Many people had written off Gaga after Artpop in 2013 but I loved that album, loved 2016's Joanne and always felt that such a huge talent just needed another lucky break to regain her superstar status, and A Star Is Born was that break. A gripping movie, excellently acted by Gaga and Bradley Cooper, the soundtrack was surely another reason it was such a runaway box office success.
Gaga is on the top of her game here and. to be fair, so is Bradley Cooper - who on earth knew he was such a good singer? He adds a lot to Shallow and I also enjoy his ballad Maybe It's Time and the country rocker Black Eyes, but it's Gaga that really shines here. I'll Never Love Again is an emotive Whitney-esque power ballad in the style I didn't realise were even made anymore while Always Remember Us This Way is slightly more contemporary, and the sonic successor to Gaga's 2011 hit You & I.
Other highlights include some of the poppier moments - in the film we're supposed to see these songs as Gaga's character Ally losing her identity as she goes through the industry machine, but in truth Hair Body Face is the type of incredible pop moment Gaga put out in her sleep at the turn of the decade while Why Did You Do That? is similar to her 2017 Spotify-friendly hit The Cure. A Star Is Born is a fantastic return to form for Gaga on all counts here, I really can't wait to see what she does next.
2. Kylie Minogue - Golden
Pop legend Kylie Minogue topped my end of year chart with Aphrodite in 2010 and, truth be told, that was her last album up to now that I return to. Side projects such as Kylie Christmas and The Abbey Road Sessions were fun diversions while 2014's Kiss Me Once felt a bit directionless, though some tracks were enjoyable.
But on Golden Kylie found a purpose with a move to country, albeit on her own terms. While the Dolly Parton influences are clear, this is still a Kylie record and the likes of Raining Glitter are cut from the same cloth as Light Years while Lost Without You could have come from 'the indie years'.
But this was a beauty of an album campaign - the wonderful Dancing was her best single in years, Stop Me From Falling was a very worthy follow-up, Golden and A Lifetime To Repair were melodic Radio 2 favourites and Music's Too Sad Without You is my favourite Kylie ballad for a long, long time, it's utterly gorgeous.
3. Sheppard – Watching The Sky
Following up my favourite album of the last 14 years was never going to be an easy ask and, truthfully, Watching The Sky doesn't quite get up to the same level to which I loved 2014's Bombs Away. But such is my love for Aussie indie-pop group Sheppard and their way around a pop melody, they still manage a top three end of year finish with their second album.
The band had already released many of the songs here as singles over the past three years - Coming Home is a 'hands-in-the-air' strummer in the same vein as 2014 mega hit Geronimo, Keep Me Crazy and Riding The Wave are fun summery pop songs and We Belong and Edge Of The Night have enjoyable 80s/90s feels to them respectively. Thankfully, there was more of the same to come on the album, and standout tracks include the catchy Love Me Now, the beautiful Live For You, and the energetic Choke. Safe to say, I'm very excited to see what they have up their sleeves for Australia's 2019 Eurovision selection.
4. Rae Morris – Someone Out There
When will Blackpool singer Rae Morris get the recognition that she deserves? Her soulful and sumptuous voice took her debut album Unguarded into my top three of 2015 - three years after the stunning ballad Don't Go made my top five singles of 2012 - and she followed it up early in 2018 with a bigger and bolder collection, which is easily on par with its predecessor.
Last year's Do It - one of my favourite songs of 2017 - suggested this album could be something very special indeed, and it really didn't disappoint. The timeless beauty of Wait For The Rain, Dancing With Character and Someone Out There are interspersed here with pop bangers Rose Garden, Atletico (The Only One) and Reborn to make an incredibly special album.
5. Freya Ridings – Live At Omeara
My anticipation for London singer Freya Ridings' debut album, coming in May 2019, is pretty much at fever pitch already based on seeing her live earlier this year and the quality of both this live album and her earlier collection Live At St Pancras Old Church.
This gig snapshot - released in March - already highlights Freya's growth as an artist and her increasing talent for songwriting and melody. Lost Without You is a gorgeous track and now a huge hit single and other standout ballads include Blackout, Ultraviolet and the beautiful You Mean The World To Me.
But Freya should not be underestimated - the more uptempo album opener Love Is Fire and the anthemic Castles - as well as features on dance singles this year by MJ Cole and RL Grime - show that she is a very diverse talent with a stunning voice. Definitely one to watch.
6. Take That – Odyssey
Odyssey is a greatest hits with a twist. Rather than just pushing out the hits, Gary, Mark and Howard re-recorded and remixed all of their significant hits and added a few new songs and I love the result. Their more recent post-comeback hits - These Days, The Flood, Cry, Giants, Said It All, Shine and Greatest Day - have all been pretty much untouched aside from some production flourishes and extended intros in some cases.
But there are some great and very different new versions of old classics here - Everything Changes, Pray and Love Ain't Here Anymore in particular - which spruce up the back catalogue in an inventive way.
Out Of Our Heads is zany swing fun and the other two new tracks, Spin and Everlasting, could have easily come from Beautiful World. I also love the flow of this album, including the interludes and the interview snippets - it's a really enjoyable look back through a fantastic career.
7. Anne-Marie – Speak Your Mind
Anne-Marie is a fun popstar in the 90s mould, making waves in 2018, and this is a very solid debut album. We already knew the strong singles Alarm and Ciao Adios, not to mention my favourite song of 2016, Rockabye with Clean Bandit and Sean Paul. But this collection - which feels more like a hits album of sorts - also houses the fun throwback 2002, the infectious hit FRIENDS, underrated singles Heavy and Then, and other great album tracks such as Trigger and Breathing Fire.
8. Lily Allen – No Shame
Alright, Still from 2006 is one of my absolute favourite albums of all time and It's Not Me, It's You from 2009 was a fantastic follow-up but I didn't really love 2014's Sheezus. However, Lily returned to her very best with this album, which is maybe less about standalone moments and more about the sum of its parts. Lily's raw emotion and life experience of the last few years is clear to see throughout this album, which is melodic without being in-your-face, vocally tender, and completely on point in terms of production.
But the lyrics are where Lily excels here - the likes of Three, Apples, Lost My Mind and Everything To Feel Something are such refreshingly honest songs and also become all the clearer when you read her excellent autobiography, My Thoughts Exactly.
9. George Ezra – Staying At Tamara's
I was never really a fan of George Ezra's music or voice prior to 2018 but the 'cheesy but gets away with it' anthem Paradise won me over completely and unexpectedly earlier this year and I took a punt on this album and ended up loving it.
A great example of how to do a second album well, and an exercise in standing out in a chart landscape drowning in a sea of generic Spotify fodder, Shotgun was a fantastic single, and one of the year's defining anthems, while Hold My Girl and The Beautiful Dream are both lovely tracks and among the album's other major highlights.
10. All Saints - Testament
If any pop comeback has brought consistent quality, if not overwhelming commercial success, it's the reuinion of All Saints. Studio 1 and Red Flag were among my top 10 albums of 2006 and 2016 respectively and Shaznay, Melanie, Natalie and Nicole turn the trick again with Testament.
While perhaps not as edgy as its predecessor, Testament is an incredibly solid and contemporary album with some real standouts - Love Lasts Forever was an infectious lead single, Glorious is an uplifting percussive anthem and the William Orbit tracks After All and the sumptuous Testament In Motion are up there with their very best - absolutely gorgeous.
11. Nicki French – Glitter To The Neon Lights
12. Steps – Party On The Dancefloor (Live from The London SSE Arena Wembley)
13. Little Mix – LM5
14. Christine and the Queens - Chris
15. Carrie Underwood – Cry Pretty
16. The Greatest Showman OST
17. Missy Higgins – The Special Ones
18. Ariana Grande – Sweetener
19. Robyn - Honey
20. Lauren Daigle – Look Up Child
21. Freya Ridings – Live At St Pancras Old Church
22. Florence + The Machine – High As Hope
23. Delta Goodrem – I Honestly Love You
24. Clean Bandit – What Is Love?
25. Bardot – Play It Like That
26. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again OST
27. Rita Ora – Phoenix
28. Jess Glynne – Always In Between
29. Sigala – Brighter Days
30. Amy Shark – Love Monster
31. Christina Aguilera – Liberation
32. Courtney Barnett – Tell Me How You Really Feel
33. Missy Higgins – Solastalgia
34. Boyzone – Thank You & Goodnight
35. Alan Walker – Different World
36. Jorja Smith – Lost & Found
37. Alex Christensen & The Berlin Orchestra - Classical 90s Dance 2
38. Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer
39. Tove Styrke - Sway
40. Mariah Carey – Caution
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