2025 Tracks of the Year so far - what are yours?

As we're halfway through the year, I thoguht I'd sit down and compile my favourite tunes of the year. I'd love to know yours.

(Here's a link to the dreaded Spotify - yes, I know, I know, I'm working on it)

And here's my current top ten:

Amaarae - S.M.O.
Leon Vynehall, Beau Nox - Cruel Love
Raz & Afla - Windowlicker
Chimpo ft. Stanna Banner - Cheeky (DJ Polo Remix)
Soundkraft, Lilmaina, Spoiler - 1by1
F!C!O! ft. Fellsius, Carpainter, ONJUICY - MAKAIMURA
MÖRDA ft. Mnqobi Yazo - Izigi
Davido - Be There Still
Vitess - My Name
9th Records ft. Valika - Follow Me

Cloakroom - Bad Larry
Destroyer - Cataract Time
billy woods - Corinthians
Pulp - Farmers Market
deer park - Crystal
Daryl Johns - Happy
The Tubs - Freak Mode
Real Lies - I Could Join The Birds
Panda Bear - Venom's In
Horsegirl - Switch Over

2025 playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4D3ZhANCQxXikMarnoCM1q?si=l3ZHVceyRX-xg9KU-e-iWA

Strictly on the more dance music side of things, otherwise I think in terms of albums:

Darkside - S.N.C.
Nikki Nair - I.R.S. Love
Nikki Nair - Smooth
Coen - Headbanger
georg-i - Torn In Two
Barker - Stochastic Drift
Jako Maron - Pare po savire

some of my favorite rap songs of the year

myaap - "fairy"
bunna b - "bunna summa"
thirteendegrees - "da problem solva"
fakemink - "face to face"
rio da yung og - "coincidence"
seiji oda - "mobby miyazaki"
yt - "prada or celine"
daboii - "pawn to a king"
mike & tony seltzer - "money & power"
liim - "edward 40 handz"
niontay - "mr. havemyway"
billy woods - "lead paint test" ft. elucid & cavalier
babyfxce e - "ptp (remix)" ft. monaleo
playboi carti - "opm babi"

these new puritans - "bells" is #1 but i've no clue about the rest

Harmony - Where Strangers Go
Jane Remover ft. Danny Brown - Psychoboost
Spellling - Ammunition
Oklou - ict
Maria Somerville - Violet
Swervedriver - The World's Fair

The Happy Fits - Everything You Do
The Happy Fits - Cruel Power
The Beths - No Joy
The Beths - Metal
Wet Leg - CPR

Alex G - Afterlife and June Guitar
Erykah Badu & The Alchemist - Next to You
Destroyer - Bologna
Sharp Pins - I Can't Stop
Stereolab - Melodie is a Wound
James K - Play
Ethel Cain - Fuck Me Eyes
The Beths - Metal and No Joy

D Tiffany - Heaven Tomorrow
Marina Zispin - The Tudors
Neggy Gemmy - Mysterious Girl
Moin - See
Los Thuthanaka - Salay “Titi Ch’iri Siqititi”
Elaine Howley - Hold Me In A New Way

Patrick Wolf - Reculver
Holden & Zimpel - Incredible Bliss
Destroyer - Cataract Time

10 favourites in alphabetical order (though I could just as easily name another 10):

Addison Rae - Fame Is A Gun
Alps 2 - Yeses
Debby Friday - 1/17
Ela Minus - QQQQ
George Riley - Slow
Mallrat - Pavement
Pinkpantheress - Tonight
Pom Femme - Buy Your Love
Sophia Stel - Everyone Falls Asleep In Their Own Time
Sudan Archives - DEAD

Amaarae - S.M.O.
Dawuna - Love Jaunt
Lucrecia Dalt - Cosa Rara
Erika de Casier - You Can't Always Get What You Want
WTCHCRFT - Collapse
Space Ghost & Teddy Bryant - Majestic Fantasies
DjRUM - Three Foxes Chasing Eachother
FKA Twigs - Girl Feels Good
Boof - Save the Bee
Will Long - Acid Dog (DJ Sprinkles Remix)
Rosie Lowe - Something (Pearson Sound Remix)
Pangaea - Manía
Summer Walker - Spend It
Lady Wray - Be A Witness

Addison Rae - Headphones On
Erika de Casier - You Can’t Always Get What You Want
Georgie & Joe - Pacemaker
Joseph Shabason + Dawn Richard - Heart Broken Sade
Laura Groves - Deep Blue
Men I Trust - Another Stone
Neggy Gemmy - Mysterious Girl
Nilufer Yanya - Treason
Smerz - Big City Life
Snuggle - Dust

Link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4vbt9Rq7Ii3CTwo0yP4Zcb

Many cool looking lists so far with plenty of tracks that are unfamiliar to me. That top 10 could change.

Moka, I'm listening to your longlist in order at work, and it's so consistent it's almost like I'm listening to a single artist's album. Lovely stuff so far

Florence Adooni - Fo Yelle
Bad Bunny - Dtmf
Darkside - S.N.C.
Erika de Casier - December
Jenny Hval - Lay Down
Little Simz - Blood
Marie Davidson - Demolition
MaWhoo - Bengicela
Mörda - Glory
Uncle Waffles - Zenzele
Tropical Fuck Storm - Bye Bye Snake Eyes

But yeah Headphones On will be hard to beat on ILM this year

The Field is one of the best pop songs of my life.

Blood Orange - The Field (feat. The Durutti Column, Tariq Al-Sabir, Caroline Polachek & Daniel Caesar)
Maribou State, Andreya Triana - All I Need
Tesia - Yesterday's Weather
Joseph Shabason, Dawn Richard - Broken Hearted Sade
System Olympia, Ms Ray - Coexistence
Brandee Younger - Unswept Corners (Ambient Mix)
Brandee Younger, Niia - Unswept Corners (feat. Niia)
Florence Adooni - A.O.E.I.U.
Maya Amolo, Ywaya Tajiri - Sweetest Time
Jenevieve - Head Over Heels
Jenevieve - Haiku
El Michels Affair, Florence Adooni - Say Goodbye
Maya Amolo - Guidance
Mariah the Scientist - Burning Blue
Laura Groves - Deep Blue
Doves - Cold Dreaming
Men I Trust - Ring Of Past (2025)
SaToA - March
Fiona Apple - Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)
William Tyler - Howling at the Second Moon
eucademix/Yuka Honda - A Long Slow Blink Before The Answer
The Cure - Alone (Four Tet Remix)
Real Lies - Finding Money
Nourished by Time - 9 2 5
LEAFE, Gal Go - Keeping on
Men I Trust - Heavenly Flow
Gal Go, King Krule - barefeet
Vau - Like People
LEYA - Corners (Chanel Beads Rework)
Nourished by Time - Max Potential
Slowly Rolling Camera, Caoilfhionn Rose - The New Way
WU LYF - A New Life is Coming

Thank you everyone for posting.

The Beths - Metal
Ichiko Aoba - Luciferine
Jay Som - Float
Real Lies - I Could Join The Birds
Japanese Breakfast - Here Is Someone
Jens Lekman - Candy From A Stranger
Stereolab - Melodie Is A Wound
Pinkpantheress - Illegal
Addison Rae - Headphones On
Saint Etienne - Glad
Pulp - Tina
McKinley Dixon - Sugar Water
Kali Uchis - ILYSMIH
Jade - Plastic Box
Miley Cyrus - The End Of The World
Natalia Lafourcade - Cancionera
Lorde - Hammer
Amaarae - S.M.O
Shura - World's Worst Girlfriend
Sally Shapiro - Hard To Love
Erika De Casier - Seasons
These New Puritans & Caroline Polachek - Industrial Love Song
Gwenno - 73

Some higlights i haven't seen mentioned:

Total Fucking Darkness - "Desolation Boys"
Daughter of Swords - "Talk to You"
WET - "Coffee in the Morning"
Jim Legxacy - "Father"
YHWH Nailgun - "Animal Death Already Breathing"
Jonathan Personne - "Zoé sur la montagne"
Saya Gray - "Lie Down"
Adrianne Lenker - "no limit (live)"
BAMBII - "Mirror"
Armlock - "Strobe"
Racing Mount Pleasant - "Call it Easy"
Joshua Burnside - "Climb the Tower"
World News - "Dont Want to Know"
Yasmine Hamdan and Nicolas Jaar - "Shmaali Tarweeda (jaar rework)"

i don't have many of these, i listen to less than i used to, they're all still rly good tho

king gizzard & the lizard wizard - grow wings and fly
real lies - down & out (where e-girls dare)
fennesz - patterning
barker - cosmic microwave
boof - night blooming cereus

Haven’t got around to a top 10 yet but the Blood Orange track will be near the top.

Moka, I'm listening to your longlist in order at work, and it's so consistent it's almost like I'm listening to a single artist's album. Lovely stuff so far

― Floyd 'The Oyd' Lloyd (dog latin)

Lol yeah it does flow nicely, doesn’t it? I guess I’ve been stuck in a very specific mood this semester.

I was just catching up yesterday. that windowlicker is so good

Interesting to do an actual cover of a track like that, and give it a new twist while being very much faithful

Have spent most of the year listening to the music of 1959, 1960, 2000 and 2024, but these are the ones I have written down so far.

Breka - Are We There
Chip - Grime Scene Saviours
deBasement - Aperol Spritz
Doechii - Nosebleeds
Greta Isaac - Soft Scoop Talking Dog
Kate Nash - GERM
Myd - The Wizard
Pulp - Slow Jam
Snapped Ankles - Raoul
The Lewis Express - Run Tell That

reviewing some of my 2025 listens:

pink must - karaoke of the bends
raisa k - both still
decius - queen of 14th street
holy tongue - ambulance 7”
lucrecia dalt ft. david sylvian - cosa rara
marie davidson - fun times
smerz - feisty
baths - sea of men
helen island - hot zone, regular day
moin ft. sophia al-maria - see
real lies - wild sign i choose you
htrk - puddles on my pillow
deradoorian - no no yes yes
cloth - pink silence
teal - original watercolour
sofia kourtesis & daphni - unidos
mira - nana
jordan playfair - cherry hill
military genius - true form
housepainters - i wanna sleep in your arms

some recent faves

Ezra Furman - Grand Mal
Cleo Reed - Da Da Da
James K - Play
Sudan Archives - My Type
Nina - Till the devil gets bored
Double Virgo - Red Card
Bar Italia - Cowbella
Sorry - Jetplane
No Joy - Bugland
Water from Your Eyes - Playing Classics
Shygirl ft. Bambii - Flex
Backxwash - History of Violence
Living Hour - Wheel

D Tiffany - Heaven Tomorrow
Marina Zispin - The Tudors
Neggy Gemmy - Mysterious Girl
Moin - See
Los Thuthanaka - Salay “Titi Ch’iri Siqititi”
Elaine Howley - Hold Me In A New Way

― Reggaeton Sax (NickB), Thursday, July 10, 2025 6:25 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

nickb are you me?????

Anika - Walk Away

Wednesday - Elderberry Wine
caroline - Total euphoria
caroline & Caroline Polachek - Tell me I never knew that
Chris Weisman - The Anxiety Was General
Chris Weisman - Lightly
Pefume Genius - Left For Tomorrow
MJ Lenderman - Dancing in the Club (cover of This Is Lorelei)
Tortoise - Oganesson
HTRK - Swimming Pool
Bill Fox - Terminal Way
Actress - Baby U Lar
feeble little horse - This Is Real
Water From Your Eyes - Life Signs
Clive From Accounts - Ambika
Gajek - Dig It All Up Again
Perfume Genius - Capezio
girl scout cookies - jain
RAVEN - ENDLESS EDITION
Sam Amidon (w/ Phil Melanson & Sam Gendel) - Cusseta
Sam Amidon (w/ Phil Melanson & Sam Gendel) - Big Sky
Vanessa Amara - Don't Let This Feeling
Cameron Winter - We're Thinking The Same Thing
Sean Nicholas Savage (ft. Marci) - Your Drug
Toke & Gavsborg - The Sun and The Moon
Jacques Greene & Nosaj Thing - Unknown
Beatrice Dillon - Basho (radio edit)
Sun Ra - Love In Outer Space (Live at Fondation Maeght, 3 Aug. 1970)
Fugazi - Sweet and Low / Last Chance for a Slow Dance (Berlin, Germany 06/28/92)
Orbital - Kinetic / Choice / Chime (Live At The Limelight New York 1992)
Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra - The Creator Has A Master Plan (Live at Widney High December 26th, 1971)
Frank Zappa/Mothers - RDNZL (Live June 21, 1974)
Laura Groves - Deep Blue
Justin Bieber - YUKON
Justin Bieber - FIRST PLACE
Justin Bieber - 405

I haven’t been keeping a running list so far, but I have made two 2025 playlists so far:

1. This one is house/techno/etc: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2w6EvZAUH9BOvMEH4AoG7D?si=Jh53_n_4RfusY2c9fUVJxA&pi=wf4oOPBDQCuOE

2. This one is what I would loosely and uneasily term female artist art-pop, though really its remit is slightly broader than that: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0aTXqLNVP6OLKadVP1ELUT?si=vcpCvUSnRMWhyuHwt3cGmw&pi=wTkh0VOPTByzY

I have Spotify Discover to thank for this one

Princess Nokia - Drop Dead Gorgeous

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPybyf2BVyw

nice, im a sucker for wiley 'rolex' vibes.

Glad Tim has Lido Pimienta on his art-pop 2025 list . I like that one too

This Elaine Howley single is fantastic I love both sides. Thanks for the heads up

worth tracking back to her album from 2022 which i think we all missed, there are some beautiful songs on there (To The Test, Song For Mary Black)

nickb are you me?????

― ivy., Monday, 21 July 2025 18:11 (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

<3

10 more:

Lvbel C5 - HAVHAVHAV
Neon Pumps - Gallop (Jonesy Wales Remix)
Rema - Kelebu
Geese - Taxes
Jaylann - Ha Wlidi
Actress - BabyU Lar==
Nilufer Yanya - Treason
Breaka - Roundhouse
Juana Rozas - Bad Choice
DJ Mass - Baila Riddim

Yeah “Roundhouse” is very fun

Been using it as a nice DJ tool in my setlists as it's quite rhythmic and high(ish) tempo and lively and minimal(ish) so it flows well between styles. Really versatile track

Tim F, been really enjoying your playlists BTW - definitely informed a good few of my faves this year so far. 'Cruel Love' by Leon Vinehall is exceptional

Ctrl-f “katseye”

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Man ilx poptimism really is dead

Tim’s house/techno playlist is really a Dj mix tbrr

hmmm heres ten off the top of my head

Blorg - King of the Pill
Amaarae - SMO
Moliy - Shake it to the Max remix
Kateseye - Gnarly
Jorjiana - Shark feat. Rio da Yung OG
Sanford Zydeco Buckwheat Beat 4 The Primordial Cult
Beau Wanzer - Deader Than A Doornail
Pluto feat. YK Niece - Whim Whamiee
BabyChiefDoIt - Went West
G Herbo - Went Legit

Slayyyter’s Beat Up Chanel$ is great btw

Mentioned Princess Nokia’s Drop Dead Gorgeous already but maybe not itt

Austin, thanks for mentioning The Field— it scratches an itch, I really love it, wouldn’t have heard it otherwise.

Moliy - Shake it to the Max remix

this one is so good

ooooooffffff....

BAMBII ft. JELEEL! - Thunder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAXZBhjHDOU

do we have an albums thread?