Best Songs of 2025

If the music we loved in 2025 tells us anything, it’s that this was a great year for a reset. Everywhere we looked—and listened—our biggest stars seemed to be offering truths wrought from self-reflection and even actionable items to right our personal ships. Relationships, to be specific, were at the heart of so many eye-opening and also foot-tapping moments, like Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild”, Gracie Abrams’ “That’s So True” and Olivia Dean’s “Man I Need”. See that—even superstars get frustrated. But it’s not as if they’re unwilling to share solutions, like on Kehlani’s “Folded”, a tale of letting go of that which does not serve you. So many of our faves saw fit to look inward this year, realising that’s where the magic is—like Lady Gaga on “Abracadabra”, or when BLACKPINK told us what true sisterhood feels (and sounds) like on “JUMP”. There were songs about loss (Bad Bunny’s “DtMF”), but just as frequently ones that celebrated what it means to be alive, our heroes enjoying the fruits of their labour, like Drake’s “NOKIA”, Clipse’s “Ace Trumpets” or CORTIS’ “GO!”. Like a conversation with a cherished friend, so many of the songs we loved in 2025 delivered wisdom, reflection and, inevitably, release. These are the best songs of the year across all genres as chosen by our editors.