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.
80.
Jean Grae & Quelle Chris
"Gold Purple Orange"
Jean Grae and Quelle Chris practically predicted 2018's general malaise with the March release of their dual album Everything's Fine. The LP satirizes the heavily-sedated state of the union, where culture wars and political crises have contributed to more news fatigue than actual fear about our nation's future. On "Gold Purple Orange," they turn their absurdist lens toward the stereotypes and misperceptions fueling our ongoing identity crisis. "Er'body alt-right gotta be white / Er'body disagree gotta be wrong / Er'body black, d*** gotta be long," Quelle Chris raps in a droll monotone. If that doesn't wake you from your slumber, the saxophone solo most certainly will. —Rodney Carmichael
♫ LISTEN: "Gold Purple Orange"
79.
Joseph Calleja
"Ah! Si, ben mio"
Opera is a theatrical art, but for the fanatics, it's all about the voice. And the voice (half-voice) Calleja dispenses on the final syllable of the word "trafitto" ("pierced"). Calleja is today's voice of yesterday, ringing with hope for tomorrow.
