【ebony】

Whether it was the DDU-DU DDU-DU of K-Pop's Blackpink or ebonythe aa-ee-aa-eee-aaaah of A Star is Born's "Shallow," 2018's music scene was bubbling over with poppy, catchy, irresistible sound.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé came together as The Carters to celebrate the regal glory that is themselves, Ariana Grande lit up the charts with Sweetener, and 5 Seconds of Summer returned with another year-round hit. Not to mention, Taylor Swift broke a major record with her ReputationStadium Tour and Childish Gambino set YouTube ablaze with his stunning "This Is America" video.

With so much excellent music streaming in 2018, it was nearly impossible for us to narrow it down to an agreed-upon best of the best. (Seriously, there was crying.) So instead...

Check out 18 hits from the past year that we just plain loved—and then use our Spotify playlist as a jumping off point for teeing up your own queue of bangers.

Happy almost 2019!

18. "Just Got Paid" ft. French Montana by Sigala, Ella Eyre, and Meghan Trainor

Our favorite lyric: "I'm broke, but I'm ballin' / Don't know where we're going / We go in when we go out / I just got paid."

17. "Party For One" by Carly Rae Jepsen

Our favorite lyric:"Party for one / If you don't care about me / I'll just dance for myself / Back on my beat / I'll be the one / If you don't care about me / Making love to myself / Back on my beat."

16. "Boys" by Lizzo

Our favorite lyric:"Ay, boy, whatcha say, boy? / You tryna play coy like a Gameboy?"

15. "One Kiss" (with Dua Lipa) by Calvin Harris

Our favorite lyric: "One kiss is all it takes / Fallin' in love with me / Possibilities / I look like all you need."

14. "Delicate" by Taylor Swift

Our favorite lyric:"Is it cool that I said all that? / Is it chill that you're in my head? / 'Cause I know that it's delicate."

13. "Lost In Japan" by Shawn Mendes

Our favorite lyric: "Do you got plans tonight? / I'm a couple hundred miles from Japan, and I / I was thinking I could fly to your hotel tonight."

12. "Love Lies" (with Normani) by Khalid

Our favorite lyric: "It's hard for me to open up, I'll admit it / You've got some shit to say and I'm here to listen / So baby, tell me where your love lies."

11. "I Like It" by Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin

Our favorite lyric: "Told that bitch I'm sorry though / 'Bout my coins like Mario / Yeah they call me Cardi B, I run this shit like cardio / Oh, facts."

10. "DDU-DU DDU-DU" by Blackpink

Our favorite lyric: "Black 하면 Pink 우린 예쁘장한 savage."Translation: "When you say black we say pink, we are pretty savage."

9. "All The Stars" (with SZA) by Kendrick Lamar

Our favorite lyric: "Love, let's talk about love / Is it anything and everything you hoped for? / Or do the feeling haunt you? / I know the feeling haunt you."

8. "Make Me Feel" by Janelle Monae

Our favorite lyric: "It's like I'm powerful with a little bit of tender / An emotional, sexual bender."

7. "Yes Indeed" by Drake & Lil Baby

Our favorite lyric: "Cartier glasses, I won't even peek at you / Yellow Ferrari like Pikachu / I got 'em waitin' and watchin' what he gon' do / Tryna peep what I do, tryna steal my moves."

6. "APESHIT" by The Carters

Our favorite lyric:"I'm a gorilla in the fuckin' coupe / Finna pull up in the zoo / I'm like Chief Keef meet Rafiki, who been lyin' "King" to you? / Pocket, watch it, like kangaroos."

5. "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Our favorite lyric:"Tell me something, boy / Aren't you tired tryin' to fill that void? / Or do you need more? / Ain't it hard keepin' it so hardcore?"

4. "SICKO MODE" by Travis Scott ft. Drake

Our favorite lyric:"Yeah, this shit way too formal / y'all know I don’t follow suit."

3. "Better Now" by Post Malone

Our favorite lyric: "Used to keep my picture posted by your bedside / Now it's in your dresser with the socks you don't like."

2. "Youngblood" by 5 Seconds Of Summer

Our favorite lyric: "So who you been calling, baby, nobody could take my place / When you're looking at those strangers, hope to God you see my face."

1. "thank u, next" by Ariana Grande

Our favorite lyric: "One taught me love / One taught me patience / And one taught me pain / Now, I'm so amazing."

Check out the full playlist on Spotify, here:

(Editor: {typename type="name"/})