Top 10 Songs of 2018 (in no particular order):

Haley Heynderickx – "Oom Sha La La"

Indie-pop catharsis. This song can snap me out of a funk and inspire me to pick up a spade and start a garden.

Soccer Mommy – "Cool"
I want to be as cool as Sophie Allison — and the tape-warping guitar track in the outro of this song.

Janelle Monáe feat. Zoë Kravitz – "Screwed"
The soundtrack to sticky summer nights, scream-singing out the car window.

Let's Eat Grandma – "Hot Pink"
Delightfully whacky maximalist pop.

Snail Mail – "Pristine"
Lindsey Jordan has a talent for writing gut-wrenchingly personal songs, and "Pristine" is no exception.

Weakened Friends – "Blue Again"
Sonia Sturino has a voice powerful enough to tremble the earth and whatever insecurities, anxieties, and doubts that lurk beneath the surface.

Ariana Grande – "No Tears Left to Cry"
The self-assured, fiercely resolute anthem we all needed in 2018.

Camp Cope – "The Opener"
On a June night in the 7th St Entry, I reveled in the collective roar of an audience singing, "Tell me again how there just aren't that many girls in the music scene!"

Kacey Musgraves – "High Horse"
A pummeling pop song for the mansplainers, divas, and self-righteous.

Lucy Dacus – "Night Shift"
This song lodged itself in my brain and made me misty-eyed about exes I've never had.

Top 10 Local Songs of 2018 (also in no particular order):

Ahem – "Air Supply"
Gully Boys – "Greasy"
Early Eyes – "Penelope"
Scrunchies – "Wichita"
Last Import – "One A Day"
Bad Bad Hats – "Nothing Gets Me High"
Kitten Forever – "Hell Hole"
Your Smith – "Debbie"
Ness Nite – "Tightrope"
Dessa – "5 out of 6"