← nuc.grSpotify · year in review
2018 100 top tracks steady

The year trip hop stepped from the shadows into the center of listening.

Trip hop ascended from its third-place perch in 2017 to claim 14.5% of the year, a decisive break toward rhythm and darkness. Downtempo (13.1%) held close, but the weight shifted—RJD2 led the charge with five tracks, a master of the cinematic breakbeat, while Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer cemented film's gravitational pull. Funk and new age entered the palette; dub techno's wobble and electronica's formlessness receded. The sound tightened, gained a pulse.

Open “Your Top Songs 2018”
Top tracks
100
your top songs 2018
Distinct genres
66
across the list
Sound of the year
trip hop
most-weighted genre
Most-played artist
RJD2
by track count
New genres
2
vs 2017
Top genres · what the year sounded like
trip hop14.5%
Ascended from third place to the throne, claiming the center after downtempo's reign. Rhythm-driven, darker, more cinematic than the year before.
downtempo13.1%
Nearly locked in step with trip hop, its grip softened only slightly; the slow-burn aesthetic persists even as beats accelerate.
ambient9.1%
Recedes gently from 2017's height but remains the essential undertow, the cushion beneath the darker textures creeping in.
nu jazz6%
Climbs steadily upward, setting up its eventual breakthrough; already a top-five fixture by year's end.
idm4.9%
The fractured, experimental edge persists—textural oddness and algorithmic twists cutting through the cleaner, beat-focused genres above.
soundtrack4.6%
acid jazz4%
drone3.4%
new age3.3%
funk2.9%
dark ambient2.4%
neoclassical2.1%
Most-played artists · by tracks in the list
RJD25 tracks
The trip hop architect who led the year. Master of the cinematic breakbeat; five tracks cemented his dominance.
Guns N' Roses4 tracks
A hard outlier in an otherwise electronic year; rock's intrusion among the ambient and downtempo core.
Adam Blade3 tracks
Trip hop's understated presence within the year's larger sound.
Benjamin Wallfisch3 tracks
The film composer stalwart, cementing cinema's gravitational pull on the emotional center.
Cymande3 tracks
Hans Zimmer3 tracks
Jona Mues3 tracks
Moderator3 tracks
The Black Dog3 tracks
Tosca3 tracks
What changed · vs 2017
New
new agefunk
Climbing
soundtrack 10→6acid jazz 11→7nu jazz 7→4
Faded
dub technoelectronica

Trip hop broke through from third-place tie to the throne; acid jazz surged while dub techno and electronica retreated. Funk and new age entered; the palette sharpened and darkened.

The arc · 2014 → 2025
2014neoclassical·2015soundtrack·2016ambient·2017downtempo·2018trip hop·2019trip-hop·2020nu jazz·2021nu jazz·2022lo-fi beats·2023soundtrack·2024soundtrack·2025retro soul

The fulcrum of the downtempo/trip-hop era: ambient and downtempo held 2016–17; trip hop's beat now ascends; by 2019 it locks in before pivoting to nu jazz in 2020.

All years
2025 · retro soul2024 · soundtrack2023 · soundtrack2022 · lo-fi beats2021 · nu jazz2020 · nu jazz2019 · trip-hop2018 · trip hop2017 · downtempo2016 · ambient2015 · soundtrack2014 · neoclassical