Best Rock Songs of 2025: Rock Isn’t Dead, It Just Smells Funky
2025 was a lot, wasn’t it?
We finally got those flying taxis everyone was promising—even if they basically look like giant drones that keep getting stuck in trees—and the digital world felt noisier than ever.
But through all that chaos, rock ‘n’ roll was the one thing that actually felt solid. This year, the legends reminded us why they’re icons, and the new bands proved that the energy of a cranked-up amp is still the best high there is.
It’s been a cool year for balance, too—seeing a veteran who’s been touring since the 70s share a stage with a kid who just discovered his first fuzz pedal.
It was a year of big riffs and even bigger melodies. You just had to look for them.
Here is the definitive rundown of the 25 tracks that kept our speakers smoking this year.
The 25 Best Rock Songs of 2025
1. Sammy Hagar – “Encore, Thank You and Goodnight” The Red Rocker is tugging at our heartstrings with this sunset anthem. It’s a heavy nod to his late partner-in-crime, Eddie Van Halen. Sammy is holding court this year with his Las Vegas residency; if this is his way of saying goodbye to the road, he’s going out on a high note. Or just not getting on a tour bus as much. The Red Rocker is still a rocker. Just rockin’ with more introspection.
2. Cheap Trick – “The Riff That Won’t Quit” Rick Nielsen’s guitar tone is still that perfect mix of nasty and sweet. Song #3 from All Washed Up is a great reminder that these guys aren’t slowing down—they’re just getting more comfortable in their own skin, like a favorite leather jacket. They’re about to hit the road for a massive 50th-anniversary tour, and if this song is any indication, they’ve still got plenty of fire left.
3. The Karma Effect – “Waiting on a Miracle” There’s no faking the kind of soul these guys bring to the rock n’ roll table. “…Miracle” has this great ‘wide-open-road’ feel to it. Now that they’re on the Earache roster, that underground buzz they’ve been building with their live shows is finally starting to boil over. The hype around their live set is getting pretty intense.
4. Alice Cooper – “Wild Ones” The Coop is back with the original lineup for the album The Revenge of Alice Cooper. “WIld Ones” is a total throwback to the 70s gutter-glam that made him a household name. Alice is currently touring the outdoor amphitheaters and still looks like he could scare a ghost out of its skin.
5. Enuff Z’Nuff – “No Cold Feeling” Chip Z’Nuff remains a king on the power-pop hill. This track from the latest effort Xtra Cherries features some killer guest spots. The band has been hitting the circuit hard lately proving you just can’t keep a good melody down.
6. Luke Spiller – “Love Will Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine” The Struts frontman finally stepped out for a solo debut. This track is pure theatrical bombast—think Freddie Mercury meeting Elton John in a dark alley. Luke spent the better part of 2025 promoting this solo record while the main band takes a well-deserved breather.
7. Luke Morley – “Snakeskin Parachute” The Thunder guitarist knows how to write a great rock song. This track has that classic British stomp that hits exactly where it should.
8. The Sheepdogs – “Nobody But You” Canada’s finest are back and sounding more like 1974 than ever. Even after losing their longtime drummer, the group hasn’t missed a beat.
9. The Southern River Band – “Don’t Take It to Heart” Straight out of Australia and louder than a jet engine. This crew is the life of the party, and this track is a total barn-burner. After breaking into the UK and US markets in 2025, the world is finally waking up to their ever-so-cool madness.
10. Ryan Roxie – “Fight Another Day” Alice Cooper guitarist Roxie blended this high-energy indie rock sound with a retro 8-bit video game vibe that feels like a love letter to old-school arcades. Released right on Boxing Day, the track is a look back at how far you’ve come and finding the spark to tackle the next level.
11. John Corabi – “New Day” The voice of the Mötley ’94 era is back with a solo record produced by Marti Frederiksen. It is soulful and proves John remains the real deal. Corabi is balancing solo dates with his duties in The Dead Daisies, staying busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger.
12. King Falcon – “Plastic Crown” Easily the best thing to come out of New York this year. This track is sharp, current, and has a groove that just sticks. They’ve been out with The Struts lately, and word is they were basically walking away with the show every night because their live energy is just on another level.
13. Weston Looney – “Lost in the Wild” Weston has a way of turning a four-minute track into a full-on cinematic experience. His music is easily some of the most atmospheric stuff we’ve heard all year. He’s been popping up at boutique festivals lately, and you can see the cult following growing in real-time—people are clearly hungry for this kind of depth.
14. Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown – “Bloodshot Baby” Tyler is a wizard on the fretboard, and this is a dirty, low-down blues-rocker. The band just launched its own independent label, giving the guys the freedom to get as loud and messy as they want without interference.
15. Eric Gales featuring Joe Bonamassa – “Don’t Wanna Go Home” When you get these two in the same room, you’re basically in for a serious display of fireworks. It’s easily some of the best guitar work we’ve heard on any record this year. Possibly any year!
16. Smith/Kotzen – “White Noise” There’s a specific kind of chemistry that happens when Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen get together. This track is a dark, heavy slow-burn that really lets both of their styles breathe. A surprisingly good fit given their totally different histories.
17. The Darkness – “Rock and Roll Party Cowboy” Justin Hawkins is still hitting those impossible notes and keeping things lighthearted as always. With Dreams on Toast out, the band is gearing up for a massive tour that’ll likely be a chaotic, glitter-covered riot of spandex and loud cowbells. Honestly, we wouldn’t want it any other way.
18. Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts – “Running With the Wild Ones” Tuk Smith is doing a hell of a job keeping that classic Cheap Trick rock vibe front and center. This song is a massive shout-out to the underdogs, losers and misfits. He’s been doing the indie thing for a bit, and the effort is clearly showing—this feels like the most personal work he’s done yet.
19. Steve Knight – “Take You Higher” This track has a soulful, gospel-tinged rock vibe that just lifts the spirit. Knight is making waves in the Nashville scene right now, blending rock muscle with a little bit of genuine Southern charm.
20. Foxy Shazam – “Too Fast to Let Go” The wildest band in rock is back with its 10th album. This track is absolute chaos in the best way possible. These guys just self-released a new LP, proving you don’t need a big label to be the loudest group in the room.
21. LA Guns – “Lucky Motherfucker” Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns remain a lethal combination. This track has a funky, sleazy groove that harkens back to the Sunset Strip. The lineup is currently touring behind the new record Leopard Skin.
22. Stanley Simmons – “Body Down” The sons of Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons have joined forces, but don’t expect a Kiss tribute. This is stripped-down, Americana-style rock. Having been recording with producer Rob Cavallo, the buzz is huge for their debut.
23. Guns N’ Roses – “Nothin’” Axl, Slash, and Duff are back with a brand-new track that sounds like it was ripped straight out of the Use Your Illusion sessions. The band just announced a massive 2026 World Tour, and this song is the perfect appetizer. Not all fans like it, which is great for pre-tour buzz created by online discussion.
24. Mac Saturn – “Takes Time” You can tell these Detroit boys grew up on the right stuff because the groove on ‘Takes Time’ is incredible. It’s soulful, it’s steady, and it feels like a classic you just happened to discover. Seeing them sell out shows across the Midwest all last year has been cool to watch—they’re clearly connecting.
25. The Night Flight Orchestra – “Shooting Velvet” Nobody does that big, melodic arena-rock sound quite like this crew. It’s a wild mix of classic rock and Swedish disco-glam that shouldn’t work, but it totally does. They’ve got a new record called Give Us The Moon coming out, and this was a great teaser to hold everyone over.
The Last Word About Best Rock Songs of 2025
So, what does this actually tell us? It proves that no matter how much tech we’re surrounded by, we still crave that human connection.
We want to hear a pick hitting the strings, a singer pushing their voice to the limit, and that feeling you only get when the bass is literally shaking the floor.
All the digital noise in the world can’t replace the feeling of a real band in a room. We’re still suckers for the sound of a tube amp warming up and the energy of a crowd that’s completely locked in.
Rock and roll isn’t a museum piece; it’s alive, messy, and as loud as ever. As we head into a future of flying taxis and constant tech, it’s good to know that a great hook never goes out of style.
Crank it up, enjoy the Best Rock Songs of 2025, and let’s make 2026 even noisier. 🎸
