What are the best songs of 2025? I mean, subjectively so, of course. I had to pick something, so I picked these. A good year for music. Not the best year for music, but so much good stuff shining through. My tastes are more Indie and maybe slightly electronic, dreamy, folksy, hard-hitting, all that stuff. In no particular order, here they are along with links to the videos (well, the best song of the year is listed last):

In the Morning – Culture Wars. Released November 2025, it’s on the poppy side but has this drifting background sound that sits in the ear and gives your brain a little hug. You’re not going to find any legendary lyrics here, or depth of meaning. It’s a love song, a pining one, and sometimes, that’s more than enough. Good tune to dispel the winter blues.

Honey, Do You See Me? – EERA. Released September 2025. Now this is something. I should know this artist but don’t; it’s her third album! Norwegian artist based in Berlin, and this is her ode to movie actresses of the past, a type of concept album maybe. It’s dreamy. ‘Come closer, I need another kiss at the cemetery. Don’t you leave me here. Let’s grab a bottle – drink with me.’ A perfectly wistful song about madness and how we get there. It’s gorgeous. This video only has 2,000 views as of this time… which seems insanely low for such a song.

Turn Out Right – Honeyglaze. Released August 2025. ‘Maybe things will turn out right…’ That’s the chorus. And I think that says it all. This is a slow, methodical heartbreak in progress, an anthem for 2025, with its weird politics and its inherent intolerance. Seldom does a sad song echo a bit of hope in the way that this one does. Moves me. Could easily bring me to tears, and sometime in the heart of this winter, I know it will. Another video with only 2,000 views… what is happening???

Berghain – Rosalia (ft Bjork and Yves Tumor). Released October 2025. Perhaps not for everyone, but it is for me. Lyrics in German, Spanish and English, with a choral chant going on in the background over strings crushing on strings because they beautiful, all of which is intruded on by a surprising rap aesthetic at the end that is pretty much guaranteed to stay with you. A bizarre mash-up that takes a lot of courage – true artistry on display. And oh yeah, Bjork! And yeah, that video is insane.

One More Dance Around the Sun – Great Lakes Swimmers. Released October 2025. I don’t think it’s possible to ignore the Great Lakes Swimmers. They’re quintessential Canadian and they’re quintessential folk, and in some reality that I can envision in my head, they are Canada’s natural successor to the Tragically Hip – Blue Rodeo chain of Canadian musical excellence. I would put them up there, and this jangly, gorgeous tune is exactly why. And that video… so Canadian. Love it.

Strange Things Happen – Alison Goldfrapp. Released August 2025. Have you ever heard of Alison Goldfrapp? I have an inordinate number of her songs. She has a wonderful voice, an electronic headlong progression (in partnership at times with Royksopp). This is dance-y, headlong, and relentless, proof positive that electronic music can actually have a melody and sound like a real song. ‘Strange things happen with you’. Indeed. This song needs a proper video but there isn’t one, just the song over a still.

Fun Times – Marie Davidson. Released February 2025. Not for the faint of heart. I don’t know who Marie is, but she seems rather fearless to me. ‘Time is never coming back. What you choose, you might lose.’ An awfully full electronic background on this song, mercilessly so, along with a stretch of French lyrics. I’m slightly scared of this song, but when I play it, I play it loud. The video? So strange. I am team frog.

Daisies – Cooee. Released August 2025. Slow, piano-driven song with a lot going on in the background. I can’t tell if this song is joyous or despairful. The gardening analogy is vaguely threatening but also regenerative in some way. This is the type of song you need to listen to several times, as it clings to you and gives you all the time you need.

And this year’s best song…

The Sofa – Wolf Alice. Released July 2025. I’m so biased. I think Wolf Alice is the greatest band in the world. No lie. I believe this. I’ve seen them four times live now, and will continue to do so. Their album ‘The Clearing’ is another massive success, and this was the first single – a piano-driven lament for the chains that hold us down, getting in the way of us being free. I could have picked several songs off this album for this list. The video is a live version from Berlin, it’s a great rendition, and Ellie Rowsell, a premier rock goddess if there is one, is just so going for it in this.

‘I’ll be fine. I’ll be okay. I feel kind of lucky right now, and I’m not ashamed to say, I can be happy, I can be sad, I can be a bitch when I am mad.’ The last words are: ‘Hope I can accept the wild thing in me. Hope nobody comes to tame her. And she can be free.’

Hope nobody tames any of you. Hope you’re all free in this crazy world, and doing the best you can in the best way you know. 2025 was a tough year. Too much hatred and intolerance, too much us-versus-them. We make 2026 better. We make it undeniable. Music, great music, it helps. Maybe it even shows the way.