Embedded Files
(Originally Published December 31, 2025)
This year was an interesting one for new music. I’ve embraced some artists I was never really into before. There were some mild disappointments in the album department. But there were some surprisingly great returns from old favorites. And I even discovered some new artists to watch for the future. I’m grateful for all the new tunes I discovered in 2025.
TOP 40 ALBUMS OF 2025
40. The Hives - 'The Hives Forever Forever The Hives' (Released 8/29/2025)
39. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - 'Perimenopop' (Released 9/12/2025)
38. Arcade Fire - 'Pink Elephant' (Released 5/9/2025)
37. Wolf Alice - 'The Clearing' (Released 8/22/2025)
36. Lily Allen - 'West End Girl' (Released 10/24/2025)
35. CMAT - 'EURO-COUNTRY' (Released 8/29/2025)
34. Balu Brigada - 'Portal' (Released 8/29/2025)
33. Cardi B - 'AM I THE DRAMA?' (Released 9/19/2025)
32. Benson Boone - 'American Heart' (Released 6/20/2025)
31. Tame Impala - 'Deadbeat' (Released 10/17/2025)
30. FKA twigs - 'Eusexua' (Released 1/24/2025)
29. Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory - 'Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory' (Released 2/7/2025)
28. Amber Mark - 'Pretty Idea' (Released 10/10/2025)
27. Olivia Dean - 'The Art of Loving' (Released 9/26/2025)
26. Taylor Swift - 'The Life of a Showgirl' (Released 10/3/2025)
25. Geese - 'Getting Killed" (Released 9/26/2025)
24. The Belair Lip Bombs - 'Again' (Releasd 10/31/2025)
23. Lucy Dacus - 'Forever Is A Feeling' (Released 3/28/2025).
22. The Weeknd - 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' (Released 1/31/2025)
21. Sam Fender - 'People Watching' (Released 2/21/2025)
20. Beach Bunny - 'Tunnel Vision' (Released 4/25/2025)
19. C.Y.M. - 'C.Y.M.' (Released 10/17/2025)
18. Wet Leg - 'moisturizer' (Released 7/11/2025)
17. Tunde Adebimpe - 'Thee Black Boltz' (Released 4/18/2025)
16. The Beths - 'Straight Line Was A Lie' (Released 8/29/2025)
15. Miya Folick - 'Erotica Veronica' (Released 2/28/2025)
14. Craig Finn - 'Always Been' (Released 4/4/2025)
13. Sabrina Carpenter - 'Man's Best Friend' (Released 8/29/2025)
12. Lorde - 'Virgin' (Released 6/27/2025)
11. Bon Iver - 'SABLE, fABLE' (Released 4/11/2025)
10. Gordi –
‘Like Plasticine’
(Released August 8, 2025)
“Won’t you blow up my universe
so that I can realize we’ve been here the whole time”
— Alien Cowboy
09. Haim –
‘I quit’
(Released June 20, 2025)
“I can’t wait anymore for you to set me free.
Yeah, it isn’t yours to give,
it has to come from me.”
— Now It’s Time
08. Big Thief –
‘Double Infinity’
(Released September 5, 2025)
“Words are feathered and light; words won’t make it right”
— Words
07. Lady Gaga –
‘Mayhem’
(Released March 7, 2025)
“Pictures in my mind, they come on faster than they go.”
— Lovedrug
06. Allo Darlin' –
‘Bright Nights’
(Released July 11, 2025)
“This road is old and it’s straight and the stars above will be our guide”
— Stars
05. The Beaches –
‘No Hard Feelings’
(Released August 29, 2025)
“The nostalgia’s so bad for my health”
— Touch Myself
04. Jens Lekman –
‘Songs for Other People's Weddings’
(Released September 12, 2025)
“Love is brutally simple: It’s either there or it isn’t.”
— The First Lovesong
03. Petey USA –
‘The Yips’
(Released July 11, 2025)
“Turns out you only gotta feel something a little bit
to imagine what it’d feel like all over”
— Ask Someone Else
02. Lola Young –
‘I'm Only F**cking Myself’
(Released September 19, 2025)
“Get in your car, don’t cause a scene;
make me feel like I’m not incomplete for once”
— SPIDERS
01. Valerie June –
‘Owls, Omens, and Oracles’
(Released April 11, 2025)
“Getting the courage to do something small,
lifting the spirits of all that you saw.
Feeling the tiniest spark in your heart
cause only an ember can light up the dark.”
— Endless Tree
TOP 100 TRACKS OF 2025
As I do every year, I pick my favorite songs (1 song per Artist) and then rank them against each other to formulate ‘The Best Songs of the Year Countdown’. I hope you find some new great songs to take into 2026.
Click Here to listen to the Top 100 Tracks of 2025 Countdown on Spotify!
100. The Civil Wars – “If I Didn’t Know Better”
99. Chanpan – “endlessly”
98. Squid – “Crispy Skin”
97. St. Vincent – “DOA”
96. Teyana Taylor (ft. Lucky Daye) – “Hard Part”
95. Doja Cat – “Jealous Type”
97. Danger Mouse, Black Thought, & Rag’n’Bone Man – “UP”
93. Alex G – “Afterlife”
92. Tate McRae – “Sports car”
91. The Army, The Navy – “Dirty Laundry”
90. Brandi Carlile – “Human”
89. Spoon – “Guess I’m Fallin In Love”
88. Ela Minus – “UPWARDS”
87. Sleigh Bells – “This Summer”
86. Twin Shadow – “Half Asleep”
85. Slow Fiction – “When”
84. Chinese American Bear – “Dim Sum”
83. The Weather Station – “Neon Signs”
82. Tame Impala – “My Old Ways”
81. The Hives – “Enough is Enough”
80. Ezra Furman – “I Need the Angel”
79. Bright Eyes – “1st World Blues”
78. Arcade Fire – “Year of the Snake”
77. flowerovlove – “new friends”
76. Rob Thomas – “Hard to be Happy”
75. Claptone & Crystal Fighters – “Turn Up The Love – Club Mix”
74. Paul Russell – “Feelin’ Alright”
73. Future Teens – “Adjust Failure”
72. Indigo De Souza – “Precipice”
71. Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory – “Idiot Box”
70. Alessi Rose – “Same Mouth”
69. AJR – “The Big Goodbye”
68. POLICA – “Dreams Go”
67. Wolf Alice – “White Horses”
66. Sarah and the Sundays – “The Cue”
65. Jasmine.4.t. – “Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation”
64. Jonas Brothers – “Love Me To Heaven”
63. Cheekface – “Living Lo-Fi”
62. Sophie Ellis-Bextor – “Freedom Of The Night”
61. Pulp – “Spike Island”
60. The Last Dinner Party – “This is the Killer Speaking”
59. Lily Allen – “Fruityloop”
58. Esther Rose – “Want”
57. Nilufer Yanya – “Cold Heart”
56. Robyn – “Dopamine”
55. Kellan Christopher Cragg – “I REMEMBER WHEN I WOKE UP”
54. Tunde Adebimpe – “Drop”
53. Fanclubwallet – “Cotton Mouth”
52. Tune-Yards – “Heartbreak”
51. Balu Brigada – “Backseat”
50. Destroyer – “Hydroplaning Off the Edge of the World”
49. Royal Otis – “who’s your boyfriend”
48. Beach Bunny – “Tunnel Vision”
47. Romy Mars – “A-Lister”
46. Ruth Radelet, Nat Walker, & Adam Miller – “The Veil”
45. Japanese Breakfast – “Here is Someone”
44. Magdalena Bay – “This is the World (I Made It For You)”
43. Gordi – “Peripheral Lover”
42. Olivia Dean – “So Easy (To Fall In Love)”
41. Lucy Dacus – “Big Deal”
40. Blondshell – “T&A”
39. Benson Boone – “Mr. Electric Blue”
38. Craig Finn – “Luke & Leanna”
37. Geese – “Cobra”
36. C.Y.M. – “Justify”
35. Lorde – “Broken Glass”
34. Bon Iver (ft. Danielle Haim) – “If Only I Could Wait”
33. Car Seat Headrest – “The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)”
32. Teddy Swims – “Not Your Man”
31. Rachel Chinouriri – “Can we talk about Isaac?”
30. Spiritual Camp – “People Don’t Change”
29. Witch Post – “The Wolf”
28. LISA (ft. Doja Cat & RAYE) – “Born Again”
27. Audrey Hobert – “Sue Me”
26. Chappell Roan – “The Subway”
25. Petey USA – “Breathing the Same Air”
24. Sam Fender – “Crumbling Empire”
23. Amber Mark – “ooo”
22. Lady Gaga – “Vanish Into You”
21. Jens Lekman (ft. Matilda Sargren) – “On a Pier, On the Hudson”
20. FKA twigs – “Wanderlust”
19. Goose – “Give It Time”
18. The Beths – “Mother, Pray For Me”
17. Everything is Recorded (ft. Sampha & Florence + The Machine) – “Never Felt Better”
16. Allo Darlin – “Leaves In The Spring”
15. Spanish Love Songs (ft. Kevin Devine) – “Cocaine & Lexapro”
14. CMAT – “The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station”
13. Lights – “ALIVE AGAIN”
12. HAIM – “Take me back”
11. Wet Leg – “mangetout”
10. Shinedown – “Three Six Five”
09. ZOMBIES Cast – “Dream Come True”
08. Taylor Swift – “Opalite”
07. The Weeknd – “Hurry Up Tomorrow”
06. The Beaches – “Last Girls At The Party”
05. Sabrina Carpenter – “House Tour”
04. Big Thief – “All Night All Day”
03. Lola Young – Not Like That Anymore”
02. Miley Cyrus – “End of the World”
1. Valerie June – “Endless Tree”
TOP 10 SHOWS OF 2025
This may have been the best year of concerts in the 2020s. I saw some all-time great performances. Shout out to all the wonderful people who came along to these shows!
10. Vampire Weekend. September 14. Wellmont Theater. Montclair, NJ.
09. Lorde. October 1. Madison Square Garden. New York, NY.
08. The Weeknd. June 5. MetLife Stadium. East Rutherford, NJ.
07. Beyonce. May 29. MetLife Stadium. East Rutherford, NJ.
06. Jens Lekman. November 14. Underground Arts. Philadelphia, PA.
05. The Magnetic Fields. April 4 & 5. Tarrytown Music Hall. Tarrytown, NY.
04. Kendrick Lamar & SZA. May 9. MetLife Stadium. East Rutherford, NJ.
03. Disney Descendants/Zombies: World’s Collide. August 24. Prudential Center. Newark, NJ.
02. Chappell Roan. September 24. Forest Hills Stadium. Queens, NY.
01. Father John Misty. February 23. Ulster Performing Arts Centre. Kingston, NY.
10. Vampire Weekend
September 14
Wellmont Theater | Montclair, NJ
9. Lorde
October 1
Madison Square Garden | New York, NY
8. The Weeknd
June 5
MetLife Stadium | East Rutherford, NJ
7. Beyonce
May 29
MetLife Stadium | East Rutherford, NJ
6. Jens Lekman
November 14
Underground Arts | Philadelphia, PA
5. The Magnetic Fields
April 4 & 5
Tarrytown Music Hall | Tarrytown, NY
4. Kendrick Lamar & SZA
May 9
MetLife Stadium | East Rutherford, NJ
3. Disney Descendants/Zombies:
Worlds Collide
August 24
Prudential Center | Newark, NJ
2. Chappell Roan
September 24
Forest Hills Stadium | Queens, NY
1. Father John Misty
February 23
Ulster Performing Arts Center | Kingston, NY
Looking forward to more great music in 2026 and beyond. If you have any favorite music in 2025, please send it my way. I would love to check it out and discuss it with you! Thanks for listening, thanks for understanding; thanks for reading!
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