The best songs of the year 2025

Here are the best songs of 2025, picked by Skiddle staff.

Skiddle Staff

Last updated: 22nd Dec 2025

2025 may have felt like a bit of a hellscape but at least we had music to keep us going. Treated to a deluge of new music, a hell of a lot of singles have been released this year. It can be difficult to sift through the noise to the truly good stuff. But fear not, as we've compiled what we feel are the best singles of 2025. From pop excellence to catchy club stompers and incredible hip-hop flows, we've got something for everyone here.

30. Djo - Delete Ya

‘Delete Ya’ is a song that takes us on a funky yet mellow journey. Giving Police vibes in all the right ways, Djo hits the nail on the head when it comes to making a gutwrenching breakup song. Especially with that subtle ‘Stranger Things’ reference (IYKYK). (Leah Finch)

29. Clipse - So Be It

Enlisting production wizard Pharrell, ‘So Be It’ features expertly chopped vocals and violin from an Arab song (Maza Akoulou - Talal Madah) and marries it with seriously beefy distorted 808s for an earworm that’s equally sonically ethereal as it is punchy, dizzying you with each pound of its colossal kick drum.

Packed with double (and multiple) entendres, themed lyrical schemes, and earned cockiness that creates a suave, magnetic mic presence, the duo entice rappers to beef them - even throwing shots at Travis Scott - knowing they’re untouchable. What a track. Good luck not getting the beat stuck in your head. (Holly Quinn)

28. Shelly - Cross Your Mind

Clairo, Claud, and friends brought their Shelly project back from the dead with a surprise two track EP this year. Its first single ‘Cross Your Mind’ has all the hallmarks of the 27-year old’s solo cuts; a breezy indie pop treat seeped with melancholy, suburban ennui, and high school sweetheart anguish. (Gabriel Arnold)

27. Wednesday - Elderberry Wine

There’s a gentleness to ‘Elderberry Wine’, one of the standout singles from Wednesday’s album Bleeds. It’s a song that shows the slower side to the band, with pedal steel twangs setting the mood to recline. The chorus evokes a sense of togetherness, that no matter what’s happening, we can find comfort within the people around us. It’s a melodic and lyrical triumph. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Wednesday here

26. Zara Larsson - Midnight Sun

Zara Larsson made a magnificent comeback this year with her song ‘Midnight Sun’. Celebrating her Swedish roots, the song's heavy Y2K aesthetic made the year feel just that little bit more fun. And that vocal run? Speaks for itself. (Leah Finch)

Find tickets for Zara Larsson here

25. Sextile - S Is For

The immediacy of Sextile’s ‘S Is For’ will have you straight into the groove. The electronic bouncing melody ebbs and flows, before hitting you hard with the bass. The experimental group are proudly on the messier side of production, and that’s what really makes the untameable energy of songs like this shine. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Sextile here

24. Sex Mask feat Noah Learmonth - Blisters

Melbourne post-punk trio Sex Mask linked up with Noah Learmonth of Radio Free for this track that elicits a feeling that’s hard to pin down. Certainly infused with a tinge of melancholy and fatigue, the guitars lethargically melt and slide around while the vocals offer an intoxicating (and for many, relatable) fed-upness, emphasised by harmonies that sound as if they come from a jaded, stoned, depressed young person, even when the vocalist injects more power into them. It’s that type of art that descriptions won’t fully do justice to - it needs to be experienced firsthand. (Holly Quinn)

23. Olivia Dean - Man I Need

As part of Olivia Dean’s second studio album, we have ‘Man I Need’, which evokes all the feels (in a good way). Paired with Dean’s magnetic vocals, the romantic hit was enough to have this on our Song of the Year list. (Leah Finch)

Find tickets for Olivia Dean here

22. Sam Fender - Rein Me In

Fender weaved another tale of heartache and self-sabotage with the infectious jangly rock number ‘Rein Me In’. A tragic tale of being unable to open up and be vulnerable with a romantic partner, it features some of Fender’s finest lines, from “the bars ‘round here serve my ghosts and carcasses” to “All my memories of you ring like tinnitus”. The Geordie bard later released a viral version with verses from pop’s new it girl Olivia Dean giving the other side of the story. (Gabriel Arnold)

Find tickets for Sam Fender here

21. Alex G - Afterlife

No song exemplified the unyielding charm of Alex G on his latest album Headlights like ‘Afterlife’. There’s a genuine sense of magic flowing through the awkward textures that shift and scatter throughout its runtime. Sure, on his major debut, the production might be slightly more polished but that takes nothing away from an artist whose music sounds truly singular in indie. There’s a deep feeling of nostalgia throughout this song, and a sense of indescribable beauty that simply leaves you in awe. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Alex G here

20. Water From Your Eyes - Playing Classics

Indie experimentalists Water From Your Eyes released a genuine floor-filling dance music track. The slow build with the looped drums is hypnotising, add to it a delightful keyboard melody and layers of sci-fi feeling synths, and you have a pop song that demands to be moved to. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Water From Your Eyes here

19. DJ Python - Marry Me Maia

A beautiful blend of ambient analogue pulses and hazed vocals, 'Marry Me Maia' floats on resplendent synths and distant rumbles, blurring electronic music into something that feels almost like a private observation. DJ Python creates intimacy through atmosphere, using restraint to a truly seductive quality; a track we’ve stared out of many a window to this year, never failing to slow everything down. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for DJ Python here

18. Barry Can't Swim feat O'Flynn - Kimpton

'Kimpton' distils Barry Can’t Swim’s sun-soaked sound into its sharpest form yet, and it may just be down to O’Flynn’s Midas touch. Pairing a melodic vocal lift with crisp, propulsive rhythm, it’s signature Barry euphoria - endlessly danceable, driven by addictive marimbas, with an all-encompassing soundscape that’s sent many a dancefloor into blissful motion this year. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for Barry Can't Swim here

17. Wolf Alice - The Sofa

Ellie Rowsell is full of contradictions on the closer to Wolf Alice’s fourth record The Clearing. On ‘The Sofa’, Rowsell is torn between the pressures of ageing, wishing on one hand to wind down and find a soulmate, while on the other she “just want(s) to f**k.” As the soaring chorus and piano keys kick in, she wishes to just “lie here on the sofa”. Don’t we all? (Gabriel Arnold)

Find tickets for Wolf Alice here

16. Dave feat Kano - Chapter 16

‘Chapter 16’ is no ordinary feature, it feels like we’ve genuinely interrupted two grime greats at dinner together. It sees us witness the dynamic between Kano and Dave, the former tasked with giving advice on everything from legacy to fame and relationships. An exchange that feels like a passing of the guard, it’s genuinely heartwarming to listen to, and is an incredibly genuine piece of music. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Dave here

15. Perfume Genius - It's A Mirror

The standout track from Perfume Genius’ album Glory, ‘It’s A Mirror’ showcases Mike Hadreas’ lyrical excellence. It’s at times paranoid, deeply vulnerable and a glimpse into the artist’s headspace, “what do I get out of being established? I still run and hide when a man’s at the door”. A deeply engrossing track, it feels like watching the sunset fade. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Perfume Genius here

14. Man/Woman/Chainsaw - Adam & Steve

Man/Woman/Chainsaw have had quite the 2025, establishing themselves as one of UK indie’s most exciting new names. They’ve released outstanding singles in ‘MadDog’ and ‘Only Girl’ but ‘Adam & Steve’ takes the crowning glory. The song is an absolute rollock, with the vocals of Billy Ward and Vera Leppanen both contrasting and colliding together perfectly. And there’s plenty of turbulence here, portrayed by the uneasy wails of the violin. It’s about love that has upped sticks and left, there’s a lack of understanding, and this song explores that fractured relationship and mindset brilliantly. (Matty Pywell)

13. Fcukers - Play Me

Gnarly, bassy and breaks-led, 'Play Me' is an insanely catchy club track from New York groove-inducers Fcukers, produced by Kenny Beats, and some of the most fun we’ve had all year. From the wobbly low-end and infectious hook to the mid-track BPM switch-up, it’s built to get a room pumping - and it absolutely does. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for Fcukers here

12. Sudan Archives - My Type

A piece of slick electronica, ‘My Type’ morphs into a perfect pop song. The pulsating synths feel like a light is being lit up by strobe lights. There’s a perfect amount of intensity in the beat, matched with no trouble by Archives’ inch-perfect vocal flow. The lyrics just seem to leap between each other, all we can do is go along in her slipstream, and it’s a hell of a ride. The chorus is huge, worthy of closing any late-night club set. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Sudan Archives here

11. Geese - Taxes

Winters’ solo track may have taken the top spot, but we couldn’t keep Geese off this list. Locked into a perpetual, ritualistic groove that builds toward a euphoric release halfway through, it’s a track steeped in American politics and religion, with Winters confessing he’d rather get killed than contribute taxes to the horrific acts of his nation. It rocks - and Cameron Winter is a f**king rockstar. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for Geese here

10. Oklou - Family and Friends

An ethereal, lushly produced first single from the world of Choke Enough, 'Family and Friends' finds Oklou pondering life’s purpose and its cycles through the lens of impending motherhood, set to arpeggiated marimbas and breath-close mic intimacy. It’s a song that has lingered in our ears throughout the year, not because it demands attention, but because it earns it. (Tom Hirst)

9. Dijon - Yamaha

Dijon brings back Annie, the eponymous figure from the fourth track of 2021’s Absolutely, for a spin on Baby’s centrepiece song ‘Yamaha’. Stuffed with callbacks to his collaborators and past work, it’s a triumphant proclamation of devotion, backed by guitar work and production that would make Prince proud. (Gabriel Arnold)

8. DJRUM - Three Foxes Chasing Each Other

Few producers can make complexity feel this natural, and 'Three Foxes Chasing Each Other' finds DJRUM operating at the peak of that skill. What begins with tropically punctuated marimba phrases gradually mutates into a constantly shifting, high-intensity rhythm that, no matter how fast or strange it gets, always feels purposeful. A masterclass in control and imagination, continuing to reveal new crevices with every return listen this year. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for DJRUM here

7. CMAT - When A Good Man Cries

Kicked off by a sharp blast of the violin, this CMAT track hooks you in from the start. “I waited for love, with a cricket bat,” she begins, an example of her talent for narrative flair mixed with her humour. The chorus is as good as any you’ll hear this year, accompanied by swooning strings, it is sensational. The layered vocal harmonies in the final third amp up the sense of drama, evolving the track into a high-stakes listen, the passion is amplified, the instrumentals soar and you cannot help but feel like you’re right at the heart of the centrepiece. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for CMAT here

6. Tyler, The Creator - Sugar On My Tongue

‘Sugar On My Tongue’ marks another hit for US rapper Tyler, The Creator. Using his familiar comedic presence to explore some pretty heavy tones of physical attraction, Tyler’s genius lyricism gave this song an impact like no other. (Leah Finch)

Find tickets for Tyler, The Creator - here

5. Rosalia feat Bjork and Yves Tumor - Berghain

The single that introduced us to the latest era of Rosalia, this is a perfect meld of classical music with contemporary pop. The type of forward-thinking pop that artists such as Caroline Polachek, Charli XCX and Rosalia herself have perpetuated. 'Berghain' sounds huge, cinematic and completely breathtaking. And it certainly isn't hurt by a verse from Bjork and the brutal ending provided by Yves Tumor. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Rosalia here

4. Turnstile - I Care

By now, Turnstile’s ability to stretch hardcore without breaking it is well documented, but 'I Care' feels like the moment it all truly clicked. What begins as a catchy, sun-bleached indie riff melts into Turnstile’s signature bar-chord weight - a track that’s started many a pit this year, from a band continuing to rewrite what hardcore can sound, and feel, like. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for Turnstile here

3. Ninajirachi - Ipod Touch

An absolute anthem worthy of being chanted from the depths of clubs to festival stages across the world. 'Ipod Touch' is a nostalgic slice of EDM that is imbued with the chaotic nature of hyperpop. But, it never gets lost in the maximalism, staying highly danceable as Ninajirachi describes nostalgic teenage days and nights spent online, working on music. (Matty Pywell)

2. Pinkpantheress - Illegal

TikTok loved it, we loved it, and that’s why it would be ‘Illegal’ to not include this in our Songs of the Year. With a catchy jingle and even catchier lyrics, the UK hyperpop princess did it again. The song has even been nominated for a GRAMMY, such has its impact been on 2025. It was an essential part of a huge year for the UK artist. (Leah Finch)

Find tickets for Pinkpantheress here

1. Cameron Winter - Love Takes Miles

Yes, we know it landed at the tail end of last year, but it missed our previous list - and this off-kilter masterpiece has quietly soundtracked much of our year since. Understated yet razor-sharp, Cameron Winter captures the work and compromise that love demands with a clarity far beyond his 23 years; lines like “love will make you fit it all in the car” are devastating in their relatability. One of the finest modern love songs, and a more than worthy choice for our number one spot. (Tom Hirst)

To see where some of these artists will be playing in 2026, head to our Gigs, Clubs and Festivals pages.

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