There were a lot of really great songs released in 2018. Actually, there are a lot of great songs released in any given year, and definitely more than a list of 50 can fully contain. But I’ve got to try anyway. The 50 songs in the list below feel like a relatively comprehensive chronicle of what it was like living through 2018, though I suppose if it were truly accurate there’d be a lot more depressing shit that’d turn most people off. Overall I’d say this is a strong balance of mood, tempo, style, and genre I sincerely hope will leave you feeling satisfied. The most fascinating thing to me about this year’s list is that the top two songs are not currently part of any full-length album. As for the unofficial “rules” behind the selections for the Top 50 Songs, there are only two: the song must have been officially released by an artist or band in 2018, and no artist is allowed to be featured more than once (for diversity’s sake). While there are audio streams and in some cases videos to accompany each song (apologies for the couple of live videos, as album versions were unavailable), you can also stream the entire list (minus one song) via the Spotify embed at the bottom of this post, or by going to this link. Please enjoy these Top 50 Songs of 2018, and feel free to share your favorites in the comments or let me know on social media (@faronheit).

50. Lightfoils – Summer Nights

49. Jenny Hval – Spells

48. SOPHIE – Is It Cold in the Water?

47. Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – Shallow

46. Gorillaz – Humility

45. Iceage – Pain Killer (ft. Sky Ferreira)

44. G Flip – About You

43. Let’s Eat Grandma – Donnie Darko

42. Blood Orange – Charcoal Baby

41. Arctic Monkeys – Four Out of Five

40. Zizi Raimondi – Folly Dolly

39. Ravyn Lenae – Sticky

38. Anderson .Paak – Bubblin

37. Westerman – Confirmation

36. Lonnie Holley – I Woke Up in a Fucked-Up America

35. Yaeji – One More

34. Hatchie – Sleep

33. Travis Scott – Sicko Mode (SKRILLEX Remix ft. Drake)

32. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever – An Air Conditioned Man

31. U.S. Girls – Rosebud

30. serpentwithfeet – bless yr heart

29. Nilufer Yanya – Thanks 4 Nothing

28. Amen Dunes – Blue Rose

27. Julia Holter – I Shall Love 2

26. Noname – Self

25. Beach House – Lemon Glow

24. Natalie Prass – Short Court Style

23. Moses Sumney – Rank & File

22. Tirzah – Gladly

21. Cardi B – I Like It (ft. Bad Bunny & J Balvin)

20. Lana Del Rey – Mariner’s Apartment Complex

19. Ella Mai – Boo’d Up

18. DJ Koze – Pick Up

17. Caroline Rose – Jeannie Becomes A Mom

16. Soccer Mommy – Scorpio Rising

15. Troye Sivan – My My My!

14. Kacey Musgraves – Slow Burn

13. Cupcakke – Duck Duck Goose

12. Rosalia – Malamente (Cap.1: Augurio)

11. Barrie – Canyons

10. Snail Mail – Pristine

9. boygenius – Me & My Dog

8. The 1975 – Love It If We Made It

7. Robyn – Honey

6. Lucy Dacus – Pillar of Truth

5. Valee – Womp Womp (ft. Jeremih)

4. Mitski – Nobody

3. Janelle Monae – Make Me Feel

2. Ariana Grande – thank u, next

1. Childish Gambino – This Is America