Jim's EOY top 100 of 2025

 

I'm very late to the party this year, but whether you're interested, curious, or just visiting out of politeness, welcome to my third EOY thread on Buzzjack!

In 2023, I ran my own personal chart as a weekly top 40 throughout the year. From this, I used the system of 40 points for a week at #1 down to 1 point for a week at #40 in producing my EOY top 100 of 2023 - the top 10 was:

 

01 | Rose Gray - Ecstasy

02 | MRD - Last Dance

03 | LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER - Time Is Not A Healer It’s A Fuel For Resentment

04 | ACRAZE & Aviella - In A Dream

05 | MRD & TDJ - Memories Of You

06 | Röyksopp feat. Susanne Sundfør - Stay Awhile

07 | Loreen - Tattoo

08 | Metric - False Dichotomy

09 | Geo22 - Magic

10 | Hannah Laing & RoRo - Good Love

 

Then in 2024, I switched to a monthly top 40 of newly charted songs only, but with each song appearing only once. From these I took the top 10s from each month, and ranked the songs at each position in turn to flesh it into my EOY top 120 of 2024 - the top 10 therefore comprised 10 of my 12 monthly #1s, and it was:

01 | Vampire Weekend - Capricorn

02 | Echoberyl - Weird Boy

03 | Jain - Nobody Knows

04 | GusGus, Högni, Earth - Breaking Down

05 | Sleater-Kinney - Crusader [Special Interest Remix]

06 | ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - APT.

07 | Attractive Chaos - Words On A Letter

08 | Gabby Martin - Cologne

09 | Etta Marcus - Skin Parade

10 | The Horrors - Lotus Eater

In 2025, I reverted to a weekly top 40 from February onwards, charting 453 songs during the year (only slightly fewer than the 480 in 2024), with only one carried over from 2024 (which features somewhere in this EOY). I've then used the same tried and trusted system as my 2023 EOY to rank the songs, and so here the top 100 will appear!

I'm not planning to write hugely detailed commentaries this year - although some songs I could end up writing a lot more about than others - and I'm not sure how much time people will want to spend reading them by now, so I had considered just posting the full list and playlist, but I will aim for something between the two, and hope to wrap it up by the end of this month. First 10 songs at 100-91 coming soon!

I'm seated

Looking forward to this!

#100 -> #91

#100 Jax Jones, Ado - Stay Gold (140 points) [16-13-11-14-21-31]

#99 DJ_Dave - Hard Refresh (143 points) [19-16-12-14-19-23]

#98 Joone, Kat Koan - Burned In Time (144 points) [24-22-17-15-16-20-29]

#97 Humanoids - Mindroid (146 points) [27-22-18-16-16-16-26]

#96 VACUUM MAN - Alimut (146 points) [08-10-13-16-23-30+]

#95 Joji - Past Won't Leave My Bed (149 points) [22-22-20-20-18-18-18+]

#94 KÄSSY - i-i-i (151 points) [34-14-09-10-17-20-32]

#93 Jasper Tygner - First Light (152 points) [22-20-20-20-20-20-22-32]

#92 Cruel Sister - IRON PILLS (152 points) [35-31-26-22-24-19-17-18-25]

#91 Kathleen Edwards - Save Your Soul (153 points) [23-10-11-13-20-26-31]

An electronic-heavy section to start with. It will be a while until the first commercial hit appears - Jax Jones has at least had some in the past, but few as good as this, thanks to some huge vocals from Ado. Making an EOY appearance for the second year in a row, DJ_Dave coded up this frantic banger. A more darkwave turn next for Joone (not to be confused with the then-similarly named Joon Gloom, now Ms* Gloom, whose BJSC hit-predating 'Jinx!' just missed this countdown at #109) with the spoken vocals of Kat Koan creating some late night drive vibes. The most trippy so far comes from Humanoids over a six minute tranccey instrumental, interspersed with a child's freakishly chopped up spoken vocal. The first BJSC hit to appear is one I discovered in the contest itself, from Bré's nation Persephonia, as VACUUM MAN move from a banging bass-heavy intro to an acid outro via some vocals I can't translate but fit the medium perfectly.

Joji had one of my favourite songs of 2022 in 'Glimpse Of Us', and it's another heartbreak ballad from him that wove its way in this time. One of my own BJSC entries is next from KÄSSY as it became my most recent one, but despite 12 voters in the semi, this sparkling indie-pop song of hers went no further there. Jasper Tygner would be a more reliable hitmaker in such a contest, but for now we can enjoy the elegant electronic instrumental above. More unsettling vibes are next from Cruel Sister with the longest chart climb of anything so far. As if for complete contrast, Kathleen Edwards rounds out this first section with a slice of radio-ready rock that could have been huge in the 90s.

#90 -> #81

#90 Eli Mich - I Told You (153 points) [08-11-13-16-19-26]

#89 Eagles & Butterflies, Annie - Next 2 U (156 points) [19-17-17-15-15-21-27]

#88 SASAMI, Clairo - In Love With A Memory (158 points) [25-16-13-18-19-20-25-34]

#87 SASAMI - Just Be Friends (159 points) [26-24-16-13-15-19-23-33]

#86 Patrick Wolf - Dies Irae (160 points) [35-31-31-31-31-27-26-26-26-26-28-30-32-34]

#85 Ruthlss - Ascension (160 points) [06-10-12-15-18-25]

#84 The Weeknd - Open Hearts (161 points) [15-12-10-11-19-26-33]

#83 Lady Gaga - How Bad Do U Want Me (162 points) [37-37-34-30-30-30-30-25-19-19-19-23-38]

#82 Nao - Wildflowers (164 points) [11-13-11-13-15-19]

#81 Dexndre - 100 wings (166 points) [02-04-10-14-20-30]

A few of this section peaked in week 1, in most cases at the start of February when I basically refreshed my whole chart, so they may not have gone as high otherwise, still the DnB vibes from Eli Mich and arresting looped vocal hit the mark. Annie appeared in last year's EOY, and guests here with Eagles & Butterflies on a summery dance tune that went pretty much unnoticed. SASAMI was my entrant in Buzzjack's inaugural Pop Factor contest last year, and I sent her two songs here in rounds 3 and 4 respectively - both pre-album releases which I'd overlooked at the time even though I liked her releases the previous year ('Honeycrash' just missed my 2024 EOY as an #11 in June), but clicked into place with the Blood On The Silver Screen album which is wall-to-wall with great pop songs, while the verse from Clairo on the former may have helped give the songwriting the traction it deserves. Patrick Wolf has the lowest peaking song in this EOY which gallops through the verses with Celtic tinged instrumentation, until the stirring coda where its message to face your fears while you can is brought home.

Ruthlss were another beneficiary of the February refreshed chart, but their dance instrumental had some staying power. The Weeknd dropped his purported final album under that moniker, from which this song, despite not charting officially, was undoubtedly one of the highlights (should there be a part two to the greatest hits of that name). Lady Gaga made four appearances on my chart this year from MAYHEM, all of which wind up in this EOY, and this was the slowest to climb but, Taylor-lore notwithstanding, it's the post-album hit that could have been in the real world. The breezy R&B courtesy of Nao that you can hear above was a discovery from the Radio 1 playlist. The ravey synths of rapper and producer Dexndre caught my ear in 2024, and I held this one back to send to the 2025 edition of Unknown Pleasures, hence the high entry on my chart.

Nice to see "Open Hearts" from your latest selection.

#80 -> #71

#80 Sharon Van Etten - Idiot Box (168 points) [20-09-06-09-18-25-32]

#79 Pearly Drops - Ratgirl (169 points) [27-29-25-18-18-18-18-21-26]

#78 Amelie Lens - Young Forever (170 points) [09-07-06-06-18-30]

#77 Lane 8 - Walk The Plank (174 points) [04-07-10-14-17-20]

#76 Say She She - Shop Boy (175 points) [25-18-15-12-12-15-24-32]

#75 Ladytron - I See Red (177 points) [26-14-11-12-16-18-23-31]

#74 Clouds - Horizon (178 points) [12-11-15-14-13-20-24+]

#73 Mirella - Timanttei (180 points) [08-03-08-14-18-24-32]

#72 Schrotthagen - Schattenkinder (185 points) [24-15-14-11-14-13-20-32]

#71 The Lathums - Heartbreaker (188 points) [02-02-06-10-14-24]

'Afterlife' which made my 2024 EOY was the first song I'd heard by Sharon Van Etten - its parent album became one of my favourites of 2025, and this focus track on its release is the first of two from her to make the cut this time around. Having been on my radar for a while, Pearly Drops breaks through to an EOY with the shimmering dark vibes you can hear above. Amelie Lens whose 'Falling For You' (#218 in this EOY ranking) may have blocked my path to victory in BJSC 172 with GusGus ('Breaking Down' was #4 in my 2024 EOY), but followed that by hitting the beats harder and chucking out banger after banger - another will appear much higher up. More brooding EDM follows next as Lane 8 channel the rising waves befitting the title into a synth maelstrom. Say She She pitch up just outside the top 75, sounding like a throwback to early 80s hip-hop influenced rock, most notably Tom Tom Club.

Ladytron charted at each position from #42 to #45 officially in the 2000s without ever cracking the Top 40, but the first I heard from them was 'Flight From Angkor' which appeared in only my 6th personal chart just over three years ago (how the time flies) - this was the first of theirs to make a lasting impression since. Clouds (they of 'Come With Me (On A Trip)', a BJSC entry last year for the now much-missed Kathaldazia) mash up trance and rave breakbeats, bigged up by the most London accent anywhere in this EOY. Speaking of BJSC, the second of my own entries to appear here is from Finnish singer Mirella in her native tongue, which in 2024 became her first #1 in her homeland at the age of 18 - sadly a smaller turnout for BJSC 176 meant that a 19th placing in the semi final wasn't enough for it to qualify. Schrotthagen just missed my 2024 EOY with 'Pain In My Heart' as a #12 in October after discovering it from Dan who later sent it to BJSC - this follow-up is every bit as compelling. An EDM-heavy section ends with whiplash again as Wigan indie band The Lathums followed up their two UK #1 albums last year, although most of the era's singles passed me by, with this jaunty rocker the main exception.

#70 -> #61

#70 Jerry Heil - Earth (Dradada) (189 points) [34-17-14-07-07-09-10+]

#69 Max Dean, Locky, Luke Dean - Curveball (191 points) [22-18-XX⁴-12-08-10-15-22-30]

#68 NTO - Cirrus [2/3] (192 points) [18-13-10-09-14-17-23-32]

#67 The Hellp - Live Forever (193 points) [04-01-01-02-04+]

#66 Oklou - what's good (194 points) [36-26-16-13-10-09-13-11+]

#65 Ghost Cop - A Shot In The Dark (198 points) [21-11-08-08-13-18-22-29]

#64 jasmine.4.t - Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation (199 points) [07-09-09-07-11-13-32]

#63 John Summit feat. Inéz - crystallized (200 points) [12-07-06-09-11-14-28]

#62 Purity Ring - imanocean (203 points) [16-12-10-07-10-14-26-30]

#61 Ushko - COMET (208 points) [06-06-06-06-06-08+]

A very BJSC-heavy section today - it was only after a few listens to the first one, part-Ukranian, part-English sung and rapped, that I realised Jerry Heil had represented Ukraine at Eurovision alongside Alyona Alyona with 'Teresa & Maria' (also a UK #100 hit!) and decided to send it to BJSC 180, however Cody's nation Cor Lupus beat me to the confirmation and ended up taking it to fourth place. If the names Max Dean, Locky and Luke Dean look familiar, that's probably because of their UK #13 hit 'Can't Decide' last year, but a month before that came out, I found this song towards the end of NMF and enjoyed the 90s throwback house production and uncredited female rapping, while the 'boing-boing' sounds that appear to have become one of Luke's trademarks are also present - the four-week withdrawal from my charts came when I sent it to Club Bizarre where it came 12th, with their aforementioned hit blowing up out of seemingly nowhere while voting was open. NTO appear in my EOY for a second year in a row with another intricately crafted trance instrumental. Back to BJSC 180 and my eventual replacement entry from The Hellp which is also the first chart topper to appear here with few weeks to build up points - comparisons to The Dare spring to mind with the vocals and the electroclash production which I thought was pretty epic - it finished 38th. French electronic producer and singer Oklou has a song contest backstory in 2025 too, but I'll spare the details here - this one of the deluxe additions to her album choke enough was a slow burner for me, and in comparison to the rest of the album it's a straightforward ballad, but the warm tones that coat the sadness are quite lovely.

Ghost Cop just missed my 2024 EOY as 'Trouble' was my #11 for November, so their darkwave was always likely to appeal to me when this appeared in BJSC 178 courtesy of Danaeviia, and although I had it 4th in my vote behind songs I already knew, the bridge especially stuck with me more post-contest. A song title of the year candidate next from Manchester indie singer jasmine.4.t on this duet which threw me more questions than answers, the first one being who the male voice is. Producer John Summit enlisted the vocals of Inéz on this icy EDM banger which also turned up in BJSC 178, though it sadly fell by the wayside in the opposite semi to mine. I'd have only known 'fineshrine' by Purity Ring before 2025, but many of their new songs then made an impression, none more so than the gorgeous dreampop you can hear above. Finishing this section, my top score from the BJSC 179 went to Ushko whose vocally ascendant trancey cut was sent by Doctor Blind's nation Cumulonimbia, more from whom will appear again very soon!

#60 -> #51

#60 Litku Klemetti - Tour de France (209 points) [07-07-08-11-13-19-27-34-34]

#59 Isabel LaRosa - Her Face (210 points) [30-21-12-08-04-01-01+]

#58 Sofia and The Antoinettes - REVOLVER (211 points) [27-15-10-08-10-13-16-25-34]

#57 Iris Caltwait - Alchemy (Living Is Not For The Heart) (215 points) [04-05-04-05-04-09+]

#56 Artemas - eat me alive (217 points) [17-09-09-09-12-14-17-24]

#55 Lana Del Rey - Henry, come on (219 points) [05-03-02-08-11-16-23]

#54 Ethel Cain - Nettles (224 points) [25-25-21-17-10-07-13-20-28-25-36]

#53 Ailith - Drought (226 points) [11-07-05-07-11-15-21-25]

#52 Eelke Kleijn, Emily Roberts - Watching Over Me (227 points) [23-14-12-14-12-12-12-18-27-39]

#51 The Weeknd - Cry For Me (232 points) [12-08-08-09-08-10-17-24]

It is the very next song from Litku Klemetti that Cumulonimbia also sent to BJSC, sung in Finnish and buoyed by the brightest of synth melodies with some handclaps at the end - plenty of BJSC entries remain, but only two more were discoveries within the contest for me. Moving into a ballad-heavy section next, first is Isabel LaRosa with my last weekly #1 of 2025, and if I'd continued with regular weekly charts it may well be there still, so this position outside the top 50 doesn't do it justice, everything about it - the melody, vocals, flourishes of strings in the production, lyrical imagery, and way the sadness is repressed until the middle eight - is just beautiful. Sofia and The Antoinettes continue the theme - her voice alone epitomises unrequited love, accompanied by the prettiest guitar lines this side of a 90s album by Radiohead, or perhaps Jeff Buckley as mentioned in the lyrics. The Iris Caltwait ballad was a standout find towards the end of NMF one week, and was snapped up by Hendinia for BJSC 180 where it took my top score - again the melody caught my attention first, but the lyrics are a keeper too with so many lines I could mention. By way of a switch-up in tempo, Artemas (I sent one of his songs to Unknown Pleasures before his commercial success, as I may have mentioned once or twice) sounds as vital here as his big commercial hit.

Back to the ballads, and from Lana Del Rey it's the first UK chart hit to appear in this countdown - whether the parent album sees the light of day (and she settles on a title) or not, the strings and country-tinged production backdrops the break-up story wonderfully. I can hardly do justice in one sentence to the story behind the next one as Ethel Cain appears in my EOY for a second year in a row, but across eight minutes, with her voice almost buried in the americana-leaning production she returned to after the sonic curveball of her Perverts album earlier in 2025, the heartbreaking contemplation of loss emerges, concluding with "to love me is to suffer me". The unenviable task of following that falls to Ailith but it isn't a ballad, as she nails down less than three minutes of rock/pop that would safely bomb at any song contest. Next, Eelke Kleijn sets Emily Roberts on a house/trance journey that works as a pop song. Finally, The Weeknd has the second and bigger commercial hit in this section, sharing the UK #8 peak I gave it in my weekly chart - he's no stranger to this sound or subject matter of course, but builds the atmosphere masterfully around the cold synth riffs.

Really like seeing "Henry, Come On" and "Cry For Me" in your top 100 from your latest selection.

#50 -> #41

#50 Suki Waterhouse - On This Love (235 points) [17-13-12-10-11-14-15-20-26-37]

#49 KOMPROMAT, Rebeka Warrior, Vitalic - LIFT ME UP (236 points) [05-05-05-05-08-10-20-34]

#48 Zanias - Cataclysm (238 points) [22-06-04-05-07-12-15-24-36]

#47 FKA twigs - Perfectly (241 points) [08-05-06-05-08-14-19-23-40]

#46 Miley Cyrus - End Of The World (244 points) [05-03-04-08-09-14-17-24]

#45 Spencer Ramsay - FREE (248 points) [13-06-04-04-06-12-14-21]

#44 Remember Monday - What The Hell Just Happened? (250 points) [24-21-17-16-16-16-16-16-16-17-26]

#43 Lady Gaga - Garden Of Eden (251 points) [08-08-06-10-11-12-13-20-30]

#42 Florence + The Machine - One Of The Greats (254 points) [07-03-02-05-08-10-13-26]

#41 Lady Gaga - Zombieboy (257 points) [21-18-11-08-09-10-11-15-20-30]

Suki Waterhouse has put out songs in a variety of styles for her 2024 album Memoir of a Sparklemuffin, most of which I've enjoyed, but a couple from the deluxe suggested where her strongest lane is - first 'Dream Woman' which just missed this EOY at #104, then this follow-up in which she plays out her character in a similar scenario to the ones Lana has excelled at, with a sweeping waltz-like production to match. KOMPROMAT, Rebeka Warrior and Vitalic have all had past BJSC entries and would rack up a large combined veto score with this hypnotic collaboration. Zanias returned with what became the title track to her album, a mesmerising synth soundscape with the drums and her voice to the fore. FKA twigs released two albums in 2025, EUSEXUA and EUSEXUA Afterglow, and confusingly there was also a deluxe of the former, although it also replaced a track still to come with a duet version, so I'll just enjoy this upbeat new track from it as a standalone. Miley Cyrus adds to the commercial hit count, although a UK chart placing of #23 was so much less than the widescreen pop here deserved.

Producer Spencer Ramsay was behind this banging EDM discovery from NMF that I'd had as a song contest potential for a while. Remember Monday were of course the UK's entrants to last year's Eurovision, and I honestly think it sounded like one of our best entries in a very long time with the exception of Sam Ryder, owing a lot to the free-flowing structure and showtune-like production with slightly distorted edges to the vocals and dramatic delivery - unfortunately I thought much of this was lost in their performance on the night and their 19th place finish wasn't a surprise. Another UK #23 hit next from Lady Gaga that incidentally shares its name (and UK chart peak!) with a Joe Valino song from 1957 - anyway, this was a fun return to the 80s pop aesthetics and harmonies of her debut. Florence + The Machine and whoever Florence is working with are consistently good, but are in epic territory here with the arresting 70s-styled rock that backdrops Florence's challenge to the male-dominated perceptions of the best in music. Lady Gaga returns to close this section, channelling the earlier 80s here with rapped sections and chopped guitars, but the commanding middle eight and dark bassy outro are highlights too.