As 2018 began to trail off into a forlorn jumble of last-minute Christmas shopping and office parties where people really should have learned to behave better by now, we polled our staff and writers to discover their favourite albums of the last 12 months.
We tallied up the results, put them into a vast spreadsheet, performed a few calculations, and Hey! Presto! Clutch were voted our number one album of 2018. We announced this before Christmas, and are now delighted to reveal the rest of this regally festive 50.
Of course, we're not claiming this list is definitive. Clutch might have drawn more than 4000 delirious punters to London's Brixton Academy a couple of weeks ago, but there were another 66 million members of the UK population not in attendance, so we're well aware that other points of view are available. Even the biggest bands are a minority sport.
But it is our list. It's a list that includes old stagers like Uriah Heep and David Crosby, thrusting young bucks like The Struts and Greta Van Fleet, and impossible-to-pigeonhole rogues like blues-funk-sex-rock pioneer Fantastic Negrito.
We've also put together a playlist featuring a killer track from each of the albums. And you know what? It's vivid proof that as long as the "rock is dead" naysayers continue to bleat, rock bands will continue to defy them, and make music that makes the head thrill and the heart bound.
Thanks, 2018. Vote for your favourite album of the year.
To read more about Classic Rock Magazine's Top 50 Albums of 2018, pick up the end-of-year edition in your newsagent, or order it online.
50. Vega: Only Human
49. Tax The Heat: Change Your Position
48. Monster Truck: True Rockers
47. Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons: The Age Of Absurdity
46. Black Stone Cherry: Family Tree
45. Vōdūn: Ascend
44. Corrosion Of Conformity: No Cross No Crown
43. Turbowolf: The Free Life
42. Uriah Heep: Living The Dream
41. Brothers Osborne: Port Saint Joe
40. Reef: Revelation
39. Ace Frehley: Spaceman
38. Howlin Rain: The Alligator Bride
37. Massive Wagons: Full Nelson
36. The Record Company: All Of This Life
35. David Crosby & The Lighthouse Band: Here If You Listen
34. Manic Street Preachers: Resistance Is Futile
33. Blackberry Smoke: Find A Light
32. Andrew W.K.: You’re Not Alone
31. Ash: Islands
30. Joe Bonamassa: Redemption
29. FM: Atomic Generation
28. DeWolff: Thrust
27. A Perfect Circle: Eat The Elephant
26. Ginger Wildheart: Ghost In The Tanglewood
25. Nine Inch Nails: Bad Witch
24. Nashville Pussy: Pleased To Eat You
23. Myles Kennedy: Year Of the Tiger
22. Walking Papers: WP2
21. Monster Magnet: Mindfucker
20. Low Cut Connie: Dirty Pictures (Part 2)
19. Orange Goblin: The Wolf Bites Back
18. The Sheepdogs: Changing Colours
17. The Damned: Evil Spirits
16. Saxon: Thunderbolt
15. The Temperance Movement: A Deeper Cut
14. Greta Van Fleet: Anthem Of The Peaceful Army
13. Billy F. Gibbons: The Big Bad Blues
12. Stone Temple Pilots: S.T.P
11. Steve Perry: Traces
10. Idles: Joy As An Act Of Resistance
9. Alice In Chains: Rainier Fog
8. Fantastic Negrito: Please Don't Be Dead
7. The Magpie Salute: High Water
6. Slash feat Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators: Living The Dream
5. Halestorm: Vicious
4. Judas Priest: Firepower
3. Ghost: Prequelle
2. The Struts: Young And Dangerous
1. Clutch: Book of Bad Decisions
