Top Songs of 2025

Artist “Song Name” (** = number of appearances by artist on an ATHoM list)

1.      Car Seat Headrest “CCF (I'm Gonna Stay With You)” (*******) ¹

2.      Wet Leg “mangetout” (**) ²
3.      Geese “Taxes” (rookie) ³ 

4.      The Bones of J.R. Jones “Savages” (rookie) ⁴  

5.      Dan Mangan “Diminishing Returns” (***) ⁵

¹ 21 years into these lists, CSH joins Future Islands as the only artists to have two #1 songs. So many classic indie rock vibes here (especially Wolf Parade). "There was a line that my idols crossed that I could not cross / on the other side is love, and right here is loss" 

² Gets the edge over other 2025 highlight "Catch These Fists" for introducing us to the British term for snowpeas and the switched up language in the final chorus. 

³ "If you want me to pay my taxes / you better come over with a crucifix / you're gonna have to nail me down" 

⁴ It's tempting to take off points for the prominent drum machine, but the song's weariness wins us over every listen.

⁵ "Fished up all the fishes / and wishing for more wishes / with diminishing returns" 

6.      ROSALÍA “La Perla (feat. Yahritza Y Su Esencia)” (*****) ⁶

7.      NLE the Great “KO” (rookie) ⁷ 

8.      Wolf Alice “White Horses” (rookie)  

9.      BNXN “Laye Mi” (**)  

10.   DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ “Will My Love” (rookie) ¹⁰ 

⁶ Just when the songs seems to be taking its waltz pretensions a little too seriously, they laugh and all is forgiven. 

⁷ Guilty pleasure of 2025. This takedown of NBA YoungBoy is an obvious interpolation of "Hit 'em Up", which is pretty audacious of NLE but proves the benefits of stealing from the best. 

¹⁰ Imagine where this would rank if it didn't (intentionally) sound like it was recorded at the bottom of a pond.  

11.   Trousdale “Over and Over” (rookie) 

12.   Doechii  “Anxiety” (**) 

13.   Mariah the Scientist  “Is it a Crime” (rookie)
14.   Matt Berninger “Bonnet of Pins” (************, including the National) ¹⁴

15.   Cerrone & Christine and the Queens “Catching Feelings” (********, for CatQ) 

¹⁴ Our favorite National song in at least a decade. 

16.   Perfume Genius “Left for Tomorrow” (*****) 
17.   Hilltop Hoods  “This Year” (rookie)
18.   Audrey Hobert “Phoebe” (rookie) ¹⁸
19.   The Mountain Goats  “Cold at Night” (************)
20.   SASAMI “For the Weekend” (**) ²⁰

¹⁸ "'cause my life is so enticing / in the corner, eating icing / it's a birthday party / these people aren't my friends / I'm thinking "so long" amidst their deep talk / 'bout someone they didn't invite." 

²⁰ "I don't wanna be careless / but this way to heaven is stairless"  

21.   Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band “New Threats from the Soul” (rookie) ²¹

22.   Saya Gray “LIE DOWN” (rookie)
23.   Alex Cameron “Short King” (***) ²³
24.   Big Thief “Los Angeles” (********)
25.   Halsey “safeword” (***) ²⁵

²¹  We will always prefer a 9 minutes song be constant lyrics (e.g., "Trapeze Swinger", "All Too Well") than have 5 minutes of tacked on instrumental, "Free Bird" notwithstanding.  

²³  Yep 

²⁵  Tonally, I see why this was held back from The Great Impersonator despite it's riot grrrl mimicry being 100% on point.   

26.   Lola Young “d£aler” (**)

27.   Snocaps “Heathcliff” (*******, incl. Waxahatchee)

28.   Maggie Rogers & Sylvan Esso “Anthem for a 17 Year Old Girl” (**** each) ²⁸

29.   Daughter of Swords “Money Hits” (rookie)

30.   Guitarricadelafuente “BABIECA!” (**)

²⁸ The best kind of cover song. One that that gives the listener the same nostalgia effect as the original, but is different enough to sound more like the work of the covering artist. In this case the vocals sound very Maggie Rogers and the instrumentation very Slyan Esso. 

31.   Planta Industrial “Teteo in the Bronx” (rookie)

32.   Selena Gomez and Gracie Abrams “Call Me When Break Up” (** each)

33.   Brother Ali “D.R.U.M.” (**)
34.   Bruce Springsteen “Don't Back Down” (***) ³⁴

35.   Mavis Staples  “Beautiful Strangers” (rookie) ³⁵

³⁴ With the 7-disc Tracks II plus the electric Nebraska sessions released in 2025, there was no shortage archival Boss material to choose from. The "LA Garage Sessions '83"section of Tracks was by far the most consistent of these releases and would be a top five Bruce album on its own.  

³⁵ May be the first case of both a cover and the original (Kevin Morby) making the ATHoM Top 100. Says Kevin: "hearing Mavis sing ‘Beautiful Strangers’ is hands down the greatest moment and highest honor of my career." She'll take you there. 

36.   Yaya Bey “merlot and grigio” (rookie)

37.   Beirut “Guericke's Unicorn” (********) 

38.   Chance the Rapper “Space and Time” (*******) ³⁸
39.   Valerie June “Inside Me” (****)
40.   Oklou “Blade Bird” (rookie)

³⁸ Says Pitchfork: “Space & Time,” a bland and distant ballad where he builds up the maturity to face the crib where he thought he’d raise a family, sounds straight off the Lion King soundtrack..   

41.   Bon Iver “Everything is Peaceful Love” (******)

42.   RAYE “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!" (**)

43.   Nightmares of Wax “30 Groove St” (rookie)
44.   Turnstile “LOOK OUT FOR ME” (rookie)
45.   Karol G “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” (**)

46.   Fred Again.. “Victory Lap” (rookie)
47.   Royal Otis “Moody” (***) 

48.   Parts Work “Trenton (feat. Frances Quinlan)” (****, for Hop Along) ⁴⁸
49.   Moonchild Sanelly “Falling” (rookie)
50.   Bad Bunny “DtMF” (rookie) ⁵⁰

⁴⁸ Taking SEPTA + NJ Transit from Philly to NYC during our college years, we agree that the bridge is unmissable unless the mind is elsewhere.    

⁵⁰ Would likely be top 20 if it was just a tight song centered around a great chorus and not a shambolic Bad Bunny personality showcase. There is a reason this is his first appearance on the list. 

51.   Cynthia Erivo “Replay” (rookie)

52.   Kid Cudi “Submarine” (**********)  
53.   HAIM “Down to be Wrong” (*****)
54.   chloe moriondo “shoreline” (****)
55.   fakemink “Easter Pink” (rookie)

56.   Djo “Back on You” (rookie)

57.   Water From Your Eyes “Playing Classics” (rookie)  
58.   Twin Shadow “Permanent Feeling” (*******)

59.   Cameron Winter “Love Take Miles” (** if you include Geese above) ⁵⁹
60.   Nation of Language “Silhouette” (**)

⁵⁹ The research department is still working on the query, but we believe this is the first band and solo act double appearance in the same year in ATHoM history. And yes, like everyone else, we are pretending that this didn't come out very late in 2024. 

61.   Little Simz “Free” (*****) 
62.   Panda Bear “Ends Meet” (*******, including Animal Collective)  
63.   Alex G “Afterlife” (**)
64.   BENEE “Off the Rails” (**)

65.   Craig Finn “People of Substance” (******, including Hold Steady) ⁶⁵ 

⁶⁵ Our favorite Hold Steady song in at least a decade.

66.   Carla Wehbe “OCD” (rookie)  

67.   Genesis Owusu “DEATH CULT ZONBIE'” (***)

68.   corook “THEY!” (rookie) ⁶⁸ 

69.   The Black Keys “The Night Before” (******) ⁶⁹ 
70.   MØ “Keep Moving” (******)

^{68 Minus 50 ranking points for the spoken interludes. +20 points back for "I understand if you make mistakes" and "not rocket surgery / its very simple / I'm just a little more me in the middle".}

^{69 These guys had a (10 a.m.) automatic spot guaranteed with each album in the early years of their career, but this is their first appearance since 2014}

71.   Ralphia Choo “D'amor Traficante” (rookie)

72.   Tune-Yards “Get Through” (****)

73.   Insecure Men “Cleaning Bricks” (rookie)
74.   Tunde Adebimpe “Pinstack” (*******, incl TVotR)
75.   Arcade Fire “I Love Her Shadow” (*****)

76.   Doja Cat “Silly! Fun!” (***)  

77.   Dijon “Automatic” (rookie)  
78.   Hurray for the Riff Raff “Pyramid Scheme” (**)
79.   Mt. Joy “Lucy” (rookie)
80.   BRONCHO “Funny” (rookie)  

81.   DERBY “Two Step” (rookie)

82.   Momma “I Want You (Fever)” (rookie)

83.   Clipse “P.O.V.” (****, incl. Pusha T)

84.   Seyi Vibez “AMA” (rookie)

85.   Vulfmon “Valk” (rookie)

86.   Obongjayar “Sweet Danger” (*****)

87.   Smerz “You got time and I got money” (rookie)  

88.   Jungxyz, Johnny Ip & StarBoy “Flames Up” (rookie x 3)
89.   POLIÇA “Wound Up” (**)
90.   Sammy Virji & Skepta “Cops & Robbers” (**** for Skepta)

91.   DARKSIDE “S.N.C.” (rookie)  

92.   Samia “Bovine Excision” (**)  
93.   Sudan Archives “SHE"S GOT PAIN” (***)
94.   Cash Cash & Hayley Kiyoko “Sadness” (rookie and **, respectively)
95.   Jim Legxacy “stick” (rookie)

96.   Jessie Murph “Touch Me Like a Gangster” (rookie)

97.   Ninajirachi “iPod Touch” (rookie)  
98.   IDER “Attachment Theory” (rookie)
99.   The Ting Tings “Home” (****)
100.Taylor Swift “Opalite” (*******)

Top Songs of 2024

Artist “Song Name” (** = number of appearances by artist on an ATHoM list)

1.      Amen Dunes “Purple Land” (rookie) ¹

2.      Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us” (*******) ²
3.      Lola Young “Conceited” (rookie) 
4.      Charly Bliss “Nineteen” (**) ⁴  

5.      Jon Muq “Shake Shake” (**) ⁵

¹  Always have been a sucker for a good build. "so turn up the music loud / I think it's the kids / life goes by / but I / don't mind"

² Doesn't quite top "Hit 'Em Up" or "No Vaseline" because Kendrick seems more bemused than angry. Nevertheless, definitely on the dis track Mt. Rushmore and unrivaled in terms of cover art. 

⁴ "can I be honest?" Also, sax solo.

⁵ Nothing groundbreaking going on here but it's just so damned pleasant. Muq's Ugandan and American influences are on full display. Plus there is this. 

6.      Charli Lucas “money!” (rookie) ⁶

7.      Waxahatchee “The Wolves” (******) ⁷ 

8.      Father John Misty “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All” (**) ⁸ 

9.      Olivia Rodrigo “Obsessed” (rookie) ⁹ 

10.   Kate Gavin “The Baton” (****, including MUNA) ¹⁰ 

⁶ "and I could make you love me / but fuck that / I'll take money" 

⁷ The duet with MJ Lenderman gets all the love (and we like that song just fine) but we'll take this mysterious and evocative track as our top choice: "if I throw myself to the wolves / I did it all for the glory / not the fruit rotting in my shade / who's begging to get inside"

⁸ Far and away the best thing FJM has done since the first Fleet Foxes album. Propulsive and interesting, both lyrically and musically. I didn't know he had it in him. 

⁹ While we've generally been cool to Olivia in the past, this GUTS bonus track channels classic 90's Garbage to great effect. 

¹⁰ "but today I have no daughter / I only have a mother / and I know that my mother taught me / everything she knows / and I don't wanna leave her / but she is drawing nearer / she's coming round the corner / I can hear her yelling 'go' / go on, girl / it's out of my hands / I can't come where you're going / time unfurls / and you'll understand / the baton, it will be passed again"

11.   Jack White “Archbishop Harold Holmes” (***) ¹¹

12.   Vampire Weekend “Hope” (******) ¹² 

13.   Phosphorescent “Revelator” (*****)
14.   BADBADNOTGOOD “Take What's Given” (rookie)

15.   Charli XCX “Mean Girls” (**) ¹⁵ 

¹¹ "by sundown Monday you who come will be blessed with the big money blessing"

¹² "the bull has gored the matador / the U.S. Army won the war / the meaning died in metaphor " 

¹⁵ A lot of great tracks to choose across the three Brat versions. Ultimately, the aggressive piano made "Mean Girls" stand out for us. Followed closely by "Von Dutch" and the remixed "Sympathy is a Knife". 

16.   Zach Bryan “Pink Skies” (rookie) ¹⁶
17.   Taylor Swift  “Down Bad” (******) ¹⁷
18.   Johnny Blue Skies (Sturgill Simpson) “Right Kind of Dream” (****)
19.   Kid Cudi “BLUE SKY” (*********) ¹⁹
20.   Beyonce “TEXAS HOLD 'EM” (***)

¹⁶ "Still very confused about who "tiptoed up to 4'1" back in '08".  

¹⁷ ATHoM Jr (the younger) always gives a boost to pop songs with profanity, perhaps because it lets her belt them out with impunity. It may be no coincidence that since "Down Bad" her use of bad language has gone from amusing to problematic. 

¹⁹ We unapologetically enjoy the era of Kid Cudi making music that could soundtrack the closing credits to a Sonic the Hedgehog movie (including the song a few years ago that did just that). 

21.   BENEE “Animal” (rookie)

22.   Shaboozey “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (rookie)
23.   Gracie Abrams “Let it Happen” (rookie) ²³
24.   Killer Mike “NOBODY KNOWS” (***** including Run the Jewels)
25.   Holly Humberstone “Down Swinging” (rookie)

²³  Any prior accusations that the ATHoM lists are too indie/elitist should be put to bed with a 15-23 run that includes 4 pop lady powerhouses, some famous dudes and freaking "Bar Song". And the rest of the list has much more of the same. Have we gotten soft or has pop gotten better? We really want it to be the latter but the former is likely the culprit, if only because there is objectively more overlap here with Rolling Stone's top 100 than Pitchfork's. Maybe indie is just worse. Yes, let's go with that. 

26.   Childish Gambino “Real Love” (****)

27.   Dasha “Austin (Boots Stop Working)” (rookie)

28.   Lin-Manuel Miranda “Same Train Home” (rookie!) ²⁸

29.   annie hamilton “slut era” (rookie)

30.   Nilüfer Yanya “Made Out of Memory” (rookie)

²⁸ Technically this is Shenseea (who appears later in the list on her own) but the singer is not truly the artist behind LMM's Warriors project. We are more than a little surprised at how small a cultural footprint the de facto follow-up to Hamilton has had, especially considering how good it is. Maybe when it inevitably comes to Broadway that will change. Ah-she-ca!

31.   Shakira “Cómo Dónde y Cuándo” (rookie) ³¹

32.   SASAMI “Slugger” (rookie)

33.   Remi Wolf “Soup” (****)
34.   LL Cool J & Eminem “Murdergram Deux” (rookie for LL and **** for Em)

35.   Shenseea “Neva Neva” (rookie)

³¹ Shakira has never made this list but her first two albums are among our favorite pop albums of the late 90's. This could have easily been an outtake from Donde Están Los Ladrones? and is a jolt of nostalgia from semester abroad. 

36.   This is Lorelei “Where's Your Love Now” (rookie)

37.   Tunde Adembimpe “Rookie” (rookie, but **** as lead singer for TVotR) ³⁷ 

38.   WILLOW “run!” (rookie)
39.   Autre Ne Veut “Become a Flower” (***)
40.   Samara Cyn “Sinner” (rookie)

³⁷ With three members placing solo efforts on this list over the years (Maximum Balloon, Rain Machine and now Tunde), TV on the Radio catches up to The Strokes (The Voidz / Julian Casablancas, Albert Hammond Jr, Little Joy). Here's hoping the current mini tour results in a new album.   

41.   Chappell Roan “Good Luck, Babe!” (**)

42.   Halsey “Letter to God (1983)” (**) ⁴²

43.   Doeschii & JT “Alter Ego” (rookie x 2) ⁴³
44.   Amyl and the Sniffers “Jerkin” (rookie) ⁴⁴
45.   Maya Hawke “Missing Out” (rookie)

⁴² Love the fake live effect to make this sound even more like the Boss's "I'm on Fire" from Live/1975-85

^43/44 Just when this was at risk of turning into a nice wholesome pop playlist. 

46.   Fontaines D.C. “Starburster” (rookie)
47.   Rosali “Rewind” (rookie) 

48.   Meg McRee & Harper O'Neill “Thelma & Louise” (rookie x 2)
49.   Christine and the Queens “That's Us / Wild Combination” (*******) ⁴⁹
50.   Jamie XX “All You Children” (** plus *** for The XX)

⁴⁹ We did not realize until just now that this is a cover of a song by Arthur Russell (nearly a member of Talking Heads!) that has been buried without a second play in our iTunes music library since 2013. Both version are good.   

51.   Billie Eilish “Lunch” (****)

52.   Yard Act “When the Laughter Stops” (rookie)  
53.   Girl in Red “I'm Back” (**) ⁵³
54.   Mk.gee “Alesis” (rookie)
55.   Hinds “En Forma” (*****)

⁵³ "Living life in grey / did something to my brain / but, hey, I took a shower today"

56.   Paramore “Burning Down the House” (**) ⁵⁶

57.   Britti “There Ain't Nothing” (rookie)  
58.   Jelani Aryeh “I'm in Love” (rookie)

59.   The Voidz “When Will The Time of These Bastard's End” (***, excludes the Strokes) ⁵⁹
60.   Em Beihold “Maybe Life is Good” (rookie)

⁵⁶ We did in fact know this Talking Heads-related song was a cover.

⁵⁹ Yes, this song is ridiculous. It was pretty consistently called out in the tepid reviews for Like All Before You. WFtEoS (a Cormac-related acronym you will never unpack) likened it to the Dracula song Jason Segal sings in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which, sadly, is spot on. And yet, we think it's strangely and stupidly awesome. 

61.   okaywill “High Riding Dooby” (rookie) 
62.   JADE “Angel of my Dreams” (rookie)  
63.   Conan Gray “Lonely Dancers” (rookie)
64.   Noeline Hoffman “Lightning in July (Prairie Fire)” (rookie)

65.   Lawrence “Something in the Water” (rookie) ⁶⁵ 

⁶⁵ We are impressed with Lawrence's embrace of 60's soul influences but often turned away by the whole Pitch Perfect vibe they can't help but throw off. The latter is at a minimum on this track. 

66.   Glass Animals “Tear in Space (Airlock)” (***)  

67.   Jordan Davis “I Ain't Sayin'” (rookie)

68.   Nia Archives “Silence is Loud” (rookie) 
69.   Aliocha Schneider & Charlotte Cardin “Ensemble” (rookie and **)
70.   Maude Latour “Too Slow” (rookie) ⁷⁰

^{70 Not every family has their own bespoke and completely accurate carpool anthem.}

71.   Royal Otis “Til the Morning” (**)

72.   The Dare “All Night” (rookie) ⁷²  

73.   SOPHIE & Kim Petras “Reason Why” (** x 2)
74.   John Legend “Friendship” (rookie) ⁷⁴
75.   Chike & MohBad “Ugwe” (rookie x 2)

⁷² In just about every way possible, just a blatant rip off of LCD Soundsystem. And yet...

⁷⁴ Mrs. ATHoM's office mate at Boston Consulting Group has never made this list. We liked his early Soul/Funk demos but the generic R&B crooning does nothing. However, we were excited for his new album of children songs because it was produced by Sufjan Stevens. Unfortunately, the album was a schmalzy slog (though we are very happy he loves his kids so much) without a distinct hand from the producer. And while the schmalz remained, the Sufjanity finally came to the fore on this bonus track (which is even more impressive because it is a reworking of an incredibly inane fisher price song).

76.   Pip Bloom “Get Back (Maximum Security Remix)” (**)  

77.   San Fermin “Weird Environment” (*****)  
78.   Indigo De Souza “EVIL” (***)
79.   Bnxn “Phenomena” (rookie)
80.   Marcus King “Sucker” (rookie) ⁸⁰  

⁸⁰ Almost certainly an Arcane-related halo to this placement, though we are also, in fact, suckers for child choirs.  

81.   Artemas “i like the way you kiss me” (rookie)

82.   Wet “Signs” (**) ⁸²

83.   Trace Mountains “In a Dream” (**) ⁸³

84.   Dagny “Strawberry Dream” (rookie)

85.   Rui Gabriel “Target” (rookie) ⁸⁵

⁸³ Trace mountains has the #1 song on our playlist of the best 100 songs to have missed the annual list and the additional irony is we nearly missed "In a Dream" too.  

⁸⁵ While we spend much of our time tracking and listening to new music, little time is spent on the actual music scene. So when we load the playlist to Spotify it is often a surprise to see the monthly listener count for each artist. Some acts we feel must be little known are quire popular and vice versa (Lola Young has as many listeners as Charli XCX while Annie Hamilton has 0.1% as many). Rui Gabriel comes in with the fewest listeners (<5k), because someone has too. Let's give him a boost! 

86.   Kristen Wiig “Harper and Will Go West” (rookie) ⁸⁶

87.   MJ Lenderman “She's Leaving You” (rookie) ⁸⁷  

88.   Elle King “Baby Daddy's Weekend” (*****) ⁸⁸
89.   070 Shake “Vagabond” (****)
90.   Sharon Van Etten “Afterlife” (**)

⁸⁶ Unclear how well this song works without the context from the movie, but full marks to Ms. Wiig on this lovely tune despite pretty impossible directions from the protagonists (including the "jazzy part").

⁸⁷ We love all the elements of MJ Lenderman's music (except perhaps the tongue-too-in-cheek lyrics) but he leaves us inexplicably a little colder than he does the rest of the music listening world. The obvious Malkmus comparison are apt because we've always felt the same about Pavement. 

⁸⁸ Final nepo baby scorecard: the offspring of Will/Jada, Ethan/Uma, Rob Schneider, JJ Abrams and the CEO of Dow Jones Almar Latour. Kate Hudson actually didn't miss the cut by much either. 

91.   Sunset Rubdown “Candles” (****************, for all SK projects) ⁹¹  

92.   Parcel “Leave Your Love” (rookie)  
93.   Noah Kahan and Sam Fender “Homesick” (***** and **)
94.   flowerovlove “erase u” (rookie)
95.   Skegss “Stuck in Cheyenne” (rookie)

⁹¹ In the early years of this list, Spencer Krug was the unabashed MVP. He hit #1 three times with three different bands (Wolf Parade, Swan Lake, Sunset Rubdown) before 2010. It's been a quiet last decade or so with his solo work underwhelming and even the Wolf Parade revival failing to wow. His first Sunset Rubdown album since 2009 was an improvement, though considering that album was our #8 album of the 2000-2009 decade (Wolf Parade was #1), it was admittedly a very high bar. 

96.   Phantom Youth “This Sacred Place” (rookie)
97.   Madi Diaz and Kacey Musgraves “Don't Do Me Good” (rookie and ***)  
98.   Bright Eyes “Bells and Whistles” (******)
99.   The Rubens “Liquid Gold” (rookie)
100.King Princess “Dirty Work” (***) ¹⁰⁰

^{100 Never liked the original but Mikaela Straus didn't have to change a lot here to make it work.}