Streaming has been reshaping the music industry for the past few years, and in 2018 you could feel it more than ever. Every time a song took off, it felt like its success was attributed to a playlist or an algorithm or some random robot somewhere deciding what was and wasn’t good music. But while the codification of music has some obvious drawbacks, it’s also yielded some fascinating results. Suddenly, a single can have a totally unconventional structure (when was the last time a hit had as many beat switches as “SICKO MODE”?). Artists are more willing than ever to mix and match a variety of genres and styles. Audiences actually feel more global, as songs sung in Spanish and Korean made an impact even in the States.

The biggest drawback, however, is that there’s just so much music that no one person could hear it all. With that in mind, some of our most dedicated and knowledgeable music lovers came together to rank and review the most compelling songs of the year. Contributors voted on an initial poll, spent weeks discussing revisions and replacements, and elected to write about their favorite songs. Here are the Genius Community’s 50 Best Songs of 2018.