NPR Music

When the dust of 2025 settles, what songs are still in heavy rotation from the year? We look back at a dizzying amount of music and share some of our picks for the best tracks of 2025.
This 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:Dijon: “Yamaha,” from ‘Baby’Nourished By Time: “Max Potential,” from ‘The Passionate Ones’Patrick Watson: “Peter and the Wolf,” from ‘Uh Oh’FKA twigs: “Room of Fools,” from ‘EUSEXUA’PinkPantheress: “Stateside,” from ‘Fancy That’Asher White: “Beers with my name on them,” from ‘8 Tips for Full Catastrophe Living’Wednesday: “Townies,” from ‘Bleeds’Gabriel Jacoby: “the one,” from ‘gutta child’Olafur Arnalds, Talos: “We Didn’t Know We Were Ready (feat. Niamh Regan & Ye Vagabonds),” from ‘A Dawning’
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This week on Alt.Latino, it's another new music episode with a global panorama: Canary Islands merengue, Chicano soul, Afro-Brazilian roots and more. Plus, a percussion supergroup that Felix could listen to for hours.

Featured artists and albums:

(00:00) Introduction
(01:05) Quevedo, 'NI BORRACHO'
(05:12) Joey Quiñones, 'In a Soul Situation'
(12:34) Carolina Mama, 'Amina'
(15:41) Elipsis, 'Elipsis'
(19:32) Da Cruz, 'Som Sistema'
(23:56) Sofía Rei, 'Antónima'

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

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This week on All Songs Considered: U2 surprise-dropped a new EP that opens with a scorching critique of the government crackdown on immigration; Lana Del Rey inched closer toward releasing her long-awaited album with a haunting and strange ode to love and obsession, while singer Arlo Parks takes a bold step out onto the dance floor. All that and more as host Robin Hilton and NPR Music’s Sheldon Pearce share their picks for the best new songs of the week.

Featured artists and songs:

(00:00) Intro

(01:50) U2: “American Obituary,” from ‘Days Of Ash’

(10:24) Arlo Parks: “Heaven,” from ‘Ambiguous Desire’

(17:37) Lana Del Rey: “White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter” (Single)

(25:22) Baby Rose & Leon Thomas: “Friends Again” (Single)

(31:58) James Blake: “I Had a Dream She Took My Hand,” from ‘Trying Times’

(39:08) Bella Kay: “Steady,” from ‘a couple minutes out’

And here's a link to Sheldon's piece on Jill Scott and Brent Faiyaz that was discussed during the show's intro: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/19/nx-s1-5713600/jill-scott-brent-faiyaz-rnb-review

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Host Robin Hilton shares an update about some cosmetic changes coming to the 'All Songs Considered' podcast feed.

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WILLOW. Altin Gün. Fugazi alumni smashing punk into jazz. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson is joined by Evan Miller from WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio to chat about their favorite albums out Friday, Feb. 20.

The Starting 5

(00:00) Introduction & WILLOW, 'petal rock black'
(03:29) Pekka Kuusisto, 'Willows'
(08:59) Manu Delago & Max ZT, 'Deuce'
(16:21) The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis, 'Deface The Currency'
(21:29) Hen Ogledd, 'DISCOMBOBULATED'
(27:19) Altin Gün, 'Garip'

(32:41) The Lightning Round

- Megan Moroney, 'Cloud 9'
- Chris Forsyth's WHAT IS NOW, 'Both / And'
- Choker, 'Heaven Ain't Sold'
- MX LONELY, 'ALL MONSTERS'
- Mumford & Sons, 'Prizefighter'

Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist on NPR.org/allsongs

Credits: 
Host: Stephen Thompson
Guest: Evan Miller, WYSO
Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell
Digital Producer: Dora Levite
Editors: Otis Hart, Elle Mannion
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

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