At the end of each year, I publish a list of my Top 100 Songs, representing my picks for what I think are the best songs – my favorites actually – for the entire year. Last year, at the suggestion of a member of Missouri folk rock band Voodoo Planet, I also compiled a list of my 100 favorite indie songs of 2024. That blog post nearly went viral, and over the past year has amassed over 7,000 views to become my 10th most popular post ever. (In sharp contrast, my 100 Best Songs of 2024 post has garnered only around 1,100 views.)

Because I follow, and am followed by, many indie musicians and bands on social media, I enjoy showcasing some of the exceptional music being made by them that’s every bit as good as, or even better than, that from mainstream acts, so compiling a separate list of what I think are the best indie songs makes perfect sense.

These are not necessarily “indie” songs in terms of genre (though there are many that fall into that overall category), rather songs by independent or DIY music acts. While some are in fact signed to music labels, they’re usually small or independently owned. There are 82 acts represented in this list, the majority of which are from the U.S., Canada and the U.K., but also from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Germany and Ukraine. A number of acts have two songs, while English psychedelic alt-rock band Future Theory have three.

Of course, I must make note of the fact that this list contains only songs I’m aware of, and that there are likely hundreds of other great songs that deserve to be here, except that I’ve never heard them. The songs on this list – all of which are outstanding if I do say so myself – were generally released between November 2024 and October 2025.

Though they’re ranked from #1 to 100, it doesn’t necessarily mean that a song at #30 is better than one at #60. That said, the ones closer to the top are my very favorites. And though I’d love to write a narrative about each song and artist, given my limited time and energy, not to mention people’s short attention spans, I’ve decided against that again this year. I will, however, include the marvelous video for my #1 pick, “The Faithful Heart” by immensely talented and creative L.A.-based artist Wons Phreely, as it’s so delightful that everyone should watch it! I’ve also created playlists on both YouTube and Spotify, which are included after the list itself. Enjoy!

1. THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses
2. IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire
3. WALLS – Frank Joshua
4. FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves
5. TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert
6. CONTROLLER – Moody Moody
7. BAD LARRY – Cloakroom
8. LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block
9. YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves
10. THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras
11. LONDON TOWN – HEALER
12. POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost
13. STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights
14. SNAKESKIN – NAVE
15. BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point
16. LIGHT YEARS APART – Unobliterated
17. THE FEAR – Future Theory
18. POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix
19. WITHOUT A DOUBT – Charm School
20. MOTHER – Lyia Meta & Mark Allen Lanoue
21. DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton
22. WHO’S A FRAUD? – Still Traffico
23. HORNETS – Western Jaguar
24. SCARS – Secret Postal Society
25. REALITY BUZZ – Future Theory
26. AFTER ALL – Darksoft
27. TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – overpass
28. FEEL – NAVE
29. HERE WE GO AGAIN – Set the Tone
30. BAD PATTERNS – HEALER
31. ALWAYS WITH YOU – Ewan Patrick
32. THE HAZE – Future Theory
33. ECHOES – Antipole, Ja’kob & Pedro Code
34. TREPHINE – Big Orange
35. WHAT IT TAKES – The Radio Field
36. SLOW DEATH – Western Jaguar
37. SUPERSPREADER YEAR – Roadkeeper
38. BLEAK COMPANION – The Brigadier
39. MARK & KYLE – Icarus Phoenix
40. LLUMINE – Josephine Pascoe
41. DAYS LIKE THESE – Frank Joshua
42. ESPIONAGE – Rusty Shipp
43. CONSPIRACY OF SNAKES – Blake Rascals
44. CALIFORNIA – Art Block
45. NATIONAL TREASURE – Faint Halos
46. ANTICIPATE THE FALL – Pilod
47. FALLING DOWN – Holy Coves
48. CALLING OUT – Black Bear Kiss
49. BEERS WITH THE BEEKEEPER – The Zangwills
50. IT’S GETTING LATE – Sorry Ghost
51. IT’S ALRIGHT – The Radio Field & The Baumhoff Explosives
52. OH NO – John Serrano
53. MEDICATED – Shape of the Sun
54. MY DOG BRUCE – Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions
55. INSIDE – Skar de Line
56. DARLING, HE DOESN’T CARE – Olivia Miceli
57. ALL FOR NOTHING – Set the Tone
58. NOTHING REALLY MATTERS – Snap Infraction
59. ALONE – The Sylvia Platters
60. LOOK WHAT YOU DID – Jeen
61. WHERE IS SHE NOW – Mecuzine
62. SHUT UP – Esse. feat. Shimmer Johnson
63. PACK IT UP – Diet Lite
64. LOVE LIES – Caleb Nichols
65. WHITEBOARD (YOU CALL HOME) – FRVR
66. LIFESPAN – Cormac O Caoimh
67. I, PHONE – INNERSPEAR
68. EVERYTHING SEDUCTIVE – Unquiet Nights
69. DOUBLE DISCO – Bealby Point
70. ALRIGHT – naive nature
71. BUNK BEDS – Lost in the City
72. SEVENTH ROCK FROM THE SUN – Only on Weekends
73. SOMEDAY SOON – DelCobras
74. DON’T GO TO BED WITH A BAD MIND – The Brigadier
75. BROKEN ANIMAL – Matt Jaffe
76. ALL I NEED TO KNOW – PluX feat. Shimmer Johnson
77. I WANNA FIGHT MY CLONE – Bear Ghost & Playboy Manbaby
78. CANDY HEARTS – Risley
79. APRIL FOOLS – The Goods
80. GRANADA – John Serrano
81. AIN’T THAT SOMETHING – Modern Neutrals
82. BLUE TONIC – Defined By
83. TIBER CREEK – Lillian King
84. NEVER GOT THAT FAR – Thunder Fox
85. MET YOU SOMEWHERE – Early Nites & Eunith
86. I BET YOU HATE ME – Shallowdrown
87. MIRRORS – Loveproof
88. READ MY MIND (VIBES SONG) – Wild Horse
89. FED TO THE TEETH – Homeless Radio
90. GLIMMER – Petrov, the Hero
91. A RECURRING THOUGHT – Terry Gomes
92. ON THE EDGE – Drawing on Scars
93. SOUNDS LIKE A DEAL – Alex Little
94. CREATURE COMFORT – The Rat Utopia Experiment
95. THE BLOOD MOON – Caged Animals
96. POLLY AND ANDY – Rec Centre
97. GROWING UP IS SCARY – Taylor DeRousse
98. MARIA – Matt Csiszar
99. LUNACY – Collette McLafferty
100. GAMBLING WITH THE RAIN – David Gergen

The YouTube playlist:

The Spotify playlist: