The BEST Songs of 2018 (So Far)

Lists
The 5 WORST Songs of 2018: https://timetofacethemusic.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-worst-songs-of-2018-so-far.html

The 5 WORST Albums of 2018: https://timetofacethemusic.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-worst-albums-of-2018-so-far.html

The 10 BEST Albums of 2018: https://timetofacethemusic.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-best-albums-of-2018-so-far.html


I'm down to my final list.  It's the one I was looking forward to making the most.  Over the past 6 months, I've been noting the songs I like and which ones deserve to be in a best of list.  I put together a list of 50 songs (in order) that I think are the best in the first half of this year.  The way I put this list together was simple:

- At the end of every month, I write down all the songs I've added to my playlist
- I take 10 of them and put together my list of the best songs of that month (I have lists for January through April but the only ones I posted were May and June)
- As time goes on, I update the list in a separate note, which is my overall best songs of the year
- The way I make that list is that I rank the top songs of the month, then I rank the second best songs of the month, and so on (think of it as a tier system)

And now, here are the 50 best songs of the first six months of 2018.  I will have brief explanations for 50-11 and then elaborate more for my top 10.  The format of 50-11 is Artist - Title - Album

Honorable Mentions

1) A$AP Rocky feat. Moby x T.I. x Kid Cudi - A$AP Forever REMIX - TESTING

• Kid Cudi and this beat go together like peanut butter and jelly.

2) DJ Esco x Future - Chek - KOLORBLIND

• My favorite Metro Boomin-produced song of 2018.

3) Juice WRLD - Lucid Dreams - Goodbye & Good Riddance

• The hardest breakup song you will ever hear.  Name another song that makes you cry and aggressively nod your head back and forth.  I'll wait.

4) Lil Yachty - COUNT ME IN - Lil Boat 2

• The best rapping I've heard from Yachty since...well ever.  Also, that Pi'Erre Bourne beat is insane.

5) Post Malone feat. Swae Lee - Spoil My Night - beerbongs & bentleys

• Gives off a nice summer vibe.  Swae Lee delivers some nice melodies and I find Post's verse to be pretty funny.

50-41

50) Rich The Kid feat. Trippie Redd - Early Morning Trappin - The World Is Yours

• Trippie Redd damn near carried this song.  His melodies sounded amazing on here.

49) Kanye West feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR x Kid Cudi x 070 Shake - Ghost Town - ye

• Kanye's best singing to date and 070 Shake's passionate outro about putting her hand on the stove is fantastic.

48) Dave East feat. Tory Lanez - Woke Up - P2

• Dave East's bangers are underrated as hell.  One of my favorite Tory Lanez hooks, too.

47) Denzel Curry - Percs - Taboo

• Denzel's flow was untouchable on here.

46) 88rising feat. Joji x Rich Brian x AUGUST 08 x Higher Brothers - Midsummer Madness - Head In the Clouds

• Underrated song of the summer contender.  Joji's hook is amazing.

45) Cardi B - Money Bag - Invasion of Privacy

• A harder version of "Bodak Yellow."

44) Yung Pinch - Juicy Fruit - 4EVERFRIDAY SZN TWO

• That hook is amazing.  Yung Pinch is an underrated hookman.

43) Rich The Kid - Plug Walk - The World Is Yours

• The only Rich The Kid solo song I've ever enjoyed.  It's so spacey and atmospheric.

42) Logic - Overnight - Bobby Tarantino II

• Sure, those lines about Logic's now ex-wife aged like milk but this is one of the most fun songs he's ever made.

41) Mac Miller - Programs - MM5 (Not official)

• One of my favorite Mac songs in recent memory.  He sounded very charismatic on this track.

40-31

40) Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign - Psycho - beerbongs & bentleys

• Very smooth.  Also includes yet another amazing Ty Dolla $ign feature.

39) Playboi Carti feat. Lil Uzi Vert - Shoota - Die Lit

• One of my favorite songs from these two.  When the beat finally drops and Carti's part starts, it gives me goosebumps.

38) Belly feat. NAV - Maintain - The Midnight Zone

• Sure it's a song about watches (and not the only one on this list), but it's fun and I love NAV's verse on here.

37) Carnage feat. Mac Miller x MadeinTYO - Learn How to Watch - Battered Bruised & Bloody

• A certified banger that ends too soon.  Mac Miller should have had a second verse.

36) Logic - 44 More - Bobby Tarantino II

• A great sequel to "44 Bars."  Some of Logic's best rapping in recent memory.

35) Cardi B feat. SZA - I Do - Invasion of Privacy

• Cardi B is the queen of Boss Bitch Anthems.

34) Nas - Simple Things - NASIR

• Kanye's album streak has some pretty great closing tracks and this is by far the best one.

33) Pusha T - If You Know You Know - DAYTONA

• By far the best opening track on any of the albums from Kanye's onslaught.

32) Famous Dex - Japan - Dex Meets Dexter

• Catchy as hell.  I love when Dex raps over these kinds of beats.

31) Eminem feat. 2 Chainz x Phresher - Chloraseptic Remix - N/A

• Blows anything from Revival out of the water.  Probably one of the few times where 2 Chainz isn't the best part of a song.

30-21

30) Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B - Finesse Remix - N/A

• Bruno Mars has been putting out some fun jams lately.  I also love how the music video has a 90s aesthetic but is shot in 4K HD.

29) J. Cole - KOD - KOD

• Some nice production and one of Cole's best hooks to date.

28) The Carters - APESHIT - EVERYTHING IS LOVE

• This song feels very extravagant and also wouldn't be nearly as good without Quavo's ad-libs.

27) Lil Baby feat. Drake - Yes Indeed - Harder Than Ever

• One of the catchiest hooks from Lil Baby and probably the best song he'll ever make.

26) ScHoolboy Q feat. 2 Chainz x Saudi - X - Black Panther: The Album

• It took me an embarrassingly long time for me to figure out that the title was referring to the roman numeral for 10 and not just the letter.  Or is the song title a symbol for "Wakanda Forever" [thinking emoji].

25) Lil Yachty feat. Lil Pump x Offset - BABY DADDY - Lil Boat 2

• I have no idea how Lil Pump managed to have the best verse on this song.

24) Khalid feat. Swae Lee - The Ways - Black Panther: The Album

• Two of my favorite singing voices combining to make one amazing song.

23) Future feat. Yung Bans - Bag - SUPERFLY (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

• This was probably the song where I started to view Yung Bans in a more positive light.  One of my favorite recent Future tracks.

22) Cardi B feat. Bad Bunny x J Balvin - I Like It - Invasion of Privacy

• I am a sucker for Latin-influenced trap.  I knew this song was a hit before I even played it.

21) Lil Yachty feat. Trippie Redd - 66 - Lil Boat 2

• Another song carried by Trippie Redd.  His verse is one of my favorites from him.

20-11

20) Rae Sremmurd feat. Future - Buckets - SR3MM

• One of the hardest songs I've heard this year.  That beat is insane.

19) Migos feat. Drake - Walk It Talk It - Culture II

• Not a single bad verse on this song.  Also, the music video is really cool.  It's right up there with "T-Shirt" for the best Migos music video.

18) 2 Chainz - LAND OF THE FREAKS - The Play Don't Care Who Makes It

• Because any song with a line as good as "I'm signing off, no penmanship" deserves recognition.

17) Drake - Nonstop - Scorpion

• One of the hardest beats Drake has ever rapped over.

16) Denzel Curry - Sumo - Taboo

• Without exaggeration, one of the hardest songs I've ever heard.

15) Jay Rock feat. Kendrick Lamar x Future x James Blake - King's Dead - Black Panther: The Album

• LADIDADIDA, SHLOB ON ME KNOB!  Kendrick Lamar went off after that beat switch, too.

14) Rae Sremmurd feat. Juicy J - Powerglide - SR3MM

• Probably the best song Rae Sremmurd has made as of right now.  Juicy J's feature was pretty great, too.

13) Travis Scott feat. Lil Uzi Vert x Kanye West - Watch - Astroworld

• The best song about watches to come out this year.  That outro is nice.

12) N.E.R.D feat. Rihanna x Drake - Lemon Remix - N/A

• How do you make one of the best songs of 2017 even better?  Add Drake to it.

11) J. Cole - ATM - KOD

• It's a great song that also teaches you to be wise with your money.  Not the first or best one I've heard, but it's certainly up there.

The Top 10

10) The Carters feat. Pharrell Williams - NICE

From: EVERYTHING IS LOVE

Release Date: June 16

You can't go wrong with production from Pharrell Williams.  The song title reflects how I feel when listening to the song.  It is very nice.  The hook from Beyonce and Pharrell is catchy.  Jay's first verse is probably my second favorite from him on the whole album.  The only gripe I have about the song is Beyonce bragging about making Lemonade a Tidal exclusive.  It's very ironic since they chose to actually release this album on all streaming services, including Spotify.

9) Royce Da 5'9" feat. Eminem x King Green - Caterpillar

From: Book of Ryan

Release Date: May 3

Lyrically, this is the best song of the year.  What keeps it from being #1 is the end of Eminem's verse, where he feels the need to end his verse with ten straight lines using wordplay with poop.  But other than that, it's a flawless song.  Royce spits two amazing verses, the hook from King Green is very catchy, and (most of) Eminem's verse is insane.  I'd also like to point out that there's a remix of this song on the same album that replaces Eminem's verse with a verse from Logic that isn't nearly as good.

8) BlocBoy JB feat. Drake - Look Alive

From: SIMI

Release Date: February 8

This song is the reason why BlocBoy JB is as popular as he is.  This song is a certified dinger.  It has one of my favorite hooks and verses from Drake in recent memory.  Also, "I'ma spray 'em, just like Febreze" is one of the hardest lines of the year.  Don't @ me.

7) Migos - Narcos

From: Culture II

Release Date: January 26

As disappointing as Culture II was, I can positively say that I'm happy that we got this song out of it.  I think this song is better than most of the first Culture album.  Like I said earlier, I love Latin-influenced trap beats.  Offset and Quavo's hook is probably the best on the whole album.  I liked the verses from Offset and Takeoff a lot, too.  This is one of my favorite Migos songs.

6) The Weeknd - Call Out My Name

From: My Dear Melancholy,

Release Date: March 30

My Dear Melancholy was a pretty forgettable EP that barely had any replay value, but I will make an exception for this song.  This song is about The Weeknd's relationship and breakup with Selena Gomez.  The lyrics are pretty standard The Weeknd material about being heartbroken but it's great nonetheless.  He mentions that he was going to donate a kidney to Selena when they were dating and that he put her on top.  It's one of my favorite songs from The Weeknd and I'm holding out hope for his next album.

5) SOB X RBE - Paramedic!

From: Black Panther: The Album (Music From and Inspired By)

Release Date: February 9

There were many great songs on the Black Panther Soundtrack.  This was by far the best one.  What I find very interesting is that this is the theme song for the movie's villain, Killmonger.  It's an incredible villain theme and by far the best song out of what I've heard from SOB X RBE.  DJ Dahi and CuBeatz provide some insane west coast production while the group delivers some hard bars about being heavy in these streets.  I really wish there were songs from their newest project that were as good as this one.

4) Drake - God's Plan

From: Scorpion

Release Date: January 19

If you haven't heard this song by now, you probably live under a rock.  This song is incredibly catchy, the beat from Cardo and Boi-1da is great, and Drake's melodies sound infectious.  When I mentioned this single in my Scorpion review, I never talked about the video.  The music video is one of the best of this year, where Drake spends the entire budget by donating it all to communities in need, buying groceries and gifts for everyone, and having fun while giving back to his community.  It's a very wholesome video and I recommend watching it if you haven't.

3) Kids See Ghosts - Reborn

From: KIDS SEE GHOSTS

Release Date: June 8

This song is the ultimate "Get Your Shit Together" anthem.  It's motivational and uplifting.  Cudi's vocals are reminiscent of his Man on the Moon albums and he delivers a simple, yet catchy hook.  Kanye provides one of his most personal verses ever and I love the production from Cudi, Plain Pat, and Dot Da Genius.  The beat reminds me of "Pursuit of Happiness."

2) Drake - Nice For What

From: Scorpion

Release Date: April 6

I didn't think Drake could top "God's Plan" but here we are.  The production from 40 and Murda Beatz samples "Ex Factor" by Lauryn Hill and it's probably the best sample usage in any song this year.  On top of being a very catchy tune, it also includes empowering messages.  It was the best song of the year for me until this next one came out a month later...

1) Childish Gambino - This Is America

From: Childish Gambino's upcoming fourth album

Release Date: May 6

I am well aware of the recent controversey surrounding this song.  It's rumored that Childish Gambino may have taken a bit too much influence from another song.  Regardless of the rumors, this song is still amazing and is still the most important song this year.  It's a song that accomplishes more with saying less and adds a bunch of ad-libs from other rappers, too.  The music video for this song is one of the best this year.  I wish they used the gunshots from the video in the song, but I still think this is the best song of the year.

And that concludes my list series.  I will do these lists again in December hopefully with some new entries.  This weekend will be my reviews of new songs and albums like usual.