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40. Day26 “Over You”
With the “unfortunate” Diddy resurgence, I decided to check in on Day26. Imagine my shock to find out they released an album recently and that it’s good!
39. Teddy Swims “Not Your Man”
I ignored Teddy Swims for a long time because I feel like there is some lab that keeps releasing this same white man over and over with tattoos everywhere, bad dietary habits, and fake-soul singing (Post Malone, Jelly Roll, etc.). Once I found out he was married to Raiche I decided to take a peek though, and that man really carries on behind the mic!
38. Cameron Whitcomb “Medusa”
American Idol is so irrelevant to me at this point, but apparently this kid was on season 20. Idol isn’t going to make another superstar like the few it produced in the early days, but this little rockabilly track about his struggles with addiction did gain a bit of traction last year.
37. Yuki Hayashi “Butterfly Effect” from My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia has come to an end after eight “quirky” seasons and even though the entire series produced some really good music, Hayashi really pulled from the entire course of the series to deliver his best soundtrack.
36. bby “Kinky”
These five kids from Shoreditch are so fun and they give me everything I loved about going to indie rock shows in the early 00s.
35. Tate McRae “Revolving Door”
Tate McCrae has continued her pivot from Avril to Britney and she finally broke through to Millennials this year by combining some early 00s production with Gen Z lyrics and an always impressive suite of dance tricks. Her album was the biggest snub at the Grammys — it’s one of only 4 or 5 no-skips pop albums of 2025.
34. Wale “Where to Start
Wale released my favorite rap album of the year. I love an artist who isn’t afraid to use nostalgia, and he has multiple songs on his latest release that directly sample 90s classics. This re-work of SWV’s first single from 1992 is perfect.
33. loaded honey “don’t speak”
Jungle is always good for a retro bop, so this sound from members Lydia and J Lloyd is not surprising at all. It’s not going to break the mold, but it feels so good.
32. Aly & AJ “What It Feels Like”
It’s really quite amazing to me that the Michalka sisters are not only still around but also releasing the best music of their career twenty years after “Rush.”
31. Psiryn “Cry For Me”
Kandi Burruss’s girls are still giving the best harmonies in the game, and if the people would just wake up and listen, they could be bigger than Xscape ever dreamed.
30. Linkin Park “Up From the Bottom”
When Linkin Park released their first single with a new singer back in 2024, I was pleasantly surprised and hopeful that the album would be as good. And it is.
29. Gigi Perez “At The Beach, In Every Life”
Another TikTok success story, Gigi got signed by Interscope Records after posting original songs online. Her first release didn’t go so well, so she left the label, and then landed a top 40 song all on her own. She went to Berklee College of Music before the pandemic, so there’s a musicality there that you don’t always find with the TikTok sensations. And she’s a lesbian, so we gotta support the community!
28. Rebecca Black “Twist The Knife”
March 2026 will mark twenty-five years since Rebecca Black had the worst Friday of her life. Shout out to her for not only going through that (could you survive being bullied by the whole internet in middle school??) but coming out the other side as a cult fave on the electronic circuit.
27. Doja Cat “One More Time”
Vie would have been so much bigger is Doja Cat would go through some PR training. If ever a case should be made for separating the art from the artist, one of the best albums of the year flew largely under the radar and every song on it is an 80s gem, but Doja can’t get out of her own way so not enough people heard it.
26. Abbie Callahan “Simon Says”
Abbie Callahan is going to be a famous country singer no matter what! She was on The Voice at 15, American Idol at 17, and the graduated college with a songwriting degree. If anyone is putting in the work, it’s her.
25. Hayley Williams “Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party”
I thought our Light Skinned White Woman of Color Cousin Hayley Jameka-Nicole Williams would put out a solo album close to her Paramore roots, but that’s not what we got. Hayley doesn’t even classify it as an album at all, because she wrote all of the songs independently with no theme in mind.
Regardless of whether she meant to or not, she put out one of the best albums of the year, and if there was any doubt about her politics, listen to this song take direct shots at Morgan Wallen. All meat, no potatoes.
24. Drew Sidora “Delulu”
Another Housewives Alert! I hate it in my spirit that I had to put Drew Sidora’s lame ass this high on my list, but I really was singing this “Delulu” chorus randomly all year.
23. VITAA “Les choses qu’on fait”
Back in the early 2000s, Vitaa was the first signee to Motown’s French division. I don’t know if the label is as R&B over there as it is in the US, but her latest album at least is all pop. Thanks to Doja Cat, my ears were ready for more 80s music so this is the track that ended up on my replay list, but most of the album is solid.
22. Jessica Simpson “Sunday Lover”
Jessica Simpson releasing another divorce album was not on my BINGO card, but here we are. Her first divorce album was her best up to that point, and this one surpasses that one. Instead of pop this go round, Jessica went into those country roots and rocked out a bit, which is a sound that suits her voice so much better than those Baby Celine songs.
21. Sugababes “Jungle”
My girls! Music’s most unlikely reunion is still going strong and the coolest girls in the game still know how to make some of the best pop/R&B on either side of the Atlantic.
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