All Songs Considered

When the dust settles on 2025, what songs will remain in heavy rotation? We look back at a dizzying amount of music and share some of our picks for the best tracks of the year.

What you'll hear in this episode is an incredibly incomplete list that obviously just scratches the surface of all the incredible music that came out this year. For a more comprehensive breakdown of what we loved in 2025, check out NPR Music’s list of the 125 best songs. 

Artists and songs featured on this episode:
1. Dijon: “Yamaha,” from ‘Baby’
2. Nourished By Time: “Max Potential,” from ‘The Passionate Ones’
3. Patrick Watson: “Peter and the Wolf,” from ‘Uh Oh’
4. FKA twigs: “Room of Fools,” from ‘EUSEXUA’
5. PinkPantheress: “Stateside,” from ‘Fancy That’
6. Asher White: “Beers with my name on them,” from ‘8 Tips for Full Catastrophe Living’
7. Wednesday: “Townies,” from ‘Bleeds’
8. Gabriel Jacoby: “the one,” from ‘gutta child’
9. Olafur Arnalds & Talos: “We Didn’t Know We Were Ready (feat. Niamh Regan & Ye Vagabonds),” from ‘A Dawning’

Enjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org

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We’ve got a funny feeling about the times, stay indoors (together alone), and dream about life on the other side.

Note: This is a recurring series in celebration of All Songs Considered’s 25th anniversary. A shorter version of this episode ran earlier in the year.

Enjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org


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Dove Ellis. Melody's Echo Chamber. Editors' Tom Smith. Erin Wolf of Radio Milwaukee joins Stephen Thompson to discuss those albums and more on our last episode of New Music Friday this year.


The Starting 5:

Dove Ellis, Blizzard

Melody's Echo Chamber, Unclouded

Tom Smith, There Is Nothing In The Dark That Isn’t There In The Light

TEED, Always With Me

Voices from the Lake, II

The Lightning Round:

HTRK, String of Hearts (Songs of HTRK)

Ben Marc, Who Cares Wins

Isobel Waller-Bridge, Objects

Mother Soki, Fantasy EP

Prins Thomas, Thomas Moen Hermansen

See our long list of albums out December 5 and sample dozens of them via our New Music Friday playlist on npr.org.

Credits:


Host: Stephen Thompson

Guest: Erin Wolf, Radio Milwaukee

Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell

Digital Producer: Elle Mannion

Editor: Otis Hart

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

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Some folks think by December all the releases for the year are complete. Not quite. This week's Alt.Latino episode features a new music show with albums that should be considered along with the year’s best.  

We've got pop and alternative from Mexico, funk from Colombia, rock and ambient from New York, and a Tejano master celebrated by his fellow Texans. Plus, Felix brings the zen. 

Artists and songs featured in this episode: 

- Diles que no me maten, 'Manos de Piedra - Revisitada'
- Dianna Lopez, 'Sun Frequencies (Renewal)'
- HUMBE, 'fantasmas'
- Rene Lopez, 'Any Chance'
- Duplat, 'Vete del País'
- Ruben Ramos. 'El Año Viejo (ft. Gaby Moreno)'

This podcast was produced by Noah Caldwell. The executive producer of NPR Music is Suraya Mohamed.

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We look back at the year’s most defining moments in music, from the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center to Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance, the Sean Combs trial, the 'Sinners' phenomenon, artists we loved and lost and more. But we begin with a question: Was it an unusually great year for music, unusually bad or par for the course?

Check back for more year-end coverage from NPR Music and All Songs Considered, including our picks for best songs, best albums and more.

Vote for your favorite albums of 2025.

Enjoy the show? Send it to a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 


Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org


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