The 100 Best Songs Of 2018

During a turbulent year rife with personal and political trauma, the most memorable songs pulled no punches in the pursuit of pop. They also arrived from all directions: emerging from longtime partnerships and unlikely collaborations, from fertile local scenes and solitary experiments. In the case of many — including our No. 1 song — they were actually videos, tethered to images we've been unable to shake since. These are the 100 best songs of 2018, as selected by the staff of NPR Music and our partner stations. If you want more of the year's best music, check out our 50 best albums of the year or All Songs Considered's podcast discussion of the year in music.

40.

Amen Dunes

"Believe"

Earlier this year, Amen Dunes (born Damon McMahon) seemed, after years of simmering, to have a breakout album on his hands with Freedom. "Believe" towered from the record like a potted-out wizard spire of '90s homage, transcending everything the song uses as a mile marker. In its last two minutes, "Believe" closes its eyes and walks backwards toward the window, growing looser and deeper while free-falling toward its terminus. The record itself was, subjectively, marred by a suite of interviews McMahon gave to promote it, in which he (knowingly or not) limited its scope. Thankfully, "Believe" is too squirmy a bird to be contained, even by its maker. —Andrew Flanagan

♫ LISTEN: "Believe"

39.

Tom Demac & Real Lies

"White Flowers"

When British producer Tom Demac shared news of "White Flowers" on his Facebook page in late summer, he cheekily used the hashtag #emotechno. That's not actually a thing, thank god, but it spoke to the romantic pull of "White Flowers": This song wants, nay demands, that you to feel . That sort of prescriptive ambition can result in