Top 10 Electronic Albums Of 2018

It's time to reminisce back on this incredible year. From unforgettable festival sets, to shocking news like Avicii's death, 2018 has been one for the books, especially musically.

Ultra celebrated their 10th year anniversary with a Swedish House Mafia Reunion, Coachella had a legendary drone performance, and even Shaq popped up on the DJ circuit at Lost Lands.

We've watched new artists such as 1788-L emerge and takeover, and then favorites such as Kygo sell out tour stops across the world.

The nostalgic moments of this year will stay in our hearts forever, and the music soundtracks that accompanied those moments will too.

Here are iEDM's top 10 albums of 2018. Choosing just 10 albums was tricky, but we have narrowed it down by the memories, numbers of plays, and chart numbers. This list is completely subjective, but if you haven't given them a listen, now is the time.

10. Chromeo - Head Over Heels

I didn’t discover my love for this album until I had an hour and a half car ride and didn't want to turn it off. The first track “Must’ve Been,” has over 9 million plays on Spotify and is a love song anthem anyone can relate too. Head Over Heels blurs electro funk with silly but catchy lyrics. Chromeo's live performances with their full band are a jazzy, neo-funk fusion that take us back to the 80s. Their Electric Forest weekend 2 set will forever be remembered for the incredible lightning storm that went to their funky beats.

9. Above & Beyond - Common Ground

If you ever get to see Above & Beyond play "Northern Soul" live, brace yourself for the tears. The empowering lyrics are guaranteed to give you the feels and the build ups invoke the nostalgic feeling Above & Beyond is known for. "Northern Soul" was Grammy nominated for best dance track in 2018. When the rest of the Common Ground album finally dropped, trance fans went wild.

8. Louis The Child - Kids At Play

2018 has been a huge year for Louis The Child. Their album, Kids At Play made it to number 8 on Billboard’s Top Electronic Albums and has over 80 million plays on Spotify. They co-headlined Red Rocks for their first time ever and will be back again this year. We are excited to see what 2019 brings for this emerging duo.

7. Chainsmokers - Sick Boy… Beach House

As much as I didn’t want to include this on my list because I honestly consider The Chainsmokers pop music, there is no denying that they held the number one spot on the Billboard Dance 100 for 32 weeks and counting. They have been constantly traveling the world with epic live performances. Their pyrotechnics are so insane, they even lit their drums on fire at Grandoozy. My favorite on their new album is "Somebody" featuring Drewr Love because the lyrics are relatable and sexy.

6. SOLACE - Rufus Du Sol

TIME Magazine published a recent article, “Rufus Du Sol wants to change the way you think about electronic music” and that couldn’t be any more true. Their emotion-invoking music is relatable and heartwarming and their live performance regularly bring you to tears. In 2017, they won Record of the Year & Live Act of the Year at the Electronic Music Awards. Selling out venues across the world, Rufus Du Sol continues to become a favorite.

5. Zhu - Ringos Desert

In only 3 months, the hit song “My Life” has over 18 million plays on Spotify. This highly anticipated sophomore album features his trademark sexy vocals, hitting those high notes and getting stuck in our heads every time we listen. His Sand Dunes tour actually brought in sand to coincide with Ringos Desert and added layers featuring a brass quartet. Our favorite once anonymous producer just announced part 2 of this tour with stops across the US.

4. Bassnectar - Reflective (Part 3)

This anticipated EP release finally gave fans the “High” Remix that bass heads were teased with at Freestyle Sessions in Colorado. He also remixed one of his Naux Faux tracks, “Enchanted” with a Bassnectar twist. Reflective 3 is definitely my favorite of the album series because of the hard hitting, hype tracks “Heavyweight Sound” and “Easy Does It.”

3. Rezz - Certain Kind Of Magic

If you are into dark bass music, once you see our space mom Rezz live, you are guaranteed to fall in love. Rezz made it as number one on our Rising Artists of 2017 list. Her sophomore album on Mau5trap defined her style even more. The hit track "H E X" teams up with rising artist of 2018, 1788-L. My personal favorite track features Fytch called “Toxin” and has a heavy metal vibe guaranteed to bring out the headbangers.

2. Kygo - Kids In Love

Kids In Love was officially released in Nov. 2017, but the remix album dropped this year. Kygo's “Kids In Love” tour was unforgettable, selling out multiple night runs in major arenas and amphitheaters across the world. His production featured multiple singers, a string quartet, a grand piano and even involved the audience with LED bracelets that were passed out as you walked in and flashed different colors to the music. In 2018, Kygo was nominated by Billboard for Best Electronic Album and won best live electronic show at the Winter Music Conference. There is no denying Kygo is one of the biggest electronic acts and not going anywhere.

1. Odesza - A Moment Apart (Deluxe Edition)

A Moment Apart came out in Sept. 2017 but this deluxe edition features reprised tracks of album favorites like “Higher Ground” and “Line Of Sight.” The song “Loyal” was added which features their drum line that they had on their worldwide tour that had sold out shows in most major cities. I’ve never paid so much over face value for a ticket to Red Rocks, but it was worth it and was hands down in my top 5 live performances of 2018.

Choosing just 10 albums was hard work, so here are a few other notable picks that didn't make the list.

Honorable Mentions:

Glitch Mob - See Without Eyes

Kasbo - Places We Don't Know

San Holo - album1

Alison Wonderland - Awake

Ganja White Night - The Origins

Koan Sound - Polychrome