Welcome to the sound of public radio in 2025. Our list of the best 125 songs of the year was curated by more than 60 writers and DJs across the NPR Music Network, and runs the gamut of sounds, scenes and styles. If the playlist (which you can add to your collection here) feels chaotic at times, that's somewhat by design. NPR Music's mission is to broaden the scope of your fandom and introduce you to an array of musicians that algorithms wouldn't know what to do with.
Our list is unranked, presented in alphabetical order, and you can look at it in two ways: A distilled version of our top 25 songs, or the complete list of 125 picks. Dig around for a new favorite, and spend some time reading the passionate, pithy capsules accompanying each song — context breeds crushes. Plus, there's nothing artificial about any of them.
Alex G
"Afterlife"
If you were old enough to tune a radio during the early '90s, which Alex Giannascoli was not, the mandolin riff wrapped around "Afterlife" like a well-worn flannel will inevitably recall R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion." It's a typically self-aware move for our preeminent alt-rock revivalist, who made the jump to a major label this year. But there's a deeper link to the heartbeat of the whole Alex G project, which has always been about breathing new life into old sounds, and at its best pulls off the trick of making indie rock feel ephemeral and eternal. —Jacob Ganz, NPR
Ami Taf Ra feat. Kamasi Washington
"Gnawa"
Kahlil Gibran's century-old texts inspired Ami Taf Ra's debut album, The Prophet and The Madman. On "Gnawa," a choir sings in Moroccan dialect and Washington's fiery playing soars, fusing Black Moroccan melodies with hard bop jazz rhythms in a love letter to immigrants and a tribute to her North African homeland. —Abi Clark, KUVO
Ólafur Arnalds & Talos
(feat. Niamh Regan & Ye Vagabonds)
"We Didn't Know We Were Ready"
This soaring meditation on the impermanence and fragility of life took on a tragic new meaning when its singer, the Irish artist known as Talos, died at the age of 36. Co-written with Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds and the Irish folk artists Ye Vagabonds and Niamh Regan, it features a radiant choir of friends who gathered to pay tribute on this posthumous recording. It's a breathtaking and luminous appreciation of life's uncertainty and the anchoring weight of gratitude. —Robin Hilton, NPR
Bad Bunny
"BAILE INoLVIDABLE"
"Mientras uno está vivo, uno debe amar lo más que pueda," Jacobo Morales challenges before this track explodes into big band glory, invoking a question that has perplexed and propelled generations of salseros: Can heartbreak catch you if cut to the beat of chest-thumping clave and tumbao? In improvised moments, musicians perform nuanced replies. The song comes alive in a complex expression of communal pain, revealing the answer. "You taught me to love," the chorus laments and, worse, "You taught me to dance." In salsa, there's no getting over that. —Anamaria Sayre, NPR
Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah, Arslan Nizami and Irshad Kamil
"Saiyaara"
With nearly 850 million combined streams on Spotify and YouTube, this title song from the melodrama that swept Bollywood this year is the "My Heart Will Go On" of South Asia. With its oceanic melody and a soul-ripping vocal performance from Kashmiri newcomer Faheem Abdullah, it truly achieves "I'll never let go, Jack" pathos. —Ann Powers, NPR
Bassvictim
"Mr. President"
There's nothing quite like hearing an optimistic beat drop built on the back of some aching strings — or even an apathetic mantra of heartbreak layered over a shimmering synth — to remind you that sometimes it's OK to accept the fact that the 2010s are back and so is Tumblr-era depression. —Dora Levite, NPR
Jon Batiste
"PINNACLE"
Musical chameleon and award magnet Jon Batiste swaggers and shouts with joy in this greasy boogie that evokes the grooves of Freddie King and North Mississippi hill country blues. Part self-affirmation and part strutting exclamation, its hooks practically leap out of the speakers to make you smile, shimmy and shake. —Joe Kendrick, WNCW
Natalie Bergman
"Lonely Road"
The other half of Wild Belle, Natalie Bergman goes full retro in this '60s sad-girl ballad swinging with the groove of bottomless yearning. As the promise to never love another gets more assured, the keys, strings and stacks of vocals rise atop the bass to fulfill her words with a satisfying, ascending-into-heaven ending. —Tshego Letsoalo, KALW
The Beths
"Mother, Pray For Me"
Anchored by a contemplative guitar arpeggio and just a touch of organ pads, the eponymous Elizabeth Stokes explores her relationship with her mother, her mother's faith and her own relationship to religion in a song that is perhaps the Auckland, New Zealand, quartet's most deeply personal (and beautiful) yet. —Michael Pollard, WNXP
Justin Bieber
"FIRST PLACE"
The improbable rise of alt-pop auteurs Mk.gee and Dijon is best summed up by the paradox at the heart of this track: One of the world's most popular musicians hired both to help write and produce his critically acclaimed comeback album, SWAG, and the song that hews closest to their off-kilter aesthetics didn't involve either of them. That's what you call influence. —Otis Hart, NPR
Big Thief
"Los Angeles"
On this sunkissed and unhurried rocker, Adrianne Lenker sings of a love that transcends time, space, speech and sight. It's a warmth tinged with regret, an understanding colored by experience, a feeling that can't be described with words. Good thing the sweet vocal harmonies and bright layers of guitar on this track can do it for us. —Lukas Harnisch, WBUR
Blood Orange
"Vivid Light"
Devonté Hynes explores a creative process defined by grief, a theme that anchors his album Essex Honey. Dev sings, "I wasn't falling for the hope." With vocals from Zadie Smith, the track is warm, propelling us forward with the very emotion he couldn't face. —Sonali Mehta, NPR
Bon Iver
"Everything Is Peaceful Love"
From the beginning of the first single from SABLE, fABLE, Justin Vernon digs deep to deliver his finest without getting lost in the usual dense production loops. This indie soul-pop track is an instant classic with warm, layered production. Its simple message feels believable rather than cliché — that we're all surrounded by love. —Kyle Smith, WYEP
monte booker & Nami
"Defense"
More world-builder than record producer, monte booker's full-length studio debut, noise ( meaning ), unfolds like a cinematic score. Or a warm, woolly sweater with prickly, off-kilter beats and the coziest embrace. Approaching cult status in recent years, the Chicago native's soulful sonics pair best with a tight-knit circle of collaborators (see: Zero Fatigue, Soulection). Nami adds to that mix with a taunting vocal, as he breaks down his lover's "defense" on a hook that proves love is dope. Pun intended. —Rodney Carmichael, NPR
Bucle Lunar
"Subío El M****** Dolar"
Leave it to a couple of teenagers from a city in Venezuela's Andes Mountains to make one of the most heart-shattering rock songs of 2025. With Eva Rojas' piercing vocals and Sebastián Lucerowsky's gloomy guitar, Bucle Lunar strikes a fine line between melancholy and defiance: an anthem for a disillusioned generation, moshing their way through a dollarized economy that's driving their friends out of the country. —Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR
CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso
"RE FORRO"
Fresh off their Tiny Desk's viral success, this Argentine duo offers an upbeat tempo, blending jazz, disco and bossa nova on "RE FORRO." The catchy hook and dancey beats disguise the darker lyrics reflecting internalized pressures of unexpected success, unable to measure up to idealized expectations, feeling empty and fixated on one's internal, unlikeable self. They make emo sound fun! —Margarita Azucar, KALW
Cardi B
"Bodega Baddie"
"Bodega Baddie" showcases the essence of true Latin New York flavor. After a seven-year hiatus, our favorite bombshell from the Boogie Down has proven yet again that even if she is the drama, she always delivers. The hook is sampled from a 2000s Merengue classic; paired with a 2025 twist, it's an instant classic! —Mang-Yee Reverie, The Drop (Rocky Mountain Public Media)
caroline feat. Caroline Polachek
"Tell me I never knew that"
If a song were a murmuration of starlings, shadowing an evening sky, it would be the British octet's mesmerizing vortex. Featuring fellow shapeshifter Caroline Polachek, this dizzying swirl of duetting Carolines flows from a fragile confession to a celestial choir, splashed with hi-hats, blurts of brass and plucked guitars. A feverish final chant is an infinite truth. —Kara Manning, WFUV
Sabrina Carpenter
"Manchild"
On this ode to dudes stuck in second gear, the bawdiest, funniest, most successful of 2024's pop breakthroughs proves that her act was no fluke. Carpenter nudges her pop sound in the direction of vintage country with a perfectly balanced symphony of light-as-air synths, barroom fiddle and riffs worthy of a broken cassette deck. She delivers setups and punchlines worthy of the rimshot in the chorus and rolls her eyes adorably through one of the year's best videos. Possibly her best song yet. Definitely the calling card of a pop star who intends to stick around. —Jacob Ganz, NPR
Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell
(feat. Weedie Braimah, Milena Casado, Morgan Guerin, Simon Moullier and Matthew Stevens)
"Freedom Day (Part 2)"
"If you are free, you are not predictable or controllable." That comes from a spoken word section of this insightful update to 1960's protest album We Insist! Carrington and Dashiell bring an urgency to this Max Roach and Oscar Brown classic, which more than stands up to the inevitable comparisons. —Andy O, KUVO Jazz
Tyler Childers
"Bitin' List"
I nearly choked laughing the first time I heard Childers' poisonous IOU. Certainly the only song of 2025 to include the lyric "seizure-fraught spinal rot," "Bitin' List" imagines a scenario in which contracting a fatal, brain-inflaming, fury-inducing virus would occasion an opportunity for carefully planned payback as a final act. You really have to piss someone off good to earn ire this specific and elaborately conceived. —Jacob Ganz, NPR
Clipse
"So Be It"
Pusha T and Malice reuniting after 16 years to release Let God Sort Em Out reflected a thirst in the culture for the lyric-forward East Coast hip-hop ideals they represent. The duo's viral Tiny Desk performance and boundary-breaking appearance at the Vatican are just further proof: 2025 was the year of Clipse. —Tiffany Bentley, Buffalo Toronto Public Media's The Bridge
CMAT
"Take A Sexy Picture Of Me"
A perfect soundtrack to the pendulum swing away from women's liberation and toward universal face-lifts, this campy, vampy indictment of impossible beauty standards shows the Irish phenom born Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson at her wittiest and most righteously enraged. —Ann Powers, NPR
Charley Crockett
"Lonesome Drifter"
Charley Crockett's output this year alone is a testament to the hard work and dedication he brings to his craft. Lonesome Drifter is one of two full-length albums he released in 2025, with a third one to round out the conceptual trilogy on the way. Crockett embodies the namesake of the record's title track, navigating the highway with the rhythm section's propulsive groove as his guide, and you can't help but feel like you're riding shotgun. —Desire Moses, WNRN
Theo Croker
(feat. Malaya and D'LEAU)
"high vibrations"
Amapiano and garage meet jazz in the club. Someone pours a stiff cocktail. The heady results of that convergence are evidenced in this song. Trumpeter Croker dances electric with vocalist Malaya, while D'LEAU, whom I first encountered decades ago through his work in J*Davey, adds just the right je ne sais quoi. —Ayana Contreras, KUVO Jazz
Cuco
"Para Ti"
Cuco released the album Ridin' at a perfect time. Dripping with a Latin soul sound of yesteryear, "Para Ti," in particular, made me want to be outside, which is quite a feat to pull off in a Texas summer. Especially as we get closer to the colder part of the year, it's a song to remember summer — and look forward to the next one. —Jackson Wisdorf, KXT
Lucy Dacus
"Ankles"
A portrait of intimacy that takes many forms — from raw sexuality to a collaboration on crosswords — "Ankles" floats on a bed of gorgeous, haunting strings. It's a deep and expansive examination of true romance, but it wouldn't be a Lucy Dacus song if it didn't have at least a little bit of ambivalence: "How lucky are we," she sings, "to have so much to lose?" —Stephen Thompson, NPR
Lucrecia Dalt feat. David Sylvian
"cosa rara"
This double-life escapade emerges as an invitation that suddenly gives way to the eerie undertones of the album's name, A Danger to Ourselves. Dalt's beguiling vocals and finely programmed textures based on Colombian rhythms, joined by co-producer Sylvian's targeted, spoken-word vocals, add to the foreboding mystery and drama. —Liz Warner, WDET
Olivia Dean
"Man I Need"
Regardless of scenery or demographic, this song is infectious. Its jazzy pop and soulful grooves paired with Dean's calm and collected vocals deliver lyrics about not being afraid to ask to be loved. Be prepared to hear this song at weddings from this day forward if you haven't already. —Marquis Munson, WNXP
Deep Sea Diver
"Shovel"
Swimming around in the world of commercial sanitization, Deep Sea Diver offers one of the most genuinely alternative-coded songs (and albums) I've heard in some time. Jessica Dobson sings and performs like she truly has something to get out of her body, sharing it through pure energy and furious noises. —Matt Donahue, WNRN
Lana Del Rey
"Henry, come on"
No shocker that Miss Americana would embrace the Yeehaw Agenda; even less so that her sweeping country panorama revolves around a restless cowboy who can't (or more likely won't) settle down. Lana often makes tragedy sound like romance. Here, amid chamber pop musings, the mystifying trance of a pastoral fantasy slowly comes undone. —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
Dijon
"Yamaha"
Dijon does his best Prince impression, if the ghost of Prince was resurrected through the warping circuitry of a motherboard. "Yamaha" is at once a straightforward expression of desire and an ode to desire itself. "I'm in love with this particular emotion," Dijon sings, deconstructing his own feelings with the same eccentric verve that he does the sounds of popular music. —Amelia Mason, WBUR
Annie DiRusso
"Back in Town"
At first, "Back in Town" registers as a horny anthem about secret hook-ups and a boi who can only be counted on for one thing. But as funny and profane as it is — and those brash, crashing choruses are great big joy dispensers — it's also elevated by an undercurrent of sadness; by a sense of longing for a deeper connection that's nowhere in sight. —Stephen Thompson, NPR
El Cousteau feat. Niontay
"Rose Ave."
El Cousteau and Niontay represent a new and improved strain of lo-fi loop music that has bled into swag rap, occupying a middle distance between the grumbling sage MIKE and the low-key go-getter Tony Shhnow. Here, they toss the mic back and forth like a hot potato, their run-on flows spilling into each other, all snowballing toward one striking street proverb: "To afford the cost of living, that's what a n**** do crime for." —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
Silvana Estrada
"Dime"
Love, heartbreak and loss can sit so heavy on the mind, but Silvana Estrada's way of releasing all those layered feelings is special. "Dime" carries us through an emotional unraveling that hits home for so many. She's giving herself and us permission to let go, so let go. —Kenny Perez, Radio Milwaukee
Everything Is Recorded feat. Sampha and Florence + The Machine
"Never Felt Better"
London producer Richard Russell builds an intimate universe of loss in all its forms on his latest Everything Is Recorded project. His third album under the moniker, Temporary, is surprisingly joyous and features the transcendent "Never Felt Better" brought to life by Sampha and Florence Welch. Together, they soar, making it an anthem that serves as an emotional anchor between grief and growth. —Alisha Sweeney, Colorado Public Radio's Indie 102.3
Carter Faith
"Betty"
From the best old-school country revivalist to emerge on Nashville's music row this year comes this foot stomper, a comic twist on Dolly's classic "Jolene" — except in this case, the wronged blonde fully appreciates the allure of the gal who got her man. —Ann Powers, NPR
FKA twigs
"Room Of Fools"
After a career making boundary-pushing, cerebral pop, the British singer FKA twigs did something new on her club-inspired album EUSEXUA: She focused on what feels good. On "Room of Fools," the artist and professional dancer finds herself not onstage performing to an attentive audience, but anonymous on a crowded dance floor, among strangers making an experience together. "It feels nice," she sings, in bliss. For twigs, that lands like a revelation. —Hazel Cills, NPR
Florry
"First it was a movie, then it was a book"
On the opening song of their recent album, Sounds Like…, the Philly rockers of Florry continue to wear their Neil Young influences on their sleeves in only the best way. It draws on Crazy Horse guitar energy disguised as an Americana Southern indie-rock rager, with lead singer and guitarist Francie Medosch's beautiful off-kilter vocals front and center. —Bruce Warren, WXPN
Robert Forster
"Tell It Back to Me"
Nearly five decades into his career, Forster has written dozens upon dozens of great songs in The Go-Betweens and solo, some of them even perfect. Count this among the latter — a jangly pop gem with taut guitar melodies and the nuance of an entire romantic life sketched in minutes.—Lars Gotrich, NPR
Hannah Frances
"Falling From and Further"
What begins as a typical Americana-styled song soon reveals an uncommon emotional and compositional depth. Saxophone and bass clarinet sit, cheek by jowl, with pedal steel, drums and Frances' eccentric guitar tunings. Her distinctive vocal demeanor, sounding elderly beyond her youth, demands attention with its operatic vaults and lyrics that skirt themes of confrontation and regret. There is no one who sounds like Hannah Frances or her singular blend of folk, prog-rock and jazz. —Tom Huizenga, NPR
George Fu
Passacaglia on a Theme by Radiohead
The searing guitar riff that opens Radiohead's "Airbag" was stuck in George Xiaoyuan Fu's head for some time and eventually became the foundational bass line for the pianist's own rigorous reworking of the song. Fu offers a thorough deconstruction of the material throughout his cavalcade of adventurous variations, concussive climaxes and evaporating trills. Within this eight-minute tour de force, you keep wondering: Where will he take us next? —Tom Huizenga, NPR
Fuerza Regida
"Marlboro Rojo"
"Marlboro Rojo" smolders with Fuerza Regida's signature blend of gritty corridos, smoky swagger and lived-in storytelling. Rooted in the ranchos and trenches that shaped the group, the track moves between heartbreak and defiance, its hypnotic groove and raw vocals making it an addictive, unfiltered standout. —Eryka, KALW
Fust
"Spangled"
The ghost buildings of the American South, disappeared by redevelopment, echo with lost voices. North Carolina's Fust goes fully anthemic in this elegy for a torn-down hospital sung by a soul who once lay in one of its adjustable beds. "I feel like a sparkler that's been thrown off a roof," he wails, invisible and transcendent, as the guitars rise like a monument. —Ann Powers, NPR
Geese
"Taxes"
Geese was a cult phenomenon in 2025. Even Nick Cave said "all worry is laid to waste" when listening to the rock band. Here, lead singer Cameron Winter is a martyr, begging for crucifixion over the banal act of filing his taxes. The band rips the sky open, hitting the punchline. —Justin Barney, Nashville Public Radio
Gelli Haha
"Bounce House"
"Bounce House" turns growing pains into glitter, blending wobbling analog effects with a rush of playful chaos. It feels like a kid's party viewed through a kaleidoscope, but beneath the silliness is a sharp songwriter arriving with total confidence. A bright, addictive debut that refuses to tone itself down. —Alejandro Cohen, KCRW
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
(feat. Anderson .Paak)
"Ensalada"
Only Pusha T has rapped more prolifically about cocaine than Freddie Gibbs over the last 15 years, but the former can't match his junior for pathos. Case in point: "Ensalada," which milks a sublime Alchemist loop to survey the ills of hustling, his rapidfire cadences seeming to betray an underlying skittishness or remorse. —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
GIVĒON
"MUD"
Crisp, clean and worth playing in the dirt for, the opening track on Beloved brings all the drama. Confronting an ex-lover who sullied his name, the artist sets the mood with strings that seem to be attached directly to his own heart. Leave it to GIVĒON to make an uplifting song about your reputation being dragged down. —Dhanika Pineda, NPR
S.G. Goodman
"Snapping Turtle"
No song this year was more brutally honest, or more sublime, than this one, which takes Laurel Canyon-style confessional songwriting to the hollers of Kentucky. A childhood scene of cruelty and punishment underpins a rageful lament about what and who gets stuck in the small towns whose exit lanes lead nowhere. "Small town is where my mind gets stuck," sings Goodman, surveying the damage, wondering what it takes to heal. —Ann Powers, NPR
googly eyes, Joy Oladokun & August Ponthier
"Jesus and John Wayne"
What would Jesus do? The question is more necessary than ever, for reasons you already know and that we won't be getting into here. This devastating song, by three conflicted Christians, borrows its title from Kristin Kobes Du Mez's book about their evangelical brethren's support for President Trump and documents the singers' decisions to leave the church. The most memorable line, delivered with profanity for impact, is something you'll need to hear to appreciate. —Otis Hart, NPR
Saya Gray
"..THUS IS WHY ( I DON'T SPRING 4 LOVE )"
The start of spring isn't always romantic: To get vibrant blooms and golden leaves, you sometimes have to endure dark days and freezing rain. But if you stay present through it all, you can learn something about commitment. "You woke up yesterday," the inventive artist Saya Gray sings of heartbreak on this folk-pop song. "I watched the seasons change." —Elle Mannion, NPR
Greentea Peng
"TARDIS (hardest)"
Over the booming drums of "TARDIS," Greentea Peng declares — almost like a mantra — "There are no insecure masters; No successful half-hearters." She ties themes of gratitude, community and motivation into the lead single from TELL DEM IT'S SUNNY, her first full-length project since 2021. Despite the dark sonics of the album, Peng shines throughout with a tenacious and defiant sense of self. —Justus Sanchez, KNKX
HAIM
"Relationships"
"What's all this talk about relationships?" feels like the question an alien would ask if it came to Earth and didn't get what was going on. But after listening to HAIM's "Relationships," I am also that alien, wondering what the word even means, what the thing even means, what the real deal is with relationships as the song jerks forward and back, questions itself then speeds forward, just like, well, a relationship. —Zoe Kurland, Marfa Public Radio
Marc-André Hamelin
Tip
This brilliantly executed musical puzzler asks us to "name that tune" throughout its gently rollicking nine minutes. With utmost taste and a sly, precise performance by pianist Marc-André Hamelin, composer John Oswald has seamlessly stitched several dozen colorful threads of classical, pop and jazz themes into this piece. From Beethoven's "Moonlight" sonata to "Nature Boy," I spot around 20 references, but it seems like just the tip of the iceberg. How many do you hear? —Tom Huizenga, NPR
Lauren Henderson
"Bold"
Featuring first-call musicians in pianist Sullivan Fortner, vibraphonist Joel Ross and bassist Dezron Douglas, Sonidos is Lauren Henderson's finest recording to date. The singer and composer's soulful yet understated voice is demonstrated on the original composition "Bold," which she sings at barely above a whisper, conveying sensuality and directness without guile or affectation. —Kim Berry, KUVO Jazz
Audrey Hobert
"Sue me"
As any good rule follower knows, "Being a saint is exhausting." Avant-garde pop newcomer Audrey Hobert sings that line in the "Sue me" pre-chorus before detailing her messy desires. The cheeky verses are delivered stream-of-consciousness style over a pulsing beat that somehow makes a line like "sue me I wanna be UH! / sue me I wanna be YEAH!" hit so hard. —Elle Mannion, NPR
I'm With Her
(Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan and Sara Watkins)
"Ancient Light"
I'm With Her taps into a rare kind of magic. "Ancient Light" immediately draws us in with warm, timeless tones and angular, geometric rhythm. The coven of master musicians brings everything into focus with a cryptic, lyrical meditation on surrender and our place in the natural world. —John Inghram, Mountain Stage
Gabriel Jacoby
"the one"
There's some kind of voodoo taking place within this song's sound world, which is sultry and distinctly country-fried, visceral but polished, funky yet oh so clean. As the song casts its spell, you can almost feel the magnetic pull that Jacoby's feeling. "Come get invasive," he chirps, seeking a closeness so unavoidable it comes to be nearly symbiotic. —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
Jade
"Plastic Box"
A spiritual cousin of Robyn's "Dancing on My Own" with the roles swapped: Our narrator's new relationship is going great, or at least it would be if she could just stop thinking about her lover's glamorous ex. JADE's girl-group pedigree is key here, expertly balancing tones as she admits the truth: "I'm jealous, obsessive, and I wanna burn all your history." —Daoud Tyler-Ameen, NPR
Jane Remover
"Dreamflasher"
It is such a perfect twist of fate that digicore, the hyperpop offshoot defined by its chaotic, cybernetic maximalism, was born on a platform called Discord. And there is no grander ambassador than Jane Remover, who turns that dissonance into a flood of dopamine hits. Just take "Dreamflasher," which is like strapping subwoofers to a slot machine, and then experiencing the whole bass-boosted phantasmagoria as a zonked-out AR video game simulation. —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
Jim Legxacy
"Stick"
"No More 'I Love You's'," but make it drill? Delivering on the genre collectivism of his "Black British music" rallying cry, the ascendant U.K. rapper is an aerial dancer here, whirling between half-sung catch phrases on a ribbon of hummed chords and never seeming to touch the ground for long. —Daoud Tyler-Ameen, NPR
Durand Jones & The Indications
"Paradise"
I love a good two-step track. Add in Durand Jones' buttery falsetto and some effect-drenched backup vocals, and I'm floating. This record clearly worships at the throne of Sade, but isn't a cover of the 1988 hit: This "Paradise" forges its own luscious path to a whole new Shangri-La. —Ayana Contreras, KUVO Jazz
Valerie June
"Endless Tree"
From the drumbeat that sounds like a beating heart to the uniqueness of her voice, there's a lot to love about this song. The message about hope and the possibility of peace resonates, particularly in a year like 2025. "May you feel moved after hearing this song," she sings. Absolutely, Valerie June! —Jon Adler, Radio Milwaukee
Kehlani
"Folded"
"Folded" is infectious, and Kehlani is showing us all that her R&B bag is full of music that makes us feel something. The multi-layered track makes you reassess your own love life, as you dissect the lyrics for this ambiguous love. "Folded" has set the tone to expect nothing less than R&B supremacy in 2026. —Jason "SugaBear" Harris, The Drop (Rocky Mountain Public Media)
Kokoroko
"Just Can't Wait"
In Urhobo, Kokoroko means "be strong" or "hard to break." Similar words of encouragement breathe a collective understanding into Tuff Times Never Last, honoring the dualities we face in life. "Just Can't Wait" celebrates a lighter note: a love long savored, radiating with blissful anticipation and sweeter than candy rain. —Abi Clark, KUVO
Natalia Lafourcade
(feat. El David Aguilar)
"Como Quisiera Quererte"
Cancionera translates to "singer," but it's also the name of Natalia Lafourcade's alter ego and an achingly beautiful collection of songs that sway between jazz ballads and Mexican boleros. "Como Quisiera Quererte" pulses along to a classic Mexican waltz, and this story of tragic love is so artfully done that Lafourcade's name should now be mentioned alongside the most iconic of Mexican bolero songwriters. —Felix Contreras, NPR
Bryce Leatherwood
"Where The Bar Is"
Country music, at its core, is an empathetic soundtrack for working people of all stripes. And there's nothing more relatable than blowing off steam at the end of a long week. This after-hours anthem by a former champion of The Voice straddles the line between bro-country and the neotraditional appeal of George Strait, complete with a key-change crescendo. —Otis Hart, NPR
Ledisi
"BLKWMN"
A powerful anthem honoring the strength, resilience and emotional depth of Black women. Ledisi celebrates the historic and ongoing fight for dignity, love and visibility, acknowledging both pain and triumph. The song insists that Black women deserve respect, recognition and freedom to exist fully, boldly and unapologetically. —Bella Scratch, The Drop (Rocky Mountain Public Media)
Rolf Lislevand
"Passacaglia al modo mio"
In our noisy, agitated world, Rolf Lislevand asks us to slow down and listen to the quiet, yet astonishing colors and textures of the lute — specifically in this song, the traditional Renaissance lute's beefier, longer-necked sibling, the archlute. Inspired by the 17th century theme and variations passacaglia, the Norwegian lutenist crafts a smoldering, mocha-colored descending bassline and, near the close, pays homage to a few of his faves by plucking fragments of Bach, Beethoven and Keith Jarrett. —Tom Huizenga, NPR
Little Simz
"Free"
Every time this song played this year, I was inspired to embrace my true self in all aspects of life. It reflects on love and freedom, serving as a reminder of one's true essence, often masked by societal pressures and personal fears. It's a call to live authentically in order to succeed. —Aaron Monty, WNXP
Lucius
"Gold Rush"
Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, the two singers at the center of Lucius, have always had a gift for crafting earworm melodies. But "Gold Rush," which comes nearly 20 years after they started working together, is one of their all-time best. With a funk-fueled, thumping bassline and fearless two-part harmonies, they dish on the sugar high and inevitable crash of love and obsessions. —Robin Hilton, NPR
Madison McFerrin
"Ain't It Nice"
On her sophomore album, independent artist Madison McFerrin encompasses the passion, transformation and rebirth that Scorpio season is known for. The sensual house beat, paired with her unmistakable vocals, layered harmonies and seductive lyrics get your body moving and make you notice that Madison made it through "on the other side." —Margarita Azucar, KALW
Mereba
"Phone Me"
Marian Mereba, a gauzy R&B singer who releases music under her last name, came up with a chorus so strong, so infectious, so memorable, that this song barely bothers with verses. (There are six renditions of the former and just one of the latter.) It hardly matters when Mereba delivers the lyrics with the sort of reassurance only a best friend can provide. —Otis Hart, NPR
Metro Boomin feat. Quavo, Breskii, YKNIECE and DJ Spinz
"Take Me Thru Dere"
Rising from the smoldering ash of prolonged RICO trials and premature deaths did not come easy for Atlanta in 2025. The city had to get scrappy. More dirty bird than mythological phoenix. It took a retro reinvention by way of ATL's futuristic past, plus a slew of young, bout-it women shouldering the load, to take us thru dere. Leading the home team in assists is Metro Boomin and Quavo, but this baptism by fire — and all 12 million-and-counting YouTube views — belongs to Breskii's rallying cry of a hook and YKNIECE's twerk-positive, all-booties-matter verse. Yup. Atlanna dun dunn it again. —Rodney Carmichael, NPR
Mobb Deep
"Pour the Henny"
To make sense of Mobb Deep's dark, ominous oeuvre, it helps to understand that all the duo's ever been after is tranquility. You can hear it on "Pour the Henny," as Hav turns an Ennio Morricone sample into an angelic chorus and Prodigy raps, "I lived a full life / Don't cry for me." Together, for the last time, they manage to defy the posthumous album curse with an Infinite testament that proves, in life and death, they've finally achieved perfect peace. —Rodney Carmichael, NPR
Mocky
"Music Will Explain"
Like many of us, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer Mocky has been thinking about AI a lot lately. As he pondered the point of it all, he came up with "Music Will Explain," both as a mantra and as the title of one of the year's most infectious celebrations of the human voice. —Brian Burns, WUNC Music
Model/Actriz
"Doves"
It's hard not to focus on the incessant, industrial drone that Model/Actriz wields so well. But here, Cole Haden tells a self-conscious confessional so haunting and mesmerizing that the brash pulse becomes nothing but a light metronome. "Doves," he repeats through labored breathing, whispering the word with envy. Maybe he wants to fly — but ultimately he decides to sit instead and "make a rapture out of waiting." —Dora Levite, NPR
Momma
"I Want You (Fever)"
It may be song two on Welcome to My Blue Sky, but it delivers the punch of an album opener. A worthy addition to any '90s alt-rock playlist with its dizzying guitar riffs, dreamy vocal harmonies and an endless catchy chorus sandwiched between Garbage and Pixies. Pure slacker attitude, no poseurs allowed. —Shawn Lucero, Colorado Public Radio's Indie 102.3
Monaleo
"We on Dat"
Sun Tzu said that the acme of skill is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Monaleo ain't buyin' it. This song reaffirms her personal position: Throwin' them 'bows is its own distinct artistry, and brings greater satisfaction to boot. Splitting the difference between Ludacris' "Move B****" and Slim Thug's "Like a Boss," the cut's thumping bass and slap-happy delivery seems to mime the force behind an impending beatdown. —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
Machel Montano
"PARDY"
No one makes Caribbean anthems like Machel Montano, whose biography is appropriately titled King Of Soca. "PARDY," the winner of this year's Trinidad and Tobago Carnival "road march" competition, is the sort of energy boost that typically requires skirting the law. If you want a real taste of the chaos of Carnival, check out the seven-minute "Road Mix" version. —Otis Hart, NPR
Mystery Tiime (The Maghreban feat. Emanative)
"Everything"
Ayman Rostom (aka The Maghreban) takes the plunge and sings for the first time under his new alias, Mystery Tiime. Featuring percussion from Emanative and saxophone by Kotoa, "Everything" is a sentimental take on death and escape. Rostom's influences of jazz and new wave fuse together for a refreshing, danceable ride. —Barry Leonhard, WYSO
Noname feat. Devin Morrison
"Hundred Acres"
Ain't no freeing the land without breaking free of the shackles on our imagination. For Noname, touching grass, raising a blunt and "eating honey with Winnie on Hundred Acre Woods" is the ultimate escapist manifesto. Blurring the line between fantasy and friction on the first single from her forthcoming album, Cartoon Radio, she delivers a liberatory bop for colored folk sick of compromising their get up and go. We outside. —Rodney Carmichael, NPR
Nourished by Time
"Max Potential"
Nourished by Time confronts their fear of the future in this resounding anthem of 2025. Looking for answers in the past, the Baltimore artist samples Labi Siffre's "Saved." When man's desire fails, Marcus Brown resolves "Max Potential" may be found in the return of what they know to be real: love. —Carolann Grzybowski, Radio Milwaukee
Oklou
"blade bird"
The French artist oklou's album choke enough is full of eerie, nostalgic electronica, but its last song, "blade bird," is a grounded outlier and also its best. A twisted acoustic lullaby, the song's image of a bird with a blade held to its feathers as an allegory for not stifling those we love in a relationship lingers long after choke enough's end. —Hazel Cills, NPR
Arvo Pärt
Nunc dimittis
A low drone ushers us into Arvo Pärt's transportive choral work, based on a tiny but moving scene in the Bible where an elderly man, having finally seen the Christ child, can die in peace. Pärt's ethereal music, with the registers in the Vox Clamantis choir delicately folding into one another, creates a supernatural portal between this world and the next, depicted with childlike wonder and reverence, yet tinged with apprehension that creeps into dissonant harmonies. —Tom Huizenga, NPR
Perfume Genius
"It's a Mirror"
Mike Hadreas wrote this song in a headspace of self-isolating loops, retreating into dark thoughts that only made him want to withdraw further from the world. Rinse and repeat, until the loop becomes an ouroboros. There are few more intimate depictions of such seclusion: as twinged Americana opens upon a self-lacerating performance. —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
PinkPantheress
"Stateside"
PinkPantheress began as a url pop star, but you could think of "Stateside" marking a crossing of the threshold: from #veryonline to fully out in the open. The effect is twofold: The song is the most dance floor-ready single in her catalog, the artist usually fiddling with club sounds for bedroom listening, and it's literally about flying someone out (transatlantic, no less). Nothing gets you outside quite like being down bad can. —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
Pluto feat. YKNIECE
"WHIM WHAMIEE"
"WHIM WHAMIEE" feels like Atlanta trap kismet: A 21-year-old hairstylist stumbling upon a YouTube beat that sampled D4L rapper Mook B's "Whim Wham," a song traced back from her favorite local dance. Her homage is intergenerationally infectious, the mix of icy Zaytoven production and buoyant, drawled flows conjuring the spirit of Freaknik. —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
Ken Pomeroy
"Stranger"
This subdued account of inching toward resilience from 23-year-old Cherokee singer-songwriter Pomeroy shows why she's a generational talent. As carefully constructed as beading on a belt, it hits like the kind of stray insight that changes your life — starting with the most devastating couplet I heard all year: "The wind keeps on hitting me like my mother used to / Unlike her, I feel it doesn't want to." —Ann Powers, NPR
Margo Price
"Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down"
She wrote this "as a battle cry for the downtrodden — a reminder to keep going, even when the world tries to grind you down." It's up to you who the bastards are, but it was quite the coincidence that this was the last performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! before he was briefly suspended this year. —Martin Anderson, WNCW
Adrian Quesada
(feat. Mireya Ramos)
"Cuatro Vidas"
At one point, Adrian Quesada needed four bands to match his creative output; nowadays, he picks and chooses carefully. This year, he released a second volume of Boleros Psicodélicos, jammed with Alt.Latino faves on vocals. Hard to choose one, but Mireya Ramos' heartbreaking take on "Cuatro Vidas" recalls Eydie Gormé's '60s classic while giving it a contemporary, tearful shimmer. —Felix Contreras, NPR
RAYE
"WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!"
In a word? Irresistible. Perfectly executed on record and whenever performed by RAYE with her sharp backing vocalists and bevy of horns, this song combines 20th century girl group elegance with early aughts Amy Winehouse realness to empathize with the modern yearner jaded by dating and waiting for their person. —Celia Gregory, WNXP
Resavoir & Matt Gold feat. Mei Semones
"Diversey Beach"
Resavoir is Chicago producer, trumpeter and composer Will Miller. In this jazzy, Latin-tinged groove, mundane worries like "buying a couch" evoke the lovely ebb and flow of a vast freshwater sea (in this case, Lake Michigan, where you can find the song's namesake harbor). The suggested scale makes most problems feel small. —Ayana Contreras, KUVO Jazz
Jobi Riccio
"Wildfire Season"
All year I watched this song convert audiences to Riccio's brainy revitalization of heartland rock, in concert and across the internet. A cry of passion inspired by the threat climate crisis poses to her native Colorado, "Wildfire Season" smolders and sparks, its central riff resurfacing and finally overtaking everything. Protest music at its finest. —Ann Powers, NPR
Rico Nasty
"ON THE LOW"
Has there been a more potent combo of a G-rated chorus and blush-worthy bars? The DMV rapper, who has been known to call herself "Trap Lavigne," is Disney material one second and Skinemax the next. Throw in the hook's Satriani synths and you have a pop-punk-rap song that feels like a new chemical compound. —Otis Hart, NPR
Robyn
"Dopamine"
In a year of stomp-clap hits like Alex Warren's "Ordinary" and the doldrums of Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia," it might seem wrong to release pop music that, I don't know, at least attempts to raise a listener's heartbeat. But not to Robyn. On the slow-building "Dopamine," her first solo song in seven years, the Swedish fembot sounds like she's rebooting, fired up by romantic chemistry, ready to give us something to dance to. —Hazel Cills, NPR
Carrie Rodriguez
"Miles Away"
In early 2025, musician Carrie Rodriguez collaborated with author Oscar Cásares and photographer Joel Salcido to chronicle life along the southern border in the stage production and album Postcards from the Border. Rodriguez said she wanted the language on her songs to flow from English to Spanish just as the Rio Grande flows from the U.S. and Mexico. "Miles Away" sings of those who owe allegiance to cultures on either side of the border even when they're "miles away." —Felix Contreras, NPR
Royel Otis
"moody"
Just put it on repeat — or even better, give me an endless extended remix. With its heavy Primal Scream vibe, creeping verses that explode into a soaring refrain and the cheeky lyrics from a character who's done no wrong, the Sydney duo absolutely nail it. Haven't you lived this couple's quarrel? I have! — Delphine Blue, WFUV
Rusowsky
"SOPHIA"
It's been a big year for boys making pop hits about yearning. But no one's nailed quiet vulnerability quite like Madrid's classically trained, experimentally driven producer Rusowsky. Lyrically, "SOPHIA" has all the makings of a 2002 Aventura track: sugary sweet, almost overly sappy in its pleas for a kiss. But filtered through layers of Y2K synths and drum machines, it becomes a shimmery, retrofuturistic ballad fit for sparking a stealthy dancefloor makeout session. —Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR
Saba (prod. No ID)
"Woes of The World"
This highlight from the long-anticipated joint album From the Private Collection of Saba and No ID takes us on a journey of self-reliance against a fraught backdrop. Saba confronts the reality of known hardship while looking his own success in the eye, an emotional dissonance laid bare over a trance-like beat from fellow Chicago native No ID. —Sonali Mehta, NPR
Saint Levant
"WAZIRA"
After 2024's explicitly political album, Diera, the Palestinian Algerian pop star Saint Levant returned to his loverboy roots this year, but with new depth and awareness. Cowritten with Palestinian percussionist Fares Anbar and Egyptian guitarist Khafage, this ode to a female "ambassador but for feelings" blends Palestinian rhythms and a shake of desert blues into a romantic celebration infused with the joy of returning from exile. —Ann Powers, NPR
Sharp Pins
"I Can't Stop"
Sharp Pins is the jangly GBV-esque project of Chicago's Kai Slater (also of post-punk project Lifeguard). This song comes from the expanded version of the glum-yet-glimmering Radio DDR, where Slater's "home-punk" songs roll just right. Heart-warmingly retro and refreshingly modern; expertly-crafted, yet never too fussy. —Erin Wolf, Radio Milwaukee
Skrilla
"Doot Doot (6 7)"
Surely you've heard of "6 7," even if you haven't heard "Doot Doot (6 7)." The in-joke of the year originates here, with Philly trap so inescapable it spawned an unkillable monster, with Skrilla even popping up as the special guest at a Natasha Bedingfield show. However you feel about the trend, the song is undeniable, and honestly probably intrinsic to whatever humor may be derived from the meme itself — campy and creepy, like the best classic horror cinema, it's drill dressed up in a Jason Voorhees mask. —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
Smerz
"You got time and I got money"
Busy streets, hazy clubs and bedrooms full of yearning set the scene for this Norwegian pop duo's 2025 breakthrough. On this lush and lazy groove straight out of Khruangbin's catalog, Catharina Stoltenberg's sleek and nonchalant vocals conjure that intoxicating feeling of being head over heels. —Barry Leonhard, WYSO
Sombr
"12 to 12"
This standout song from 2025's signature "sad boy" has an undeniable '80s FM urgency. The adrenaline rush of that driving groove and dramatic piano renders the rest of the track inconsequential, but hey, that's pop for you. (And it segues perfectly on a playlist between "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears and Radiohead's "15 Step.") —Bruce Warren, WXPN
Moses Sumney feat. Syd and Meshell Ndegeocello
"Hey Girl(s)"
With desire dripping from every sultry syllable, this unexpected trio conjures a scene where trust and patience promise pleasure fulfilled. It's a flirty, blushworthy wink that leans into the delicious tension between passion, restraint and consent by delicately interweaving the signature styles of these three inimitable artists. —Nikki Birch, NPR
Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo' feat. Ruby Amanfu
"Room on the Porch"
A bold yet laid-back statement on inclusivity, delivered with a warm, playful melody. The Americana stalwarts, along with co-writer Ruby Amanfu's joyful, inviting voice, paint a picture of real Southern hospitality; people gathering to celebrate honesty among friends, family and anyone who happens by. Let this be our aspiration for 2026. —Ana Lee, WMOT
Hope Tala
"Phoenix"
This simple, skeletal paean to BFFs could melt the internet's coldest hearts. And if you don't have a BFF, "Phoenix" is a far better substitute than ChatGPT. Hope Tala will have you back on your feet in 2 minutes and 39 seconds. It's no wonder that three of her songs have appeared on Barack Obama's annual playlists. —Otis Hart, NPR
Zach Top
"Between the Ditches"
The latest addition to country music's time-honored confessional canon. Like George Strait and Keith Whitley before him, Top delivers sentiment that transcends the years in a simple, emotive and meaningful telling of a hard-lived life ("I've been woke up by more than one guard rail"). —Jessie Scott, WMOT
Tracey feat. Riko Dan
"Sex Life"
We've chosen the slightly less profane version of this carnal mantra for all you pearl-clutchers out there. While the salacious lyrics elevate "Sex Life" from tune to chuuuune!, the anonymous electronic duo from London earned a spot on this list thanks to their production skills. These skull-rattling subs and celestial synths are what hi-res audio was made for. —Otis Hart, NPR
AJ Tracey feat. Jorja Smith
"Crush"
If flirting is a racket sport, it really helps to have a rally partner like Jorja Smith. No shade to Tracey, one of U.K. rap's pack leaders, who toughens up a sparkling, chipmunk'd Brandy flip as he makes his move. And yet it's Smith who delivers a show-stealing performance, not just shooing him off with her searing soul, but making snarky rap repartee look easy, too. —Sheldon Pearce, NPR
Jeff Tweedy
"New Orleans"
One of those songs that means more the less you think about it. The moody atmosphere and mystic meditation depict a funeral parade, but if you let that squiggly guitar wriggle its way beyond sadness and fear, the Earth opens wide. —Lars Gotrich, NPR
Turnstile
"LOOK OUT FOR ME"
The ambitious scope of NEVER ENOUGH in composite. In under seven minutes, the hairpin turns that previously defined Turnstile's genre-agnostic hardcore come into prismatic view, gliding from anthemic riffs and gossamer shoegaze to dreamy R&B and blissed-out techno. —Lars Gotrich, NPR
Summer Walker feat. Latto and Doja Cat
"Go Girl"
When R&B singer-songwriter Summer Walker channels her inner rapper, it might be time to put your man on a shorter leash. "Eat it up / Whole plate / Got your hook / I'm bait," she rhymes over a seductive beat. Baby-mama drama and sidepiece antics aside, independence has always been Walker's calling card — but demonstrating the power of the P is not a solitary mission, with Latto and Doja contributing equally sticky verses. If Finally Over It is Walker's emancipation proclamation, "Go Girl" is the self-love mantra of a woman ready to flaunt her worth. —Rodney Carmichael, NPR
Patrick Watson
"Peter and the Wolf"
After suffering a vocal chord hemorrhage at the end of 2022, Patrick Watson was told he might never speak again, let alone sing. But after a year and a half of uncertainty, his voice came back — and it sounds as beguiling as ever. "Peter and the Wolf," like much of his music, flutters about in magical ways, full of wondrous sounds and a fairytale narrative, bristling with both a creeping unease and profound beauty. —Robin Hilton, NPR
Wednesday
"Townies"
When you flee your hometown, there's a tendency to forget what's in your rearview mirror. But if you stick around, you might find yourself extending an olive branch to your high school frenemies and even your teenage self. North Carolinian Karly Hartzman captures that sentiment here with catchy, country-influenced storytelling and the rock-star ability to stretch the word "died" into nine syllables. —Elle Mannion, NPR
Wet Leg
"catch these fists"
Wet Leg's 2021 breakthrough single "Chaise Longue" was funny, sexy and smart, but in a detached sort of way. Frontwomen Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers shed their sense of remove in this spiky, infectious, quotable ode to a relationship where love pales next to one-sided, bare-knuckle combat. —Stephen Thompson, NPR
Asher White
"Beers with my name on them"
Younger artists have been obliterating genres for years, but few can keep you guessing or leave you wanting more quite like Asher White. On "Beers with my name on them," White sprints breathlessly from fuzzy guitar rock to jazz and crushing, four-on-the-floor electro pop, before landing back down in some sort of uneasy organ ballad. If 2025 was a year of mental and emotional whiplash, then this was its soundtrack. —Robin Hilton, NPR
Ben Williams
"Ballet (for the Elephant in the Room)"
Accompanied by the pensive woodwinds of Hailey Niswanger, jazz bassist Ben Williams gives the song's parenthetical idiom a pseudo-classical, "sort of political satire" soundtrack, punctuated by some kitchen-table reflections on racism, division and the Black political movement by his mother, Bennie Barnes-Williams. —Nikki Birch, NPR
Hayley Williams
"True Believer"
Rage has always been in Hayley Williams' songwriting toolbelt, but never wielded with such an exacting long view. Over unsettling production that recalls Nine Inch Nails, Paramore's frontperson weeps and seethes for Nashville, a city built on religious systems that still justify colonization and racism. A modern Southern gothic masterpiece. —Lars Gotrich, NPR
billy woods feat. Bruiser Wolf
"BLK XMAS"
billy woods' magnificent album GOLLIWOG plays like a horror movie, with this song as its most harrowing scene. Detroit poet and MC Bruiser Wolf sets the stage, describing the constant perils of life in the hood, before woods tells in heartbreaking detail the story of a family evicted a week before Christmas: the cold, arduous crosstown trek to a shelter, the neighbors scavenging the personal effects left behind. It's the most compelling gut punch you'll hear this year, from two of hip-hop's most talented writers. —Michael Pollard, WNXP
yeule
"Dudu"
Nat Ćmiel has always been an enigma on-mic, their emotional identity merged hazily with the machines that warp and crush their voice. "Dudu" inverts the formula: vocals raw and out front, but singing a childlike hook with a Casio's cold resolve, smearing messy heartbreak scenes into the shape of a nursery rhyme. —Daoud Tyler-Ameen, NPR
Lola Young
"Spiders"
The 24-year-old British singer-songwriter Lola Young is best known for endearingly quirky and candid pop hits like the viral "Messy," on which she brushes off anyone who tries to curb her too-muchness. But her raw, dark performance on the brokenhearted "Spiders" is one of the most memorable of the year, as she transforms a simple request to kill spiders in her bedroom into a desperate plea for a love to finally make her whole. —Hazel Cills, NPR
Brandee Younger
"Gadabout Season"
In a continually updated interpretation of jazz — and of the harp within that context — this lilting tidal flow displays that of a restless seeker set on the discovery of new frontiers. Younger merges Alice Coltrane-inspired cosmic swirls with precise, pop-like bursts to boldly tip-toe around a modern framework. —Liz Warner, WDET
Yung Bredda (prod. Full Blown)
"The Greatest Bend Over (Take It Easy)"
"Sir, you're gonna let me cook and you're gonna love it." That's the vibe of Young Bredda's collaboration with celebrated production duo Full Blown, creators of The Big Links Riddim. This runaway hit, set to the most popular soca instrumental of 2025, eclipsed hot singles by its producers, Machel Montano and Kes. The riddim? Seductive. Chorus? Catchy. Who's in charge? Ladies. Small wonder it bent knees and wound waistlines all carnival season. —Nikki Birch, NPR
Listen to all of our 125 favorite songs of 2025 on the streaming platform of your choice here.
Graphic illustration by David Mascha for NPR.
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