From demon hunters and drug dealers to subways and sex dens, here are our picks for the most memorable tracks of the year.

The 10 best songs of 2025

From demon hunters and drug dealers to subways and sex dens, here are our picks for the most memorable tracks of the year.

By Jason Lamphier

Jason Lamphier is a senior editor at who covers news and music. Before joining EW, he was an editor at The New York Observer, Out, and Interview.

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December 9, 2025 11:00 a.m. ET

(L-R): Sabrina Carpenter; Olivia Dean; PinkPantheress; Chappell Roan; Lady Gaga. Credit:

Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images; Mike Lewis/Redferns via Getty Images; Didier Messens/Redferns via Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Coachella; Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images

If the best pop stars have taught us anything, it's that the only way to stick around is to constantly evolve. This year, our favorite artists did just that, branching out into new genres, blending modern and vintage sounds, and hopping from one style and tempo to another within seconds. Others proved that reheating nachos is not a bad thing — as long as the nachos were yours and the recipe was good to begin with. Meanwhile, fresh voices emerged, offering us something we didn't even know we needed, reminding us of music's endless possibilities and singular ability to move and change us, sometimes indefinitely, over the course of four minutes. Our list of 2025's best songs includes all of this — plus demon hunters, drug dealers, and sex dens.

Here, **'s favorite tracks of the year.

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The 10 best songs of 2025

10. KPop Demon Hunters/Huntr/x, “Golden”

Fictional or not, Huntr/x was the breakout star of 2025. After *KPop Demon Hunters *landed on Netflix, it was hard to go more than 24 hours without "gonna be, gonna be golden" ringing in your ears. And for good reason. Within the supernatural story of the movie, "Golden" is the emotional, liberating climax that signifies Rumi finally embracing all of herself, with her friends and fans by her side. But the real magic of it is that even plucked from that context, it's a megawatt banger. The warm and rousing melodies, the tingling satisfaction of the notes rising in tandem with the lyrics ("We're going up, up, up, it's our moment"), and singer Ejae's impressive range are undeniable, at times even goosebump-inducing. It'll likely be a few years before the next Huntr/x hit arrives. In the meantime, we'll stay golden. *—Shania Russell*

9. Sabrina Carpenter, “Nobody’s Son”

The 26-year-old pop star mastered the art of "happy-sad" on her seventh record, *Man’s Best Friend,* crafting another collection of clever, sugary kiss-offs like "Manchild," "Goodbye," and, the jewel of them all, "Nobody's Son." Set atop a sparkling, reggae-infused beat, the song finds Carpenter dryly reciting her partner's detached breakup text before spinning out into a heady and all-too-relatable mix of fury and woe over being scorned once again. Still, she brings a buoyant energy to the track with her signature sense of humor, sarcastically noting how her mystery man has finally, miraculously learned about self-control — "He discovered it this week!" — and dropping in some charmingly cheesy whip sounds when dressing him down. "That boy is corrupt," she deadpans to his parents. "Could you raise him to love me maybe?" If there's nobody's son left for Carpenter to believe in, at least, as always, she can laugh about it. *—Emlyn Travis*

8. Dijon, “Yamaha”

On "Yamaha," Dijon is in love, but he's also in love with *being* in* *love* *— the irrepressible power it has over him, the way it makes him see the world differently, the ineffability of it. "Bang bang, Annie / I want it more / And more than I can explain / So let's explore," he announces at the start of the track like a thesis statement. What follows is a feat of sonic wizardry as he tries to articulate just how moony and enraptured he is. "Write me in for Friday through Tuesday / I am on call!" he sings over a whirlpool of panting synthesizers, fuzzed-out guitar, chopped-up samples, and thumping percussion straight out of Prince's playbook. Like the myriad thoughts churning in his head, the final product is dizzying, the most euphoric expression of desire and devotion this year. Annie, if you don't call this man, we will. *—Jason Lamphier*

7. Lily Allen, “P---y Palace”

Lily Allen dropped what may be the divorce album of the millenium at the end of October, a vulnerable record filled with cathartic, genuinely moving tracks about an open marriage gone wrong. The British artist's confessional *West End Girl *is based, at least partly, on her split from *Stranger Things* star David Harbour in 2024, and she co-wrote and recorded it over the course of just 10 days. Despite that accelerated timeline, Allen's diaristic, head-turning storytelling is sharp, funny, and affecting, never more so than on the addictive "P---y Palace," in which she details the "Duane Reade bag with the handles tied / Sex toys, butt plugs, lube inside" and the "hundreds of Trojans" she unearths in her husband’s secret f--- cave. Its chorus — "I didn't know it was your p---y palace" — is still impossible to scrub from our brains. Unlike her doomed relationship, it'll live on forever. —*Tiffany Kelly***

6. PinkPantheress, “Illegal”

Does it even matter what this song is really about (buying weed and, before that, getting an escort)? The internet, as the internet is wont to do, turned it into something else entirely. On TikTok and Instagram this year, it was nearly impossible *not *to encounter a video of two people shaking hands over the 24-year-old British singer's bite-size dance track, which samples the 1994 Underworld cut "Dark & Long (Dark Train)." The lyrics "Hey, ooh, is this illegal? Hey, ooh, it feels illegal" were some of the most inescapable of 2025, and its garage-inspired beats hit you like a truck. But in her stripped-down NPR Tiny Desk Concert in September, PinkPantheress proved that the single still works without that irresistible pulse. Her angelic, featherlight, now instantly recognizable vocals supply their own kind of soothing high. Hey, is it illegal to be this cool? —*Tiffany Kelly*

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5. Cameron Winter, “Love Takes Miles”

As the frontman of Geese, Cameron Winter is a ballistic missile, roaring like a caged animal and dripping sweat into the mic. But on his debut solo album, *Heavy Metal,* the rising art-rock star reveals his hand as a singer-songwriter extraordinaire, toning things down and slipping into a drowsy falsetto. The record's high point is "Love Takes Miles," a groovy piano-parlor ditty with a handclappy beat and cinematic strings. Here, love is sublime but elusive, like trying to catch a sunbeam in the palm of your hand. But it's also something earned with great effort and patience — "you better start a-walking, babe," Winter croons. What he wants may be far away, but if the depth of soul and range on "Miles" is any indication, he's on track to become one of the greats. *—Allaire Nuss***

4. Bad Bunny, “Baile Inolvidable”

In the finest moment on *Debí Tirar Más Fotos*, Bad Bunny's sprawling paean to Puerto Rico, he leaves his trademark trap and reggaeton at the door to usher us into the hottest party on the island. "Baile Inolvidable" may be about a lost love, but it is six minutes of pure, unbridled joy, a glorious and exultant tribute to salsa and the power of dance in general. The song feels like two, emerging as a swirl of doomy synths and forlorn vocals before quickly morphing into a totally different beast as a raucous live band bursts in to crack things wide open. Benito may be the most-streamed artist in the world, but his young collaborators Los Sobrinos — playing piano, congas, maracas, trombone, trumpet, and timpani — are the real stars here. He's more than happy to share the spotlight. *—Jason Lamphier *

3. Olivia Dean, “Man I Need”

Olivia Dean's breakout moment has been pending for half a decade. She showed promise with 2020's "The Hardest Part," then teased her evolution with 2023's "Dive," but thanks to "Man I Need" she has officially arrived. The fizzy pop track sees the 26-year-old British singer solidify her sophisticated sound as she makes the case for owning how you want to be loved and insisting your lover rise to the occasion. Still, as yearning and exasperated as her lyrics are ("I'd like to think you feel the same way / But I can't tell with you sometimes"), Dean is hopeful and flirty, leaning into brassy soul influences and giddy melodies, pulling it all together with a seductive hook.* —Shania Russell***

2. Chappell Roan, “The Subway”

If you think about it, the New York subway is a pretty damn good metaphor for love. It can be dirty and scary. Sometimes it's reliable, chugging along smoothly; sometimes you wait so long for it, you fear it'll never come. And it can totally break down, leaving you stuck and lost. Chappell Roan inhabits that last scenario in her surprise summer single, unable to surface from her private purgatory and move on after a failed relationship. She can't stop imagining her green-haired ex all over the city, she bolts when she smells her perfume, she nearly calls out her name while hooking up with someone else. She even vows that if she can't shake off her past soon, she'll flee the urban jungle for the prairies of Saskatchewan. Roan and her co-songwriter, Dan Nigro, proved they were ace storytellers with last year's "Good Luck Babe," and the vivid imagery in their dream-pop stunner "The Subway" is a big reason why it's so relatably, palpably devastating. That and Roan's voice, which is perfectly gorgeous in the track's chorus, but reaches skyscraper heights in its coda as she alternates between the lines "she's got a way" and "she got away" before going full tilt in its final notes. By then, the train has left the station, our hearts along with it. *—Jason Lamphier*

1. Lady Gaga, “Abracadabra”

In this year's most welcome comeback, Gaga once again clawed her way to pop's forefront with one of her strongest singles to date. "Abracadabra" harkens back to the beloved early hits that launched her army of Little Monsters ("Bad Romance," "Judas"), serving up a lethal cocktail of gothic theatricality, powerhouse vocals, club-tailored production (the lyrics "feel the beat under your feet, the floor's on fire" couldn’t be more apt), and an impish, nonsensical chorus that only she could concoct. The track also spawned one of 2025's most exhilarating music videos, boasting immaculately jittery choreography and a nightmarish atmosphere that looks as sinister and fun as the song sounds. In the battle between the lady in white and the lady in red, we were the winners. *—Wesley Stenzel***

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