Top 100 Songs of 2025
Updated by Eric Weiner and Kaci Carson on December 11, 2025
In the past year, we’ve seen releases from more of our faves, some newbies, and even some artists we’ve had the honor and privilege of working with quite recently. We’re talking artists like BENEE, Your Smith, Del Water Gap, Mallrat, Samia, and so many more that you’ll get to fall in love with from this list. We aim to bring you the best and only the best, which is why this is a collection full of music that will make you happy (even if it makes you sad), songs that describe something you can’t exactly put into words, and a whole bunch of tracks with beautifully odd vocals that are somehow also perfectly accessible (Geese, quinnie). Music taste is subjective, but we love what we love and hope you will too. If you’re looking for cute, quirky, and catchy indie pop and adjacent, you’ve found your happy place.
We have a blend of music, a harmony of both indie and pop, a spectrum of niche all represented here. We’re featuring artists from all over the world, from Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, Spanish diva ROSALÍA, and Belgian up-and-comer Illiona. We really hope you get to discover some new gems you didn’t see on every other year end list, and also that this list will serve as a little time capsule. That when you listen to these songs years from now, you might think of your old friends at The Wild Honey Pie, and hopefully come see these artists at some of our parties.
Thank you for loving music with us this year. Whether it was at one of our Pizza Parties, or jamming out to Buzzing, or watching our old Buzzsessions, we’re grateful to have the best community to enjoy music with. We want to note that there is absolutely no A.I. music in this playlist. A.I. wasn't used to curate this list and was not used in our art at all.
And now your first taste of our faves. An amuse-bouche, if you will:
We’re starting our list with a mix of artists we’ve loved this year and some for many years now. We have songs from both SZA and Sabrina Carpenter, both featured on our 2024 list as well. We also want to highlight the inclusion of very catchy songs from Austra, Sabine McCalla, and Foxwarren.
100. Elizabeth Moen “Love Takes Miles”
99. Moses Sumney & Hayley Williams - “I Like It I Like it”
97. Chanel Beads - “The Coward Forgets His Nightmare”
95. Tei Shi - “ Best be leaving”
94. Lily Allen - “West End Girl”
93. Foxwarren, Andy Shauf, Darryl Kissick - “Deadhead”
91. Nourished by Time - “Crazy People”
89. Selena Gomez, benny blanco, & Gracie Abrams - “Call Me When You Break Up”
88. Jade Bird - “Can’t Forget”
87. Austra - “Look Me in the Eye”
86. Good Neighbours - “Starry Eyed”
84. Kate Bollinger - “What’s This About (La La La La)”
83. Sabrina Carpenter - “Nobody’s Son”
82. Sabine McCalla - "Sunshine Kisses"
81. Durand Jones & The Indications - “Flower Moon”
Time for bread and butter course:
Well, friends, we inch closer and closer to the top, and as we do, we want to highlight a song from the latest album from our friend BENEE, which we danced to, sang with, and celebrated at our Pizza Party in September. There’s also newbies CMAT and yeemz (spoiler alert: one of our top artists of 2025 for sure). You’re going to want to stick around to hear us gush about her later).
79. Matt Berninger - “Inland Ocean”
77. FKA twigs - “Perfect Stranger”
76. Four Tet - “Into Dust (Still Falling)”
75. This is Lorelei - “Name the Band”
73. Geese -"Au Pays du Cocaine"
72. Tyler, The Creator - “I’ll Take Care of You (feat. Yebba)”
69. Jukebox the Ghost - “End Of The Show”
67. CMAT - “When a Good Man Cries”
66. Bartees Strange - “Backseat Banton”
65. Miya Folick - “This Time Around”
64. Indigo De Souza - “Heartthrob”
Next course, appetizers:
If you know us at all, you know we’re Bon Iver stans. Still remember where I was the first time I heard “Holocene”. Featuring our favorite song from the new album was a no-brainer. We also want to recognize Turnstile, who are making waves with their recent sound change that’s been dubbed “hardcore pop”. We have Dinner Party alumni Del Water Gap in here because, duh. This song makes me tear up a little bit, don’t judge.
60. The Favors - “David’s Brother”
57. Turnstile - “LOOK OUT FOR ME”
56. Drugdealer & Weyes Blood - “Real Thing”
55. RAYE - “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!”
54. Daniel Caesar - “Who Knows”
52. Rachel Chinouriri - “What A Life”
51. Fred Again.., Sammy Virji & Reggie - “Talk of the Town”
48. Flock of Dimes - “Long After Midnight”
45. ROSALÍA, Yahritza Y Su Esencia - “La Perla”
43. Wednesday - “Elderberry Wine”
41. Del Water Gap - “Marigolds”
Time for the palette cleanser, like a nice lemon sorbet on a tiny metal spoon. Means nothing about the power of these songs or anything, just stay with me.
There are many, many standouts here - so much so that we could probably write you a whole essay on each of them. First up, we have Hannah Jadagu, who played our Little Pizza Party in October. The songwriting genius that is Cece Coakley is on this list yet again, and don’t be surprised if she makes our next five lists as well. We are becoming her superfans and hope and pray we get to collaborate with this goddess in 2026.
If Your Smith hasn’t been on your radar in a while, you're welcome in advance. This song is just one of our faves from an absolute epic album. Of course, we had to add new music from Chappell Roan and Big Thief. We have a new pick for you from Illiona, whose music might surprise you in the best way, pinky promise. Took us a while, but we're finally smitten with Petey USA. It gives off an emo type of sound, which is never a bad thing.
39. Petey USA - “Anything In Between”
37. Hamilton Leithauser - “This Side of the Island”
36. Illiona - “Rater une rupture pour les nuls”
35. Car Seat Headrest - “CCF (I’m Gonna Stay With You)”
34. Hayley Williams - “True Believer”
33. Chappell Roan - “The Subway”
32. Folk Bitch Trio - “God’s A Different Sword”
31. Your Smith - “Change of Heart”
28. Al Olender - “The Cyclone”
27. Perfume Genius - “Clean Heart”
26. Cece Coakley - “Pleasant Attack”
24. Jukebox the Ghost - “Stranger”
22. Medium Build - “Last Time”
Now it’s really time to fill up. Time for our entrees:
Deciding on the placement of these songs was a feat and one that is not for the faint of heart. As you probably noticed, we’ve got two tracks from Wet Leg on here. Future Coachella headliners right here. Their newest album, Moisturizer, has been on constant rotation; these two songs are our faves, but there’s definitely more to love on there. We have CMAT on here, and her song beautifully communicates love and loss with a tinge of humor. Top 5 new discovery of 2025. We obviously had to feature Bad Bunny! Even though we don’t speak fluent Spanish we somehow really understand this song, the grief mixed with the celebration of life is felt.
20. Yellow Ostrich - “Constant Allibi”
19. Junior Varsity - “I’m Not Crazy”
18. Saya Gray - “SHELL ( OF A MAN )”
17. CMAT - “Lord, Let That Tesla Crash”
15. Sam Fender - “People Watching”
11. Cautious Clay - "Traffic (7am)"
We’re not skimping on dessert. We’ve got lots and lots of pies coming right up in the form of our very favorite songs of this horrifying year.
We’ve never been ones to hide our love for her, and this song is evidence of why we’ll always be Lucy Dacus superfans. She has this unmatched ability to capture very subtle realities in a way that hurts so good. Like in the line “When you told me 'bout your new man it wasn't news, 'cause you've got all these mannerisms that you never do”. Best. Lyrics. Ever. I know I’ve been there. The emotions communicated through her lyrics never fail to break our hearts. That’s why she will forever be one of the greatest songwriters of our generation in our book.
9. Hayley Williams - “Good Ol’ Days”
The newest solo album from Hayley Williams, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, was not what we were expecting from her. It is so much better. We might even dare to call it her magnum opus. This song in particular is fun on the surface, but once you really listen to the words, you’ll discover just how layered it is. She references Beyoncé, Stevie Nicks, and even cleverly references the name of her band, Paramore. Overall, Hayley has a particular way of delivering the most heart-wrenching lyrics to the most upbeat songs, which you’ll find out for yourself.
8. ROLE MODEL - "Sally When the Wine Runs Out"
This song defined the year that was 2025. If you checked out last year's list, you’ll see that we featured four Role Model songs. Referring to ourselves as fans is an understatement. This song has had us in a chokehold since its release, and we’ve loved to see it absolutely blow up. It’s also just a really catchy song to sing and dance along to. The chorus and bridge so easily get stuck in your head. We’ve loved to see him grow as an artist, but also to see so many others grow to love him as well. Tucker, can we be your Sally at a Dinner Party next year?
We have absolutely adored Samia since we filmed a Buzzsession together in 2019. Her 2020 album was on our faves album list that year, of course. This year, she delivered yet again. This bop showcases her strength in communicating pure emotion in her music. It is lyrically so descriptive and honest. From the vocal effects to the instrumentation, it’s one of those songs that feels more like an experience than anything else. Here’s a fun fact for you: this song is actually written about her friend Rafaella, a Dinner Party alumni. Everybody’s connected, and somehow this piece of lore makes us love the song even more. I want to acknowledge how much we love the way Samia ends her songs with intention.
6. Tame Impala - "Piece of Heaven"
Tame Impala has done it again with this song. If you’ve been a long-time listener like us, you, too, were probably waiting with anticipation for the release of their most recent album, Deadbeat. Not our favorite album of his, but this song slaps. It's a display of nostalgic instrumentation and unique lyrics that depict that Mr. Darcy type of yearning, but in a modern way. It also feels very Enya-esque. We can so relate to the idea of being in the room of a new crush and thinking every little thing is perfect.
5. Flipturn - "Swim Between Trees"
Can we talk about starts and ends? This song, beginning to end, is one we praise for its intentionality. First, the cool guitar melody in the intro all the way to the end, which features some layering of sounds that makes one of our most favorite songs from the year. The vocals have this Radiohead-like cadence to them that makes it so satisfying to listen to. The song is yet another love song and is the type of song the earworms love, so be warned.
We love quinnie, but get that her voice is different. We find it weird in the best way, the most satisfying way possible. Can we get a moment of silence for what is the most beautiful piano intro? Literally chills. The song is poetry as she describes what feels like an unfolding insight into this “secret that nobody knows”. This type of lyricism is what works together to make this song as memorable as it is. There is some inspiration from Big Thief in here, never a bad thing. We’ve been big fans for a while and are so impressed that she just gets better and better. Amazing song, amazing album.
Most known for how she expertly plays the cello as if it were a guitar, which gives her cool girl points in our book. Not only that, but this song is very us. There’s this particular sweetness to it, and it captures an experience that so many of us can relate to. The lyrics, “misspell my first name, it’s fine, I like it better that way,” could there be anything more sweet and relatable? Yeemz is filling the Phoebe Bridgers void that’s been gaping wide for the past 5 years. If we could choose a top album of 2025 her album, Blame the Gods, would easily take the cake.
We never ever dare to skip this song when it comes on our Apple Music. Everything about this song is addictive. It’s the perfect recipe of the beat, the hook, the right amount of vocal effects and a touch of quirkiness that makes it so pleasing to listen to. It all works together to make it feel so euphoric. It taps into a bit of a Charli xcx energy that makes it so lovable. Mallrat is another artist we got to work with earlier this year and as long-time fans of her music, we’ve seen firsthand her evolution into the artist she is now, and that evolution is ever present in her most recent album, Light Hit My Face Like A Straight Right, via Nettwerk. Thanks for this gem, Grace.
This is our most favorite song of 2025. This track is cute, it’s fun, it’s a love song, and it can be enjoyed by literally anyone and everyone. This song is already so fun to listen to, but her adorable SNL performance got us falling head over heels. She exudes this infectious joy as she performs, which makes us enjoy it even more. That joy is still felt with every single listen and comes with this particular sweetness that makes it oh so special. That’s why it’s been on repeat on our playlists since it was released. This is a song that makes you think about the time you first had a crush on someone. It depicts that longing in a way that’s so very catchy. That’s all to say that it’s a bop and has earned its place at the very top of our list.
Thank you for reading and listening along with us!
