“Going Shopping” by American rock band The Strokes ascends to #1 on my latest Top 30 chart. Formed in New York City in 1998, The Strokes consist of singer Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Backed by a lighthearted, bouncy groove, Casablancas muses about materialism, growing older, societal alienation and the never-ending push and pull of city vs. country living. The song is from their forthcoming seventh studio album Reality Awaits, due for release on June 26th.
In other chart developments of note, “Self Aware”, the debut single by Israeli band Temper City, climbs four spots to enter the top 10 at #7. Since its release four months ago, the song has been streamed nearly 217 million times on Spotify alone. I’ve come to love “Good2B” by American rock band Goose, consequently, it’s this week’s biggest upward mover, leaping ten spots to #11. And the lone debut, entering at #29, is “Doors” by Noah Kahan. The song replaces his single “The Great Divide”, which leaves my chart after 18 weeks, three of them at #1.
GOING SHOPPING – The Strokes (2)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (1)
HEADLIGHTS – In Color (5)
HOMEWRECKER – Sombr (6)
FREAKIN’ OUT – Dexter and The Moonrocks (7)
DROP DEAD – Olivia Rodrigo (10)
SELF AWARE – Temper City (11)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (3)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (4)
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (8)
GOOD2B – Goose (21)
UNTIL THE SUN EXPLODES – Sublime (15)
TO LOVE SOMEBODY – Holly Humberstone (14)
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (9)
DYING TO LOVE – Bad Omens (13)
IN MY ROOM – Julia Wolf (18)
EXIT WOUND – Ships Have Sailed (19)
RIDE LONESOME – Beck (20)
PICKING DRAGONS’ POCKETS – Modest Mouse (24)
RAGING HALLS – Lyia Meta (25)
HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (12)
REPEAT OFFENDER – Gloom Is Okay (29)
BACK IN LOVE – Suki Waterhouse (27)
MARATHONS – Sorry Ghost (28)
STARLIGHT – Cannons (23)
ONLINE – Western Jaguar (30)
BE WITH YOU – Muse (16)
WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (17) 20th week on chart
Death Cab for Cutie remain at #1 for a second week with “Riptides”, while The Strokes slide into second place with “Going Shopping”. Olivia Rodrigo finally enters my top 10 with “Drop Dead“.
Four songs enter my chart this week, and each is accompanied by a terrific video. Therefore, instead of embedding the video of my #1 song, I’m sharing the videos for each of my four new entries, the first of which is the wonderfully sultry “Back in Love” by the very beguiling English singer-songwriter, model and actress Suki Waterhouse. The song will be included on her forthcoming third studio album Loveland, scheduled for release on July 10th. It’s her second song to appear on my chart, following “Supersad”, which peaked at #11 in late 2024.
Coming in at #28 is “marathons” by the irrepressibly charming indie pop/rock band Sorry Ghost. Originally formed as a pop punk band in Baton Rouge, Louisiana but now based in Los Angeles since 2021, the band consists of Matt Polito (guitar, vocals) Dan Anton (bass, lead vocals), Tate Silver (drums) and Sean Duong (guitar, vocals). It’s their second song to appear on my chart, following last year’s delightful “polyester (yes sir)”, which ranks #55 on my 100 Best Songs of 2025 list. The guys have a wicked sense of humor, frequently delighting their fans with hilarious and endearing video reels of themselves on Instagram and TikTok. Their music videos are also highly entertaining and creative, as is definitely the case with the one for “marathons”:
Next up is “Repeat Offender” by Scottish alternative metal band Gloom is Okay. It isn’t often I’m blown away the first time I hear a song, but I have to say I was immediately stunned by the dramatic beauty and majestic impact of “Repeat Offender”. Based in Glasgow, Gloom is Okay is comprised of frontman Martin Walker (vocals, guitars, synths, programming) Iain MacLeod (bass) and Mark Norris (drums). It’s their first new music in three years, since their excellent 2023 self-titled EP Gloom is Okay, which I reviewed on this blog. “Repeat Offender” is the lead single from their forthcoming debut album Nothing Human. Walker says the song is essentially about handling narcissistic people.
Coming in at #30 is “Online” by Canadian artist Western Jaguar, the music project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Trainor. Based in the beautiful Fraser River Valley east of Vancouver, British Columbia, the earnest, amiable musician makes what he calls joyfully sad music and has been a favorite of mine since learning about him in late 2018. I’ve featured him numerous times on this blog and several of his songs have appeared on my chart, two of which – “Disappear” (2019) and “Darling” (2023) – went all the way to #1. Jeff never fails to write thought-provoking lyrics set to infectious melodies, and “Online” hooked me at first listen. The song was inspired by his fear of the impact of the internet on our lives: “I wanted to capture that shady, seedy feeling the web can have. Who knows who’s real or what’s real nowadays. Hell, can I even prove to you I’m real? But there is this almost superiority complex or confidence that can come from the modern digital age that just seems off.”
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (1)
GOING SHOPPING – The Strokes (4)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (2)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (3)
After a two-week hiatus due to being on vacation in Georgia and western North Carolina, I’m back with my latest top 30 chart. American indie pop-rock band Death Cab for Cutie jumps four spots to take over the #1 spot with their pensive single “Riptides”, displacing last week’s top song “Slumber Party” by Brigitte Calls Me Baby. Formed in 1997, Death Cab for Cutie currently consists of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboards, guitar), and Jason McGerr (drums). “Riptides” is the lead single from their 11th studio album I Built You a Tower, which dropped this past Friday, June 5th. The album’s rather melancholic yet upbeat tone was inspired by band frontman and songwriter Ben Gibbard’s experiences dealing with the end of his marriage while also constantly being on tour. I’ve been a longtime fan of Death Cab for Cutie and have always loved Gibbard’s comforting tenor vocals. They previously topped my chart with “Gold Rush” in 2018, though “Here to Forever” reached #2 in 2022.
There are two new debuts this week, however, a total of five songs have entered my charts since my last post so I’ll mention them all. First off is the lovely “Exit Wound” by another longtime favorite act Ships Have Sailed. Based in Los Angeles, the duo is made up of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Will Carpenter and drummer Art Andranikyan, though more recently they’ve collaborated with a number of other songwriters and musicians. I’ve written about them for this blog more times than I can remember, and several of their songs have appeared on my charts. “Exit Wound” was co-written by Carpenter and Bill O’Hanlon.
Next up is “Ride Lonesome” by singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Beck. Released in April, the song is his first new music in two years and has a laid-back Americana sound. I like how he continually changes up his sound, keeping it fresh by his willingness to venture into new styles and genres.
The third song among the three previous debuts is the very cool-sounding “Good2B” by American rock band Goose (not to be confused with the band Geese), which currently consists of Rick Mitarotonda (guitar, vocals), Trevor Weeks (bass, vocals, poetry), Peter Anspach (keyboards, guitar, vocals) and Cotter Ellis (drums, vocals). Their eclectic jam band sound has been compared to the funk and progressive rock influences of Phish and Umphrey’s McGee and the folk, jazz, and blues influences of the Grateful Dead. The song will be included on their sixth studio album Big Modern, set for release on June 12th.
The first of this week’s two new entries is “Picking Dragons’ Pockets” by the always zany and unorthodox Portland, Oregon-based alt-rock band Modest Mouse. Formed in 1993, the band has undergone numerous personnel changes over the years and presently consists of frontman and founding member Isaac Brock (lead vocals, guitars, banjo), Russell Higbee (bass, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Ben Massarella (drums, percussion), Simon O’Connor (guitar, backing vocals), Damon Cox (drums, percussion) and Keith Karman (keyboards, guitar, bass, backing vocals). The song is from their eighth studio album An Eraser and a Maze, which also dropped this past Friday, June 5th.
An interesting tidbit of info I found on their Wikipedia page referenced a 2016 study conducted by Italian music data company Musixmatch which surveyed 43,414 songs spanning multiple genres. It found that Modest Mouse was one of the most profane bands among the subjects categorized as “indie rock,” second only to The Neighborhood (whose song “Hula Girl” recently topped my chart). It was estimated that Modest Mouse used profanity every 310 words, and that the top three swear words uttered by the band were “shit,” “fuck” and “ass,” respectively.
The second new entry this week, and the final of five overall, is the hard-hitting “Raging Halls” by insanely talented Malaysian artist Lyia Meta. A highly accomplished, award-winning and Grammy-nominated Renaissance woman, Lyia is a singer, songwriter, musician and vocal coach, as well as a writer, teacher and visual artist whose work spans multiple media formats. 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.
“Raging Halls” 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.”
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (5)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (1)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (3)
Twenty One Pilots maintain a firm grip on the top spot for a third week with their beautiful song “Drag Path”, while Brigitte Calls Me Baby‘s delightfully boisterous “Slumber Party” and Talk in Waves‘ plaintive Americana-tinged “Waiting for Me” move up a notch to #s 2 and 3, respectively. “Riptides” by Death Cab for Cutie moves up three to enter the top 10 at #10, and The Strokes are the biggest upward movers again this week, as “Going Shopping” jumps seven spots to #13.
Four terrific songs enter my chart this week, starting with the infectious “Until The Sun Explodes” by Long Beach, California-based ska punk band Sublime, comprised of founding members Eric Wilson (bass) and Bud Gaugh (drums), as well as vocalist Jakob Newell, son of founding member Bradley Nowell who died in 1996. Their previous single “Ensenada” reached #1 on my chart this past November and has spent nearly eight months and counting at #1 on Billboard‘s Rock/Alternative Airplay chart!
Coming in at #28 is “Self Aware”, the debut single by Israeli alternative rock band Temper City, which consists of musicians Chen Kordova, Aviv Barenholz and Eitan Peled. Released in February, the song quickly went viral on TikTok and has already amassed over 109 million streams on Spotify, and 3.7 million views on YouTube. The track’s style and sound have been compared to acts like Steve Lacy, Hozier, Cage the Elephant and The Neighbourhood, all favorites of mine. I only heard it a few days ago and already love it. I was surprised to learn that it’s the first song by an Israeli band to ever appear on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Next up is “Kill Me Fast” by veteran Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. Formed in the 90s and now based in Toronto, they’re comprised of the original line-up of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson and bassist Brad Walst, plus Barry Stock who joined as lead guitarist in 2003, and Walst’s younger brother Matt, who was a longtime songwriter for the band and became lead singer in 2013 when Gontier left Three Days Grace (he rejoined in 2024). The song is from their eighth studio album Alienation, released in August 2025.
The fourth new entry is “In My Room” by American singer-songwriter and record producer Julia Wolf (born Julia Capello). The song was originally released in March 2024 as the lead single from her second studio album Pressure, which dropped in May 2025, but was re-released as the title track of a five-song EP in late March, at which point it finally charted in the U.S. Wolf states the rather dark song is about missing an ex-partner who’s moved on.
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (1)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (3)
WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (4)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (7)
LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (6)
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (9)
I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (2)
YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (10)
YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (5)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (13)
THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (11)
HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (12)
GOING SHOPPING – The Strokes (20)
BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (15)
HEADLIGHTS – In Color (18)
HOMEWRECKER – sombr (19)
SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (17)
DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (8)
STARLIGHT – Cannons (14)
FREAKIN’ OUT – Dexter and The Moonrocks (23)
YOU AND FOREVER – Bleachers (21)
DYING TO LOVE – Bad Omens (22)
DROP DEAD – Olivia Rodrigo (25)
BE WITH YOU – Muse (24)
TO LOVE SOMEBODY – Holly Humberstone (27)
HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (16) 21st week on chart
Photo of Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph from their Facebook account.
Twenty One Pilots remain at #1 for a second week with “Drag Path”, while MISSIO hold at #2 again after spending a week at #1. Chicago-based Brigitte Calls Me Baby moves up two to #3 with their exhilarating “Slumber Party”, and Northern Virginia singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Talk in Waves also advances two spots to #4 with his heartfelt “Waiting for Me”.
Entering the top 10 are “Different Kind Of Love” by Young the Giant, moving up two spots to #9, and “Your Favorite Toy” by Foo Fighters, also advancing two spots to #10 and still going strong after more than 30 years! The Strokes are the biggest upward movers this week as their delightfully wry “Going Shopping” jumps seven spots to #20. Backed by a lighthearted, bouncy groove, Julian Casablancas muses about materialism, growing older, societal alienation and the push and pull of city vs. country living (all things I’ve wrestled with myself). There are no new additions to my chart this week.
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (1)
I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (2)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (5)
WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (6)
YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (4)
LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (7)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (10)
DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (3)
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (11)
YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (12)
THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (8)
HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (13)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (16)
STARLIGHT – Cannons (14)
BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (15)
HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (9) 20th week on chart
SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (18)
Photo of Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph taken from their Facebook account.
Twenty One Pilots, comprised of singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun, have been my favorite music act for the past ten years. This week, their beautiful song “Drag Path” takes over the #1 spot, marking their 15th song to top my chart. They topped my chart three times last year alone, with “The Line”, “The Contract” and “City Walls”.
“Drag Path” was originally released last September as a bonus track on the Breach (Digital Remains) album bundle on the band’s official online store, with a slightly shorter version released as a single in February of this year, accompanied by a music video featuring scenes from Danish filmmaker and animator Tobias Gundorff Boesen’s 2010 stop-motion short film Out of a Forest. The band states the song is a continuation of the in-universe lore, connecting both to the end of the “City Walls” music video, as well as serving as postlude to the album Breach. “Drag Path” currently also tops the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart and peaked at #57 on the Hot 100. It also became Twenty One Pilots’ third-highest-charting single in the UK, peaking at #23, as well as their highest-charting single in Australia since “Heathens” in 2016.
In other chart developments of note, “LOOK OUT FOR ME” by Turnstile jumps four spots to enter the top 10 at #7, while “Bedroom Posters” by Yellowcard featuring Good Charlotte moves up two spots to enter the top 10 at #10.
I’m aware of the fact that women have been woefully under-represented on my chart of late, so am now remedying that with two new debuts by young female artists this week, starting with “drop dead” by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo, which debuted last week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her 2021 song “drivers license” reached #1 on my chart and ranks #8 on my 100 Best Songs of 2021 list. Hard to believe that was five years ago!
The second new entry is the delightfully catchy “To Love Somebody” by English singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone. The song was the lead single from her second studio album Cruel World, which dropped April 10th. From what I can tell, it’s her highest-charting single thus far, and also her first song to appear on my chart.
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (3)
I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (1)
DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (2)
YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (6)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (8)
WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (7)
LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (11)
THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (5)
HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (4)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (12)
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (13)
YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (14)
HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (15)
STARLIGHT – Cannons (16)
BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (17)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (22)
FOOL’S GOLD – Buffalo Traffic Jam (18)
SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (19)
Photo of Matthew Brue and David Butler by Rob Martinez
One of my favorite music acts is MISSIO, a hyper-talented and insanely creative duo from Austin, Texas comprised of singer-songwriter, musician and producer Matthew Brue and songwriter/producer and musician David Butler, who record music with the help of their silent partner, producer and frequent collaborator Dwight Baker and drummer Jaydon Bean. I’ve written about them numerous times and have reviewed three of their albums (my review of their magnificent 2019 album The Darker the Weather // The Better the Man has garnered nearly 4,000 views, making it my most-viewed album review ever).
Their boisterous, hard-charging single “I Remember When” takes over the #1 spot on my latest chart, and is their fifth song to top my chart after “I See You” and “Underground” in 2019, “Can You Feel the Sun” in 2021 and “Time” in 2024. About the track, which is the lead single from their forthcoming sixth album Love & Heartbreak, the guys explained: “The world is changing/transitioning at such a rapid pace that it feels impossible to keep up with right now. There’s a general apathy that everyone feels but no one seems to be talking about. We want to talk about it. ‘I Remember When’ reminisces about those nostalgic feelings of growing up when life felt easier, when the summertime made us feel free and alive. Maybe it’s just the natural progression of age but life feels harder to resonate with as we experience some of the harsh realities of the world we all share right now.“
In other chart developments of note, “Doubletake” by Edgehill advances two spots to #2 (the song is currently #1 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart), and the stunning “Drag Path” by Twenty One Pilots jumps three spots to #3. The song confirms for me that they remain my current favorite band, a position they’ve held since 2016.
Two songs make their debut this week, the first of which is “Freakin’ Out” by another Texas act, alternative indie/country rock band Dexter and The Moonrocks. Formed in 2021 in Abilene, Texas, the band consists of cousins Ryan and Ty Anderson, James Tuffs and Ryan Fox. It’s their third song to appear on my chart, following “Sad in Carolina”, which reached #1 in late 2024/early 2025, and “Ritalin”.
The second new entry is “Going Shopping” by American rock band The Strokes. Formed in New York City in 1998, they consist of singer Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. The song is from their forthcoming seventh studio album Reality Awaits, due for release on June 26th. Earlier this month, the band performed at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, and on the second weekend of the festival they concluded their set with a performance of their 2016 single “Oblivius” accompanied by an onscreen montage of footage accusing the CIA of overthrowing foreign governments, Israeli bombings in Gaza, and condemning US involvement in foreign affairs, including the war in Iran.
I REMEMBER WHEN – MISSIO (2)
DOUBLETAKE – Edgehill (4)
DRAG PATH – Twenty One Pilots (6)
HULA GIRL – The Neighbourhood (1)
THE GREAT DIVIDE – Noah Kahan (3)
YOU GOT TO LOSE – The Black Keys (5)
WAITING FOR ME – Talk in Waves (7)
SLUMBER PARTY – Brigitte Calls Me Baby (9)
SWEET LOVE – Stephen Sanchez (8)
THE OLD LAW – Father John Misty (10)
LOOK OUT FOR ME – Turnstile (13)
BEDROOM POSTERS – Yellowcard feat. Good Charlotte (12)
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE – Young the Giant (14)
YOUR FAVORITE TOY – Foo Fighters (15)
HEAVY FOOT – Mon Rovîa (16)
STARLIGHT – Cannons (17)
BURN FOR YOU RMX – Between Daze (18)
FOOL’S GOLD – Buffalo Traffic Jam (19)
SITE UNSEEN – Courtney Barnett featuring Waxahatchee (20)
SONG OF THE FUTURE – U2 (21)
LOST YOUR GHOST – Two Feet (11)
RIPTIDES – Death Cab for Cutie (27)
YOU AND FOREVER – Bleachers (25)
HEADLIGHTS – In Color (28)
DYING TO LOVE – Bad Omens (29)
HOMEWRECKER – sombr (30)
BE WITH YOU – Muse (26)
WHO’S YOUR BOYFRIEND – Royel Otis (13) 20th week on chart
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):
Photo of Twenty One Pilots from their Facebook account
One of my favorite music acts for the past ten years is Twenty One Pilots, comprised of the dynamic duo of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Joseph and power drummer Josh Dun. Their latest single “The Contract” is my new #1 song this week, marking their 13th song to reach the top of my chart, and their third in just the past year, following “The Craving” last September and “The Line” this past March. The lead single from their forthcoming eighth studio album Breach, to be released September 12th, “The Contract” starts the final act of the narrative begun on their 2015 album Blurryface and continued through Trench, Scaled And Icy, and last year’s Clancy.
The song is a frenetic and electrifying mash-up of music styles, something Twenty One Pilots have incorporated into many of their songs over the years. As Kory Grow observed in his article about the single for Rolling Stone, the song “ping-pongs between pop, rap, emo, and drumline practice.” While I love that about the song and their music in general, some do not. Paulo Ragusa, a writer who’s obviously not a Twenty One Pilots fan, trashed the song in his article for Consequence Sound, calling it “a complete mess, a sloppy hodge-podge of genres and styles that directly compete with one another from moment to moment.” Well, to each their own I say, as “The Contract” takes its place among a long line of songs I love by this talented duo.
In other chart news, Lorde enters the top 10 with “What Was That”, and we have two new debuts. The first is “Five More Seconds”, a wonderfully exuberant collaboration by English duo Seafret and Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, which enters at #29. Seafret, based in Yorkshire and comprised of singer Jack Sedman and guitarist Harry Draper, released three albums and a number of singles from 2015-2023 and saw their debut 2015 single “Atlantis” go viral on TikTok over the past three years, eventually racking up over 1.1 billion streams on Spotify alone. KT Tunstall burst onto the British music scene in 2004 with her debut album Eye to the Telescope, which spawned the hit singles “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” and “Suddenly I See”, which won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song in 2006. “Five More Seconds” marks both Seafret and KT Tunstall’s first new music in two years.
The second debut is “light years apart” by Unobliterated, the music project of England-born and now Portugal-based singer-songwriter and musician Gary Taylor. In my review of the song upon its July 11 release, I described it as “majestic”, with a haunting melody driven forward by a strong pulsating groove and layered with swirling atmospheric synths and warm guitar notes to create a mesmerizing backdrop for Taylor’s arresting vocals that masterfully convey a sense of both despair and hopeful optimism.
THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (3)
MOODY – Royel Otis (1)
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (2)
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (4)
NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (7)
FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (9)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (5)
Photo of Otis Pavlovic and Royel Maddell by Shervin Lainez
I’m still loving “moody” by Royel Otis a lot, thus it remains at #1 for a second week, while sombr‘s “back to friends” holds at #2 for a second week after spending three weeks at #1. Twenty One Pilots and Djo move up one spot each to #s 3 and 4 with “The Contract” and “Basic Being Basic”. Entering the top 10 are “No Rain, No Flowers” by The Black Keys, jumping seven spots to #7, and “Scars” by my favorite Welsh artist Secret Postal Society, moving up a notch to #10.
Two songs make their debut on my chart this week, the first of which is “Today’s Song” by rock legends the Foo Fighters, entering at #29. In a note accompanying the single’s release, band frontman Dave Grohl stated it’s a tribute to former band members including recently fired drummer Josh Freese, founding drummer William Goldsmith, guitarist Franz Stahl and late drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died in 2022. The second debut is the quite lovely “Incomprehensible” by Brooklyn, New York-based indie folk band Big Thief. Formed in 2015, the band now consists of vocalist-guitarist Adrianne Lenker, guitarist Buck Meek and drummer James Krivchenia. (Founding bassist Max Oleartchik left the band in 2024.) The song is the lead single from their forthcoming sixth studio album Double Infinity, set for release on September 5th.
MOODY – Royel Otis (1)
BACK TO FRIENDS – sombr (2)
THE CONTRACT – Twenty One Pilots (4)
BASIC BEING BASIC – Djo (5)
PORCELAIN (LOSING ALL MY PATIENCE) – Somebody’s Child (3)
NOTHING I NEED – Lord Huron (6)
NO RAIN, NO FLOWERS – The Black Keys (14)
BONNET OF PINS – Matt Berninger (9)
FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves (10)
SCARS – Secret Postal Society (11)
WHAT WAS THAT – Lorde (12)
CATCH THESE FISTS – Wet Leg (7)
RIPPLE – Good Neighbours (15)
RITALIN – Dexter and The Moonrocks (8)
BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point (16)
EMERGENCE – Sleep Token (18)
LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block (19)
LONDON TOWN – HEALER (20)
BLOOM BABY BLOOM – Wolf Alice (21)
RELATIONSHIPS – HAIM (17)
SALLY, WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT – ROLE MODEL (26)
JUPITER – almost monday ft. Jordana (27)
UNDRESSED – sombr (28)
ARCHBISHOP HAROLD HOLMES – Jack White (13)
ASSHOLE – The Lumineers (25)
BACKSEAT – Balu Brigada (29)
POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost (30)
IT’S AMAZING TO BE YOUNG – Fontaines D.C. (22) 19th week on chart
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 