To me, there is nothing more joyous than closing out the year with Apple Music Replay and Spotify Wrapped season.
When music is as integral to others’ lives as it is to mine — every new year and birthday are rung in with a specific song to set the tone — I find it fascinating to get a peek into their musical tastes. What songs got people through? Which artists were they most devoted to? What music left a mark?
There’s a sacredness to someone’s music library. I don’t care if your top song is from “Moana,” from a band that was popular 30 years ago, or if, like me, you love pop. What your Replay or Wrapped tells me isn’t for me to judge, it’s for me to learn about you.
[Read more: Here’s which artists landed on Utah’s Spotify Wrapped in 2025.]
The music I listen to makes me who I am and gets me through. I’m sure it does the same for you, too. In 2025, Apple says I listened to 22,107 minutes of music from 583 artists and 145 different albums. But the statistic that stands out the most to me is that I listened to 1,523 songs.
So 2025’s wrap-up from your resident music reporter is a bit different. Of course, it’s an ode to my listening habits, but more so a “thank you” to the songs that got me through the year.
Every year tells a story. Mine for 2025 is told by these 10 tracks:
1. “Mother Wound” | Jensen McRae
I played this cathartic, just over 2-minute song a total of 229 times in 2025 and I can still remember the first time I heard it. I learned about Jensen after I came across her on TikTok singing her song “Massachusetts,” and have seen her live twice — once opening for Noah Kahan and again at a tiny show at one of Utah’s most underrated venues, Soundwell.
There is something subtle and simultaneously direct about this song, which is buoyed by her certain vocals. Seeing her perform it live at the Soundwell is something I’ll never forget. The album the song is from — “I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!” — is also my top album of the year.
2. “See Through” | The Band CAMINO
I consider this 2019 track to be the crème de la crème from this alternative rock band. It’s a song that has fueled many drives up and down Interstate 15 and is a never-skip track for me.
3. “last night’s mascara” | Griff
There is something inherently spiritual about Griff’s music, from the backtrack to the words. She can do upbeat, fall-to-your knees pop as expertly as she can do a softer ballad. This track from 2024 is a combination of both, but it’s the bridge that really gets me.
4. “Let Me In” | Dermot Kennedy
Earnest songwriting can seem hard to come by, but Dermot Kennedy is a pro. He has such a beautiful way of putting things into words. “Let Me In” is a great example of that: a song that is a desperate plea. It’s one that deserves its spot on my 2025 top hits because it came out exactly when I needed it the most.
Discovering Ella Langley in 2025 is my top music highlight of the year. Her “still hungover” album quickly made it onto my list of all-time favorites. There’s something deeply country about her voice: the smokiness, the drawl. Top it off with gripping songwriting and it’s the perfect package, particularly in this 2024 track. Seeing her perform a sunset concert at Redwest is a cherished memory.
A moment of acknowledgment for my reigning top artist, Taylor Swift, even though I (gulp) hated her newest album. There’s a Taylor Swift song for every life situation imaginable, of course, but “Clean” from 2014 was one of my favorites to listen to in 2025, alongside the entirety of “The Tortured Poets Department.”
7. “Baggy Jeans” | The Band CAMINO
An appearance from this band’s newest album, “NeverAlways,” which was on rotation for me in 2025. I saw this track performed live at The Complex earlier this fall.
8. “Paint the Town Blue” | Ella Langley
Langley claiming two songs in my top 10 for 2025 is fitting. This is the first song of hers I ever listened to, which was also released in 2024.
9. “Channa Mereya” | Pritam & Arijit Singh
Bollywood music encapsulates a part of my soul that English music never will, which is why I’m not surprised to see a song from a 2016 film on this list. Arijit Singh is one of the most renowned Indian songwriters of recent years (and the most streamed artist in India in 2025), with a singing voice that comes straight from the soul.
There’s a deeply nostalgic quality to Sam Fender’s music. Listening to it makes me think of music I heard growing up, a certain ‘90s tinge to every track on his album “People Watching.” This song is my favorite from that album.
Though she isn’t represented in the top 10 songs, Tate McRae is my second-most streamed artist of the year and deserves a mention.