Sam Fender & Olivia Dean taken from the “Rein Me In” video
After several weeks of waiting in the wings, the gorgeous “Rein Me In” by English singer-songwriter Sam Fender and English singer-songwriter Olivia Dean (who won the Best New Artist Grammy earlier this year) ascends to the top of my chart. The song is a re-recorded duet version of the original from Fender’s third studio album People Watching. The original version of “Rein Me In” was released in June 2025 as the sixth single from the album and eventually became Fender’s first song to reach #1 on the UK Singles Chart in February 2026, as well as winning the Brit Award for Song of the Year. In addition to Fender and Dean’s great vocals, I love the beautiful piano, jangly guitar and blaring sax.
Fender debuted the new version during a show at London Stadium in June, bringing Dean on stage to perform it with him. Videos of that performance went viral, and the two performed it again nine days later at Fender’s St. James’ Park concert. Fender announced the official release of the new version on June 20th, stating that Dean “added a female perspective to ‘Rein Me In,’ and I think it’s all the better for it“. The original and duet versions ended up spending a combined 23 non-consecutive weeks at number one, making it the longest-running number-one single in UK music history. The song also topped the charts in Australia and Ireland and reached #2 in New Zealand. It became Fender’s first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 45. “Rein Me In” is his second song to reach #1 on my chart, the first being his 2021 single “Seventeen Going Under”.
In other chart developments of note, The Neighbourhood move into second place with “Private”, while Cage the Elephant‘s “Beaches In Tennessee” and Phoebe Bridgers‘ “Lost Boys” enter the top 10. The sole debut this week, entering at #28, is the enthralling “Marianne”, the new single from the always wonderful Irish rock band Fontaines D.C. The song is the lead single from their forthcoming fifth album Dopamine Chamber, set for release October 16th.
REIN ME IN – Sam Fender & Olivia Dean (3)
PRIVATE – The Neighbourhood (4)
RAGING HALLS – Lyia Meta (1)
DOORS – Noah Kahan (2)
ONLINE – Western Jaguar (6)
THE ENDLESS BORDER – Velvet Jesus (7)
HEART STOP – The Revivalists (8)
NO MORE REGRETS – almost monday (10)
BEACHES IN TENNESSEE – Cage the Elephant (11)
LOST BOYS – Phoebe Bridgers (12)
REPEAT OFFENDER – Gloom is Okay (5)
SELF AWARE – Temper City (9)
FREAKING OUT – Michigander (14)
HOLD ME IN THE DARK – Myles Smith (15)
WE MIGHT AS WELL BE STRANGERS – Weezer feat. Wednesday (17)
I CAN TAKE THE SUN OUT OF THE SKY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (19)
STONE OVER WATER – Death Cab for Cutie (20)
PICKING DRAGON’S POCKETS – Modest Mouse (13)
WE SHOULD TALK – Bleachers (18)
I FEEL HOPE COMING – Alabama Shakes (23)
LOVE ME NOT – Grace Potter (16)
EVERGREEN – Young the Giant 24)
EDGE OF THE EARTH – The Beaches (25)
BEHIND THE LINES OF REASON – Hardwicke Circus (26)
Photo of Lyia and Cha Cha Girl taken from her Facefook account
“Raging Halls” by Malaysian singer-songwriter extraordinaire Lyia Meta remains atop my chart for a second week, while American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan moves into second place with “Doors”. Entering the top 10 is “no more regrets” by San Diego, California-based indie pop band almost monday.
There are three new additions to my chart this week, starting with “Loser” by Australian act Tame Impala, the music project of singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. The song, which debuts at #27, was actually released last September (2025) as the second single from Tame Impala’s fifth album Deadbeat, which dropped a month later, but as with The Beaches’ “Edge of the Earth” is currently appearing on various alternative charts (which heavily influence my own chart). His single “Dracula” spent three weeks at the top of my chart at the beginning of this year.
Entering at #29 is “Window” by legendary American rock band the Foo Fighters. The song is from their 12th studio album Your Favorite Toy, released this past April. And coming in at #30 is “Metastasized”, the latest single by Vancouver, Canada-based indie pop-rock band Bealby Point, who currently consist of Jack Armstrong (lead vocals, guitar), Jordan Studer (bass) and Zack Yeager (drums). I’ve been a big fan of theirs since learning about them in 2021, and have featured them several times on this blog. “Metastasized” will be included on their forthcoming debut album Happiness Frontier.
RAGING HALLS – Lyia Meta (1)
DOORS – Noah Kahan (3)
REIN ME IN – Sam Fender & Olivia Dean (4)
PRIVATE – The Neighbourhood (5)
REPEAT OFFENDER – Gloom is Okay (2)
ONLINE – Western Jaguar (7)
THE ENDLESS BORDER – Velvet Jesus (8)
HEART STOP – The Revivalists (10)
SELF AWARE – Temper City (6)
NO MORE REGRETS – almost monday (11)
BEACHES IN TENNESSEE – Cage the Elephant (12)
LOST BOYS – Phoebe Bridgers (13)
PICKING DRAGONS’ POCKETS – Modest Mouse (9)
FREAKING OUT – Michigander (16)
HOLD ME IN THE DARK – Myles Smith (17)
LOVE ME NOT – Grace Potter (18)
WE MIGHT AS WELL BE STRANGERS – Weezer feat. Wednesday (19)
WE SHOULD TALK – Bleachers (20)
I CAN TAKE THE SUN OUT OF THE SKY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (21)
STONE OVER WATER – Death Cab for Cutie (22)
EXIT WOUND – Ships Have Sailed (14)
MARATHONS – Sorry Ghost (15)
I FEEL HOPE COMING – Alabama Shakes (26)
EVERGREEN – Young the Giant 28)
EDGE OF THE EARTH – The Beaches (29)
BEHIND THE LINES OF REASON – Hardwicke Circus (30)
Photo of Lyia Meta taken from her Facebook account.
Malaysian artist Lyia Meta is a highly accomplished, award-winning and Grammy-nominated Renaissance woman in every sense of the word. She’s not only an insanely talented singer, songwriter and musician, she’s also a writer, teacher, vocal coach and visual artist whose work spans multiple media formats (she surprised me with a pencil-drawn portrait of myself in 2019, which I proudly hang on my bedroom wall).
Possessing a rich contralto singing voice, she’s recorded songs across a wide range of genres including blues, jazz, pop, country, rock and metal. She ranks among my favorite female vocalists, and I’ve featured her numerous times on this blog. We’ve been following each other on social media since 2018, and I finally had the pleasure of meeting Lyia and her husband Zack in person in January when they were in Los Angeles. I’m now thrilled to place her powerful single “Raging Halls” at #1, her first song to top my chart and on the week of my birthday, no less!
The hard-hitting song was co-written by Lyia and E.G. Holmes, who co-produced the track with her longtime Nashville-based collaborator Bob McGilpin (who also played lead and rhythm guitar, bass, drums and synths). Additional contributions on the track include rhythm guitar by Christian Wentz, guitar and synths by John Foster, orchestration and keyboards by Gene Rabbai and backing harmonies by Lisa Brokop. Lyia says the song “explores the tension between desire, risk, and the moment where hesitation transforms into action.” With its soaring melodies and scorching riffs, the song calls to mind some of the great 80s anthems by Journey, Heart and Whitesnake.
Two songs enter the top 10: the captivating “The Endless Border” by Belgian alternative indie rock band Velvet Jesus, advancing three spots to #8, and “Heart Stop” by New Orleans-based alternative roots rock band The Revivalists, which moves up two spots to #10.
There are three new debuts this week, beginning with “Evergreen” by Southern California-based alternative pop rock band Young the Giant. Formed in Irvine, California in 2004, they currently consist of Sameer Gadhia (lead vocals), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar), Payam Doostzadeh (bass), and Francois Comtois (drums). “Evergreen” is from their sixth album Victory Garden, released on May 1st, and follows “Different Kind of Love”, which peaked at #4 on my chart in early June. It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years since I saw them in concert in 2019.
Entering at #29 is “Edge of the Earth” by Canadian female pop rock band The Beaches. Formed in Toronto in 2009, they’re comprised of sisters Jordan (lead vocals, bass) and Kylie Miller (guitar, backing vocals), Leandra Earl (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), and Eliza Enman-McDaniel (drums). “Edge of the Earth” was originally released nearly three years ago as the title track of their six-song EP, which also included their marvelous hit single “Blame Brett” that reached #5 on my chart and ranks #46 on my 100 Best Songs of 2024 list. It’s currently moving up the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart (I’m even hearing it played on my local alt-rock station here in Palm Springs), so I’m guessing it went viral on TikTok or similar.
The third new entry is the exuberant “Behind The Lines Of Reason” by the charismatic English alternative indie rock band Hardwicke Circus. Formed in 2015, the band has undergone a few changes in lineup and is now comprised of brothers Jonny (lead vocals, guitar) and Tom Foster (drums, backing vocals), along with Ben Wilde (bass, backing vocals), Zack McDade (lead guitar, backing vocals), Conor Morrissey (keyboards, backing vocals) and Andy Sax (saxophone, backing vocals). I reviewedtheir marvelous 2023 album Fly the Flag and am happy to see them back with “Behind The Lines Of Reason”, which dropped July 17th.
RAGING HALLS – Lyia Meta (2)
REPEAT OFFENDER – Gloom is Okay (1)
DOORS – Noah Kahan (3)
REIN ME IN – Sam Fender & Olivia Dean (4)
PRIVATE – The Neighbourhood (5)
SELF AWARE – Temper City (6)
ONLINE – Western Jaguar (8)
THE ENDLESS BORDER – Velvet Jesus (11)
PICKING DRAGONS’ POCKETS – Modest Mouse (9)
HEART STOP – The Revivalists (12)
NO MORE REGRETS – almost monday (13)
BEACHES IN TENNESSEE – Cage the Elephant (17)
LOST BOYS – Phoebe Bridgers (18)
EXIT WOUND – Ships Have Sailed (7)
MARATHONS – Sorry Ghost (10)
FREAKING OUT – Michigander (20)
HOLD ME IN THE DARK – Myles Smith (21)
LOVE ME NOT – Grace Potter (22)
WE MIGHT AS WELL BE STRANGERS – Weezer feat. Wednesday (23)
WE SHOULD TALK – Bleachers (24)
I CAN TAKE THE SUN OUT OF THE SKY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (25)
Scottish rock band Gloom is Okay hold the top spot for a second week with their exquisite “Repeat Offender”, while Malaysian artist extraordinaire Lyia Meta moves into second place with her powerful anthem “Raging Halls”. She just released another great single “For You” a week ago. “Doors” by Noah Kahan advances a spot to #3, and “Rein Me In” by English singer-songwriters Sam Fender and Olivia Dean, and “Private” by LA-based alt rock band The Neighbourhood, each move up two spots to #4 and #5, respectively.
After five debut songs last week, I have only one new addition to my chart this week: “I Feel Hope Coming” by Southern blues rock band Alabama Shakes. Fronted by powerhouse vocalist and guitarist Brittany Howard, the group also includes guitarist Heath Fogg and bassist Zac Cockrell. The song is the third in a series of singles they’ve been releasing over the past year that began last August with “Another Life”, which spent two weeks at #1 on my chart last November. All will be included on their forthcoming third album I Must Be Dreaming, to be released August 28th.
REPEAT OFFENDER – Gloom is Okay (1)
RAGING HALLS – Lyia Meta (3)
DOORS – Noah Kahan (4)
REIN ME IN – Sam Fender & Olivia Dean (6)
PRIVATE – The Neighbourhood (7)
SELF AWARE – Temper City (2)
EXIT WOUND – Ships Have Sailed (5)
ONLINE – Western Jaguar (9)
PICKING DRAGONS’ POCKETS – Modest Mouse (8)
MARATHONS – Sorry Ghost (10)
THE ENDLESS BORDER – Velvet Jesus (14)
HEART STOP – The Revivalists (15)
NO MORE REGRETS – almost monday (17)
WHO WILL YOU FOLLOW – Evanescence (13)
GO FUCK URSELF – Fat Dog (12)
IN THE STARS – The Rolling Stones (16)
BEACHES IN TENNESSEE – Cage the Elephant (21)
LOST BOYS – Phoebe Bridgers (23)
HOMEWRECKER – sombr (11)
FREAKING OUT – Michigander (22)
HOLD ME IN THE DARK – Myles Smith (24)
LOVE ME NOT – Grace Potter (26)
WE MIGHT AS WELL BE STRANGERS – Weezer feat. Wednesday (27)
WE SHOULD TALK – Bleachers (28)
I CAN TAKE THE SUN OUT OF THE SKY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (29)
Well, I thought 2024 was a trying year, but 2025 turned out to be an even bigger shitshow! Between the death of my cat and the unending nightmare of the odious and spectacularly corrupt Trump regime, it’s a wonder I (and millions of others) survived this year intact. Thankfully, there was lots of great music to help keep us relatively sane.
As I do at the end of each year, I’ve compiled a list of my 100 favorite songs for the past year. I’ve previously posted my list of the 100 Best Indie Songs of 2025 (which you can read here), and now this new list represents a compilation of my favorite songs of 2025 (23 of which also appear on my 100 Best Indie Songs list.) I avoid ranking albums, as there are simply far too many I’ve either not heard or had the time to fully listen to, therefore any list I might compile would be woefully inadequate.
As a music blogger, I’m exposed to a tremendous amount of new music over the course of a year, both from the thousands of artists and bands I follow, as well as all the music I learn about from fellow bloggers. Despite this, I’ve heard only a tiny fraction of all the music released in 2025, which was clearly evident to me when I perused the year-end best song lists of music sites and publications like Consequence, The Fader, Rolling Stone, NPR, etc. Therefore, my list includes only songs I know, and I’m certain there are likely hundreds of great ones that should be included, except that I’ve never heard them. Among the thousands of songs I did hear in 2025, there were many outstanding ones, and it frustrates me to have to cull my list down to only 100, omitting quite a few that I really like. It’s also a challenge ranking them, because a song at #40 isn’t necessarily any better than a song at #70. Perhaps it’s a pointless exercise to even rank them at all, except for the fact that I love making lists!
Music tastes are very subjective, and while I don’t understand how others cannot share my love for a particular song or artist, I fully realize that not one person will agree with all my song choices or rankings. I’m an unapologetic lover of pop, but also love dream rock, folk rock and alternative rock, so a lot of songs on my list reflect those genres. My favorite music artist this year was sombr (the hyper-talented 20-year-old American singer-songwriter and producer born Shane Michael Boose), who’s gorgeous, anthemic torch song “back to friends” is #1, while his equally great “undressed” is #11 and “12 to 12” comes in at #29. Also ranking highly are songs from favorite acts of mine who ranked highly on previous years lists, including Royel Otis, Lord Huron, Twenty One Pilots, Fontaines D.C., The Black Keys, Talk in Waves and Frank Joshua.
Most of the songs on this list were released in 2025, however, several were released in 2024 but didn’t ‘peak’ until 2025. Likewise, several songs released after November 1st are still moving up my weekly charts and won’t peak until early 2026, thus will appear on next year’s list. The few songs in this Top 100 that also appeared on my 100 Best Songs of 2024 list are indicated with an asterisk *. I’ve created both YouTube and Spotify playlists for this Top 100, which are included at the end of the post. Hopefully you’ll find some of your own personal favorites on it. Let me know what songs resonated with you in 2025.
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr
THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses (my #1 indie song)
SO COLD – Balu Brigada
MOODY – Royel Otis
NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron
NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys
THE LINE (from Arcane League of Legends) – Twenty One Pilots
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C.
IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire
FIVE MORE SECONDS – Seafret & KT Tunstall
UNDRESSED – sombr
SAD IN CAROLINA – Dexter and The Moonrocks *
TIME WAITED – My Morning Jacket
ENSENADA – Sublime
WALLS – Frank Joshua
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes
THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots
FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves
ARROW – The Head And The Heart
TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert
THE WEATHER – All Time Low
BAD DREAMS – Teddy Swims
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots
METAVERSE – Cage the Elephant
SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL
NEVER ENOUGH – TURNSTILE
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child
JUPITER – almost monday feat. Jordana
12 TO 12 – sombr
PEOPLE WATCHING – Sam Fender
DRACULA – Tame Impala
THE NIGHT BEFORE – The Black Keys
BOBBY SOX – Green Day *
SUSHI AND COLA COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones
RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons
CONTROLLER – Moody Moody
NEVERENDER – Justice feat. Tame Impala *
A TEAR IN SPACE (AIRLOCK) – Glass Animals *
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges
BAD LARRY – Cloakroom
LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block
YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves
THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo
BACKSEAT – Balu Brigada
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White
SAILOR SONG – Gigi Perez
AUTUMN LEAVES – Secret Postal Society
IN THE LIVING ROOM – Maggie Rogers
MISTAKES – Caamp
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson
LONDON TOWN – HEALER
MORTAL WOUND – The Veils
DETROIT – Badflower
POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost
LAREDO – Leon Bridges
CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg
AS ALIVE AS YOU NEED ME TO BE – Nine Inch Nails
LUTHER – Kendrick Lamar & SZA
BETTER DAYS – Yellowcard
SAME OLD SONG – The Lumineers
SHE WANTS TO GO DANCING – Mt. Joy
STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights
RIPPLE – Good Neighbours
BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point
SNAKESKIN – NAVE
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift
BARBARIAN – AWOLNATION
BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men
POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix
WITHOUT A DOUBT – Charm School
ASSHOLE – The Lumineers
GILD THE LILY – Billy Strings
SPECTER – Bad Omens
LIGHT YEARS APART – Unobliterated
LET THINGS GO – Caamp
RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce the Veil
THE FEAR – Future Theory
THE SUBWAY – Chappell Roan
SPIKE ISLAND – Pulp
WRECK – Neko Case
MOTHER – Lyia Meta & Mark Allen Lanoue
BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice
DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton
LUCY – Mt. Joy
WHO’S A FRAUD? – Still Traffico
HORNETS – Western Jaguar
ANKLES – Lucy Dacus
HESITATE – Meltt
GIVING UP – Michigander
THREE SIX FIVE – Shinedown
RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM
AFTERLIFE – Alex G
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox
DANG – Rainbow Kitten Surprise
SUGAR ON MY TONGUE – Tyler, The Creator
WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde
AFTERLIFE – Sharon Van Etten
Honorable Mention (these songs would rank #s 101-115):
There aren’t many changes to my chart for the final full week of 2025. Twenty One Pilots remain at #1 with “City Walls”, while Tame Impala‘s “Dracula” moves into second place and sombr‘s “12 to 12” moves up a notch to #3. English psychedelic alt-rock band Future Theory enter the top ten with “The Fear”.
Two songs – both of which have been around a while – finally enter my chart, starting with “Asking For A Friend” by venerable rock band Foo Fighters, coming in at #29. The second new entry is “Caramel” by English alternative metal rock band Sleep Token, who charted earlier in the year with their dramatically beautiful song “Emergence”. Both tracks are from their fourth studio album Even In Arcadia, released this past May.
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots (1)
DRACULA – Tame Impala (3)
12 TO 12 – sombr (4)
THE WEATHER – All Time Low (2)
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson (5)
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift (6)
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men (7)
SPECTER – Bad Omens (8)
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce The Veil (12)
THE FEAR – Future Theory (10)
LUCY – Mt. Joy (11)
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox (13)
WATCH ME GO – Lord Huron (14)
ZOMBIE – YUNGBLUD (17)
REMEMBER US? – Two Feet (20)
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes (9)
TANANA – Portugal. The Man (18)
BY YOUR SIDE – Meltt (19)
RUBBER BAND MAN – Mumford & Sons w/Hozier (21)
MADALENA – Goose (22)
INFINITE SOURCE – Deftones (23)
WHITE HORSES – Wolf Alice (24)
HUMAN – Brandi Carlile (25)
STAY IN YOUR LANE – Courtney Barnett (26)
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges (15)
Photo of Twenty One Pilots from their Facebook account
It’s a particularly exciting chart this week as we approach the end of 2025, with a new #1 song and two fantastic new debuts, incidentally all by duo acts. Twenty One Pilots, my favorite music act for the past ten years, takes over the top spot with “City Walls”, marking their 14th song to top my chart, and their third this year alone, following “The Line” this past March and “The Contract” in August. Like “The Contract”, “City Walls” is from their eighth studio album Breach, which was released September 12th and serves as the final installment in their decade-long narrative arc explored by their previous albums Blurryface (2015), Trench (2018), Scaled and Icy (2021), and Clancy (2024).
(For those who’ve been living under a rock, Twenty One Pilots are based in Columbus, Ohio and consist of the dynamic duo of singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Tyler Joseph and power drummer Josh Dun. “City Walls” was written and produced by Joseph and his longtime collaborator Paul Meany, the lead singer and keyboardist for alternative rock project Mutemath, who opened for Twenty One Pilots on their Emotional Roadshow Tour that I saw in 2016.)
According to songsdiscussion.com, “‘City Walls’ delves into powerful themes of betrayal, reluctant leadership, and the immense psychological cost of rebellion, all set within the band’s established Dema and Trench narrative. The song’s core meaning centers on a protagonist who feels utterly abandoned by a trusted guide who was supposed to show him the way past the oppressive “city walls.” Now, he is forced to lead a dangerous and uncertain “breach” on his own, all while battling the severe fragmentation of his own mental state under the crushing weight of his new responsibility.“
The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Jensen Noen, runs for nearly ten minutes, making it the longest music video Twenty One Pilots have ever released. (The track itself is 5:22 minutes long.) Band frontman Tyler Joseph stated that the video serves as the proper conclusion to the story surrounding the conceptual city of “Dema”, a fictional location in the world of “Trench”, and its two central characters, Clancy (portrayed by Joseph) and Torchbearer (portrayed by drummer Josh Dun). With a production budget of $1 million, “City Walls” is one of the most expensive music videos of all time, as well as the second most expensive music video of the 2020s. Wikipedia
As I noted earlier, we have two marvelous new debuts, starting with “who’s your boyfriend” by Sydney, Australia-based duo Royel Otis. Comprised of Otis Pavlovic (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano) and Royel Maddell (lead guitar, backing vocals, bass, synthesizer), they’ve previously reached #1 twice on my chart, with “Murder on the Dancefloor” in 2024 and “moody” earlier this year. Like “moody”, “who’s your boyfriend” is from their third studio album hickey.
The second debut is “I’ve Got A Broken Heart”, the latest single by hyper-talented jangle pop-rock duo The Lemon Twigs. Based in Long Island, New York, they consist of brothers Brian and Michael D’Addario, both of whom are vocalists, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists. Their wonderful song “My Golden Years” reached #1 on my chart and ranks #5 on my Top 100 Songs of 2024 list (right behind “Murder on the Dancefloor”). “I’ve Got A Broken Heart” was released on November 25th as a double single also featuring “Friday (I’m Gonna Love You)”.
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots (2)
THE WEATHER – All Time Low (1)
DRACULA – Tame Impala (3)
12 TO 12 – sombr (10)
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson (5)
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift (6)
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men (7)
SPECTER – Bad Omens (9)
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes (4)
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce The Veil (12)
THE FEAR – Future Theory (13)
LUCY – Mt. Joy (14)
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox (15)
WATCH ME GO – Lord Huron (16)
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges (8)
ENSENADA – Sublime (11)
ZOMBIE – YUNGBLUD (18)
TANANA – Portugal. The Man (19)
BY YOUR SIDE – Meltt (20)
REMEMBER US? – Two Feet (21)
RUBBER BAND MAN – Mumford & Sons w/Hozier (22)
MADALENA – Goose (23)
INFINITE SOURCE – Deftones (24)
WHITE HORSES – Wolf Alice (25)
HUMAN – Brandi Carlile (30)
STAY IN YOUR LANE – Courtney Barnett (29)
SUSHI AND COCA-COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones (17)
Pop-punk rockers All Time Low remain at #1 for a second week with “The Weather”, while “City Walls” by my favorite band Twenty One Pilots closes in at #2 and Tame Impala‘s “Dracula” advances to #3. sombr – which my Spotify Wrapped revealed was my top artist of 2025 – enters the top 10 with “12 to 12”.
The lone new entry to this week’s chart is “Human”, a beautiful, uplifting song by the wonderful singer-songwriter and producer Brandi Carlile. Over her 21-year career, she’s released nine studio albums, one live album, one compilation album, three demo albums, 15 EPs, and 31 singles. She’s won 11 Grammy Awards and two Emmy Awards, and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for her collaboration with Elton John on the single “Never Too Late”, the theme to John’s 2024 documentary of the same name. In addition to John, she’s also collaborated with scores of artists, including Amanda Shires, Maren Morris and Natalie Hemby in their country music supergroup the Highwomen, Joni Mitchell, Tanya Tucker, The Secret Sisters, Lucius, Dave Matthews Band, Pat Monahan (of Train) and Noah Kahan.
“Human” is from her latest album Returning to Myself, released on October 24th. Written by Carlile along with her long-time collaborators, twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth, & watt (singer-songwriter, musician and producer Andrew Wotman), the song is about accepting that each of us in only human and on this earth for a short time, and to try and find bits of happiness and joy along the way.
THE WEATHER – All Time Low (1)
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots (3)
DRACULA – Tame Impala (4)
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes (2)
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson (7)
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift (8)
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men (9)
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges (5)
SPECTER – Bad Omens (10)
12 TO 12 – sombr (12)
ENSENADA – Sublime (6)
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce the Veil (13)
THE FEAR – Future Theory (14)
LUCY – Mt. Joy (15)
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox (16)
WATCH ME GO – Lord Huron (17)
SUSHI AND COCA-COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones (11)
It’s hard to believe we’re now entering the final month of 2025, and pop-punk band All Time Low take over the top spot this week with their infectious ear worm “The Weather”. Formed in Towson, Maryland, in 2003, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, and they’ve released a total of nine studio albums, six EPs, two live albums and thirty-seven singles. “The Weather” is the second single from their tenth album Everyone’s Talking!, released on October 17th.
“Ordinary Creature” by Icelandic alt-rock band Of Monsters and Men and “Spector” by American alternative metal band Bad Omens enter the top ten. Three songs make their debut this week, starting with “infinite source” by American alternative metal band Deftones, which enters at #28. Formed in Sacramento, California way back in 1988, they currently consist of frontman Chino Moreno (lead vocals), Stephen Carpenter (lead guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums) and Frank Delgado (keyboardist and turntablist). Deftones have released 10 studio albums, four EPs, three compilation albums, five demo albums, 32 music videos and 25 singles. “infinite source” is from their 10th and latest album private music, which dropped August 22nd, and follows their previous single “my mind is a mountain”, which recently spent nine weeks on my chart.
The second debut is “White Horses” by English alt rock band Wolf Alice. Formed in London in 2010, they consist of singer Ellie Rowsell (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards) Joff Oddie (guitar, vocals), Theo Ellis (bass, vocals) and Joel Amey (drums, percussion, vocals). “White Horses” is from their fourth studio album The Clearing, which was also released August 22nd. Coming in at #30 is “Stay In Your Lane”, a cool song by highly acclaimed and beloved Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett, who never fails to deliver a compelling song.
THE WEATHER – All Time Low (2)
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes (1)
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots (4)
DRACULA – Tame Impala (6)
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges (3)
ENSENADA – Sublime (5)
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson (8)
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift (10)
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men (11)
SPECTER – Bad Omens (12)
SUSHI AND COCA COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones (7)
12 TO 12 – sombr (14)
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce the Veil (15)
THE FEAR – Future Theory (16)
LUCY – Mt. Joy (17)
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox (18)
WATCH ME GO – Lord Huron (19)
EVERYBODY SCREAM – Florence + The Machine (9)
MISTAKES – Caamp (13)
ZOMBIE – YUNGBLUD (21)
DANG – Rainbow Kitten Surprise (22)
TANANA – Portugal. The Man (23)
BY YOUR SIDE – Meltt (25)
REMEMBER US? – Two Feet (26)
RUBBER BAND MAN – Mumford & Sons w/Hozier (29)
MADALENA – Goose (30)
AS ALIVE AS YOU NEED ME TO BE – Nine Inch Nails (20)
Alabama Shakes remain at #1 for a second week with “Another Life”, while All Time Low moves into second place with their wistful anthem “The Weather”, and “Elegantly Wasted”, the lovely collaboration by Hermanos Gutiérrez and Leon Bridges moves up to #3. Taylor Swift enters the top 10 at last with “The Fate of Ophelia”, from her latest album The Life of a Showgirl.
There are two great new additions to this week’s chart, the first of which is “Rubber Band Man”, a wonderful collaboration by English folk rock band Mumford & Sons and Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. I mean, given the combined talents of those two phenomenal acts, would you expect anything less? Hozier has previously collaborated with a number of artists, including Mavis Staples on “Nina Cried Power” (2018) and Noah Kahan on “Northern Attitude” (2023), both of which reached #1 on my chart.
The second new entry, at #30, is “Madalena” by American indie rock band Goose. Formed in Connecticut in 2014, they’re comprised of Rick Mitarotonda (vocals, guitar), Peter Anspach (vocals, keys, guitar), Trevor Weekz (bass) and Cotter Ellis (drums). “Madalena” is from their fifth studio album Chain Yer Dragon, which was released on August 14th, just four months after their previous album Everything Must Go. With it’s terrific piano work, the song has a bit of an early Elton John sensibility to my ears.
ANOTHER LIFE – Alabama Shakes (1)
THE WEATHER – All Time Low (4)
ELEGANTLY WASTED – Hermanos Gutiérrez feat. Leon Bridges (5)
CITY WALLS – Twenty One Pilots (7)
ENSENADA – Sublime (2)
DRACULA – Tame Impala (8)
SUSHI AND COCA COLA – St. Paul & The Broken Bones (3)
DOWNSTAIRS – Matt Maeson (9)
EVERYBODY SCREAM – Florence + The Machine (10)
THE FATE OF OPHELIA – Taylor Swift (11)
ORDINARY CREATURE – Of Monsters and Men (12)
SPECTER – Bad Omens (13)
MISTAKES – Caamp (6)
12 TO 12 – sombr (16)
SO FAR SO FAKE – Pierce the Veil (17)
THE FEAR – Future Theory (20)
LUCY – Mt. Joy (21)
GET THE MESSAGE – The Paradox (22)
WATCH ME GO – Lord Huron (23)
AS ALIVE AS YOU NEED ME TO BE – Nine Inch Nails (15)
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 