From a song by a certified superstar that came out in the very first week of January to breakthroughs from lesser-known indie acts, here are selections from NPR Music's list of the best songs of 2025.

This year's defining songs include a pop gem from Taylor Swift's latest album, Olivia Dean's breakout hit, and Kendrick Lamar's best duet with SZA.

Each year at NPR Music, we curate two flagship lists: The Best Albums of the Year and The Best Songs of the Year. But there's a lot more recommendations and criticism where those came from. You'll ...

One of the best songs from one of the best metal albums of 2025. No Loss, No Love veered from savagely heavy, pick-scraped ...

“Golden,” the megahit from KPop Demon Hunters, and two songs each from Sinners and Wicked: For Good are on the Oscar shortlist for best original song, which was revealed on Tuesday (Dec. 16).

The December roundup of our punk column ‘In Defense of the Genre’ includes recent news, reviews, and features, along with a ...

Picking a “first dance” isn’t always easy. While some couples have one song they claim as their own, others rely on popularity to decide what they will dance to on one of the most important days of ...

These are four of the best country songs that were ever written, which all happened to come out sometime in 1997.