Variety | 23.12.2025 04:20
Looking back at the year in music, it was very much a “Golden” age. But, demon hunting aside, did it also count as golden with a small G? As we dived through our favorite music of 2025 to consider individual and collective lists of the year’s best songs, it sure felt like we were living through some of the good old days of music, whether or not that’s born out in history. With a wealth of riches from artists ranging from Lady Gaga and Sabrina Carpenter to Bad Bunny and Rosalía to Kendrick Lamar and Clipse — and from delightful newcomer Olivia Dean to the eras-meister herself, Taylor Swift — here are a few dozen of the songs that offered escapism and catharsis, in minor keys or on a major scale.
