There are those who release year-end “Best of” lists in November and then there are sane human beings who wait until the year is completely over to throw down on some of their favorites now part of the annals of history.

We shared in some fantastic discussions, explorations, and discoveries over a year that brought us some fantastic, diverse music from artists we’ve come to hear over the years and names as fresh to us as their art.

With a very special thanks to all the artist who work so very hard to provide us with their art, here is Nanobot Rock’s Top 10 (more like 15) discoveries of 2018:

#15 Sweet Jonny – Sweet Jonny

#14 The President Lincoln – Pilgrims and Aliens

#13 Tempesst – Doomsday

#12 Geographer – Alone Time

#11 The Lagoons – Escape

#10 Matthew McNeal – Good Luck

Where Americana meets ingenuity is a crossroads, probably somewhere in Middle America or Texas. No longer standing at that crossroad is Matthew McNeal. He’s stuffed his pockets with the dirt of musical visionaries before him for motivation and kicked up dust as he heads out. He doesn’t need luck, he’s got everything he needs.

#9 Thunderegg – Cosmos

Thunderegg separates music and vision, mixes them with the intimate questions in each of us, stirs them together in a cosmic alt-pop vat of genuine reflection, and then molds it in the hands of musical experience and art. The result is Cosmos.

#8 Bloodfeather – Bloodfeather

Semi-emo-pop punk sounds are about as worn out as politicians and twitter. That is, until Bloodfeather came forth and showed us why we shouldn’t discount that just yet. This self-titled record is just the ground floor. Buckle up.

#7 Geowulf – Great Big Blue

Capturing a vast amount of sunshine in their refreshing shoegaze surf pop sound, Geowulf warmed 2018 when all else seemed cold and foreboding.

#6 Drum and a Tantrum – Wildfire

Ne’er-do-wells beware. Jersey City, New Jersey’s Drum and a Tantrum is a whole lot of sound that should never be confused with the Fitz and crew. This album is a Wildfire we want to watch burn for as long as it will burn.

#5 Jonathan Warren & The Billy Goats – Cletus

The growth of Boise, Idaho’s nathan Warren & The Billy Goats not only finds itself shining like the PsychoBilly Folk Grass it is, but this is single-handedly the most complete release from Jonathan Warren & The Billy Goats to date.

#4 Freedom Fry – Classic

Debut albums are an unknown many artist dread. Freedom Fry has nothing to fear. Their debut record of folk-infused-pop is magical. Dare we say…Classic

#3 Andrew St. James – The Big Ole Veronica Apology Record

There are those who write songs, and then there are songwriters. Andrew St. James’ latest, which erupts in a menagerie of passion and chaos, soaring in a dance amongst soul-filled vocals while playing between analog produced tendencies that are pure musical beauty.

#2 I Don’t Know How But They Found Me – 1981

Vintage vibes existing in modern execution resulting in nothing but pure fun and catchy-as-hell addiction. National leaders, tolerance, and foreign politics aren’t the only things feeling very 1981 anymore.

#1 Gypsy Sun Revival – Journey Outside of Time

From the first spin we knew it would take a god-like undertaking to knock this off the number one spot. Some came very close, but none managed to shake this best discovery of 2018. Journey Outside of Time is engineered only to harness the sounds brought forth by Gypsy Sun Revival. Beyond technical recording, the soul that lives within each lick, heavy beat, shredding vocal, thumping bass line, or drifting ambient breakdown is pure, unadulterated seemingly boundless musical ability.