Real Goblin

Gonna breeze through some of these and go in depth for others. That’s how I’m gonna do it. Ok? I’m so tired.

30. “Damn Shame” – LAUNDRY DAY

29. “I Won’t Change My Mind” – Fat, Evil Children

28. “Sweater Club” – Jelani Aryeh

27. “Slut Era Interlude” – ROLE MODEL

26. “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” – Beyoncé

25. “Right Back to It” – Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman

24. “Are You Looking Up” – Mk.gee

23. “People Always Change” – Tiny Habits

22. “Name of God” – Mustafa

21. “Patterns” – Laura Marling

20. “Forever” – Hovvdy

19. “Joel Roberts” – Truman Sinclair

18. “Drinking Age” – Cameron Winter

17. “Cinderella” – Remi Wolf

Me and my BOYS IN THE HOTEL LOBBY

16. “Say Goodbye” – Future Islands

15. “Death & Romance” – Magdalena Bay

14. “laced up” – tsubi club

I have been WAITING on this one. Good lord did it take time to release, but it rules. I must have listened to fan made, Frankenstein’s monster versions of this track one hundred times on YouTube. Good to see it finally out. It’s sick. 

13. “A Cold Sunday” – Lil Yachty

You never really know what to expect from a Lil Yachty release these days. He continues to display an impressive range with “A Cold Sunday”, which sees him return to rapping. But this time, it’s not over a trap beat. Instead, Yachty chooses an absolute gem of a sample in the obscure “Inspiration of my Life” by Citation. It’s well done. And Yachty excels in this style, which I hope we see him continue to pursue. In this case, less is more. It really feels like Lil Yachty can do it all. 

12. “Wristwatch” – MJ Lenderman

I presented this song to some of my fellow Buffalonians after I heard the first line of the chorus, on which Lenderman sings, “I’ve got a beach home up in Buffalo”. I took this to be a tongue in cheek line about Buffalo’s notorious snowy winters. A beach home in Buffalo is meant to be ironic. You wouldn’t use it for 4-6 months of the year. They all laughed at me and said Lenderman was probably referring to the Buffalo in North Carolina. I don’t know why they thought that. Morons. Anyway, this is everything that MJ Lenderman excels at. It’s got some excellent guitar work, lyrics laced with sarcasm and irony, and a great little indie sound. For me, it was the highlight of his 2024 album, Manning Fireworks. 

11. “Slug” – Matt Champion

I’m not sure if there was another song this year that I found myself spilling more beer on the floor of my apartment to while I danced around my kitchen. “Slug” was an unexpected direction for the former BROCKHAMPTON member, but a welcome one. This song is catchy as all hell. It has a great hook and some surprising vocals from Mr. Matt Champion. Truly a great track.

10. “Russian Roulette” – Porter Robinson

I don’t know what it is about this song specifically – probably the bridge – but it really does something to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the new Porter Robinson record, but it didn’t elicit the same emotions as Nurture. All but this song, anyway. The prettiest song to reference a monkey pissing in his own mouth this year.

9. “DENIAL IS A RIVER” – Doechii

Such a fantastic track. Doechii is fantastic and has a bright future ahead of her. PLUS the music video is already a highlight of 2025.

8. “I Got Heaven” – Mannequin Pussy

This is one of those songs that I send to people and I’m like 50% sure they’ll get scared from the artist name alone. But it rocks. I ended up coming back to this one months later and really appreciating it in a different way.

7. “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All” – Father John Misty

Yeah this one does it’s own taxes. That’s something I’m making up right this moment but I know YOU know what I mean and I also want you to start saying it.

6. “World on a String” – Jessica Pratt

This is one of the more hypnotic songs off of Jessica Pratt’s newest record. The production would have you believe you’re smoking a cigarette just outside the back door of the concert venue while Pratt croons for an attentive audience. If this song catches me looking out a window while it rains, it’s game over. Interpret that as you wish.

5. “Love On The Outside” – Wishy

I can not stop listening to this song. There are plenty of metrics to judge “best tracks of the year” by. But I’ll be damned if an earworm doesn’t crack the top 5 just for being catchy. No gimmicks. No big backstory. Just a hell of a song. 

4. “Spinning” – Luke De-Sciscio

I don’t say this lightly. This song gave me full body chills. It’s one that I love deeply despite not wanting to listen to again. It’s deeply personal, raw, and real. A lot of this can be due to the often live nature of the way De-Sciscio records his tracks. But on top of that, Luke’s vocals and his guitar feel entirely intimate, like you’re sitting alone in a theater and he’s playing to you alone.

3. “360” – Charli xcx

I don’t know that there’s a more definitive Charli xcx song than this. On “360” Charli lays down the law. She was and still is a trailblazer within her genre. And there’s a long line of people behind her who were obviously inspired by her work. “360” is not only the perfect opener to BRAT, but it’s a capstone to Charli’s whole career up until this point. Brat summer began to wear on me as the months dragged on, but “360” is one I can still enjoy.

2. “Mary Boone” – Vampire Weekend

What begins as a typical Vampire Weekend tune quickly evolves into something far more musically layered and unique. When “Mary Boone” reaches its explosive chorus, it’s absolutely astonishing. The choppy, crunchy musical breakdown is like nothing else I’ve heard in a Vampire Weekend song. The band also makes use of a grand, echoing choral arrangement. “Mary Boone” is one of the boldest, strangest, and surprising songs of the year.

1. “Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar

Maybe I’m biased because I have long been a Drake hater.

With “Not Like Us”, Kendrick Lamar delivered the death blow to the Drake beef that had swept the internet in the spring of 2024. Some would argue that he had already done that with “Meet The Grahams”, which dropped just 20 hours prior. And though that was one of the most brutal and haunting diss tracks ever conceived, “Not Like Us” excels in a different way. It’s catchy. With unique vocal stims and lines that you want to scream along to, “Not Like Us” was the 6000 lb. anvil that broke the camel’s back. Drake responded days later, but it was more than evident that he was defeated. Drake’s numbers won’t see much of a change, but the videos of kids at a prom screaming “certified pedophile” will undoubtedly haunt him forever.