Y'all wanna hear something crazy? I've been writing this weekly pop column for five whole years now. It seems like just yesterday that I published the inaugural installment explaining why The Week In Pop would be a good addition to the Stereogum portfolio. As we approach the precipice of 2019, I'm fairly certain I was right. Neither the music nor the writing about the music has always been top-shelf, but my, have the highs been high. Speaking of: It's time once again to run down the very best pop songs of the year. Before we do this together, let me specify my parameters for inclusion. Basically, like The Week In Pop as a franchise, this list focuses on mainstream pop — music that rules the streaming, sales, and radio charts that feed into Billboard's Hot 100, and music that aims for that kind of ubiquity — but in practice I define it however I want. So if I want to put media darlings Kacey Musgraves and the 1975 on here alongside the stars that actually dominated pop in 2018, you