His vocals become dialogues, colloquies, choirs, armies and ghostly wisps, all part of an endless search for connection.

As he sings about love at its most devotional and all-consuming, his androgynous voice arrives as a multitude - tenor and falsetto, whisper and proclamation, moan and chant - and it appears from all directions. Intimate confidences grow dizzying and titanic in the songs of Josiah Wise, who records as serpentwithfeet. On her larger canvas, her dilemmas just sound more immediate. But she has grown ever bolder musically, moving well beyond the confines of indie rock and chamber pop to try synthesizers, disco beats, country and more, while savoring the sweep of her voice. Her asymmetrical songs are still trying to make sense of lust, love, life as a performer and countless contradictory impulses. On her fifth album, Mitski hasn’t figured everything out. Meanwhile, Monáe’s full-length accompanying video - billed as an “emotion picture” - is far more dystopian. Her latest concept album, “Dirty Computer,” deploys funky riffs (often with Prince echoes), snappy beats and crisp pop-song forms to promise that love, polymorphous sensuality and an inclusive American spirit can conquer all, even an impending apocalypse. All that's left to do is press play, grab your cup of hot cocoa and let the Christmas spirit take over you.The interaction of human and machine has been a major theme of Janelle Monáe’s entire recording career. Whether you want to listen to these popular jams as you’re decorating the Christmas tree or preparing your Christmas dinner, these festive holiday songs are sure to have the whole family dancing and singing along. To help you curate the perfect festive playlist for your Christmas party, we’ve rounded up some of the best modern holiday songs of all time - including hits from artists like Ariana Grande, John Legend, Taylor Swift, and, of course, Mariah Carey. After all, is it really the holidays if you aren’t listening to “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey on repeat? And while there’s a special place in our hearts for all the old-timey classic songs we grew up with, there’s something special about modern Christmas songs we’ve heard in more recent years.

If there’s anything that puts us in the holiday spirit immediately without fail, it’s listening to the greatest Christmas songs ever while whipping up a batch of festive Christmas cookies, of course.

Best holiday albums 2018