Top 50 of 2025: #50-46: An Electric Rebirth, A Hummingbird and Salsa

That’s right Jukeboxers….it’s top 50 time! We are here. Every year I pick my top 50 tracks that were released between Dec. 1st one year and Dec. 1st the next year. So, This is the countdown of 50 of my favourite tracks from Dec. 1st, 2024 – Dec. 1st, 2025. This year has some great new oldies, surprise drops, heavily anticipated records, a surprise artist not in the top 10 and some excellent new bands. The top 10 dos not have the heavy hitters of years past…but the entire top 20 was very tight this year. So…let’s get into it.

50. Gloria Estefan: La Vecina

Gloria Estefan is best known for Conga, but she has been putting out blistering salsa music for decades. The President Medal of Freedom artist is 68 and still putting out high octane music with intoxicating energy and flare. You can feel the sweat and energy of the dance floor in very note. She still has it and the musicians backing her up are impeccable and extremely tight. So, turn the volume up and dance!

49. Dar Williams: Hummingbird Highway

One of the Lilith Fair OGs is back again with her version of 70s singer songwriter music. Williams has the same gift as all the iconic folkies like Joni Mitchell, Dylan, Leonard Cohen and Ani DiFranco…which is her ability to heighten everyday stories into an amazing song that is still grounded and emotional. This whimsical track goes into deeper relationship themes and when to let someone go. I am a big Dar fan, so it is great to see her back on top of her game.

48. Bruce Springsteen: Atlantic City (Electric Nebraska)

I hear you crying foul on this one, but since it was not released in ’82 it counts as a new release. The only reason it’s here at 48 and not in the top 5 is that it is another version of an existing track…but what a version! The dark foreboding cloud that engulfs the original track is replaced by some rockin’ Springsteen punk defiance. In this version, he is not resigned to his fate, but is looking fate in the eye and spitting in its face. The E Street Band has a raw energy that propels the track into the stratosphere. This is a must hear version for both Springsteen fans and newcomers alike.

47. Kabaka Pyramid: Jamaica

The Pyramid has made the top 50 multiple times in the past…and may even make it again this year…you’ll have to tune for that. One trope in reggae that I love is artists’ pride in Jamaica. Bob Marley, Koffee, Peter Tosh and many others sing about their pride in their homeland. He has a mix of traditional dancehall with a new hip hop vibe, which was popularised by Burna Boy. Kabaka Pyramid is at the top of modern reggae with Koffee and Protoje, which has given reggae its biggest crossover potential in decades.

46. Justin Bieber: BUTTERFLIES

Bieber’s drop of the SWAG album, along with its follow-up SWAG II, took the musical population by surprise. No one saw this coming. After a shocking neurological diagnosis, canceled tours and no new music on the horizon we thought that was it. Instead, he dropped a 21 track behemoth close to 4 years after his last studio record. The record itself is uneven, but BUTTERFLIES is Bieber at his best. A grounded love song anchored by true emotion and his dreamy pop vocal. This is the closest he gets to his peak on Purpose and I am so glad he released it.

WOW! Five tracks in the books and the top 50 is off and running! The next group will have a pop queen, some K-Pop and our first Aussie/NZ entry.