Hey, hi, hello! I’m back, but not with basketball talk quite yet. That will be coming on Sunday (12/28) before Big Ten play officially kicks off. The following Tuesday (12/30), I’ll drop my Midseason Hoopla 40 list and we will be back on track before the new year.
None of that matters here though! Here, I’m giving you my favorite songs from 2025. I want to emphasize my because that’s how this list was made, so if you disagree with some picks, please let me know but recognize that I respectfully disagree with your disagreement!
It’s been another exciting year for music with plenty to choose from, which means I have again limited myself to one song per artist. Apple Music and Spotify links will be at the bottom if you’d like to listen to these for yourself!
50.) What Was That - Lorde — While I ended up being a tad underwhelmed with the album, Lorde got the excitement started with this one, a vibrant exciting banger that introduced a new sound.
49.) Twist The Knife - Rebecca Black — Give more attention to the Rebecca Black renaissance. Her newest album is full of exciting pop sounds, highlighted by this outrageously catchy hit.
48.) Arc de Triomphe - Aminé — A king of vibes, Aminé hits all the right notes on this one with fun lyrics and a lovely sound that feels like its floating in the clouds.
47.) Taxes - Geese — Big, big year for Geese nation, and their newest album deserves the attention it has received. There’s something about “Taxes” and Cameron Winter’s vocal performance here that makes it my favorite on the project.
46.) CLOVER - IDK and Joey Valence & Brae — I mean it starts with a SpongeBob sample and only gets more fun from there. All three bring amazing energy and work brilliantly together competing for the funniest one-liner.
45.) Anticipate - El Michels Affair and Clairo — The producer of “Charm” brings Clairo in for his own album and basically gives us an extra “Charm” song. Not that I’m complaining, it’s delightful.
44.) Yamaha - Dijon — “Baby” is one of this year’s best albums, and it’s so rock solid throughout that plenty from it could have landed here. “Yamaha” is my personal pick for its top-tier usage of both Dijon’s vocal and production talents.
43.) Tough Luck - Laufey — The bridge on this one man. Laufey is a force in the softer pop style, but she also knows how to ramp up the emotion which works tremendously in this one, both lyrically and sonically.
42.) Vodka Cranberry - Conan Gray — One of the catchier choruses of 2025 for me. The song is full of moodiness in the right ways, and it matches with how hard that hook hits every time.
41.) PIXELATED KISSES - Joji — Joji has a great way of getting me excited and mad at the same time. This ridiculously nasty production over his smooth vocals works so, so, so well, and if the song was more fully developed it would land much higher than it does. Hopefully the upcoming album makes it feel more complete.
40.) Townies - Wednesday — It’s short, but the lyrical passages here are brilliant and really well performed by Karly Hartzman. I particularly love the first verse into the chorus, it’s a jaw-dropper on a first listen.
39.) 15 Minutes - Sabrina Carpenter — She had a new (middling) album drop, but this bonus track off “Short n’ Sweet” really stood out to me from the jump. It gives us a little bit of everything Sabrina Carpenter has proven to be great at: Clever lyrics — this time on her time in the spotlight — mixed with sexual innuendos, an extremely catchy hook and some tremendous vocal passages.
38.) Parachute - Hayley Williams — The unorthodox album rollout distracted me from realizing just how excellent so many of these Hayley Williams songs were. “Parachute” was my clear favorite, though, it’s a great metaphor and such a smooth cut overall.
37.) Vanish Into You - Lady Gaga — B O P. “MAYHEM” was a fantastic album with plenty of highlights, but this is the one I could not escape. It’s one of those choruses you can’t help but scream out.
36.) DISCO TOMORROW - Joey Valence & Brae — Counting the other JVB appearance on this list as an IDK song because I simply had to add this beautiful closer from their latest album. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the growth Joey Valence & Brae have made from being merely a well-executed goof into something truly meaningful. It’s also the best beat they’ve ever made.
35.) Golden - HUNTR/X (EJAE, AUDREY NUNA and REI AMI) — Sometimes a global phenomenon is deserved. “KPop Demon Hunters” was inescapable in 2025, and it just happened to be a lovely movie with some real heaters in the soundtrack. “Your Idol” and “How It’s Done” are a blast, but I just couldn’t help but fall for “Golden,” both for the catchiness and its message.
34.) Dracula - Tame Impala — If I’m being honest, the Tame Impala album was a dud for his lofty standards. “Dracula” was not though. This song is so damn fun and will be a staple for me each Halloween.
33.) COMË N GO - Yeat — Don’t make me explain why this song is so good. Frankly I shouldn’t have to, it just is, you know?
32.) North Poles - Samia — A beautifully performed sweet little tune with a few lyrics that will catch you off guard. It’s a wonderful listen, as is the entirety of the album it comes from. Listen to “Bloodless” if you haven’t yet, one of the year’s most underrated albums.
31.) Ensalada - Freddie Gibbs, The Alchemist and Anderson .Paak — As silky smooth as it gets, even for a Freddie Gibbs-Alchemist collaboration. It’s only elevated by Anderson .Paak, who delivers big time on the chorus.
30.) Drum Show - twenty one pilots — Don’t sleep on these Ohio boys man, they’re still making some excellent music. This one’s not only catchy, but I love the lyrical concept. Everyone’s had that drive with that song to get an emotion out, and I think they deliver that brilliantly here.
29.) Sk8 - JID, Ciara and EARTHGANG — JID’s made some of my favorite rap songs of the last decade, and usually that’s based on his insane delivery of poignant lyrics. This time? He brought the damn vibes, as did EARTHGANG and Ciara.
28.) Opalite - Taylor Swift — Sure, this album was not my favorite of Swift’s: It’s her worst lyrically, perhaps ever? But I stand by the excellence of the first three tracks, and “Opalite” is Taylor doing what she does best in the pop space. It’s extremely catchy and some of Max Martin’s best production on the record.
27.) Tantrum - Paris Texas — The first line really sets the tone for this ridiculous banger that I could not get enough of. It’s full of hilarious one-liners and an even funnier chorus to match the title.
26.) Doggy - Geezer, Love Spells and Truly Young — The Kevin Abstract + Dominic Fike collective of “Geezer” has my full attention with just one song. It’s infectious all the way through and is driven by an excellent verse by Fike in the middle.
25.) Second Best - The Last Dinner Party — This group came out of nowhere last year and has dropped two excellent albums since, with “From The Pyre” truly blowing me away. This song manages to be catchy and hard-hitting in the way many of their best hits thus far have been.
24.) BIRDS - Turnstile — This felt like a massive year for Turnstile, and the quick banger of “BIRDS” continues to be the one I go back to the most. It captures all the energy that makes Turnstile such a force.
23.) Timezones - Rich Brian — What a journey it has been for Rich Brian, and he brilliantly captures all of that in this song. It’s a six-minute lyrically dense story track that just works at keeping you invested, regardless of its lack of chorus.
22.) Headphones On - Addison Rae — Addison Rae is here to stay in the pop genre and I’m happy to report it. “Headphones On” is simple but so effective and I love the dreamy production behind it all.
21.) Funny Papers - Mac Miller — The second posthumous release of the great Mac Miller — “Balloonerism” — was yet another worthy addition to his great catalogue. “Funny Papers” is one of those songs, like many on “Circles,” that hits so hard in hindsight. It’s a beautifully performed song with lyrics that give me chills every time I listen.
20.) I’ll Take Care of You (ft. Yebba) - Tyler, The Creator — Apple Music’s Artist of the Year (for good reason!) dropped a surprise dance/rap/pop album in the middle of 2025. Other tracks have found more footing, but the back stretch of the project, led by this song, continued to show me how diverse Tyler’s sound is at this point.
19.) Cross Your Mind - Shelly — Clairo and Claud lead the vocals for Shelly, who I can only hope make more music in the future based on how wonderful this song is. It’s got such a nice rhythm and flow throughout its production, matched perfectly by both of the vocalists.
18.) Man I Need - Olivia Dean — Olivia Dean’s album is getting all the attention it 100% deserves, as is this song. Dean has a incredible voice and this is probably the catchiest song that I have heard from her to date.
17.) Berghain - ROSALÍA, Björk and Yves Tumor — Holy cow this ROSALÍA record man. It’s a journey, an odyssey and unlike much of anything else I heard this year. All of that can also be said for “Berghain,” a song that shifts and transforms and ends on a stunning (perhaps polarizing) feature by Yves Tumor that I think works wonders.
16.) infinite source - Deftones — Listen to the guitar riffs in this song, just listen to them. Deftones came back with an excellent album on the whole, but this is the one I think about every time with it. That instrumental plays in my head constantly and it never gets old.
15.) Midnight Sun - Zara Larsson — I am late to the Zara Larsson game, but I’m glad I am here now. The title track off this joyous synth pop album is so, so much fun. It is, as the music video replicates, the dolphins jumping out of the ocean with a rainbow behind meme in song form, no further questions.
14.) More - Carly Rae Jepsen — If Carly Rae releases music during the year, it’s showing up on this list. “More” would have fit perfectly in “EMOTION” because it is as electric as the rest of that tracklist. It’s a blast with the type of chorus only CRJ could pull off so consistently.
13.) PIRATE RADIO - Genesis Owusu — Such a great song for 2025, not only because he calls Elon a fucking weirdo, but that may be part of it. It’s not being preachy, it’s just hitting the right notes on what to say while still being an excellent song. I sure hope the two singles this year are leading up to a Genesis album, it would immediately become one of my most anticipated of 2026.
12.) Back To Me - The Marías — Self-described as a song following the themes of their last album “Submarine,” I am absolutely in love with this type of sound from The Marías. It’s that same atmospheric vibe that worked so well before, but with a darker, more ominous energy that comes off truly haunting with the vocals. It’s a song that just grips me in and never lets go until it’s over.
11.) Dark Thoughts - Lil Tecca — YEAHHHHHHHH. Few songs this year go as hard as this one. I don’t care how simple it is at the core, Lil Tecca put crack in this one and it refuses to get old no matter how many times I hear it.
10.) stick - Jim Legxcy — Similarly to No. 11, “stick” works in its swiftness, its catchiness and its replayablity, aka, I listened to the hell out of this song. The sample is brilliant, especially how Jim Legxcy utilizes it throughout, and I love how much weight the song manages to hold while still being a ton of fun to hear.
9.) Human Happens - Magdalena Bay — Truly you could choose almost any of the songs Magdalena Bay graced us with this year and put it in the Top 10. I would go out on a limb and say no one is doing it like them right now. No matter the genre they try, it always comes out sounding one-of-a-kind, and I went with “Human Happens” simply because I love its build and think its the best style of sound for the duo of them all.
8.) Handlebars - JENNIE and Dua Lipa — JENNIE, to me, dropped by far the best album of the BLACKPINK solo efforts, highlighted by this impossibly catchy collab with Dua Lipa. I love the beat, I love both vocal performances and I kept returning to it over and over again.
7.) MONDAY - Quadeca — Quadeca blew me away this year with his latest album, and while there are much more ambitious efforts within that, the simplicity of “MONDAY” is what I believe works in its favor. It’s a song that works both within and outside of the record, and is often one I turned to when the Mondays hit me.
6.) Stateside - PinkPantheress — It’s been amazing to see PinkPantheress hit it big once again with a viral song, I just think it was the wrong one. “Illegal” is great, but “Stateside” blew me away and grew on me with each repeated listen. It’s her typical fun vocal style mixed with some of her very best production point blank period.
5.) Something Beautiful - Miley Cyrus — Yes it is Miley, yes it is. Cyrus released her best album by a wide margin this year and I hope it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. Her ambition on these songs was stunning, especially so with “Something Beautiful.” It’s a true journey of a song that Miley manages to execute with one of her all-time greatest vocal performances to match the energy of the insane instrumental.
4.) Ace Trumpets - Clipse — Pusha T and Malice did something special up and down this album, but I’m going with the opening single here. It set the tone for what was to come and never, ever got old. Both the vets bring their best on the verses, the chorus hits hard, it has infinite memorable lines and was my most played song of the year for good reason.
3.) Relationships - HAIM — Banger banger banger banger banger banger banger. HAIM has been one of my favorite groups ever since the previous album, and while “I quit” felt underwhelming, that is largely because of how excited this song made me for it. The concept is simple, but the infectiousness of every piece of the track is what makes it special.
2.) Nettles - Ethel Cain — Ethel Cain is a special artist, one that should be recognized as such. Both her projects this year were great, sometimes difficult but always rewarding listens, but “Nettles” always felt in a class of its own to me. At over eight minutes long, it’s not overly flashy and it doesn’t build into something unexpected. No, instead it’s just a beautiful track that tells a gripping story, and it never feels rushed nor boring. It’s a song that only Ethel Cain could make as brilliantly as she did.
1.) The Subway - Chappell Roan — It’s a song the fans were waiting on since last year. It had an ending that many had already heard before. And yet, that first true listen of “The Subway” this year still rocked me to my core. It was an experience like no other song in 2025.
Never has a meteoric rise ever felt so earned in the way it has come for Chappell Roan. She is a star, and one of the greatest voices in pop right now and it’s because of songs like these. “The Subway” tells a common story of the heartbreak of not being able to get over an ex, but in typical Chappell fashion, she goes at it with lyrics that hit you right in the soul. You feel every word she writes, you feel the heartbreak and raw emotion in the chorus and it all builds up to that monumental outro, the single best moment of music to come out this year.
There’s something undeniable for me about how good Chappell Roan is at all of this. She has a unique voice that holds tremendous power, all of which can also be said about how she writes her lyrics. “The Subway” is probably my favorite song of hers to date, but it also leaves me wanting so much more as we await her next album. Some could say that she’s got a way.
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