2018 Year End Lists Chapter 6: Songs Of The Year

What in this world is better than a really good song?

For the second most prestigious list we make every year we are covering the best songs released on albums, EPs, mixtapes or as standalone singles this year. The list can feature as many songs from an artist as their talent and output in that calendar year warrants and deep cuts have exactly as much of a chance to make the list as big budget chart topping singles. We also don't take into context the place of the artist in their career, their actions or any and all promotional material that may have been attached to the tracks. The only way to end up on this list is to have really really good music.

You can listen along to the music on this list with the playlist here.

100. Arctic Monkeys - American Sports
Starting our piece off is this short but charismatic and catchy tune off of the Arctic Monkeys 6th studio album. Overlooked by big hits surrounding it American Sports is a tuneful and downtempo diaplay of Alex Turner's talents as a frontman and commitment to building a believable world around the albums titular location.

99. The Voidz - QYURRYUS
If strange off the wall and sporadic indie rock songs are your kind of thing, or if you enjoyed the first Julian Casablancas and The Voidz album then don't miss Qyurryus pronounced "curious". The song is wild both vocally and instrumentally and never quite lets you settle down into any kind of comfortable tempo or time signature, in favor of dizzying change ups and constant fun. 

98. Courtney Barnett - City Looks Pretty
Courtney's take on the lazy slacker anthems shes been known to drop here and there makes it clear what the intentions are. The songs opening lines "The city looks pretty when you've been indoors for 23 days" are all you need to know about this relaxed and contemplative indie rock hit.  

97. Clarence Clarity - We Change
Clarence Clarity is creating bangers for the future and on We Change his electronica-pop anthem he makes a song that hits you with bright waves of synths, energetic vocals and the full musical color spectrum. It defines the presumed meaning of intelligent dance music instead of the adopted one and is a track that sounds like club music from a movie about the distant future, a compliment we're pretty sure Clarence would be a fan of. 

96. The 1975 - I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)
An album like The 1975's A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships deserves a closer as perfect as I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes). It contains everything we love about the band, a tight sense of modernity, hilariously self-aware lyrics from frontman Matty Healy all backed by gorgeous layers of background music that make the entire track into a ballad that never feels like its trudging on and uses every moment to its fullest.

95. Against All Logic - Know You

Know You is probably the most strikingly conventional song that lands on 2012-2017,which means it's no surprise it embodies everything conventional house music thrives on. Its instantly catchy and irresistibly dancy right upon arrival. A classic soul beat, snappy kick drums and a banging rhythm guide the track through a brief but fun and danceable anthem.

94. Travis Scott - Watch
Back when nobody thought Astroworld would ever actually see the light of day Travis, Kanye and Uzi dropped this absolute banger of a song. The three MCs trade off memorable moments and hilarious quotables over 3+ minutes of excellent production and even better performances all around.

93. At The Drive In - Point Of Demarkation 
If we can imagine a world where Music Corner had been making these lists since the musical dawn of time its probably pretty accurate to suppose that 2001 would have been the last time we saw At The Drive In's name on a year end list, but here we are again. Smack in the middle of a mediocre EP they dropped what is by far the best song since their heyday. Blistering instrumentation, huge breakdown on the chorus and impassioned and provocative lyrics is the perfect equation for a successful punk revivalist tune and the band hits it out of the park on a track so few people unfortunately heard.

92. The Weeknd - Call Out My Name
Over one of the most sparse instrumentals we've heard Abel on since his mixtape days he gives us yet another reason to celebrate his excellent talents on Call Out My Name. The intro to his EP My Dear Melancholy he lets you know exactly what is coming on a song that gives you its all from the moment it starts off. Rumored to be exposing some intricate details regarding his romance with Selena Gomez, the song is one of 2018's quintessential breakup anthems, a position Abel is far from new to. 

91. Brockhampton - WEIGHT

Weight is undeniably the emotional centerpiece of Brockhampton's 4th studio album and on the song they trade out their usual flashy production tricks, unique song structures and unconventional hip-hop time signatures. In their place Kevin Abstract drops a career defining verse that serves as the songs center point as well as its highlight, but the rest of the track isn't to be overlooked and it joins hits like Bleach and Summer among the groups most emotionally revealing and potent moments of songwriting.

90. Tune-Yards - Now As Then
Now As Then isn't the last mention of Tune-Yards on this list nor is it the most effective example of their songwriting as most of the elements to the song take backseat to one of the best and most impassioned vocal performances frontwoman Merrill Garbus. She takes the stage and commands your attention with a powerful and resounding performance that calls back to many groundbreaking female rock singers of old.

89. She Loves Control - Camilla Cabello
She Loves Control is a cautionary tale of a controlling lover set to an infectious latin infused pop instrumental that sweetens the whole thing. Despite that palette Camila effectively gets her message across to stay away from the titular lady in one of the tighter thematic tracks on her debut album. Camila had her share in crafting pop music this year and that is in no small thanks to She Loves Control. 

88. Jack White - Ice Station Zebra
Ice Station Zebra is one of the songs on this list that we have lightened up a good bit on since the initial review of its still solid album Borading House Reach. Even we have to admit the second half of the track is effectively average but its Jack White's refusal to rest or relax through the songs rapid fire and off kilter first half the comfortably lands it here on this list. 

87. Kendrick Lamar/Schoolboy Q - X
Kendrick, Schoolboy Q, 2 Chainz and Saudi working on a track for the Black Panther Movie Soundtrack, of COURSE it was gonna be a banger and they deliver, Kendrick drops bombs on the chorus and sticks it efficiently in our heads, Schoolboy Q comes in with a flow tighter than almost any of his solo material, 2 Chainz is as charismatic and effortlessly cool as ever. Don't miss this track,

86. Ariana Grande - The Light Is Coming
One of the many great collaborative songs that will make this list Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj's The Light Is Coming does feature a fantastic collaboration, but not exactly what you'd think. Even though Nicki brings a solid but ultimately forgettable verse to the beginning of the song what makes it a highlight moment is the duo of Ariana Grande and Pharell on production. With both a creative and bouncy beat and an excellently interpolated and catchy as hell vocal sample supporting Ari's dynamite chorus you absolutely can't go wrong with this one.

85. Playboi Carti - Shoota
Carti and Uzi are proving to be one of most unstoppable duos in the world of trap music as every time they collaborate it opens up even more absolute gold. Shoota is one of the best tracks on Die Lit but also one of the least indulgent and most conventionally trap oriented. Regardless Uzi infectiously sets up the song with a soaring intro and first run at the chorus before Carti takes over and does his thing in one of the vibeyest and happiest moments that helps define just how good Carti is across his excellent new album.

84. Mitski - Nobody
Mitski clearly knows her indie music history and one way to get fans of new and old to come together to celebrate your greatness is to somehow morph the much maligned sound of disco into a fantastic and heartfelt ballad. Nobody rests its emotional punch on the loneliness that everyone feels and the hopelessness of trying and falling short, its a message everybody understands and a track that uses Mitski's fantastic performance to sell every single second of its own authenticity. It's hard to find another woman in indie music wearing her heart on her sleeve and making as effectively compelling and emotional music as Mitski.

83. Saba - BUSY/SIRENS
Buys/Sirens is a standout moment in the early portion of Saba's Care For Me that builds upon the single version of Busy. The multifaceted nature of the song helps to prove all of the things that he does so well throughout the album the song serves as a jack of all trades but master of none. Even without it being the highlight of the album is shows off the many things Saba and his collaborators do well in a track thats worth remembering for a year thats been light on conscious hip-hop.

82. The 1975 - It's Not Living (If It's Not With You)
Even in their most emotional or vulnerable tracks The 1975 have a nearly perfect reputation for quintessentially British cynicism and youthful sarcasm, which makes the 80s throwback pop anthem It's No Living (If It's Not With You) so much of a pleasant surprise. The song is bright and poppy as can be but a strong grasp on songwriting make it one of the catchier pop rock tunes you'll hear this year and firmly places it well into the top half of the bands singles catalog, its variety was part of what made thus year and this album so fantastic for the band.

81. Car Seat Headrest - Cute Thing
With the remastering of their Twin Fantasy record in 2018 Car Seat Headrest channel the feeling of being young and all its riches and woes better than anyone has in indie music in a long time. Cute Thing is no different but it does its work with a little bit less nuance than some other songs on the album. Its a throttling and unabated blast of fiery passion for loving somebody and not really knowing how to express it, a track that is exactly as irresistible as all the rest of the fantastic albums tunes, and delivers as consistently on the chorus as we've come to expect.

80. XXXTENTACION - SAD!
In 2018 SAD! became XXXTENTACION's new most well known song and joined an elite tier of tracks to hit #1 on the hot 100 after their respective artist passed away. X crafts a sweet and emotional pop-rap ballad that is too catchy for most of us to ever forget and does so with a long list of quotables and memorable lyrical moments mixed in. SAD! may not be the best X song from a critical standpoint but it proved to be infectious enough to be well worth remembering. 

79. Kali Uchis - Miami
On Miami Kali Uchis recruits rapper and fellow bad bitch BIA for a song so perfectly cool that you almost wouldn't believe it also has such effective storytelling. In between Kali's lowkey and incredibly sensual delivery on the chorus she rattles off verses about coming to America and living large in the titular city, with lyrical highlights like "Why would I be Kim, I could be Kanye, In the land of opportunity and palm trees". The song is fantastic on its own but coupled with one of the best features all year from BIA everything is wrapped up in a perfect little bow of pop fusion music that is completely irresistible. 

78. LSD - Genius
It may be hard to find in music history a supergroup that introduces itself better than LSD did with Genius. Its the pairing of 3 inconsistent but talented artists, Labrynth, Sia and Diplo. But the three support each other in amazing ways on the trio's debut single Genius. The song is an absolute pop anthem that mixes the contemporary pop flare Diplo is known to bring with some old school instrumentation and an old school pop composition and the result is a totally infectious pop anthem.

77. Tune-Yards - Heart Attack
This one is pretty simply aligned to the Tune-Yards formula. Catchy instrumental, great vocal performance, dancy rhythm based tune and unique sound. All are present here in a track that you can't miss if you love indie music. 

76. Cardi B - Money Bag
What a year Cardi had, in 2017 she dropped a dominant single and song of the summer, but in 2018 she proved not only her staying power in the industry but her creativity in full length form. Her album Invasion Of Privacy was a decent surprise this year delivering far more excellent a set of tracks than many expected, including us. Money Bag is one of the sharpest and most unforgiving popular rap song all year, Cardi drafts yet another banger with a bouncy, hard-hitting trap beat and braggy rap lyrics. She's already carrying herself with the tact and confidence of a veteran and everybody is buying it. 2018 was another great year for Cardi and Money Bag shows off the fruits of her labor.

75. 6ix9ine - KANGA
KANGA was definitely a track we didn't see coming. With the two most drama filled artists of 2018 involved somehow the song wasn't released as a single and crept into out ears via the second 6ix9ine album of the year Dummy Boy. Tekashi has dropped banger after banger all year and its no surprise that a song as hard hitting and fantastic as KANGA winds up here on this list. Not only is it one of the more creative beats we've heard 6ix9ine on but both he and Kanye crush their performances. Filled with quotables and memorable moments its hard to pin down any artist who defined themselves more in 2018 than 6ix9ine, here's to wishing for him to have more chances in the future. 

74. Robyn - Honey
If Missing U was the moment that we all knew Robyn was back, then Honey was when we all knew she was back and here to stay. Honey is sexy, sensual and commanding, it doesn't rest on a broken heart or a lovelorn pop goddess, Robyn takes command and shows off her most desirable self. The song blends together pop sounds of new and old and one of the boldest and most satisfying drain out of instrumentation we've heard in pop music all year for a chorus that grabs you tight and refuses to let go. Honey is everything long time fans knew Robyn had in her and the way she announced to a new generation of pop music fans that she was not to be fucked with and could take on any of her younger challengers. 

73. Jeff Rosenstock - 9/10
Jeff Rosenstock has taken a weird trajectory from dorky ska-punk frontman to lazy stoner-punk hero, completed in full form by the surprise drop of his album Post- at the start of the year and his depressed and aimless guitar rock ballad 9/10. The song is a lackadaisical wander through Rosenstock's pictorial of every day life.  It embodies every single stereotype of the lazy stoner but the music is surprisingly a little more engaging than your average post-Sublime song. Rarely is the song about being uninspired sounding so inspired as this one, but boy are we happy it does. 

72. Jenny Hval - Spells
Spells is Jenny Hval at her most free, free to make the ambient pop she has always been so excellent at, free to sing conventional vocals over it, and prioritizing her exquisite lyricism. Within that realm of freedom she's made one of the most beautiful pieces of indie music all year. Spells takes its time developing but the payoff is well worth it, when Jenny brings her natural vocal talent to the songs hook it instantly joins the ranks of Hval's history of mixing in gorgeous choruses in between her experimental and abstract approach to long form songwriting. Spells and the EP it lands on are fantastic and some of the best music you'll hear in this style from anyone not named Julia Holter in 2018. 

71. Against All Logic - This Old House Is All I Have
This Old House Is All I Have is the provocatively titled introduction to Against All Logic, and most likely the first song any curious fan will hear. This is why its so crucial that the song opens with a long developing intro that marks one of the only points on the album that can't really be considered true house music. This is before one of the best baselines all year guides us into the songs most complicated middle section where it starts to take completely into shape. But once you hear the sample that gives the track its title and how masterfully its interpolated it will be hard to forget how fantastic the tune is and hard to do anything but keep listening to the album from there, and you have the fantastic I Never Dream coming up next. 

70. Clarence Clarity - Naysayer, Magik Obeyer
When Clarence Clarity burst onto the scene a few years ago he did it with outside of the box electronica that refused to shelf any of its weirdness and was rewarded all the more for it. This time around in his second album cycle Clarence blended his original sound with a newfound desire for poppy and fun interpolations to his music. This new version of Naysayer, Godslayer lands on this album and provides one of the best spots in a series of bright, explosive, energetic and catchy electro-pop bangers. Even in it's calmer second half Magik Obeyer it remixes the pieces in a refreshing and fun way. 

69. MGMT - Hand It Over
Even though a lot of MGMT's Little Dark Age is is moody and subtly emotional, Hand It Over is one of the only points where it actually sounds like it. The albums closer is a slowing down of its typical synth pop sound. Hand It Over is far from haunting but its instrumental is a little bit darker and more downtrodden than the rest of the album, but it thrives in the same way as all of the other songs do. Well written and catchy synth passages bookend some excellent songwriting and yet another hook that is absolutely to die for. The song is proof that MGMT released not only one of the best synth pop albums this decade, but also one of the most varied and consistent. 

68. Travis Scott - SICKO MODE
We ALL know Sicko Mode. Travis Scott, Drake and Swae Lee's 5 minute two part trap banger that took the world by storm this year. Not only did it become meme gold but it also performed spectacularly on the charts and helped propel the entire album towards the number one spot on the top 200, if they ever figure that whole fiasco out. Unlike most songs of its nature when you peel back the curtain Sicko Mode is a fantastic and surprisingly forward thinking trap anthem. Its multiple phases are so much more interesting than the average radio hit and the fantastic behind the scenes work not only makes Travos Scott's trademark beat switch-ups transition in great ways, but also makes every individual portion sound great on its own. You almost get the impression that Travis could have made this track into two huge hits but decided fuck it lets throw them together and of course it sounds fantastic. Sicko Mode is everything that great trap should be, contemporary, catchy, banging and unapologetically fun. 

67. Aphex Twin - T69 Collapse
T69 Collapse served as the first taste of a glitchy, textured and insane return to Aphex Twin's late 90's series of abstract elextronica bangers, and for that we owe it forever. Even though it only ended up leading to a new EP, that EP was absolutely fantastic and this song is its true highlight. 5+ minutes of Richard D. James masterfully blending textures and a huge range of simulated sounds at a rapid fire pace for one of the most dizzying and jagged pieces of electronic music since James forgot this style the last time around. Everything that made it so good before is here to, fantastic composition as these passages work in and out of each other effortlessly and their placement into a grander song gives off a masterful knowledge of experimental songwriting. Syro was the return of ambient masterful Aphex Twin and T69 Collapse was the return of the zany forward thinking and strange elcctronic mastermind. 

66. Kali Uchis - Just A Stranger
This collaboration with Steve Lacy of The Internet from Kali Uchis' Isolation is the best example on the whole project of the airy vocals and smooth instrumentals that make it one of the standout moments in pop this year. Not only is their duetting a great sound and gives the impression they were born to work together, but the song is such a catchy piece of money games inspired pop whose chorus will stick directly in your head and refuse to leave. Kali Uchis has spent years supporting some fantastic songs from a myriad of artists but this time around she took off and made a great song at its core and found the perfect talent to back hers. 

65. The Neighborhood - Scary Love
Scary Love has all the makings of a hit Neighborhood song, but went under the radar in the wake of their self titled album this year. Every moment is overflowing with sensual coolness despite being full of lyrics about unsure love life. Its some of the most confident and theatrical delivery we've heard frontman Jesse Rutherford put together in years. Scary Love has all the elements that make the band so consistently solid but executed well across all portions to create a final product everybody can enjoy.

64. Troye Sivan - Bloom
Troye finally dropped his big debut song on our lists after narrowly missing multiple spots last time around. Bloom lands on both the singles and songs list and its titular album has a place on our albums list tomorrow, and the choices are well deserved. A beautiful and lovely ballad that uses pretty metaphors and a passionate chorus to tell us one thing we've been itching to know, that Troye Sivan is definitely a bottom. Gay antics aside the song is a fantastic lowkey pop ballad that leave everything on the line and Troye out in the open, but he is more than ready for the spotlight and delivers one of the most charismatic and attention grabbing performances of his career. 

63. SOPHIE - Whole New World/Pretend World
The epic two part 9 minute long closer to SOPHIE's Oil Of Every Pearls Un-Insides is some of the most experimental and brash her music has been yet. Both parts feature huge walls of industrial and distorted soundscapes that push forward our conventional ideas of electronica with pure unrelenting sound, But its not like these have no organization of even remotely resemble drone, SOPHIE plans out every piece of every sound we hear and does so with a sharp knack for songwriting and a fantastic composition. The first half features commanding and overpowering vocal samples that help make the "Whole New World" refrains impossible to forget. 

62. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Hunnybee
In a long career of creating vibe oriented, unrelentingly catchy and lowkey guitar rock tracks that have been up and down all of our lists, Hunnybee may be the height of catchiness they've reached yet. The songs music serves more as a creator of a nice vibe than any tangible part of the song as it all begins to blend together especially when the songs chorus refrain kicks in. The song is as easy to analyze every little bit as it is to sit back and let it blend together and take you. An excellent testament to the groups songwriting ability the song inhabits an indie niche of a track with compositional density but its one that almost anybody can instantly fall in love with. Every fantastic dichotomy the song achieves becomes yet another accomplishment to add to the bands growing report of fantastic indie rock fusions. 

61. Julia Holter - I Shall Love 2
I Shall Love 2 blends together the most experimental and abstract features of Holter's music with a voice so sugary sweet that moments of the song almost give off the hint of pop music. The 6 minute song swells and swerves through ambient pop passages never quite focusing on anything long enough to let off the blur it paints over the song. Her vocals come in the abstract usually but the choruses serve as much sharper hooks than you'd expect from a song that sounds like this one but once they arrive they are impossible to resist. The song captures you with its dense instrumentals that promise outside the box composition and then subtly tricks you into hearing some of the most beautiful vocalizing you could find anywhere in 2018 on top of what its already promised, I Shall Love 2 is a triumph.

60. Ariana Grande - God Is A Woman
God Is A Woman was one of the best singles in Ari's dominant year in 2018, but lets not forget that underneath a great music video and commercial success is an absolutely fantastic song. Ariana plays her part as well as ever and her lyrics are a big part of what made the track the single that it was this year, but the behind the scenes work that went into the song is what makes it such an interesting and forward thinking pop tune. The complimentary nature between artist and producers is what makes this song click on all of its levels and is the strongest reason for its utter domination of its niche in 2018. 

59. Deafheaven - You Without End
Fitting that the intro to Deafheavens Ordinary Corrupt Human Love would be a track that shines incredibly bright in its first sequence. The post-rock intro sequence of You Without End reminds of the best and most pioneering in the genres developmental phase during the 90s, also the time when most of its classic records were released. You may even forget that what you're listening to is a death metal record as the bright pastiche of instrumental lulls barely cover up any of the crystal clear spoken word narration, before the song steps into a Deafheaven special black metal passage that never lets up. The song is one of the best intros to any album all year and one whose only fault comes in it not being as long as it potentially could, because each passage feels as fresh and new by its end as it did in the beginning. 

58. Kanye West - Wouldn't Leave
Kanye West's Ye is an album that while less than 25 minutes long, has multiple emotional centerpoints, one of which is Wouldn't Leave. The partynextdoor supported track is a shining moment of resilience that sees Kanye once again dive deeply into his personal life, specifically his marriage with Kim Kardashian, He details some of the most complicated and controversial moments he had in a whirlwind 2018 and how he and Kim have stayed so strong together. The song is a touching moment of love from two celebrities that so many people love to dehumanize. In the wake of celebrity marriage analysis albums like Lemonade and 4:44 its refreshing to see two superstars who seem to be getting it just right.

57. Moses Sumney - Rank & File
Moses Sumney has made his short career off of capturing the sounds of the future, Rank & File is by far his best action yet. The song blends abstract native rhythms mixed far less base heavy than is typical and strange overwhelming chanting vocals surrounding Moses' dramatic performance. Songwriting is the highlight here as Moses swells in and out of chorus, bridge and verse with persistent efficiency in a track that is on the shorter side but feels like a complete composition. The track is one of the most unique and interesting pieces you'll hear this year and one of the best and most forward thinking R&B tracks we've heard in a while.

56. Janelle Monae - Make Me Feel
Janelle Monae channeled youthful, sensual and unrelenting freedom of expression on her pop and R&B anthem Make Me Feel. The song pulls heavily from Prince who supposedly had some work behind the scenes in the early phases of the albums creation, and in that vein it relies on unbelievably catchy grooves to carry the song through. Janelle's personality takes center stage but you can't overlook how catchy the tune is and how well written and assembled at every level the track is. Its a song that has been one of the most acclaimed from nearly everyone thats heard it all year and there is a clear reason why. 

55. Amine - Campfire
Campfire is such an effortlessly fun low-key pop-rap banger that the two real crimes it faced were not being more commercially successful, and not landing on an album. Rather than be forgotten Amine and Injury Reserve put together a stand-alone single that builds on the more fun and commercial tracks from Good For You but the twist of an outsider like Ritchie. The songs beat could just as easily be turned all the way up and shouted over but both MCs show off their chemistry with each other and their charisma in the lowkey delivery they both bring to the table. Catchy, confident but not overblown its a highlight in pop-rap this year.

54. Car Seat Headrest - Sober To Death
Sober To Death is Car Seat Headrest's ode to youthful passion, the tracks outro bravado of "Don't worry, you and me won't be alone no more" is the rallying cry of young peoples low-fi indie rock in 2018. The song paints a picture of comfort and very relatably desires more. Will Toldeo channels youthful boredom in passionate lyrics about how everything is okay, but nothing feels okay. The song is a textbook example of writing a CSH track, blistering guitars, low-fi mix, impassioned lyrics and great composition.

53. Brockhampton - J'OUVERT
As emotional and revealing as iridescence is Brockhampton didn't change up their style and as a result the album contains absolute bangers nestled inside their unconventional song structures and ballads. J'OUVERT is the most hard hitting and unapologetic of those tracks. Each member brings some of their own flare to the track and some are clearly more hyped up than others. The songs most jaw dropping moment by far comes in Joba's energetic and fast paced verse in the songs first half. He explodes into the mix with the hooky verse opener "Till the casket drops I will play god, fuck the world lets start a riot", the verse is a bottled up version of the fuel Brockhampton is using to break the rules of hip hop and do so with unmatched passion. 

52. Beach House - Dark Spring
7 is the album where Beach House returned to making dream pop that implimented a thirst for experimentation and interpolations from other genres, and Dark Spring is the first taste of that the moment the album starts off. Shoegaze inspired layers of guitar give an eerie but touching element to Victoria's vocals that has been the trademark of a band who has been nothing if not consistent in the 2010's. Dark Spring is the newest entry in a long line of fantastic opening songs to Beach House albums.

51. Anderson .Paak, Ab-Soul & James Blake - Bloody Waters
While moments on the mediocre Black Panther Soundtrack exemplify some of the funneling of creativity in modern hip hop, a handful of moments really shine. Bloody Waters is one of the most unique fusions of artists and one of the most creative tracks that the Kendrick Lamar curated album holds. First of all the Sounwave produced beat pulls from the film Black Panther's themes of afrofuturism and African rhythms, but its the pieces that are put around it who shine so bright. James Blake continues his dominant decade in the songs soft intro and spectacularly atmospheric outro. In between his standout moments Paak delivers a chorus strangely bright considering the rest of the songs tone but one that is catchy regardless. The song mostly seems like a well assembled palette for Ab-Soul to deliver his quintessential broken flow and fantastic lyricism and he hits it out of the park. Every element of the song is fantastic and its defining trait is making us all wish for a new Soul project soon. 

50. Anderon .Paak - Bubblin
The future of pop-rap will sound exactly like Bubblin. Anderson Paak brings his charisma and charm to a series of hilarious rapid fire bars that show off both his personality and talent evenly. Its bright and high octane but never drowns in its speed or energy, the balance struck is harmonious. Its a shame the song lacks a little bit in structure and holds it back from being one of the best in the year, but whats here is a flash of the fantastic talent Paak has and a reason to look forward to his future.

49. Denzel Curry - Percs
Denzel Curry will pretty much always drop a banger. While many of the songs on his most recent album are good and SO close to being great, tacky choruses, silly wordplay or losing track of the beat holds them back. Not Percs though. Percs is a track that takes on a target and executes for over 3 minutes, critiquing the modern drug addicted world of hip hip. (This includes one of the most headass bars we've heard all season that really makes you question his judgement, but we will ignore it) The song is a classic Denzel track, wall to wall banging beat and Curry's high energy flow and exacerbated bars make for yet another in a line of anthemic trap fusion hits. 

48. MGMT - Me And Michael
Me And Micheal is a track that's solid as they come. Despite a strange swirling series of lyrical uncoveries before the album dropped the song proved to be one of many fantastic synth pop bops on Little Dark Age. Me And Michael is a righter spot than the rest of what is essentially an emo fusion album, a song that is sly in its true motivations but on the surface is a shining tale of immaculate friendship. MGMT changed up their sound a lot in the 10 years of their career but if fans miss what made Oracular Spectacular a masterpiece, look no further than Me And Michael. 

47. Joji - Slow Dancing In The Dark
Joji transitioned from meme rapper and Youtube star into bonafide R&B super hero in 2018 and if one single track could summarize up his success at being taken seriously its Slow Dancing In The Dark. Joji knows he has something special in the songs bombastic and passionate chorus and he is more than comfortably letting his often questioned vocals take center stage, but this time he hits it out of the park. On top of everything Joji himself accomplishes on this fantastic track the instrumental is a whole other world of success, it paints a gorgeous atmosphere and a vibe that is impossible not to fall into as its mix of spellbinding keys and ambient palette create a distant world that is so easy to get completely lost in. With such a display of talent taking center stage and a fantastic supporting cast working in the background this track has absolutely everything going for it. 

46. Death Grips - Black Paint
If there are moments on Year Of The Snitch that remind us that Death Grips is still after all, a hip-hop act, then Black Paint reminds us that they are one of the most experimental and envelope pushing acts in modern music. Black Paint is a throttling and explosive rock song featuring MC Ride trying his hand at extreme caliber rock vocals. The song is everything that makes Death Grips who they are, walls of sound balanced to either prevent cacophony or thrive in it, pushing the limits of sheer volume and doing so with lyrics that are both unconventionally imaginative and brutally gritty.

45. Ariana Grande - No Tears Left To Cry
Ari had such a fantastic 2018, and all of it started with No Tears Left To Cry. If she had sat quietly in the aftermath of the Manchester Bombing everyone would have understood and graciously accepted her well deserved break, but instead she stared it in the face and dropped one of the catchiest pop songs of the year. The song opens up with some pro level ballad work but she doesn't let that slip to far before it erupts into a contemporary bright and catchy beat and its off to the races for this absolute bop. The moment we all first heard the "lovin, I'm livin, yeah we turn it up" refrain everybody knew it was all over for anybody trying to stand in her way. 

44. Parquet Courts - Violence
Even with Dangermouse at production and a spiraling sense of accostomization for what was a hard rocking garage rock band, sometimes their old selves slip through. Violence is a song that has some quality mixing and good performances all around, but in the same way as old Parquet Courts records this is a song to highlight the provocative lyricism and sporadic performance of A. Savage. With a rapid fire assault of snarling punk vocals he hits on nearly every socially conscious topic you could name in 2018. But its far from a list of headlines he's read, Savage takes on these topics with ferocity and tears apart all who stand in his way. Its one of the most ruthless political takedowns in a year where almost everyone tried to dip their hands in politics. 

43. Death Grips - Streaky
Sometimes the music of Death Grips is so experimental, abstract and jagged that we forget they have the tact and songwriting ability to put together a track as catchy as Streaky. The instrumental is full of edgy keys and percussion but MC Ride delivers on some bars that remind of albums like The Money Store. With a chorus and series of transitioning bars that flow perfectly the song almost borders on conventional hip-hop but as always there is a little edge of something extra mixed in. Streaky has all the elements that makes rap the genre of the times, but with the flare that makes Death Grips one of the best and most interesting artists around today.  

42. Pusha T - If You Know You Know
It has been less than a year and If You Know You Know already seems like the quintessential opener of Pusha T's career. What song ever before has set you up more for whats to come? The track is a fun and effortlessly cool series of confident and braggadocios bars that remind everybody why Push is where he is. Pusha T brings savage level bars and gritty realism to a song that is a chant-along club quality banger which is a tough line to walk, making this fantastic track all that more impressive.

41. Against All Logic - Rave On U
So much of Against All Logic's 2012-2017 is a tribute to everything house music has to offer. Rave On U is a tribute to some of the most experimental and extreme music that can technically be called house. In a long form composition and technically featuring base heavy grooves throughout the song is one of the most experimental moments on the album and one of the most interesting. Less vocal sample heavy and more texturally dense the song pushes numerous extremes with its sounds. Even at some points bordering on its chaotic noise peak and breaching the limits of whatever your music listening setup may be it never stops being incredibly detailed and unrelentingly original. 

40. Tune-Yards - Coast To Coast
Tune-Yards got off to a jump start early this year with the first great indie album we heard from. While not every song has aged like a fine wine Coast To Coast sounds as fresh as it did the day it came out. Its swelling chorus notes of "right left, right left, fantasy fantasy" are as intoxicating as any indie tunes this year  and bringing some outside the box instrumentation and unconventional rhythms was the typical Tune-Yards touch that makes the songs engaging and compelling throughout. 

39. The Neighborhood - Sadderdaze
Sadderdaze turned out to be one of the more surprising moments on The Neighbourhood to be so good. The song was originally released on an EP last year but snuggled in between lackadaisical pop-rock songs it manages to shine even brighter than before. Jesse and company paint the perfect staring out the window on a rainy day vibe as they've always done so well. Sadderdaze works complete bliss into its instrumental but distorts it with lyrics and singing that muddle what feelings you may have originally derived from it. Always the experts at crafting vibe the song perfectly matches its goal and ambition and turns out one of the best moments we've heard from the band in their whole career.

38. Against All Logic - Some Kind Of Game
If you're sick of hearing about Against All Logic we get it, and were ALMOST done, but the compilation album just had too many spectacular moments that well earned their way onto this list. Some Kind Of Game isn't one of the most groundbreaking as for the most part it sticks to the laws and even the structure of a conventional house song, what is so impressive about it comes from its amazing implementations of textures into every minute aspect of the songs mix. The sampling is as tight as in any house song you'll hear all year and the track that Jarr builds around it is dancy, groovy and surprisingly complex. 

37. Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!
Wide Awake almost seems like a song that shouldn't happen, or at the very least one that shouldn't be so damn good. Give a listen to some Dangermouse production on a track like say Gnarles Barkley's Crazy then listen to a song like the title track to Parquet Courts Human Performance, doesn't seem like a match made in heaven but here we are. The jangly pseudo-pop rock sounds that litter the background of the instrumental seem like a far cry from the blistering low-fi guitar work we have come to love from the band, yet when A. Savage's vocals pop in everything falls into perfect harmony. Like on the rest of the record the song perfectly balances a more accessible rock sound with the raw energy of Parquet Courts to create music so fittingly catchy but rambunctiously rebellious. Wide Awake is a special kind of rock song that encourages you to both shout along at the top of your lungs and dance like an idiot alone in your room, a truly special treat. 

36. Migos - Stir Fry
One of the biggest hits all year from one of the most recognizable names in modern music lands here on the list simply because its a fantastic meeting of minds. Pharell brings his excellent production with a beat nobody could have pictured Migos hopping on 2 years ago and in return the trio brings their anthemic and infections brand of trap that has taken over the world.  Stir Fry is as effortlessly catchy an anthem as any Migos hit in the past and its upbeat instrumental is so thankfully matched in energy by each of the MCs, its really hard to ask for a popular rap song to be any better than this.

35. SOPHIE - It's Okay To Cry
It's Okay To Cry cracked our top 10 singles last year because it was such a huge moment for SOPHIE and such a huge moment for the male dominated, robotic and so often faceless world of electronica. Nothing felt better than seeing SOPHIE's face in the music video deliver her heart out in a bright and textured ballad. It lands here on this list because it is just undeniably and spectacular song. One of the best and most heartfelt moments in an often cold genre she brings her excellent songwriting to a gorgeous and friendly love story. Of course she deserves credit for breaking down barriers and toppling expectations, but equally as important she does so with absolutely fantastic songs like this one. 

34. Protomartyr - Wheel Of Fortune
Wheel Of Fortune is the sound of Protomartyr not giving a shit about labels, critics or expectations. Post-punk is a term that applies to a wide variety of sounds and never has Joy Division's genre been stretched as far as Protomartyr takes it here. The song examines the randomness of class and the objectivity of being born into advantageous wealth vs. disproportional poverty. It's a protest song in true form, not asking for your opinion, but telling you the cold hard facts and the unavoidable truth. Done so with a snarled vocal delivery becoming ever so popular in hardcore genres the past few years the band plays a game of whats can be the most abrasive as the booming anthemic drums kick in just under the slashing wails of guitars. All this after the song starts out with nearly 10 seconds of ear grating shrill, no band threw out the rule book more effectively in 2018 than Protomartyr and Wheel Of Fortune was their swan song. 

33. Father John Misty - Mr. Tillman
Fans who thought Pure Comedy was a bloated pretentious mess and that Josh Tillman had no business commenting on the current political climate are 2 things. Firstly, completely wrong, and second, happy for songs like Mr. Tillman. This time around Josh puts his wisdom and cutting wit to a new target, himself. The hilarious track and its hilarious accompanying music video read as much of a genius roast of himself as it does a fantastic indie song. The best part is that Mr. Tillman himself is totally in on the joke as he jumps from one crazy strewn out behavior to the next all centered around his kooky hotel antics. The song has the energy of a drugged out rockstar but the intelligence of a veteran indie songwriter and creates one of 2018's musical bright spots from a man who ca be hard to pin down. 

32. MGMT - She Works Out Too Much
We've always known that MGMT isn't the most serious artist around, not only do they play mostly bright and shiny dream pop but they also do it with an edge of youth and an overwhelming sense of fun. No song on Little Dark Age embodies that more than its opener She Works Out Too Much, a song that stumbles through the hilarious and unique prospect of breaking a relationship up because your girlfriend works out more than you. This debacle is hilarious to think about and the relationship pictured in the story is both surprisingly complex and regrettably simple. The tune itself isn't the most standout of the bands decade plus long career but it serves its purpose and the sampled fitness instructor vocals make the whole thing feel completely authentic, even though it could have been a spectacular single the band thankfully saved the experience for all of us that dove into their latest record. 

31. Robyn - Missing U
When Robyn dropped this single, her first new solo material in 8 years, it's safe to say it was a BIG deal. Not only was she back but back with a fantastic tune that reminded all of why we loved her so much during the Body Talk era. But the fact is at the core of this song is some absolutely fantastic dance pop that pulls from both the heartbreak era 90s that Robyn was born out of and classic Swedish beat and loop based dance music. The combination is a song that can be cried to as effectively as it can be danced to, Robyn's passionate vocals and love-lost lyrics make for some of the most impassioned pop verses all year and the hook takes the song off into the stratosphere of contemporary popdom. Robyn took an 8 year break from making forward thinking self-reflective pop tracks and then immediately jumped right back in with the best of them on her return hit Missing U. 

30. Brockhampton - TONYA
TONYA is far from the heavy bangers Heat and Bump, not quite the smooth as butter tunes like Gold and Sweet but it may be the quintessential Brockhampton song. Blending together many of the traits that help them stand out, emotional potency, unconventional song structures and varied but consistent performances. After a gorgeous introduction from Bearface and help from outside the group with a smoothly delivered Serpentwithfeet bridge varying members wear their hearts on their sleeve for some powerful openness. Kevin Abstract and Joba are no strangers to brutal honesty and over the requiting instrumental they do their parts to help set the tone for a song with a far from somber tone, but one that serves as a place for expression. Even the sporadic Merlyn and effortlessly cool Dom Mclennon have their chances to air grievances and do so with well written and delivered verses. All combined together TONYA is a song that highlights both the talents of the individual members and the unique features that set them apart as a group. 

29. The Neighborhood - Stuck With Me
The Neighborhood have a history of writing hooky pop rock tracks that do a great job of capturing a vibe or aesthetic and run with just that as a baseline. Hits like Sweater Weather and R.I.P 2 My Youth are solid tracks that deliver on this promise. Even last year they dropped Sadderdaze a huge step towards better songwriting but nobody could have predicted this, Stuck With Me is a song that shines mostly in its second half, the songs opening layer is a build up of the vibe they want you to be get lost in before hitting you with what has to be by far their catchiest refrain of their short career. Every time the "You are stuck with me, so I guess i am sticking with you" refrain returns to the song and time and time again after repeat listens it climbs the ranks of best musical moments of the year and best pop moments of the decade.

28. Pusha T - The Games We Play
In just a few songs we're gonna discuss one of the best beats of Kanye's career, but before that we have to talk about the tragically overshadowed The Games We Play. What may be the most composed savage track on Daytona is met with a beat that calls on raps most cutthroat old school. Pusha T doesn't bring his most animated performance of his career but his relaxed demeanor is almost more intimidating in the face of his ruthless bars about his history drug dealing in Virginia Beach. Everything about this track is an old-heads dream, a beat that bangs, an MC who's untouchable and some fire bars throughout. 

27. MGMT - When You Die 
When You Die is MGMT at their cheekiest in years. Not only is the song an example of hilarious and self aware song writing but also just a great tune all around. The highlight is their two-fold adoption of emo into their usually brighter synth pop sound but it's the borderline parody of the attitudes they bring to the track that makes it such an effective tribute and satire. When You Die is a song that will probably make you laugh, bob your head or dance but after a few listens you can guarentee its a song that will have you singing along to both its tight hooks and fun verses.

26. XXXTENTACION - Train Food
Nothing makes you miss an artist more than an incredibly promising glimpse into what their future could have been and that's why Train Food, the best XXXTENTACION song of his unfortunately short career, is so bitter sweet.  Everything about the song is a step up from what we became used to, the production is sparse and perfectly fitting, the performance is animated in a horrific and personal way that we took for granted while he was still making tracks like Look At Me or Jocelyn Flores. But what is by far most improved is the story-telling on the record which has turned in a dramatic increase in quality. X's narration of walking home alone, being confronted by death and even sitting down to have a conversation with it before death turns on him includes some of the most provocatively raw that metaphors about death can be. Not to mention the final stretch of the song flashes through in real time everything someone may think in their final moments as their life flashes before their eyes, a piece of pure poetry that is so potent given the real life circumstances that the power of the writing is almost hard to fully comprehend in a vacuum, This, like many other spectacular songs from X's career, will live on forever.

25. Car Seat Headrest - Beach Life-In-Death
One of only 4 song on this list that eclipses 8 minutes and one of only 2 that hits the 10 minute mark Beach-Life-In-Death is a perfect example of how a song can thrive in its length instead of drowning in it. The multifaceted indie rock tune swells through numerous different sequences each with refrains as catchy as the last ad Will Toldeo proves himself as not only a capable songwriter, but one of the best of his generation. The remastering of the original Bandcamp cut also helped elevate this track from low-fi indie rock anthem to unstoppable indie masterpiece. They cemented their position in indie lore with a track that landed in the top 5 of this list two years ago The Ballad Of Costa Concordia and this remaking of BLID only goes to show that they are as capable as anyone with mastering the long song format, despite not having music so brash or experimental you can write off parts of their composition, Car Seat Headrest does it with great lyrics, cheeky story telling and catchy, fuzzy guitar riffs. 

24. Kanye West - All Mine
If Wouldn't Leave is Kanye reaching a new eclipse of personal confession in song, then All Mine is the return to the Kanye we've all known for years. A low-fi but still banging beat, slick chorus vocals mixed at just the right place, and unrelentingly hilarious lyricism. While basically the whole song is a quotable his lyrics about focusing on two things at once, ending up with a Stormi Daniels and his continued support of Adidas are all hilarious highlights. Kanye West, Ant Clemons and Ty Dolla $ign team up for a standout track on an album that redefines who we all know Kanye as, but a track that reminds us that pieces of him we love will never change. 

23. Nas - Cops Shot The Kid
Is Cops Shot The Kid the best Nas song since Illmatic? The fact that we have to ask alone is the biggest testament to how great of a song it is. Kanye's sampling of Slick Rick and interpolating it into the beat of nearly the entire song did 75% of the work on its own and deserves 75% of the credit. But on top of the fantastic production work both Nas and Kanye rattle out some excellent verses that cements the song as one of the best of the year. With moments like Nas' "Reminds me of EmmettL Till, lets remind em why Kap kneels" and Kanye's "Who do we call to report crime, when 911 doin the drive-by" feel like veteran bars from two rappers who have made injustices a main focus of their music for years. No part of the song lets down any other part around it and that spectacular consistency is what elevates it to one of the best tracks from either artist all year and one of the best musical moments, period.

22. These 3 Things - Ought
These 3 Things is comfortably the 3rd best Ought song to date, and just because it may not be AS good as its top 10 contemporaries Habit and Beautiful Blue Sky doesn't mean it isn't a triumph for the band once again. The track is everything that perfectly inhabits what makes the band so good, creative indie songwriting blended with the charming and kooky personality of frontman Tim Darcy. His chants of "Will I Hear My Soul?" both bring a chill to the listeners and stick the melody into your head and refuses to let you go as it is simultaneously one of the most interesting indie tracks this year and one of the best. 

21. SOPHIE - Faceshopping
In a year where being bold felt like a one way ticket out of popular music success SOPHIE and her collaborators thrived in the original. Faceshopping is both a scathing takedown of Hollywood's fake culture and a power hungry and throttling industrial electronica tune. SOPHIE's almost whispered vocals in the tracks intro/chorus seem devilishly intimate and serve their purpose of setting you up for the collapse into an industrial soundscape that comes shortly after. The instrumental isn't the heaviest on her new album thanks to its fellow single Ponyboy but it is a heavy base track that SOPHIE brings a thrashing blend of huge drums and blistering distorted guitar samples to. Her excellent dichotomy between chaotic loudness and sensual personality is one of the factors that made her album such a fantastic and varied listen and Faceshopping is one of the best examples of those qualities. 

20. Father John Misty - Hangout At The Gallows
Father John Misty's 4th studio album starts off with a serious bang in its first half, but no song all year was as great an intro as Hangout At The Gallows. The song is everything that there is to like about Tillman, witty lyrics lapsed in metaphors and hilarious creativity, catchy stool and guitar indie songwriting and a hearty dose of personality from one of indies most defined characters. The imagery of the tracks title is both hilarious and interesting but it doesn't even take over most of the tracks themes. Predominately the tracks story rests in a metaphor comparing the current state of the world to a sinking ship and our actions before the ship sinks will define both who we are and what will happen after it's all gone down. Everything about Hangout At The Gallows is what conscious indie music should be like. 

19. The 1975 - Love It If We Made It
This one may be Matty Healy's best performance of all time. The songwriting and performances match in a fantastic way. Everything about the song is shockingly contemporary and well assembled, for a full analysis of what makes the song so good check out yesterdays Top Singles List.

18. Denzel Curry - Black Balloons
This is a song that we didn't expect to be that high on the list but one that has been a huge grower as the year has gone on. Not only is it one of the brightest songs on Zel's 2nd studio album it is by far the catchiest, Gone is Denzel's SoundCloud era scream bars and arrived in its place is the smoothest delivery we've ever heard him lay down on a song. The only issue is that he gets a tad stood up on his own track. Goldlink drops one of the BEST features we've heard in years taking Denzel's idea of dropping some incredibly slick pop rap bars that speed up just a bit on the beat and turning it up to 11. Switching up his flow multiple times and never losing his footing nobody predicted him to show up and put on a show as well as he did but here we are, Black Balloons is a triumph of pop rap from a place we didn't see it coming. 

17. Childish Gambino - This Is America
This Is America and its music video were some of the most substantial cultural moments in music this year but it can be hard to remember that in between the thinkpieces and "every reference in the This Is America explained" music videos that the song is actually fantastic. Not only does Gambino manage to be politically charged with minimalist lyrics, he does so without dipping into provocative buzz words, and while staying catchy and contemporary calling on many fellow modern rappers for cameo features, including a hugely overlook contribution from Young Thug. Everything about the song features what we have come to love so much about all of Glover's various projects, social commentary that isn't afraid to be cheeky or funny and a spectacular knack for what is trendy and what will attract the attention of the public. Once again he has himself a hit that is also an excellent song.

16. Arctic Monkeys - Four Out Of Five
Arctic Monkeys had a colossal change of style in the 5 year gap between studio album releases. In spite of this every once in a while a piece of who they were on AM shines through. Four Out Of Five is an infectious blend of the snappy rock songwriting and catchy hooks that laced their former album and some more studied and nuanced lyricism and tone much more common on Tranquility Base. The song is a stand-up critique of giving criticism and one of the heftiest moments of story addition to the albums overall run. It's a moment of hilarious clarity that invites you to the titular hotels new Taqueria and warns that it may be better than the reviews lead you to believe. The song is a blending of everything the Arctic Monkeys do well and the most successful collaboration of new and old across their most recent album. 

15. Travis Scott - STOP TRYING TO BE GOD
If Drake used a contemporary rap formula to craft himself a bonafide hit for the last song on this list, Travis Scott did the opposite with the 5 minute Stop Trying To Be God. A cooling moment on the otherwise high energy Astroworld it was a song that helped signify Scott's ongoing desire to bend and shift the rules or popular rap and trap music. Assembling a talented roster of contributors around himself Travis Scott still commands the stage. Kid Cudi's hums and Stevie Wonder on harmonica blend into the songs atmospheric instrumental for the perfect assembly of one of 2018's most unique rap songs and Travis is well up for the task dropping not only some subdued and potent bars but also providing the excellent hook. Adding more unconventionality James Blake takes the entire second half of the song riding the instrumental to its soft fade away with an incredible performance outside his comfort zone. It's been as much a break out of their comfort zones kind of year for both Travis bending raps rules and James Blake working with mainstream artists consistently that it would only be fitting they would team up for one of the best songs of the year.

14. Drake - Nice For What
Nice For What is 2018's highest achievement in pop rap, and it's not even close. The perfectly interpolated Lauryn Hill sample alone warrants a spot on this list but Drake brings his charisma and charm turned up to 11 on a song that has been hard to get out of our heads all year. His confidence bars riding his own major successes and those that try to ride his wave are snappy and well put together, the song has one of the most effective essences of success of any we've heard in years and who better to put it into music than the most popular artist in the entire world. Nice For What isn't the most complex or complicated song on this list but it just may be the one single cut that serves its purpose the very best, a track so catchy and well put together that it was impossible to avoid in 2018, but nobody minded. 

13. JPEGMAFIA - Baby I'm Bleeding
By the time you hear this songs first words you already know that what you're in for is gonna be something spectacular, "Peggy where you been at" is the calling card for a rapper young enough to evolve and advance the hip hop formula but with the swagger and charisma of a Veteran. Baby I'm Bleeding is the future of rap bangers, building us up to the brink of fulfilling excitement with its outside the box samples and keys before releasing all its energy in one unforgettable swoop. Peggy is quotable, energetic and fiery throughout as he turns in a performance that should go down in rap history. The track is a perfect summation of everything he does well and deserves all the praise we can muster in nearly every aspect of the song. 

12. Car Seat Headrest - Bodys
When Will Toldeo used the backing of a major label to remaster and update his classic Bandcamp masterpiece Twin Fantasy a lot of songs changed for better or worse. Bodys went from being a decent piece of a great album to its standout success and a song that perfectly captures the vibe of being young, free and alive. The guitar is fittingly low-fi but the blistering chords hit it out of the park every single time they're reintroduced to the track. Will brings his trademark charisma to the song in one of its standout lyrics "so what? we're young, we're thin, most of us, we're alive, most of us". The song embodies everything that makes indie pop so much fun set to the night of your life with your friends, the song is one of the best pastiches of youth we've heard all decade. 

11. Deafheaven - Honeycomb
Honeycomb was Deafheaven's powerful announcement that they were back and better than ever and the track has only grown on us as the year went on. The song is a swirling blend of black metal, shoegaze, post rock and technical death metal that shifts from passage to sweet passage with as tight consistency as any other song in their history and in all of music this year. Making up one of the longest songs on the list they use every second to perfection in assembling an instrumentally dense and compositionally compelling song. Nothing else we heard all year satisfied the unique itch that Deafheaven has consistently scratched for black metal that is experimental in a way that engages some of these long standing indie genres. Honeycomb is a powerful moving and nearly 12 minute long piece of genre blending hardcore complexities played with the ferocity of a young group striving to change the game. 

10. Arctic Monkeys - Star Treatment
No song this year comes anywhere even close to matching the sheer amount of charisma poured into the Arctic Monkey's Star Treatment. Everything about the track calls back decades ago to a time of swing jazz and charismatic suit donning club singers. Lyric after lyric Alex Turner crafts his provocative melodies and unique stories as an intro to the conceptual Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. But Star Treatment is enough entertainment on its own, not only is the whole song basically one long quotable from a group with an ever growing list of one liners, but the keyboard is at its catchiest on the entire album as it bridges Turner's short monologues together in catchy form all across the 5+ minute track. 

9. Playboi Carti - R.I.P
Last year Playboi Carti dropped his huge breakout hit Magnolia and while that song is fantastic there was nobody that foresaw what was coming next. R.I.P is the effective introduction to the kind of album Die Lit is. A grimey, ruthless, dark and spectacularly catchy trap album. R.I.P is dirty in the truest sense, Pierre Bourne's beat is muddy and chugging but perfectly complimentary to Carti's rapid fire delivery. Everything about the track is so overwhelmingly heavy it seems almost like an insult to call it the same genre as the brightest and most commercial trap songs that have made their name this year. Carti uses some well crafted slant rhymes and aggressive repetition to craft a non-stop assault of musical front. It's the kind of track you heard at those kinds of parties, you know the ones that always have the cops called on them, because its an unrelenting and unstoppable banger. 

8. Against All Logic - I Never Dream
While there is one electronica song higher on the list than I Never Dream there was no HOUSE song this year that came anywhere close to touching its incredible blend of danciness and unique and layered textures. Rarely does electronica dabble in both spectacular catchiness and creative innovation the way Nicholas Jarr's pseudonym house song does. At just over 6 minutes it has consistent elements throughout the track but also manages to have 3 completely different passages throughout its run time. A lesser artist could remake this song note for note and come out with a complete disaster, its a testament to Jarr's eye for detail that the tracks unique sounds and sonic palette build on a decades old formula to create a track that sounds like a tribute to all that came before and a glimpse of whats to come in the future of dance and house music. 

7. Kanye West - Ghost Town
Even though Ghost Town is one of the greatest potential closing songs ever written it was inexplicably placed right in the middle of Kanye West's Ye. Despite what we feel is one of the biggest musical slip ups of the entire year the track is still an excellent display of talent from Kanye himself, PARTYNEXTDOOR, 070 Shake and Kid Cudi. Split into two halves the first one grabs you with gorgeous vocal melodies and a low-fi but wavy as hell beat and some genuinely lovely bars from the man himself. Everyone does their job and executes it to perfection and with all that talent its no wonder the song turned out so good. 070 Shake had her coming out time this year and she dominates the second half of this song. Her melodies show up everything we've heard so far and build on what was already a classic track. Even though we can't stress enough how much this needed to be its parent albums closer, it is still an undeniably incredible track and one of the best Kanye songs to date, well worth its placement here. 

6. A$AP Forever - A$AP Rocky 
This one may be 2018's emotional high point, the much more concise and focused single version of A$AP Forever is the track that lands up high on this list. This track and its wobbly fantastic music video takes us on a trip of Rocky and the A$AP Mob's come-up, one that for many of us that have been around is an incredibly nostalgic trip. Flying through their complete takeover of New York's internet rap scene and competition with Pro Era, many of the group members classic hits and the tragic passing of A$AP Yams, no other Rocky song is this emotionally potent. Everything about the song not only oozes quality but a fantastic sense of reflection for one of the most interesting career arcs this decade, Forever is a celebration of modern rap music, New York City life and a tribute to a lost friend. 

5. Pusha T - Come Back Baby
Come Back Baby is yet another entry in the ever evolving canon of Pusha T dropping some of the best songs of any year he's active, a spiritual sequel to Trouble On My Mind, Numbers On The Boards and Keep Dealing. His high has consistently been as great as anyone's so it should have been all but common knowledge to see him up high on the list. The track isn't his flashiest on Daytona but Kanye's work shines through on this song as brightly as any other. The samples that start the track off and serve as its chorus are some of the best Ye work in years and they drive home the all around image of Pusha T as a cutthroat, badass and unrelenting lyricist. Not like he needs much help as the lyrics and delivery on this track are the coolest and sharpest all year with a standout second verse entering not only the heights of Push's canon but simultaneously the entire history of raps upper echelons. Come Back Baby is a hard hitting and unrelenting rap track that never once loses its cool or feels like it's trying too hard. 

4. MGMT - Little Dark Age
Little Dark Age was the first taste we got of the similarly titled album, MGMT's 4th that came out this year. The moment the vocals first hit our ears everyone knew the track was unique. Blending together a little Time To Pretend, with some Alien Days, and a dash of Congratulations the track is a goth inspired synth pop tune that reminds us of just how incredible the duo are as songwriters. The soft and short echoes on the vocals and the cheekily haunting keys make the song as much a flashy vampire anthem as a typical MGMT synth pop tune. It helped contribute to and ultimately perfected the darkening of their typical sound. The song writing is probably the sharpest of any track we've heard all year and the entirety of the supporting work is comfortably up to the task, all coming together to create one of the best songs of 2018. 

3. James Blake - If The Car Beside You Moves Ahead
We here at Music Corner are no stranger to giving James Blake his due, giving out numerous 10s to his multiple projects as well as a top 3 song and top 3 single for The Wilhelm Scream, single and song of the year 2013 to his track Retrograde and a top 10 finish in songs of the year 2016 with Radio Silence. It's safe to say James has been one of the best artists of the decade and he is lapping most other electronica acts, after once again securing a top 3 spot we are thrilled at anything he may do next. If The Car Beside You Moves Ahead is an atmospheric and distant vibe song that embodies its music videos feel of driving your car through the bright lights of a city late at night. What James bring this time to make the track so interesting is his thrive for experimentation, calling on elements of his 2011 debut self-titled album. Looping his vocals over the verse and main hook in the chorus is a very bold choice and one that you don't here in softer modern day electronica very often but it payed off BIG time. The song walks a perfect line between relaxing and engaging capturing a vibe that is perfectly capable of being lost in but one that rewards you for paying attention to every second. By the time his spectacular vocal performance comes in for the bridge in the last half of the song any electronica fan knows that what they're listening to is something seriously special. James Blake once again proves his desire to meld genres and push electronica forward are a welcomed combo among his many fans.

2. The 1975 - Give Yourself A Try 
This is the technical list, the in detailed series for those die hard music heads that want to get in great detail digging through the tunes and picking apart what makes them so special. So why do The 1975 once again find themselves near the top of this piece for the 3rd time among their 3 albums, see 2013's Chocolate and 2016's The Sound. The only conclusion we can reach is that The 1975 have an incredibly unique and unstoppable ability to make music that is undeniably catchy, no matter how detailed and textured that tracks from our indie and experimental heroes are, its impossible to turn away from a song with a vocal melody or guitar riff or drum loop as catchy as the ones found on Give Yourself A Try. The songs lyrical content is worth writing a satirical New Yorker piece about with highlights like, "Like context in a modern debate I just took it out" and "What would you say to your younger self? Growing a beard is quite hard a whiskey never starts to taste nice". But the music in this song deserves its own deep dive. Many were very quick to point out the tracks key feature, its blown out and energetic guitar riff, was eerily similar stylistically to Joy Division's Disorder, its far from the first time a band pulled from the post punk legends but what The 1975 does with this riff if so different. They aim to create an energetic and fun filled lead to their emotional pop rock anthem rather than a somber palette for sounds to blend into like the Joy Division classic, and the playing represents this very clearly. The verses are far from low energy, but the undeniable explosion of instrumentation and gusto behind Matty Healy's singing give the song almost a loud quiet loud dynamic and means that every explosion into every chorus hits like a train and creates a swirling loop of passionate songwriting. The song straddles perfectly between being a fantastic piece of promotional material yet one that also has the makings of a fondly remembered classic or groundbreaking piece of pop a rock fusion, a sub-genre that so desperately needs a reinvention. But what we will remember it as mostly is one of the best songs of 2018 bar none. 

1. Saba - PROM/KING
Prom/King had a lot of competition this year. As far as narratives go it had to stare down veterans like Mark Kozelek and Paul Simon as well as impassioned voices like Kurt Vile, Earl Sweatshirt, Father John Misty and Courtney Barnett. But no story told in music in 2018 came anywhere near being as compelling and engaging as this fantastic two part song from Saba. The first half Prom, is a youthful reflection on his part of the first time he truly engaged with his cousin Walter and how they became close friends. Revolving around the two's high school prom Walter helps Saba find a date and the little details help to round out a friendship we've only just learned of but one that feels so genuine. Playing basketball together and Saba questioning his motives in assisting with a prom date are details that help to round out the songs 7 minute run time but at no point does Saba's energy ever feel like it lets up or does the track ever seem tiresome. Prom is a much lighter tone than its second half but at the end we begin to get a change in tone and Saba flexes his dramatic story telling tone. When his prom date Jada's brother approaches him at an after-party and puts a knife up to Saba's neck the song sniffs out its first note of intensity and danger. His then refusal to tell Walter about the situation is a small detail that once again didn't need to be included for the story but helps build a fantastic and intricate narrative. The best testament to Saba's story telling ability is how engaged we are with the idea of prom despite the fact that he spends only one bar discussing the actual event, but spends over 3 minutes on the subject telling his story, and never losing us for a minute. The second half King is a long con of catching us up on the two good friends as they venture into adulthood, attend colleges down the street from each other and then pursue music together. One of the best parts features Saba working on 2016's Bucket List Project and getting a call from Walter in Chicago having been shot at in a drive-by but escaping unharmed. Paying attention and listening to Saba's cadence and word choice gives us all a grim preview of this songs reality. The dramatic closing to the track gives us all the information we need to understand what truly happens and its sparse with details, but the effect is clearly intended. Saba gets a call from someone associated with Walter and leaves in a hurry to go and find him, the grim tone of the sung outro makes it clear that what happened to Walter is tragic. With the context of the rest of the record putting together what exactly happened to Walter was clear, he was tragically stabbed to death in South side Chicago, and the album this song falls on Care For Me is dedicated to his memory. All of that context is simply the words Saba says during the track and is almost enough to propel it to this spot on the list alone, but on top of all this delivery Saba delivers a spectacular performance never falling off the beat and haunting the entire second half of the track with compelling energy. The beat in the first half is a bubbly energy that matches the story and the tone of a narrative that seems so innocent at the time. The beat switch-up to the second half and Saba's explosive flow helps let everyone know that the kind of song we're hearing has shifted. Every element of the track works together perfectly to blend not only one of the best conscious rap songs of all time but our consensus best song of 2018.

Fun Facts About This Years List:
Against All Logic and MGMT both lead with 5 songs on the list.
Kanye West has 3 of his own tunes on the list as well as features on 3 of the other tracks, and production credits for the 3 songs from Pusha T's Daytona. Giving him  a hand in 9 of the tracks that make their way onto the list, an impressive number and unofficial record.
Car Seat Headrest's Beach Life-In-Death is the lists longer song a 13 minutes and 19 seconds.
6ix9ine's KANGA is narrowly the shortest song at 2 minutes and 12 seconds.
James Blake now ties Kendrick Lamar for most Top 10 song performances this decade, but Kendrick's 2 #1 songs still beats out Blake's 1.
Saba, Against All Logic and Playboi Carti all made their top 10 debut's this year.
At #1 Saba has the highest Songs Of The Year debut as a primary artist since The Voidz topped the list with their debut single in 2014.
Saba appeared as a featured artist in 2016 on Chance The Rapper's song Angels, but made his debut as a primary artist this year.

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