Top 20 Best Songs of 2025…in July

Yet another ‘Headphones On’ joke.

This year has not been as overwhelming musically, which means I had to try harder to find songs I really liked. On one hand, that means more work for me personally, because I do like to be lazy. On the other hand, this is definitely a more varied and interesting round up than last year’s list.

I’ve also included some honorable mentions to spread the positivity!

Honourable Mentions:

Illegal - PinkPantheress
All frills and fun. This one song almost justifies the entirety of Britain. Also, the TikTok trend is cute.

Gnarly - KATSEYE
This is either the worst song ever made or a masterpiece of hyperpop nonsense. It has been stuck in my head for weeks.

Midnight Sun - Zara Larsson
Every so often, this talented and tacky Swedish pop princess makes something glorious.

Man Of The Year - Lorde
I usually dislike Lorde on principle, but I really do think this raw and tragic ballad is where her talents are best used. I don’t care for her upbeat tracks - but this gender dysphoria nightmare is compelling.

Acid Rain - Model/Actriz
This song fills me with such a great deal of dread. I listen to it on the train, watching the world go by. In a year that’s had a lot of personal heartbreak and loss, I find myself thinking that I also don’t want to leave this garden alone.

THE LIST

20. One Thing - Lola Young
Stupid fun. Lola Young is yet another victim of having a personality in pop music.

19. Kiss It - Jae Stephens
I like this trend of 2000s pop throwbacks when handled correctly. Jae Stephens is one of the few current pop starlets who does the throwback thing well and without shame. There’s still rough edges, but the chorus is great and there’s real personality behind the performance.

18. Suzanne - Mark Ronson, RAYE
A match made in heaven. I just really like Raye as a performer - she’s just got such a fantastic voice. If she’d released ‘Born Again’ solo it would have topped this list.

17. Walk of Fame - Miley Cyrus ft. Brittany Howard
This is a pretty strong Miley Cyrus song about being hounded by the paparazzi that suddenly becomes a Lady Gaga song about the same subject, which makes the song absolutely transcend.

16. Backseat - Balu Brigada
If I ever commit a hit and run, I will play this song as a dodge the cops.

15. State of Hawaii - Skegss
This is one of my favourite finds on a New Music Friday playlist. Chill, surfy, and easy to listen to. It’s the song of the year so far that feels like a future summer staple for me, and I’m looking forward to throwing it on while I float in the pool.

14. IT Girl - JADE
This is chaos made clean. JADE remains the most intriguing solo artist to come out of Little Mix, and this is such a fantastic follow up to her debut single - even if it’s been surrounded by increasingly generic pop songs. But tracks like this and ‘Midnight Cowboy’ leave me hyped for her upcoming debut record.

13. American Love Song - Infinity Song, Momo Boyd
There’s something haunting about this song, and Momo Boyd has a delectable voice.

12. OMG! - Tiesto, Sexyy Red
I expect this to be played in clubs across the world. Sexyy Red remains one of those artists who always bring a good time to a track. I’d love for her to work with Pitbull.

11. Purple lace bra - Tate McRae
The snob in me almost took this off the list. Tate McRae is just not very impressive, and the more I hear ‘Sports Car’ the less fun I find it. But this Timberland throwback is undoubtedly the best song she’s released. McRae’s limited voice sounds great here, and she’s surprisingly good at inserting frustration and anger into the dead eyed sexpot thing she had going on.

10. Spin It - AMAKA ft. DETO BLACK
I hope to god I’m in on the ground floor here. AMAKA, formerly half of VanJess, is a Nigerian-American R’n’B/Pop singer who released the most underrated EP of 2023 in ‘Oasis’. Her latest singe is ‘Spin It’, a pulsating track that sounds like a strip club inside a gravitron. The music just sounds so good, and I cannot help but be excited to see where her dreamy, hypnotic sound goes. Get into her!

9. Nokia - Drake
Drake may be at a critical low when it comes to respect, but the man can always be trusted to release one great club track a year. The song went viral for a reason. It’s an undeniable hit.

8. Roundabout - The Grogans
I’ve made a real effort this year to try and listen to more Australian music. The pop stuff? Pretty bad. But we’ve got some pretty great rock stuff! The Grogans’ third single from their 2025 album ‘Stagger’ is a slurry of desperation and great guitar work. ‘Roundabout’ has felt like a cleansing break between a lot of the pop stuff I listen to, and I’d recommend it to anyone who doesn’t like the rest of this list.

7. Can’t Keep A Beat - Say Now
This is the best song about a bad fuck since Lily Allen released ‘Not Fair’ nearly 20 years ago. The trio ‘Say Now’ (terrible name, good music) manage to hit everything right in this cute dance-pop release. This is the best Sugababes single of the year - even with their recent return to music (which itself was pretty good).

6. Fame is a Gun - Addison Rae
Post-review, I’ve softened on the first and only Addison Rae record. Ambition and inspiration done right is something to be applauded, and though this song is basically a Lady Gaga song from 2008, it’s also very good in that respect. Rae has basically won me over by working with people who make her music sound good, and I am man enough to admit that.

5. The Scene - Dojo Cuts
I really like the groove here. That’s pretty much it. It’s slinky and cool and I sing along while doing chores around the house. It makes me feel sexy, and very few songs actually do that.

4. Girl Feels Good - FKA twigs
Despite my tumultuous relationship with Madonna’s ‘Ray of Light’, this homage to that 1998 record is amongst the best songs FKA twigs has ever released. FKA twigs remains one of my favourite weirdos that touches on the mainstream. Intimate and intensely sweet, I cannot think of another song this year that manages to strike the same chord of vulnerability.

3. Cowboy - Selena Gomez, benny blanco
I was shocked to love ‘I Said I Love You First’ as much as I did. Both Gomez and blanco have had diminishing returns in music for the past few years, and then…the album was fantastic. Gomez in particular seemed to rediscover her good taste, playing into the edges of her somewhat tragic public persona. Even when things are good, they’re muddy. The result here is a sex jam that drifts and drips. It’s breathless in the best way. Bonus points for the GloRilla cameo - although I don’t think her full verse on the remix was necessary.

2. undressed - sombr
The best chorus of the year and some of the greatest yearning we’ve had from a man on the radio in decades.

1. Bliss - Tyla
The first time I heard ‘Bliss’ by Tyla, I thought it was fine. The second time was good. Within a week it had become the song I was listening to every day. It yearns, it shouts, it hits me right in the stomach. There’s been a lot of great and unexpected music this year, but with this one song, Tyla has really dominated my attention. The fact this is not a global smash hit (yet) is an indictment on the supposed “taste” of the public.

Tune in to my next post…the worst of the year!