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!
- THE FAITHFUL HEART – Wons Phreely + The Horses
- IMPOSTER SYNDROME – Fake Empire
- WALLS – Frank Joshua
- FEELS RIGHT – Talk in Waves
- TAKE THIS HEART – Brian Lambert
- CONTROLLER – Moody Moody
- BAD LARRY – Cloakroom
- LOVE IS A FIRE – Art Block
- YOU’RE MY DRUG – Talk in Waves
- THE TURNAROUND – DelCobras
- LONDON TOWN – HEALER
- POLYESTER (YES SIR) – Sorry Ghost
- STRAIGHT TO THE GROUND – Unquiet Nights
- SNAKESKIN – NAVE
- BETTER OFF EVENTUALLY – Bealby Point
- LIGHT YEARS APART – Unobliterated
- THE FEAR – Future Theory
- POOR SAD INDIE EVERYTHING – Icarus Phoenix
- WITHOUT A DOUBT – Charm School
- MOTHER – Lyia Meta & Mark Allen Lanoue
- DAY & NIGHT – Oli Barton
- WHO’S A FRAUD? – Still Traffico
- HORNETS – Western Jaguar
- SCARS – Secret Postal Society
- REALITY BUZZ – Future Theory
- AFTER ALL – Darksoft
- TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT – overpass
- FEEL – NAVE
- HERE WE GO AGAIN – Set the Tone
- BAD PATTERNS – HEALER
- ALWAYS WITH YOU – Ewan Patrick
- THE HAZE – Future Theory
- ECHOES – Antipole, Ja’kob & Pedro Code
- TREPHINE – Big Orange
- WHAT IT TAKES – The Radio Field
- SLOW DEATH – Western Jaguar
- SUPERSPREADER YEAR – Roadkeeper
- BLEAK COMPANION – The Brigadier
- MARK & KYLE – Icarus Phoenix
- LLUMINE – Josephine Pascoe
- DAYS LIKE THESE – Frank Joshua
- ESPIONAGE – Rusty Shipp
- CONSPIRACY OF SNAKES – Blake Rascals
- CALIFORNIA – Art Block
- NATIONAL TREASURE – Faint Halos
- ANTICIPATE THE FALL – Pilod
- FALLING DOWN – Holy Coves
- CALLING OUT – Black Bear Kiss
- BEERS WITH THE BEEKEEPER – The Zangwills
- IT’S GETTING LATE – Sorry Ghost
- IT’S ALRIGHT – The Radio Field & The Baumhoff Explosives
- OH NO – John Serrano
- MEDICATED – Shape of the Sun
- MY DOG BRUCE – Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions
- INSIDE – Skar de Line
- DARLING, HE DOESN’T CARE – Olivia Miceli
- ALL FOR NOTHING – Set the Tone
- NOTHING REALLY MATTERS – Snap Infraction
- ALONE – The Sylvia Platters
- LOOK WHAT YOU DID – Jeen
- WHERE IS SHE NOW – Mecuzine
- SHUT UP – Esse. feat. Shimmer Johnson
- PACK IT UP – Diet Lite
- LOVE LIES – Caleb Nichols
- WHITEBOARD (YOU CALL HOME) – FRVR
- LIFESPAN – Cormac O Caoimh
- I, PHONE – INNERSPEAR
- EVERYTHING SEDUCTIVE – Unquiet Nights
- DOUBLE DISCO – Bealby Point
- ALRIGHT – naive nature
- BUNK BEDS – Lost in the City
- SEVENTH ROCK FROM THE SUN – Only on Weekends
- SOMEDAY SOON – DelCobras
- DON’T GO TO BED WITH A BAD MIND – The Brigadier
- BROKEN ANIMAL – Matt Jaffe
- ALL I NEED TO KNOW – PluX feat. Shimmer Johnson
- I WANNA FIGHT MY CLONE – Bear Ghost & Playboy Manbaby
- CANDY HEARTS – Risley
- APRIL FOOLS – The Goods
- GRANADA – John Serrano
- AIN’T THAT SOMETHING – Modern Neutrals
- BLUE TONIC – Defined By
- TIBER CREEK – Lillian King
- NEVER GOT THAT FAR – Thunder Fox
- MET YOU SOMEWHERE – Early Nites & Eunith
- I BET YOU HATE ME – Shallowdrown
- MIRRORS – Loveproof
- READ MY MIND (VIBES SONG) – Wild Horse
- FED TO THE TEETH – Homeless Radio
- GLIMMER – Petrov, the Hero
- A RECURRING THOUGHT – Terry Gomes
- ON THE EDGE – Drawing on Scars
- SOUNDS LIKE A DEAL – Alex Little
- CREATURE COMFORT – The Rat Utopia Experiment
- THE BLOOD MOON – Caged Animals
- POLLY AND ANDY – Rec Centre
- GROWING UP IS SCARY – Taylor DeRousse
- MARIA – Matt Csiszar
- LUNACY – Collette McLafferty
- GAMBLING WITH THE RAIN – David Gergen
The YouTube playlist:
The Spotify playlist:
ECLECTIC MUSIC LOVER 