This year didn’t ask for reinvention. It asked for truth.
These songs trace the quieter work of becoming, letting go, staying present, and choosing what remains. Each one comes from an album released in 2025, and together they form the emotional soundtrack of a year spent returning to myself.
A few notes:
- All songs were released on albums in 2025.
- No rankings. This is a collection that I pulled together; not a competition between songs or artists.
- Some are sentimental favorites, some clients have shared with me, others have words that just hit.
1. For Good, Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande
2. Almost, Lewis Capaldi
3. Eldest Daughter, Taylor Swift
4. Returning To Myself, Brandi Carlile
5. Solstices, Andrew Belle
6. Sunlight On Water, David Gray
7. Through Nameless Air, Hammock
8. I Hate That It’s True, Dean Lewis
9. Loved You Better, Jonas Brothers & Dean Lewis
10. Praying For Me (feat. Mat Kearney), Ben Rector
11. I Will Not Forget You, William Fitzsimmons
12. Melodies, Dermot Kennedy
13. Wayside, Ruston Kelly
14. Summer’s Ending Soon, The Midnight
15. Sidewinder, Ken Yates
16. No Love, Matt Berninger
17. Impossible Things, Matt Nathanson
18. Hold Me Now, Lena Hall
19. Sailor Song, Gigi Perez
20. Golden, HUNTR/X, EJAE, Audrey Nuna
21. Hope, TWO LANES
22. Camera, Ed Sheeran
23. So Unfair, Sophia James
24. Opalite, Taylor Swift
25. Pablo Picasso, Matt Nathanson
These are the songs that stayed. Maybe a few will find their way to you too.
You can listen HERE if you would like.
Honorable Mentions: Cold (Dean Lewis), Favorite Person (Ben Rector), Good Old Days (Mat Kearney), Holy Water (Andrew Belle), Learn To Love (Zoe Wees & Dean Lewis), Momma Song (Benson Boone), Not Goodbye (Close My Eyes) (The Goo Goo Dolls), Ordinary (Alex Warren), Red, White and Jersey (Bon Jovi), Slow Motion (Half Hour Late), SORRY (NF & James Arthur), The Big Goodbye (AJR), The Thing I Love (MAX & Andy Grammer)