People often bemoan the sheer volume of music (and indeed, entertainment) currently on offer - services like Bandcamp, Soundcloud and Spotify have millions of tracks available. Which is actually kind of great. So much wonderful music out there. We've put together a two-part list of our favourite tracks from 2018, and you can check out the first half below.
20) Rudimental and Major Lazer feat. Mr Eazi and Anne-Marie - 'Let Me Live'
With no less than eleven credited songwriters on 'Let Me Live', this team-up is strong evidence against the old adage that "too many cooks spoil the broth". Perhaps surprisingly however, it never cracked the official UK Top 40, peaking at #42. From our perspective though, 'Let Me Live' was a bonafide summer smash of 2018.
19) Chance The Rapper - '65th And Ingleside'
One of the more unusual stories in the music world in 2018 was the meme-referencing artwork of Chance The Rapper's singles series, with special reference to the angry fist of lovable titular character from the 'Arthur' cartoon. '65th And Ingleside' was arguably the most heartfelt of those singles, an organ-led ballad that felt both uplifting and reflective.
18) Don Diablo feat. Bullysongs - 'Everybody's Somebody'
Don Diablo released his second studio album 'Future' last February, collaborating with a whole host of notable names including 'Baby Driver' lead actor Ansel Elgort and Nina Nesbitt. 'Everybody's Somebody' saw the Dutch DJ/producer join forces with BullySongs - a producer also familiar with collaborating with big names such as Sigala and Armin van Buuren. In fact, this is their second successful coming together, following 2017's excellent 'What We Started'.
17) Twin Shadow feat. Rainsford - 'Brace'
If you ever wondered what Lionel Richie mashed up with Enya might sound like, you need look no further than 'Brace'. Musically speaking however, Twin Shadow's main inspiration for the soulful track happened to be Tom Petty and his iconic 'Free Fallin'', while lyrically reflecting on a tour bus accident that left Twin Shadow needing surgery - "sometimes we brace and then fall". Redemption.
16) Kygo & Imagine Dragons - 'Born To Be Yours'
'Born To Be Yours' was an unashamed, unabashed crowd-pleasing combination that saw two of 2018's biggest acts Kygo and Imagine Dragons combine powers a bit like the zords in 'Power Rangers' did to create a mega-hit. Its video, directed by Matt Eastin and Aaron Hymes, was somewhat indebted to Kodaline's 2012 'All I Want' but was nonetheless delightful.
15) Sigrid - 'Schedules'
Scandi pop sensation Sigrid delivered arguably her best and certainly her most provocative single to date in 2018's 'Schedules'. She does a swear! The vibrancy of this song fully justified her billing as the BBC Sound Of 2018, recently culminating in a top five UK album for her debut 'Sucker Punch'.
14) Young Fathers - 'In My View'
Scottish trio Young Fathers have found themselves at the heart of British culture in the last few years, winning the 2014 Mercury Music Prize and having several tracks feature in Danny Boyle's longwaited 'T2: Trainspotting' sequel. 'In My View' was yet more evidence of the vitality of their music, accompanied by an appropriately brilliant video.
13) Metric - 'Now Or Never Now'
We'll have to clarify that this entry is for the single version of 'Now Or Never Now' rather than album version of the track, which exceeds six minutes, although both are suitably great. Decadently adorned in synth sounds, the track bore reminiscence to LCD Soundsystem at their danciest, with the added bonus of Emily Haines's effortlessly cool vocals.
12) Selena Gomez - 'Back To You'
This lead single from the soundtrack to the second season of Netflix's '13 Reasons Why' was a bit of a worldwide smash, charting in 30+ countries. And its success felt understandable, a rousing track that saw emotion as strength not weakness, and a top contender in Selena Gomez's hit-filled back catalogue.
11) The 1975 - 'I Like America & America Likes Me'
The 1975 have been a prominent band for several years now but thanks in part to their widely acclaimed new album 'A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships', 2018 felt like the year where they were everywhere. The album birthed a string of excellent singles including 'Give Yourself A Try' and 'Love It If We Made It' but instead it was the mesmerising album track 'I Like America & America Likes Me' that we've found hardest to tear ourselves away from.
Click to view our top tracks of 2017, and read more of our favourite 2018 things here.
We're a collaborative British music, film and TV blog. "Trying to find the perfect match between pretentious and pop."
