Below are 16 of my favorite songs from 2025 pulled together for our 2025 Song Bracket. I try to round out my picks to be representative to what I listened to all year, but some genres get left out. Below are some honorable mentions to great ambient/instrumental pieces that don’t do so well in this context, but I loved nonetheless:

rehearsing the ancestors by Patrick Shiroishi: 11 minute meditation inspired by friend and collaborator Brandon Shimoda’s new book, titled The Afterlife is Letting Go. The music is both soothing and existential with the great textures you want in an electroacoustic ambient piece. Extremely moving, great for a solo trip to the Smithsonian (I know from experience).

just by Claire Rousay and M.Sage: emo-tinged sound collage of field recordings, sparse strings and piano. This ended up one of my most played songs of the year as it is perfect for (metaphorical) smoke breaks when the goin’ just gets a little too tough. Check out both Claire and M.Sage’s albums from this year for more of this blend of ambient music.

Jack Parsons Blues by Gwenifer Raymond, Long Pond Lily by Hayden Pedigo, AND Song for Paloma by Old Saw: Word on the street is American Primitivism is back baybeeeee. If you’re looking for instrumental guitar driven musings to soundtrack your own neo-Western-Paris, Texas-esque journey 3 blocks to the corner store, and a few other buzzwords, check this shit out. The spacious, wistful Long Pond Lily, the angry, foreboding Jack Parsons Blues, and the desolate, melancholic Song for Paloma all have such different things to offer with a similar ambient americana sound pallet. I had the pleasure of seeing Hayden open for Ichiko Aoba (my beloved) and it was amazing hearing the soundscape he could make with just one guitar. If I wasn’t in the 3rd row, I would’ve been suspicious that the rest of the ensemble was hiding behind the curtain.

Moral of the story is there are some stellar instrumental compositions circulating the internet, made by talented folks with fresh ideas. If you’re looking for instrumental music for any range of mood, I encourage you to interact with the art and leave the AI to the losers and the squares.

Now to the main bracket selections. One per band/artist in no particular order:

Big Thief - Los Angeles

Genre: Folk Rock

Okay. I did give Erin a guest slot and this is technically Erin’s pick, but I also adore this song. Familiar faces, Big Thief, bring a sweet song about love that comes in the form of a rambling stream of consciousness. The meandering lyrics and circular melody sound like Adrianne Lenker is laying down a freestyle while the band jams in a hazy basement that definitely has shag carpet and is a little cramped in a cozy way. The laughter at the beginning adds to the homespun feel. I like the lofi dreamy elements brought by mixing the acoustic guitar with the psychedelic flanger effects on the lead guitar. Los Angeles is far from Big Thief’s best song (imo), but hearing Erin throw this on repeat and belt for 2 hours whenever she got a spare minute will do things to a person like me. FEELS LIKE IT’S BEEN 10 YEARS. HAS IT ONLY BEEN 2 YEARS? 2 YEARS? FEELS LIKE FOREVER!

Nourished by Time - BABY BABY

Genres: Experimental Hip Hop, New Wave, Neo-Psych

The Passionate Ones by Nourished by Time was one of my bigger surprises this year with how addicting the album ended up being for me. The album blends Lo-Fi Alternative R&B with throwback dance music sounds and an almost pastiche 90’s vocal that plays more to a chillwave type of vibe that… enough science jargon, this album is like a potato chip. The Passionate Ones blends of lot of genres seamlessly. I decided to choose BABY BABY because it leans Hip Hop, while still being danceable. The rapping sounds like the sunnier side of Cities Aviv (one of my favorite Rappers, who also deals in lofi music) and the New Wave groove at the end is a real hoot. Grooviest call for a general strike that I heard in 2025.

billy woods, E L U C I D, Cavalier - Lead Paint Test

Genres: Jazz Rap, Abstract Hip Hop

billy woods is joined by Elucid and Cavalier to tackle generational trauma, among other things, with vivid depictions of home in a physical and metaphysical sense. I love the atmospheric beat with the hazy piano chords, delayed horn line, and sputtering drums. There is also some self-sampling where producer DJ Mo Nikls chops a sample of billy woods 2023 song Soft Landing, in which he references the address of the Sweet Home plantation in Tony Morrison’s 1987 novel Beloved. Lyrically there is a lot to unpack, not unlike the rest of woods’ discography. Elucid starts the song off with very descriptive verse about a home stuck in a cycle of degradation. Cavalier comes next with one of the most loaded bars of the year, “These ain't pains, these the regular aches. My mom slaved ‘cause she said ownership was breaking the chains“. A critique of capitalism and an indictment on America’s racist history preventing generational wealth growth, through housing restriction, long after slavery was abolished. billy woods rounds it out with a final line depicting the way generational trauma permeates within ones own self. Brilliant song, even taught me a new word, caterwaul.

Geese - 100 Horses

Genres: Indie Rock, Pysch Rock, Funk Rock

Speaking of caterwauling… America’s 9th favorite indie rock band from Brooklyn: Geese. Getting Killed was an anticipated release for me this year that delivered on my lofty expectations. It was hard to choose a song to represent this record, but I landed on 100 Horses because it is a good example of the switch up in songwriting that favored a steady flat line progression over the big dynamics heard in 3D Country. 100 Horses lyrics are a familiar exercise in absurdism, with flippant ramblings about war, propaganda, horses, and dancing. The magic of 100 Horses is the gnarly groove behind Cameron’s flagship wailing. The swampy funk bass carries the track with a momentum reminiscent of tracks like 1000 Deaths by D’Angelo (RIP) or something off of There’s a Riot Going On by Sly & The Family Stone (RIP again). It’s nasty stuff that never fails to get my hips movin’, there is only dance music in times of war :p.

Venna - Prophet

Genre: Jazz Fusion

Next on the list is Prophet by Venna; drums go brrrr. This track is a swirly jazz fusion cut that sweeps you up in a wave, then washes you ashore. The rhythm section features some familiar faces in the modern UK jazz fusion scene: Rocco Palladino on bass and Yussef Dayes on drums. Yussef Dayes has one of the more recognizable sounds in modern jazz drumming. On top of the tight rhythm section, there are a lot of layered instruments: saxes, guitar, piano, and even processed vocals. The band builds on the main theme for most of the song before switching the groove around 3:40. It then guides you into a dreamy neo-soul coda that breaks you out of the locked-in trance the song put you in. If you are looking for modern vibey jazz with some instrumental chops, Malik by Venna is a good place to start in 2025.

betcover!! - ゴーゴースチーム (Go Go Steam)

Genre: Jazz-Rock

Keeping on the jazz train (hehe), Go Go Steam by betcover!! is a bit of a wildcard pick. This is an unhinged, but classy, Jazz-Rock jam that (for lack of a better term) goes so hard. The way betcover!! pops between jazz rock freak outs and danceable bits is extremely entertaining for me. The way I start moving my bones at 1:14 to the warbly, twinkly guitar line and then, without fail, jump out of my seat at 1:40 to the way the sax struts in is magical. It is over the top and theatrical, really ‘takes it there’ in every aspect. 10/10 air drumming sesh too.

Ovrkast., Samara Cyn - Small Talk

Genres: Trap, Hip Hop

Full transparency, the main reason this song was chosen was because of how many times I’d enter a room saying “Spring water in the coochie, baby”. This is a chill trap cut with a solid beat, solid verses, solid everything in a way that makes it approachable and replayable. I am not going to grandstand this one, I just like it.

They Are Gutting a Body Of Water - AMERICAN FOOD

Genre: Slacker Rock

Philly shoegaze band They Are Gutting a Body Of Water come through with… not shoegaze. American Food wasn’t much to me at first and then seeped into my life and ended up one of my favorites of the year. I love the buried, spoken slacker vocals, chipmunk chorus, random turntablism, witty one liners, and very repetitive acoustic guitar lick and drum groove. The video pretty much embodies how the song makes me feel. Lines like “a thought comes to fruition, ripens, then hits the ground rotten” and “well, these too big, hand me down boots have grown my walk in crooked” are unnecessarily clever for this kind of tune. It is all very random coming from this band. The lyrics are subtly dark, TAGABOW do a great job walking a tightrope in tone here. Best “what the hell is this? oh it’s my new favorite song” song of 2025.

Racing Mount Pleasant - Call It Easy

Genres: Art Rock, Chamber Pop

Formerly known as Kingfisher, Racing Mount Pleasant was also one of my most anticipated releases this year. They were my last concert in Boston before moving, we saw them in the basement of the Cantab Lounge and a tear shed from my eye as I knew they were destined to be big. Fast forward to now, more people are talking about them on the internet. Good enough. Lead single Call It Easy was my most played song in 2025. My body must have been locked in 3/4 because I was a fiend for slow waltz’s with a crescendo this year. Frequently, I would hop on my bike, loop Call It Easy, I’d Rather Go Blind by Koko Taylor, and Untitled (How Does It Feel) by D’Angelo and make a bunch of stank faces as I mouthed the words and rode around DC. To be in a league with those two legends is no small feat. Call It Easy is a standout in the RMP album because they mix their emo tinged indie folk and post-rock thing with jazz and soul influences. The sax solo at the end is sick, the note at 5:19 in particular really makes me feel something as it starts the sequence into the crescendo. I love how they are not afraid to hit those dirty spiritual jazz type squelches. Lastly, the song is mixed beautifully. Check it out.

Silvana Estrada - El Alma Mía

Genre: Folk

Another slow waltz that tore me up this year was the beautiful duet El Alma Mía by Silvana Estrada and David Aguilar. I cannot praise Silvana Estrada enough, I am constantly blown away by her controlled but emotional, expressive vocals. I fell in love with the raw emotion on her 2022 album Marchita and have been a fan ever since. There is so much great stuff on her 2025 record Vendrán Suaves Lluvias where she takes a more Chamber Folk approach with a bigger sound. It was very hard to choose between El Alma Mía and other highlights such as No Te Vayas Sin Saber, Como Un Pájaro, and Lila Alelí. The record explores a wide variety of moods, please give it a listen. I ultimately decided on the stripped back El Alma Mía because, even though it isn’t the flashiest display of Silvana’s vocal or lyrical talents, it never fails to put me in a zone - cause my eyes to well up while looking longingly into the windswept plains of life. Not to be dramatic but the melody makes me feel like my skin is melting into a puddle, and they are reaching down and lifting my soul from my body. The song, and album, closes with over a minute of hummed harmonies in a return to base from processing all the big emotions of the record, and life fr fr. I really took it there for this writeup but this song makes me feel a lot.

Shallowater - Ativan

Genres: Slowcore, Post-Rock

Keeping the tempo way down, I have Ativan by Texas slowcore band, Shallowater. This nearly 9 minute song trudges along with big loud-quiet dynamics reminiscent of classic 90’s cult bands that were foundational to the genre. At the risk of making Brian Pepe mad, there is a Slint-ian ethos in the sound here. Ativan is a song about being down but not out yet. I love the interplay of the lead singer proclaiming “I’m still kickin’, I’m still kickin’” and then launching into a big distorted guitar section like they have to prove to the listener they still have life in them. The distorted guitar tones on this album are thicccc, not too abrasive, warm and cozy if you ask me. The song subtly shifts between riffs and tempos and ends with a melodic distorted guitar climax that is intoxicating and worth the work to get there. I wrestled with including Shallowater on my list as the lone slowcore enjoyer of the group, but the way they bring a fresh sound to a tired genre (that I love) deserves to be praised.

Earl Sweatshirt - TOURMALINE

Genre: Abstract Hip Hop

Earl Sweatshirt comes through with some lackadaisical singing to go with his flagship lackadaisical rapping. TOURMALINE has an endearing, optimistic tone about dealing with trauma and depression, leaving them behind, and moving on. The sample on the beat sounds like someone sneezing, but in a way that is musical. The track features Earl’s slyly poetic, but down to earth, writing with lines like “the sun bouncing through the fun houses, I got used to the comedown, I leap bounded, jumped out it” and “golden intel, it’s heavy to know everything goes but its better to. Vestibule lesson, prerequisite to gettin in the door is never lettin ‘em be sellin’ you short”. Good stuff dawg.

Turnstile - LOOK OUT FOR ME

Genres: Post-Hardcore, Baltimore Club

I am not a huge Turnstile head, but the way they seamlessly transition from hardcore to house music on LOOK OUT FOR ME is super creative and fun to listen to. I have always had a thing for 2-in-1 type songs. How different the sections are here really butters my biscuits. The song starts out with Turnstile’s current brand of dream pop infused rock music, featuring spacial tremolo and delay layered over crunchy riffs and a stadium-sized, shouty chorus. Part one then dissolves into a flurry of distorted guitar and settles into a croony section that, again, dissolves into a tasteful house beat. It is a long song that manages to cover a lot of ground without jarring transitions. Ask not why they mixed post-hardcore and house music, only marvel at how they are able to swindle the listener so smoothy.

caroline - Total Euphoria

Genres: Post-Rock, Experimental Rock

Total Euphoria is one of the most technically interesting songs I heard in 2025. It starts out with hard panned guitars doing their own tempo crescendos, out of sync with each other, on the same chord over and over. The dusty drums come in, similarly out of time, and are joined by subdued vocals that grow with added harmonies. Tremolo synths, horn lines, low end drones, and violin swells gradually circle around you, until everything quiets and a violin (?) note is pulled like a sword being drawn. Suddenly, completely clipped distortion floods everything and is slowly faded back out, letting the barrage of instruments and vocals back in. The whole thing is an engrossing, off-kilter experience that culminates into an emotional magnum opus of a song. Total Euphoria feels singular; an attempt to recreate it would either be a direct copy or a complete mess, and that’s an achievement.

Wednesday - Elderberry Wine

Genres: Alt-Country, Americana

On Elderberry Wine, Wednesday step out of their bread and butter, noisy, twangy shoegaze schtick and into a more traditional sweet country tune. I think it fits wonderfully with Karly’s vocals and songwriting. Recorded shortly after a break up with the band’s guitarist, and current indie darling, MJ Lenderman, the song features clever lyrics about the sweet and the rotten, and how love is all of the above. These lyrics teeter on the edge of being obvious, but work perfectly in the context of a standard country song.So many good one-liners. “Sweet song is a long con, I drove you to the airport with the e-brake on” is a great way to open the song and daydreaming about having a kid with someone because “you freckle and they tan” is some seriously cute, twee bullshit. Overall, Elderberry Wine really achieves what it sets out to do with no frills or gimmicks, just good songwriting and pedal steel.

Florry - First it was a movie, then it was a book

Genres: Country Rock, Alt-Country

First it was a movie, then it was a book is a behemoth. This full-send, absurd, country rock jam is like Hell Yeah Brother-cut off jorts and a vintage Miller Lite T-shirt-I hope they have TouchTunes in this dive bar-fuck I love you guys-I swear I’m usually better at pool vibes. Pure bliss. Florry channels their inner Farm-era Dinosaur Jr. here with incoherent vocals and soaring pentatonic solos to match. A nod to Letterboxd and a riff interpolating 80’s hit Gloria by Laura Branigan? wtf. The lyrics here fit the modern age about easing your depression through escapism in media (“I need to see myself doing something and then I won't be such a bummer”). I saw Florry in the basement of an Elk’s Club Lodge, it felt like a punk show with country music. Sometimes great art is a little ugly, and that’s damn beautiful.