The Top 10 Australian Songs of 2025
The absurd, overflowing wealth of Australian musical talent continues to expand, at an almost inconceivable, unfollowable rate. It’s an abundance and variance greater than we’ve ever had before, and it’s truly so special to experience even a sliver of it.
Back in June I named my favourite Australian songs of the year so far, and things have only got better since then. Only four tracks from that June ranking survive on this final list (though four others remain in the honourable mentions). That’s the explosion of talent in this country right now – one month you’re on top, the next you’re off the list!
So, without further ado, here’s the best of the best from 2025:
10. ‘Yougotmefeeling’ by Parcels
From the ‘Hey Ya’ school of songs that are incredibly fun, absurdly catchy, and deeply sad if you can ever stop dancing for a moment and actually listen to the words. There’s a delirious 70s disco vibe, an undeniable groove that vibrates to the very tips of your fingers and toes, and has you chanting such happy-go-lucky lyrics as “You are/ better when I am/ not around!”
9. ‘70 Somethin’ by Tasman Keith
Harrowing, but vital. Tasman Keith’s story of an imprisoned uncle is a visceral and deeply personal meditation on the way the cycle of incarceration affects Indigenous families. I’ve long held that, stylistically, Keith is the closest Australia has to Kendrick Lamar, and ’70 Somethin’ channels the righteous fury of ‘Alright’ and the solemn, diaristic flow of ‘Mother I Sober’.
8. ‘Maybe I’m A Freak’ by The Rions
It’s been four years since The Rions won Triple J Unearthed High, and their debut album shows how far they’ve come – more lyrically mature and musically ambitious than anything they’ve produced before, grappling with the highs and lows, triumphs and struggles, insecurities and identity crises that accompany overnight rock stardom.
7. ‘How To Be Cool At Parties’ by Sex Mask
What the heck are these guys? A mind-bending mix of post-punk, industrial rock, hardcore, grime and electropop, like Dizzee Rascal schooled on The Strokes. Endlessly unexpected lyricism, a wild mosaic of ancient mythology, HP Lovecraft, French literature and daytime TV. Frantic and disorienting and explosive, like a dog experiencing fireworks, but in a good way.
6. ‘Bad Dreams’ by Fool Nelson
If we’ve learned anything since Ocean Alley’s breakout in 2017, it’s that there’s always enough room in Aussie music lover’s diet for another scoop of indie coastal rock. Fool Nelson deliver nostalgic psychedelic surf rock crackling with fresh energy, a propulsive eddy of colour and light, all swirling guitars and wailing vocals.
5. ‘Standing Ovation’ by Stella Donnelly
The opening statement of the best Australian album of the year, ‘Standing Ovation’ is a mesmerising opener, soft and slow and powerful. Donnelly’s crystalline voice against isolated piano chords holds you entranced from the first note, before jangly guitar breaks the spell and propels things forward. A masterpiece in intimate, disarming storytelling.
4. ‘Ruin A Good Thing’ by Lottie McLeod
Lottie McLeod is the Gen-Z Fiona Apple, the true indie Taylor Swift, fearlessly putting her whole self into every song, no matter how messy a picture she might paint. Her voice shimmers with feeling, warm and lustrous; her storytelling is unflinchingly honest, disarmingly funny and painfully relatable. Ruin A Good Thing is gorgeous and complex and perfect.
3. ‘4K’ by Boy Soda feat. Dean Brady
Frank Ocean is one of the more incomparable pop stars to emerge in the 21st century. Until this year, I hadn’t heard a voice come close… but Australia’s Boy Soda is it. Vivid storytelling, aching realness, and a voice so velvety and smooth it will melt your very essence. Neo-soul at its best, atmospheric and ethereal anchored in the deepest well of emotion.
2. ‘Clothes Off’ by Aleksiah
The next great Australian indie-pop superstar. The neon-dripping, dark-edged nu-disco of Dua Lipa or early-2000s Kylie mixed with the sexy, light bubblegum pop of prime Katy Perry. Relatable, catchy, and just so much fun. Was No.1 on my mid-year list of best new Aussie songs, and would have held on to the top spot if not for…
1. ‘Bawuypawuy’ by Drifting Clouds
Galactic, spiritual, transportive, an ever-expanding world of vibrations and movements and stillnesses, ebbing and flowing through the sea and land and sky, glistening stars and dazzling auroras, silvery swirls across an inky blue sky.
A wonderfully assured mix of jazz, funk, RnB, folk and traditional indigenous music, sung in Liyawulma’mirr-Djambarrputngu language – it’s a phenomenal debut, the first outing of an artist that could be a generational talent. Detective Crashmore might describe it as a “real cosmic gumbo”. I just call it the best Australian song of 2025.
And a few honourable mentions: ‘Thickest Thieves’ by Adorn, ‘Family’ by ONEFOUR, ‘Kiss Me Like You’re Leaving’ by Jem Cassar-Daley, ‘Catalonia Dreams’ by The Terrys, ‘Centrelink Summer’ by Suzi