We awarded 14 monstas for the best pop, theatre, TV and film of 2018 in December – and here we look at the cream of 2019 so far and what’s to come. Florence and The Machine’s How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, Lady Gaga’s Joanne, Lorde’s Melodrama and Saara Aalto’s Wild, Wild Wonderland are previous winners in this category.

• Read on for our top 5 best albums of 2019 so far and our hopes for the next three months

1. Charli by Charli XCX Tickets Review

We said: ‘We think XCX’s one of pop’s finest writers at the moment but, while Charli has its highs, it’s not the creative explosion its originator seems destined to spark at some point soon.’

2. Madame X by Madonna Tickets Review 2015 live review

We said: ‘If anything Madame X is further proof that the Queen Of Pop continues to successfully plough her own furrow and her audience is the richer for it. Those Palladium tickets early next year will be ones to prize.’

3. Love + Fear by Marina Tickets Review Q&A  2015 live review

We said: ‘There’s nothing on Love + Fear to trouble the pop perfection she’s already penned including How To Be A Heartbreaker, Starring Role and Shampain but this album feels like it has enough confidence in its own skin to not too try hard to go quite there.’

4. Singles Party by Shakespears Sister Tickets Review

We said: ‘The new songs prove both just how much we’ve missed them and that their new material promises to hit further heights.’

5. Sucker Punch by Sigrid Tickets Review 2018 live review

We said: ‘A strong debut then and the platform on which to build something both instantly enjoyable but also lastingly memorable.’

On our radar for the next three months are Mans Zelmerlow (Tickets), & Juliet (Tickets), Alphabeat (Tickets) and Bananarama (Tickets).

• Picture via Facebook courtesy Madonna
• Have you heard these albums? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. Enjoyed this review? Follow its author on Twitter @NeilDurham, email neildurham3@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook