A year can be romanticized in many ways: moments marked by a trip, a lover, an experience, a season of sadness, a moment of bliss. We can romanticize our depression, our heartache, our utmost disappointments. We can travel the world or sink deep into our own minds.

Music is the soundtrack of these experiences; just as I can never unsee my first Fleetwood Mac show (an unforgettable day in October), I can never unhear that new Kanye song for the first time dancing until sunrise at a club in Athens. All of our soundtracks are different, and they impact us each individually. Below are the songs and records that made waves for me this year, waves I’ll still be riding well into 2019.