As 2018 wraps up, The Boot is looking back at some of the best new music and biggest headlines of the year. To determine the five biggest stories of each month, The Boot's staff looked at website traffic; the featured stories received the most visitors throughout the month in which they broke.

In July of 2018, Eric Church experienced both tragedy (the death of his brother) and joy (a new album announcement), while Johnny Cash’s parents’ home went up for sale. New songs and new tours were also among the biggest headlines of the month.

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