening rotation.
Dive into the rankings below. In the comments, let us know what we forgot, and debate whether Dear Tommy, Masochism, and whatever My Bloody Valentine are recording will ever materialize.
101 Kanye West – Yandhi (Def Jam, TBD)
100 Club Night – What Life (Tiny Engines, Q1)
99 The Chemical Brothers – No Geography (Astralwerks, Spring)
98 Bob Mould – Sunshine Rock (Merge, 2/8)
97 Tiny Ruins – Olympic Girl (Ba Da Bing/Milk/Marathon Artists/Ursa Minor, 2/1)
96 Amber Mark (Interscope, TBD)
95 Pronoun (Rhyme & Reason, Spring)
94 Disq
93 Cherry Glazerr – Stuffed & Ready (Secretly Canadian, 2/1)
92 FIDLAR – Almost Free (Mom + Pop, 1/25)
91 Mercury Rev – Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited (Bella Union, 2/8)
90 HEALTH – VOL. 4::SLAVES OF FEAR (Loma Vista, 2/8)
89 Operators
88 Control Top
87 Better Oblivion Community Center
86 Pedro The Lion – Phoenix (Polyvinyl, 1/18)
85 Tears For Fears
84 Fontaines D.C.
83 Nation Of Language
82 Spielbergs – This Is Not The End (By The Time It Gets Dark, 2/1)
81 American Football – American Football (Polyvinyl, 3/22)
80 Pile
79 The Raconteurs (Third Man, TBD)
78 Czarface – Czarface Meets Ghostface (Get On Down, 2/15)
77 Sir Babygirl – Crush On Me (Father/Daughter, 2/15)
76 Lomelda
75 Lower Dens
74 Royal Trux
73 Sneaks – Highway Hypnosis (Merge, 1/25)
72 Bristletongue
71 Mark Ronson
70 Toro Y Moi – Outer Peace (Carpark, 1/18)
69 The Strokes
68 Flying Lotus
67 TV On The Radio
66 Archers Of Loaf
65 The Weeknd – Chapter 6 (XO/Republic, TBD)
64 Tamaryn
63 Strand Of Oaks (Dead Oceans, TBD)
62 White Reaper
61 Code Orange
60 Ex Hex
59 Ryan Adams
58 M83
57 Maren Morris
56 Steve Gunn – The Unseen In Between (Matador, 1/18)
55 Hannah Diamond – Reflections (PC Music, TBD)
54 Chance The Rapper
53 Sudan Archives
52 Hum
51 Panda Bear – Buoys (Domino, 2/8)
50 Vagabon
49 Deerhunter – Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared? (4AD, 1/18)
48 Missy Elliott
47 The Hold Steady
46 Hot Chip
45 Open Mike Eagle
44 Hatchie
43 Cass McCombs – Tip Of The Sphere (Anti, 2/8)
42 Girlpool – What Chaos Is Imaginary (Anti, 2/1)
41 Jessica Pratt – Quiet Signs (Mexican Summer, 2/8)
40 Caribou
39 Mannequin Pussy
38 Tierra Whack
37 The Hotelier
36 (Sandy) Alex G
35 Q-Tip – The Last Zulu
34 Sharon Van Etten – Remind Me Tomorrow (Jagjaguwar, 1/18)
33 Rihanna
32 Westerman
31 Empath
30 Liz Phair
29 Run The Jewels
28 PUP
27 Bruce Springsteen
26 Lady Gaga
25 Weyes Blood (Sub Pop)
24 Schoolboy Q
23 Carly Rae Jepsen (604/School Boy/Interscope, TBD)
22 SOPHIE
21 Priests
20 Japanese Breakfast
29 Thom Yorke
18 Vince Staples
17 My Bloody Valentine
16 Chromatics – Dear Tommy (Italians Do It Better, TBD)
15 Lana Del Rey – Norman Fucking Rockwell (Interscope, 3/29)
14 James Blake
13 Jenny Lewis – On The Line (Warner Bros, Spring)
12 Charly Bliss
11 The 1975 – Notes On A Conditional Form (Dirty Hit, TBD)
10 Sleater-Kinney
9 The Cure
8 Danny Brown
7 Bon Iver
6 Grimes (4AD, TBD)
5 Ariana Grande – thank u, next (Republic, TBD)
4 Tame Impala
3 Vampire Weekend (Columbia, TBD)
2 Sky Ferreira – Masochism (Capitol, TBD)
1 Solange (Columbia, TBD)