Top 10 Best Songs of 2018

2018 was a year of bangers. Hip hop continued to dominate the charts, but we also saw some killer pop hits, a resurgence of Latin music, and even a little rock and roll sneaking in there.

Streaming was king, and artists like Drake and Cardi B seemed to be everywhere you turned. It was a year of collaborations as well, like I Like It or Girls Like You.

The Top Ten

Lightning Strike - Judas Priest

Yes! YES! This is the perfect song in a terrible era of music. It's exactly what we wanted. I'm sick and tired of hearing oversexualized rap and annoying K-pop that keeps playing on the radio over and over again. Sadly, those are the two major current genres of this era, and neither of them attracts me. I can't stand it.
We're currently in a dark and scary era, with society on a downhill trajectory, but we will escape this. In fact, rock is one of the most powerful music genres in history. It defined professionalism, soul, heart, and fun. Today's rap music lacks all of that. That's why rock music must rise again. I'm not saying this angrily. I'm saying it with hope.
High Hopes - Panic! at the Disco

One of my favorite songs this year should rank higher, but it's a bit newer than the others. The first time I listened to it was at camp, where I heard it repeatedly, and that's when I started loving the song.
After watching Connor Ball cover it, my love for the song grew stronger. It's a song with a meaningful message, inspiring high hopes all the time.

Being a fanatic for rock music, I'm thrilled this song made the list - and at number two! The message is incredible and optimistic. The song itself is catchy and possibly the easiest one to sing on the album.
Although I'm a little sad not to hear "Say Amen" as much as I've heard this one, I'm still in love with this song.
No Tears Left to Cry - Ariana Grande

Usually, I don't listen to Ariana Grande because I'm not one of those prissy 17-year-old girls with basic personalities who worship Justin Bieber. I'm not actually a fan of pop. I listen to Green Day, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, things like that. But this song is honestly the second-best song that she's ever released, because I think Almost Is Never Enough is better, and it was covered up in the horrible music era of 2013.

This song is my jam. I love Ariana Grande. She's so beautiful, nice, and unique. I share her love for cute cat-ear bands. I don't know why people hate her. Many say that she sings too high-pitched. People, please! That's her singing style! You have to admire the fact that she sings really well in high pitch. This song should be #1. Ari, love ya, girl! AG all the way!
This Is America - Childish Gambino

A lot of people are commenting on how innovative and meaningful the message of this song is, instead of the trifecta of sex, drugs, and gangs. However, I love this song for the opposite reason. I find it to be a homecoming to the original sound of hip-hop. You know, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Biggie, and Nas.
The bongo and hoo-ha production, paired with a thumping bass line and jazzy vocals, talks about the struggle of Black people in American society. Although I think the message is outdated, it nonetheless brings me back to the days of the hustle in '90s Miami, when I listened to those older artists.
The sound appears to be becoming revived as a new subgenre to counter lackluster ATL trap and the SoundCloud mumblers. Overall: 10/10.
Over Again - Mike Shinoda

Beautiful song with very personal, honest lyrics and an incredibly catchy hook. Great production by Shinoda himself as well. Deserves to be at the top.

This song shows how Mike misses and grieves for his best friend's death. It has very deep and emotional lyrics, which deserve to be at the top.

This song killed me. One second I received the Spotify email notification about it, and the next, I was a mess, crying on the floor.
Natural - Imagine Dragons

I was listening to this song today, actually! I think it's their best song, even though it's kind of a departure from the band's motivational songs. This song talks about people who aren't very good people, gaining recognition with lines like, "You've got to be so cold to make it in this world. Yeah, you're a natural." Also, Dan Reynolds, the lead singer, has an amazing voice. This is my favorite song of 2018. 11/10.

Imagine Dragons actually did some decent stuff last year, but this is awesome. In my opinion, this will be considered one of the best pop-rock songs of 2018. Thunder was okay, Believer was pretty good, but this is an awesome example of a pop-rock song.
Shallow - Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper

I watched A Star Is Born yesterday (2/23/19), and it was amazing. I had planned on not listening to the song until I watched the movie, despite the hype and the Grammy performance. This song is really good. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga sang incredibly well, and their voices blended perfectly.
However, it is a little overrated and can become pretty intolerable when I listen to it too much.

I admit I made a mistake naming it the third greatest song of 2018 two months ago, not the best one. Don't get me wrong: Charlotte Gainsbourg's "Lost Lenore" and Childish Gambino's "This Is America" are still among the three best songs of last year. However, "Shallow" is one of those songs that showcase great traditional songwriting and performance craft, like "Rolling in the Deep" or "Take Me to Church."
In My Blood - Shawn Mendes

As a matter of fact, Shawn Mendes is one of the best artists in the music industry today. His songs are some of the most powerful and energetically inspirational masterpieces out there. I would go as far as saying that he's possibly one of the nicest musicians in the modern-day world and is a lot better than what most people listen to today. I mean rap, not that I don't like rap, but it really isn't necessary.
I also really like Panic! At the Disco's new song "High Hopes." It has got to be one of the other big hits of 2018. The fusion of pop-rock with lyrical sensation is brilliant. Although there are some better Shawn Mendes songs than this, I feel like this was his new style breakthrough. It's a song that showed the world what this incredible guy can do and what a great songwriter he is.
Youngblood - 5 Seconds of Summer

Being Australian and hearing this song a lot at my school, as well as my friends singing it and playing it on the piano, is something that is impressive. The first time I heard of this band was last school year when I listened to Hey Everybody! I really enjoyed that song, and exploring the artist's other songs got me into them.

On 14/12/18, I heard Young Blood on the radio. My friend and I turned up the music, rolled down the windows, and started singing along. My soccer coach happened to be in the car next to us.

The song that is at the top of the charts in Australia and New Zealand right now is undoubtedly 5SOS's best song, without a shadow of a doubt. It's great to get a break from the miserable trap and mumble rappers at the top.
Pray for Me - The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar

Honestly, despite Kendrick being my favorite artist ever, The Weeknd absolutely dominated this track. The Weeknd was the stronger part for me on this song. That's not to say that Kendrick didn't hold up his end of the deal, but The Weeknd did an amazing job.

My two favorite artists of all time performed as I expected. This is the best song off an amazing soundtrack for the biggest movie of 2018. It doesn't get much better than that. Two amazing artists, a brilliant song, and an instant classic that will never get old.

Both artists did an amazing job on this song, although The Weeknd's part is the reason I like it. This song has a cool beat and is much better than most mainstream rap songs now. I would give it a 9/10.

The Newcomers

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Around the World - MOUNT & Noize Generation

Deep house club banger that goes hard. Sadly, people associate this type of music with car music (I don't have a driver's license yet) rather than with dancing or clubs. I don't know why, but that trend is a little annoying.
Still, it's great. The vocals remind me of Tate McRae. This is one of the best dance remakes of the 21st century, and it's underrated.
10/10
~ avaTARmx
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Otra Noche en Miami - Bad Bunny

The Contenders

Jumpsuit - Twenty One Pilots

This is simply an epic comeback from a fantastic rock duo that we all knew from 2016. It starts with a heavy intro, followed by Tyler's restrained vocals, making the song even more interesting. In the end, there's a soft and beautiful bridge that completely changes the nature of the song, leading to the best song ending ever, where it goes to the absolute extreme. Overall, another masterpiece from this amazing duo. Welcome back, TOP. 5/5.

I'm probably one of their earliest fans, having been around since their eponymous album back in 2009. All I can say is that I love this new direction. It lacks the schmaltz of their debut and the annoying Drake-esque sound of Vessel. It has an edgier rock sound that distances this release from their poppier-sounding Blurryface. It even sounds a tiny bit like Alice in Chains, which is cool. Overall, 9/10. Will definitely check out Trench.
Zombie - Bad Wolves

The video is a great tribute to Dolores, and Bad Wolves donated all the proceeds from the song to Dolores' children. They deserve to be on top. Also, check out the guitarist's earlier band, God Forbid, if you like Bad Wolves.

Even though this song was originally released in 1993, for a completely different reason, it manages to stay relevant today.

As the machines of war keep turning, what are we? Simply mindless members of a swarm, slaughtering others?
All the Stars - Kendrick Lamar & SZA

The song has sweet lyrics. The entire sound of the song is beautiful, calming, and dreamy. Bringing SZA and Kendrick Lamar's voices into the same song sounded so good.

2018's hit music is legitimately so bad that I decided to forgive Kendrick's performance here because, other than that, it's amazing. 9/10.

Straight-up amazing! I remember hearing this in the Black Panther credits and instantly loving it!
Done for Me - Charlie Puth

So, I think I can say that there has been a definite improvement from Charlie Puth with his new album. While "Done For Me" isn't the best song on the album ("If You Leave Me Now" with Boyz II Men is better), it's still pretty darn good. Even Kehlani is better than she normally is on songs she collaborates on.

I agree that Charlie Puth has gotten way better. He was the first artist that I really liked at their concert.

This is amazing! It's definitely one of Charlie Puth's better songs, and collaborating with the amazing Kehlani just adds to it.
Sunflower - Post Malone & Swae Lee

Great lyrics, sick beat, nice production. Not to mention, I like both of these artists' parts here, especially Swae Lee's verse. 9/10.

This song makes me laugh because it reminds me of those late-summer and fall flowers.

I'm not a fan of either of them, but their chemistry was great here, and the production was good. 5/5
Moonlight - Xxxtentacion

Rest in peace, XXXTentacion. We will remember you for making amazing music.

It's one of the better songs from that album. 3/5.

The song would be fine, but the beat sounds broken and X is whiny in some parts. 5/5.
Breathin' - Ariana Grande

This is like No Tears Left to Cry in that it's a nice, catchy, and enjoyable tune, but at the same time also has a kind of bittersweet feel to it. Ariana's been doing pretty well this year, and in fact, this song is just as good as her other two hits off Sweetener. 4/5

I've heard some good things about this, and yeah, it is pretty good. Ariana has some great spotlight moments, though some parts sound a bit "held back." 7/10

My personal favorite song from Ariana Grande, and I'm so glad it managed to become a hit.
Lucid Dreams - Juice WRLD

This song is so unique and much better than songs by other mainstream hip-hop artists.

This is my grandson's favorite. He's 5 years old and knows every single word! Amazing!

I can relate to this. The guy has a legitimately interesting and unique voice. I kinda love this. 9/10
44 More - Logic

Really a great song. I'm not that big of a Logic fan, but this is just spitting line after line in a catchy flow and great beat.

If anyone doesn't take Logic seriously, then listen to this. It will shut all of them up.

I haven't listened to this song, but I won't because who names their songs 44 More?
Happier - Marshmello & Bastille

Wow, 42nd? This is a really good song. It was performed in Marshmello's Fortnite concert.
In school, there was an assignment where everyone picked a song, and the teacher played it, and everyone had to guess whose it was. This was mine, but everyone knew that. Then, one of my friends said it was his even though it wasn't. Sorry for telling a random story. Anyways, it's my favorite song!

One of the few good songs with Marshmello (he is NOT a true DJ). I love the message and that music video! I want more music videos like it. It's about a kid who always felt unloved, and it all changed when she got a dog for her birthday. The dog stood by her throughout its life (I'm not spoiling the end). It was so emotional (I didn't cry). Great song. 9/10
Torn in Two - Breaking Benjamin

I absolutely agree. This song is the best song off of Ember. While I do also love The Dark of You, Red Cold River, and Feed the Wolf, nothing on this album can top Torn in Two. I also believe this song should be much higher than all that other garbage.

First, I'm surprised that this is on this list, but second, I am extremely happy to see it on here. This song is awesome!

Deserves to be higher than crap like Sick Boy.
Sad! - XXXTentacion

Sad! is a great song. Most people can relate to the lyrics, and if you sit down and listen to them after X's tragic passing, it can move you. I don't mean jamming out, head-bobbing, and stuff. I mean emotionally. This song has great rhythm too. Everywhere I turn, this song pops up, with someone singing it, playing it somewhere, or getting into a conversation about X and his music. This is one of his best songs, including Moonlight and Jocelyn Flores. Most people find it depressing, but it goes away when just listening to the rhythm. It's like bringing you to a different world. I HOPE THIS GETS INTO THE TOP TEN. MULTIPLE PEOPLE, including me, LOVE THIS SONG!
Head Above Water - Avril Lavigne

Looking at what charted in the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year and seeing this only make number 64 makes me disappointed. Looking at the top 50 of this list and seeing this only at number 132? That just feels like an insult. For me? Best song of the year by a mile. With what Avril Lavigne has endured, and is currently enduring, he deserves to have this song more popular than it actually is. Especially since it's also her best song to date.

While this is not the best song of 2018, it is nice to see a Christian song up here. Most rap (not all, 44 More is an exception) is about sex and money, pop songs are almost always about love and blah. A lot of rock and EDM songs are borderline Satanic. However, this song is about looking to God in times of stress and suffering. That's why I enjoy it.
From Hell - Dance with the Dead

The best song of the year! Loved to Death was a great album, but this is the best song on the album. I love how there are metal guitar parts in synthwave. That is genius. Dance With the Dead is one of my favorite synthwave groups, and this song is one of the best in the subgenre.
Ashes - Céline Dion

This song is great, absolutely classic, even better than Adele's Skyfall. It's on the Deadpool soundtrack. You guys should check this out.

If it's sung by Celine, it will be good. Guaranteed!

Actually the best song of 2018, just like Sam Smith's Writing's on the Wall