Songs of the Year, 2025 edition

intro

I love music and this year has been a great year for music with unexpected sounds, old bands making new music (or remastering old classics) and amazing songs. I wanted to track here my top 10 songs of 2025. I wanted to do 25 or 30 but the list would have been too long. This though will give you an idea of some of my favorite albums (that list will probably be next) and at the very least give you some songs to add to a playlist.

To give a little insight into how I'm making this list, I came up with the songs and then ordered them and am writing a bit as I listen to each. In that way you can get some raw thoughts about the songs.

the songs

1 - La Yugular by Rosalía

This song was by a longshot the most moving song of 2025. It made me feel in the best possible way. Everything about it is integrated. The title (The Jugular in English referring to the Islamic verse about G-d being closer than our jugular vein). The driving percussive beat mimicking the beat of the heart. The gentle strum of the guitar as the singer contemplates tearing down heaven and destroying hell. The building poem that the song culminates in contemplating the vastness of the divine, the weight of the soul and how it all fits. It's a masterpiece of a song (and a spiritual experience).

2 - Wrath by Gore.

I keep coming back to this one. The singer's voice is beautiful, passionate and a tour de force. It also makes wonderful use of harsh vocals (which means it's not going to be for everyone). The screaming isn't out of place or dominating - musically it's all constructed very well.

3 - Reliquia by Rosalía

Another song from Rosalía's album LUX. This is another that's easy to identify with. It's inspired by a South American saint who was known for leaving relics behind at all the places she visited. In the song, Rosalía identifies all the pieces of herself she's left behind at the different places she's been. As someone who has spent significant amounts of time living overseas in multiple countries (and having visited many more) it's easy to identify the ways places shape us and move us and how we leave pieces of ourselves in them as we move along. My favorite part of the song is the very end. There's a sound that (to me) sounds like the turn of the page followed by hopeful driving instrumental that just feels like the start of a new hopeful season of being shaped by new places and adventures.

4 - No Halo by Sorority Noise

I'm cheating a bit with this because it didn't come out in 2025 (but I did discover it in 2025). There isn't really any deeper meaning in it (for me) - it's just a perfect post-hardcore track. It would have probably been song of the year for me when it actually came out. It's just a solid track.

5 - Porcelana by Rosalía

Sorry for another Rosalía track - I just love this album so much. Musically this one is really dramatic, which is unsurprising given the context; it's inspired by a Japanese nun who, upon being denied entry to a Monastery because her beauty would be a distraction, scarred her face to be accepted. The instrumentation is dark and it's an exploration of feminine side of things that I'll never fully understand but appreciate learning about to be a better human.

6 - Infinite Source by Deftones

Private Music by the Deftones is another album that took me by surprise and this is the stand out track on it for me. For me, it's tons of nostalgia. It brings back late high school and college listening to hardcore and post-hardcore tracks feeling all angsty about life.

7 - Divinize by Rosalía

This is the last song from LUX on the list. Promise. I don't have particularly deep thoughts about it - it's just a really good track (and maybe one of the more danceable pop tracks on the album?).

8 - Split Personality Blues by Matt Maeson

I find Matt Maeson to be particularly engaging as his tracks sound (and feel) so vulnerable and authentic. Those feelings come through on this track. It's been a season and this speaks volumes: "And there ain't enough shit I could do to break through / And there ain't enough blood I could bleed out for you."

9 - Gethsemane by Sleep Token

I expected more of these to be on my list back when this album came out but it hasn't stuck as much as others. This tracks stays a standout though. It's really good. It's epic really.

10 - Not Afraid by Indigo de Souza

Indigo de Souza makes great alternative pop music and this particular track makes for a great anthem: "I'm not afraid of dying anymore / I'm not afraid of living either!"

11 - Kid by Great Grandpa

This here is some great indie rock with strengths. It's gorgeous, airy, complex - just a really great song. *"I just wanna stumble hard / And tell you everything’s fine again."*

12 - Green Street by Fleshwater

This is some great hardcore / shoegaze music. The album is great (expect to hear more on that soon) but this is probably my favorite from the album. I love the mix of voices and vocal sounds (and screams). It's just really good.

special thanks to CoryD, Jason (jcrabapple), Jason (Creator of the phenomenal Crucial Tracks) & Jason (Coolest politican on social.lol) for the awesome recommendations and encouragement to engage with music again - if you like music follow them on Mastodon. And then Alan who always has amazing music recommendations.