OOPS! Top 50 of 2025: #30-26: Some Mud, an Alchemist and the Deep Sea

We are coming close to the top 20 of the OOPS! series and then we will close the book on music from 2025. This block has an artist who was on the top 50 of 2025, an artist who has been top 5 on a previous top 50 and some new artists I never heard of until making this list. That’s what’s so fun about the OOPS! series. I get to find new music and be surprised. Love it! So, let’s go!

30. GIVĒON: Mud

The track Mud is hard to pin down. There are luscious strings reminiscent of romantic 70s soul, some classic 90s R&B beats that reminds me of Sade and then a deep vocal with some slight post production work on it…which is very modern. This sexy R&B brew has all of these different ingredients working incredibly well together. Having said that, what really holds the track together is GIVĒON’s silky vocal. Love it.

29. Freddie Gibbs ft. Anderson .Paak and Alchemist: Ensalada

All three of these artists have been on the top 50 before, so this track promises a lot. Gibbs spits bars about enduring violent trauma, living rough on the streets, family life and wanting a better life. Paak’s vocal is an interesting mix of raw emotion and 70s soul, which I really love. Alchemist brings the beats with his own 70s soul…complete with record cracks and pops. This is a shorter track, but it really packs a punch and has everyone at the top of their games.

28. Health: Vibe Cop

Ever since they put out a track with Nine Inch Nails, I have been keeping tabs on Health. They are a unique metal band that blends your traditional thrash with elements of EDM and old school industrial. Think of Anthrax mixed with KMFDM…and a dash of the Pet Shop Boys. I know, it sounds weird…but it all works. It really scratches that itch of 90s industrial KMFDM type metal, but still feeling fresh and not a throwback. Love it…and that vocal by Jake Duzsick is the sweet icing on a cake made fo razors and neon.

27. Florence + the Machine: Everybody Scream

I love this track and even wrote a review on it…then it just slipped my mind…OOPS! Florence has been top 5 on last year’s top 50 with her and Taylor Swift ripping it up on Florida!!! Her unique vocal delivery and raw power is like nothing else in music. She uses all of that vocal power to her advantage on this track as she sings about sex, agency and power. Plus…she sings about magic and witchcraft…which is always a winner in my book.

26. Deep Sea Diver: Billboard Heart

I never heard of this band until I saw it on a Pitchfork list. I love them. It’s like an early 2020s indie rock with such heart and soul. Jessica Dobson’s vocal is what really brings the track together. She is genuine, personal and emotionally powerful. It reminds me a bit of Wild Flag or Snail Mail…just no nonsense straight up vocals. It comes out on Sub Pop and you can really get a Sub Pop vibe out of it. Just a great track and I hope that we see more from this band.

Next block gets us one step closer to the top 20 and has us looking at a Grammy winner, a hip hop queen and a country singer pushing boundaries.