...and when I say tomorrow, what I actually meant was next month!
Artists, artists... so many bands to listen to this year. It looks as though I scrobbled 3,999 individual artists in 2025 - I guess I should've scoured to find one more, huh? 23% of those artists were new artists who I had never streamed before, which I think is fairly impressive since I've been using Last.FM since 2017 now. My top tag, of course, was Rock, while my most streamed hour was 7-8am, narrowly edging out 4-5p.
Let's take a look at the top 25 artists for the year.
Key:
TY. Artist (LY)
Top Track: Track (TY)
25. LØLØ (19)
Top Track: wish i was a robot (1)
Two years in a row for LOLO, and back-to-back years with the most streamed song. Will that continue again next year? I have a feeling she'll probably be on the artist list, as she has a new album coming out soon.
24. Sarah McLachlan (NR)
Top Track: Building a Mystery (T136)
Since I started using Last.FM, Sarah McLachlan is my 56th most streamed artist, so it shouldn't be a surprise that she's made the year end list of most played artists. What is surprising for me is that this is her debut on the list. Although I found her new album utterly dull, I'm still enraptured by the singer from my teenage tears.
23. The Birthday Massacre (23)
Top Track: Wish (T115)
A new album from TBM brought them back to the Top 25 for the first time since 2020; their fourth appearance overall. "Wish" was 17 on the Top 20 Countdown and in 2025 I spent a lot more time with more industrial/gothic/darker music, all leading to their return. I'm also seeing them live in 2026, so I'm fairly sure they'll be back this way again.
22. Amy Grant (NR)
Top Track: Every Heartbeat/Takes A Little Time (T115)
There's always a decent amount of Amy Grant sprinkled in to every year, but I definitely did not expect her to shoot all the way up to the 22nd most streamed artist of the year at any point. A friend of mine was highlighting his favorite albums and mentioned Heart In Motion, Amy's breakthrough smash, and I was reminded how much I also loved that record. So here we are! Surprise!
21. Whitney Houston (NR)
Top Track: How Will I Know (10)
On the strength of 2 songs in the Top 30 and 3 overall in the top 100, Whitney Houston is also making her debut on the artist list. I would say this one is less surprising since "How Will I Know" is routinely among the most played songs by the end of every year, but unlike Amy Grant before her, Whitney doesn't have a stable of Christmas music boosting her at the end of the year.
20. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (NR)
Top Track: The Dark of The Sun (4)
Tom Petty's solo efforts never actually landed in the Top 25, despite I Won't Back Down consistently ranking as one of the top 10 most played songs by the end of the year. Tom's works with The Heartbreakers finally saw him cracking through, with the rocketing popularity of "The Dark Of The Sun" after the eclipse in 2024.
19. Avril Lavigne (25)
Top Track: I Don't Give (T30)
I mean, when isn't it Avril Lavigne? Even without her new music making any mark on me, she's still the punky voice of my high school years, and she still manages to clock in 4 songs with double digit streams, including the throwback B-side "I Don't Give", which was officially released on the Let Go 20th Anniversary release.
18. Sevendust (18)
Top Track: Home (T62)
Six years in a row for Sevendust, who truly embody the "quantity over quality" method here. Well, actually, it's not their their music isn't quality, it's just that I streamed 43 different 7D songs, 23 of which got played at least twice. That's why they've made every year-end recap but two.
17. Goo Goo Dolls (17)
Top Track: Fallin' Down (T62)
While Dizzy Up The Girl and Gutterflower are two all-time albums for me, it's the deeper cut "Fallin' Down" that takes the most streamed spot for the Goos for the second year in a row, keeping them steadfast in the #17 spot for another run. I try to give a spin to any new stuff Johnny and Robbie put out, but nothing comes even remotely close to the two aforementioned records.
16. Fuel (18)
Top Track: Falls On Me/Hemorrhage (In My Hands) (T204)
Another solid year for the Fuelies, registering 11 different songs with at least 5 streams across their first 4 albums. The band has been hinting at stuff on their social media pages recently, with Carl Bell making amends with old bandmates and teasing that more things are coming soon. Unfortunately, they just really haven't hit anything big since their heyday with Brett Scallions, and I don't think they have enough magic anymore to do so.
15. Trans-Siberian Orchestra (6)
Top Track: Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 (T100)
The TSO train just keeps chugging along, even without me seeing the band live this year, I was thoroughly pleased to put them back into regular rotation come October. The greatest aberration of every year is how a band who only gets plays for (realistically) a month and a half ends up in the year end list. They're just so doggone good.
14. Boston (NR)
Top Track: If You Were In Love (8)
I had to do a double-take when I saw that Boston had never actually made the year end list. Sarah McLachlan is one thing, but Boston, who sits at 41st in the most streams over the last decade, never once being one of the 25 most played bands? Hard to believe, but it was a renewed interest in their most recent album, 2013s Life, Love & Hope that propelled them all the way up to #14 this year.
13. Switchfoot (17)
Top Track: Company Car/New Way To Be Human (T383)
Another quantity over quality effort here, as Switchfoot measured in 45 different songs and 11 of them had at least 5 plays last year. The band has garnered an increase in streams each of the last 5 years, culminating with their highest year-end ranking yet. Not bad for a bunch of California goofballs.
12. Bush (NR)
Top Track: The Land of Milk and Honey (27)
"The Land of Milk and Honey" finished the year at #9 on the Top 20 Countdown, and the album I Beat Loneliness had 4 different songs with at least 8 plays last year, marking a majestically triumphant comeback for the UKs best grungy export. 1 great comeback album is a fluke but two in a row? I'm genuinely impressed.
11. Anberlin (11)
Top Track: Time and Confusion (T164)
For many years, it was simply a given that Anberlin was going to be one of the 5 most streamed artists every single year. In fact, they garnered five straight years never going any lower than 4 before falling back last year. I wouldn't say I'm burned out from them, but their recent attemps to reinvent themselves with singer Matty Mullins have really fallen flat for me. It would be one thing if they were just making new music, but trying to force Stephen Christian's classics on us with a different singer just doesn't sit right for me. Nothing against Matty (I do enjoy Memphis May Fire), but it just feels like it's an entirely different band now.
10. Circle of Dust (10)
Top Track: Chasm - Version 2.1.0 (T73)
If asked to pick a desert album record, off the top of my head I'd definitely throw Circle of Dust's Disengage into a very small pile, probably at the top if we're being honest. The newer stuff Klayton has released recently haven't moved the needle too terribly much, but the old stuff will always be classic and required listening for me.
9. Korn (4)
Top Track: Did My Time/Divine (T383)
61 different Korn tracks got at least one stream, which with 1 play alone would've put them in the top 100 artists... but they have strength in numbers (as they usually do) and made it in to the top 10 for the third time. The fact that Korn is still chugging out decent albums is pretty cool, but I don't see them making any significant waves at this point in their career.
8. Sam Cooke (13)
Top Track: Chain Gang (T204)
Six straight years charting for the sensational Sam Cooke, who came close to his highest showing (6th in 2021) despite not having any individual songs crack the top 200 most played. Sam is consistently the highest charting "oldies" artist, and this year is no difference.
7. Evanescence (NR)
Top Track: What You Want (T136)
Evanescence ranked at #5 in 2020, and then went missing for a few cycles before resurfacing in 2025. While their demo "Origin" always ranks among the most played albums at the end of each year, it was a song off their self-titled 2011 effort that made the most waves last year for me. Unpredictable as ever, these things are.
6. VNV Nation (2)
Top Track: The Farthest Star (24)
I guess you could call it an off year for VNV Nation, who had never finished lower than #3 before last year, in spite of The Farthest Star breaking into the 30 Most Played, and having 7 other songs with at least 10 streams. It just wasn't their year for a big jump, and looking down the list of songs and artists, it really wasn't a heavy year for electronica music.
5. Super Simple Songs (NR)
Top Track: Apples and Bananas (T62)
There was a certain point, somewhere around August or September, that I realized that Super Simple Songs was going to be highly ranked on this list. I didn't know how high, but I did know why; they have fantastic songs and videos that my preschoolers absolutely love. And they get stuck in my head too! Not that I'm listening to any of it outside of work, but we do listen a LOT while I'm teaching. Hah!
4. Demon Hunter (14)
Top Track: One Thousand Apologies/The Pain In Me Is Gone (T100)
Although Demon Hunter has made every year end artist list since I started tracking with Last.FM, they finally cracked the top 5 this year on the strength of their strongest album in a decade. The Pain In Me Is Gone made it to #18 on the Top 20 Countdown, marking their 5th such appearance. They're consistent, they're fantastic, and just when I thought they had lost a step, they came back and punched me straight in the face with this majestic record.
3. Matchbox Twenty (24)
Top Track: Bent/Unwell (T38)
In my head, I feel like I'm always listening to M20, which is why it surprised the heck out of me to find that they'd only made the most played artist list 3 times. "Mad Season" ranked 2nd among most played albums, and as a whole the band had 13 different songs with at least 5 plays during the year. I also rediscovered some gems from their comeback album "North", and although nothing will ever pass their first 3 records, they're still a pleasant surprise any time they make music.
2. Cold (1)
Top Track: When Angels Fly Away (5)
I mean, this is where the jump comes, right? Cold registered 40+ more plays than Matchbox Twenty, but still fell 26 short of the top spot. Their track record is still outrageously good; 8 years, 5 top finishes, never outside of the top 5. It just wasn't their year, for a couple of reasons... none of which were the fact that, yes, I did see them again live and, yes, it was incredible.
1. Assemblage 23 (3)
Top Track: Endure (T53)
The reason Cold wasn't #1 this year? All of the lights of destiny shined on Assemblage 23 in 2025! Although they'd never been lower than 5, they had never captured the #1 spot before this year, and deservedly so. I finally got to see them again live and the show was incredible. They also released a new record at the end of the year, which I spun twice and put away for 2026. All together they had 66 songs with at least one play, eight of which got 10 or more streams. They also have a strong chance at repeating with their first new record in 4 years. What will happen? Only time will tell... 10 months of it, in fact!
Thanks again to Last.FM, The Universal Scrobbler, OpenScrobbler, Spotify, Pandora, CDs, tape decks, vinyl and of course my trusty car radio. Have a great 2026!
