When the dust settles on 2025, what songs will remain in heavy rotation? We look back at a dizzying amount of music and share some of our picks for the best tracks of the year.

What you'll hear in this episode is an incredibly incomplete list that obviously just scratches the surface of all the incredible music that came out this year. For a more comprehensive breakdown of what we loved in 2025, check out NPR Music’s list of the 125 best songs. 

Artists and songs featured on this episode:
1. Dijon: “Yamaha,” from ‘Baby’
2. Nourished By Time: “Max Potential,” from ‘The Passionate Ones’
3. Patrick Watson: “Peter and the Wolf,” from ‘Uh Oh’
4. FKA twigs: “Room of Fools,” from ‘EUSEXUA’
5. PinkPantheress: “Stateside,” from ‘Fancy That’
6. Asher White: “Beers with my name on them,” from ‘8 Tips for Full Catastrophe Living’
7. Wednesday: “Townies,” from ‘Bleeds’
8. Gabriel Jacoby: “the one,” from ‘gutta child’
9. Olafur Arnalds & Talos: “We Didn’t Know We Were Ready (feat. Niamh Regan & Ye Vagabonds),” from ‘A Dawning’

Enjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [email protected]

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy