Songs that hit hard in 2025

All Songs Considered

NPR

Music

4.4 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

NPR listeners share the one song that hit them the hardest this year, and tell us why they laughed, cried, or simply couldn’t stop listening to it.

Featured songs and artists:
1. Annie DiRusso: "Back In Town," from Super Pedestrian

2. Tunde Adebimpe: "Drop," from Thee Black Boltz

3. Brandi Carlile: "You Without Me," from Returning To Myself

4. Bad Bunny: "DtMF," from DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS

5. Of Monsters And Men: "The End," from All Is Love And Pain In The Mouse Parade

6. Eph See: "Malachi The Uber Driver" (unreleased single)

7. Audra McDonald: "Rose's Turn," from Gypsy

8. Big Thief: "Los Angeles," from Double Infinity

9. Flock Of Dimes: "Afraid," from The Life You Save

10. Ben Rector: "Forever (Doesn't Quite Seem Long Enough)," from The Richest Man In The World

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from Bayer.
0:02.3	Science is a rigorous process that requires questions, testing, transparency, and results that can be proven.
0:09.5	This approach is integral to every breakthrough Bayer brings forward.
0:13.0	Innovations that save lives and feed the world.
0:15.8	Science Delivers.com.
0:17.8	Well, we're about to stick a fork in 2025.
0:20.8	Can't come soon enough.
0:23.3	How are we all feeling, Mitra?
0:27.0	It's been a year.
0:28.9	I thought the heavy sigh said it all.
0:31.6	Dora?
0:32.3	This was the fastest year of my life.
0:35.2	Oh, come on.
0:36.4	Yeah.
0:37.1	No. Uh-huh. Was it really? Top two, come on. Yeah. No.
0:37.7	Uh-huh.
0:38.1	Was it really?
0:38.9	Top two, not two. Really? Yeah. This didn't just, like, January doesn't feel like it was 10 years ago? I don't know. I moved to D.C. this year, so I can't believe I've been in D.C. for one year. Okay. It feels like I've just moved here and it's been a month.
0:55.1	Yeah.
0:55.6	Yeah.
0:56.4	Well, the bar for... for one year. It feels like I've just moved here and it's been a month. Yeah. Yeah.
0:56.3	Well, the bar for what is great or amazing has gotten significantly lower for me over the
	...

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