Favorite Songs Of 2025: Music That Became Our Soundtrack For The Year

Music is the soundtrack of your life – Dick Clark

True words were never spoken. Music is a magical and important part of our everyday lives. We don’t just listen to music. We experience it. Music speaks to us in both joyful and sorrowful times. It tells a story, and we can all find a song or two to relate to. There is so much authenticity to be found in music. And in a time when AI is pretty much taking over everything, including music, it’s so important to continue to acknowledge those real artists who are doing the real work.

Naturally, I couldn’t do this list alone, so a few of my Fangirlish crew gave me some of their top songs as well. In no particular order, here’s a list of some of our favorite songs from 2025.

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Hayley Williams surprised us all when she dropped a digital album back in July of this year. The album was only available on her website with a secret code (That we all shared, of course!). It was the craziest experience ever and left fans wanting more. “True Believer” was quite possibly one of the most unexpected tracks ever. In the song, Williams pulls no punches. She calls everything. And we do mean everything. From the hypocrisy of the church to racism, it’s all there inside of a haunting melody with vocals that make you stop and listen. With lyrics like “The South will not rise again til it’s paid for every sin, strange fruit, hard bargain,” the song demands your attention, and let me tell you, it grabbed mine.

The epitome and encapsulation of loving someone with boundaries and caring for your own well-being. Whether it’s friends, family, or a significant other, it goes through all the emotions of why space is so bittersweet. How time can heal all wounds, even if the relationship looks different as time goes on. There’s even a glimmer of hope towards the end of the song, that one day, maybe, everything could be better – together.

One thing we can say about Sabrina Carpenter is that she holds absolutely nothing back. And that is certainly true of “Manchild,” the lead track off her seventh album, Man’s Best Friend. This album, including the cover, generated controversy. That is because some people don’t understand nuance and refuse to see the deeper meaning behind it. Listen to “Manchild,” and you’ll see what we mean. The song is poppy and fun, but it has a message about, you guessed it, men. She’s calling out the illusion of the man being our protector and seen as smarter than us. She calls out the immaturity of men and the fact that some men behave the way they do because of the way they were raised (which is not wrong). We love Sabrina, and we hope she never stops being her unapologetic self.

Some people think that R&B is a dying or forgotten genre of music, but artists like Masego are proof that nothing could be further from the truth. His soulful voice and thoughtful lyrics remind us of artists of the past. This track feels like a ride in the car on a mild summer night with the windows down. It feels like sitting with family and friends as you just have a good time. Masego just gets it and understands what artistry is.

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2025 seemed to be the year of the unexpected album drops. Justin Bieber surprised us all when he released Swag and then shortly after, Swag II. There are a lot of great tracks on both albums, but “Speed Demon” off Swag II is one of those songs that remind us just how talented Justin is. It’s his signature style of lyricism mixed with a bouncy and catchy beat. And it’s just an all-around fun song to sing.

Description: In case y’all didn’t know, not only is emo not dead, but the band that brought you the unforgettable “Car Underwater” back in 2005 released its second of two more recent/comeback albums in 2025. There Is No Memory is packed with great tracks, but there’s something…extra special about the way “Breathe Again” works the buildup to, and its landing on, its knife to the guts that makes it a standout.

That “Even you” lyric is super simple, but because it’s so much shorter than all the lines before it, and because of that slight pause, lead vocalist and songwriter Ben Jorgensen doesn’t just stab that knife in after he finally manages to breathe again, he delivers an utterly brutal twist for maximum impact. *chef’s kiss*

Though “My House” was originally released in 2014, this re-release, which was recorded for the 10th anniversary of PVRIS’s first album, White Noise, made our list. That’s because while it does have some similarities to the original track, there are differences, and not just musically. The inclusion of Spiritbox lead vocalist Courtney LaPlante elevates the track in a new way. Lynn Gunn has always said there are versions of songs on the White Noise album she’d re-record if she could, and while we do love the original “My House,” we love her new spin on this version.

Kehlani is another R&B artist who understands that it’s a genre that is still alive and well. Folded is one of our favorite tracks, and we can’t help but think about artists like Janet Jackson and others from the early 90s who provided us with so many great songs. The beat of “Folded” is soul-filled, and Kehlani’s vocals are powerful and soothing all at the same time. She’s an artist who doesn’t get nearly enough of the recognition she deserves because she’s in a class all her own.

Pollyanna’s second full-length album, Weirdo, dropped in October 2025. And it has everything. Pop punk? Check. Ballads? Check. Rage? Big check. A firm statement that hate, of any kind, isn’t welcome here? Mmmmmhm. Just about any song on this album is worthy of being called one of the best songs of 2025, but I’m highlighting “Boygirl” here because, well, first of all it’s catchy AF. Second, as singer Jill Beckett put it when they were interviewed by Melodic Magazine: “The message of ‘Boygirl’ is saying it’s okay to not know exactly what it is that you are. Gender is such a complex thing. It’s also like, we made it up, you know? So I think that the message behind ‘Boygirl’ is just saying like, it’s okay to not fall under a label.”

Mini Trees have been around for a while, but this artist is new to me, and I wish I’d known about her sooner. Lexi Vega, whose stage name is Mini Trees, has some amazing music. Her song “Hollow” on her second album, Slow It Down, is an emotional rollercoaster that talks about what it’s like to be in a relationship when you realize that it’s run its course, and what it feels like in the aftermath. It shows how it feels when memories come flooding back, and you think about the one you left behind.

We know we already put a song on this list from Hayley Williams, but “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party” deserves to be on here, too. And honestly, if we could have, we probably would have added every song from this album to this list. It’s just that good. This song is powerful, and Hayley Williams is THAT girl! Every lyric is fiery and no-nonsense. Hayley is unafraid to say how she feels. And she’s not afraid to tell us how messed up this world has become. She calls out racists and misogynists, and that is okay with us.

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When an artist writes a song that is so honest and vulnerable, there is no surprise that people stop and pay attention. Ballerini has had a lot of attention around her due to her relationships and her music has reflected that. Only this song wasn’t about that – it was about sacrifices. The sacrifices that she has made for her career and her thoughts about them. It was a song that so many of us can relate to, because like all of her music it was raw and real.

Someone asked us once what The Fate of Ophelia is about, but like most of her songs it is open to interpretation. For some the song is about a fate similar to Ophelia, who was driven mad by love and some it’s about being rescued from love. For us it’s taken on many different meanings, but whatever meaning it’s taken on for you – you can’t deny that Swift is a great storyteller with her performances and her music.

What is your favorite song of the year? Tell us the soundtrack to your 2025!