The 50 Best Cover Songs of 2025

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40. Alice Howe & Freebo — Angel from Montgomery (John Prine cover)

When Freebo (Daniel Friedberg) played bass on Bonnie Raitt’s iconic cover of John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery” in 1974, on her Streetlights album, you wonder if he thought he would still be playing it—and singing it—five decades later. A few years ago, Freebo connected with singer-songwriter Alice Howe (who sang a cappella with my daughter in college), producing her albums, and touring and performing with her. Their live performance of “Angel,” with the two exchanging vocals and harmonizing, was captured on a live album released this year. Howe’s vocals have more than a little Raitt influence, and while Freebo sounds nothing like Prine (and who does?), the gender swapping approach is compelling. — Jordan Becker

39. The KVB — Black Is Black (Los Bravos cover)

“Black is Black” has always been a disposable piece of pop. Originally written so it could be phonetically read by a Spanish-speaking band, with the music to be recorded in a hurry in London by session musicians on their way to the pub, various versions over the years have clung to that quick-and-dirty ethos. It has persevered because of the universality of the theme, and the fact that the lyrics are so simple. And every language has colors, that it can be translated equally easily.

The KVB really do the song a favor with their thoughtful version. The mismatch between the upbeat D Major key of the original and the somber emotional message has often been glossed over. The KVB relocate to A Minor, a place where Radiohead are generally more comfortable. The music and lyrics are now in harmony, in all sorts of ways. — Mike Tobyn

38. Rory Block — The Wind Cries Mary (Jimi Hendrix cover)

Rory Block has been plying her raw blues bottleneck for many a long year, with umpteen records to her name, always true and consistent to her acoustic country blues muse. As well as writing her own songs, she has also issued many a tribute album, often to the blues giants that inspired her. This song comes from Heavy on the Blues—album number 35, or thereabouts. Amongst the songs, largely traditional or from the repertoire of her idols, comes this recognition that James Marshall Hendrix was, too, a bluesman. Her intonation doesn’t stray even that far from Hendrix’s own, her vocal as much and as little as the lyric demand. But by stripping away the psychedelia of the original, it is inescapably the blues. With just her own guitar, and the guest electric guitar of Joanna Connor, nothing else but a rudimentary thump of drums is needed, as the wind cries, howls and eventually screams Mary. — Seuras Og

37. Neo-Magics — Le Freak (Chic cover)

Nile and Bernard, meet Nuggets. The Neo-Magics take the Chic disco classic with the absurdly catchy guitar riff and transform it into a garage stomper, preserved in musty amber and rescued from Lenny Kaye’s attic, that’s finished in under two minutes. So thorough and convincing is the transformation that it pulls off the nearly impossible feat of making the original sound like a revelatory cover. — Patrick Robbins

36. Goose — Somebody’s Watching Me (Rockwell cover)

Imagine, if you will, Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me” with all the theatrical camp and bluster dialed down a little, and minus the vocoder effects, the cheesy synth sounds, and the excited falsetto guy (Michael Jackson) on the chorus. Minus, then, that overall eighties-ness. Well, no need to, because Connecticut rock band Goose, known for their live performances and huge popularity on the jam band scene, have reinvented the 1980s electrofunk Motown classic in the style of no-nonsense arena-rock. They performed it at the Suwannee Hulaween Festival over the Halloween weekend, to a crowd with “tons of energy,” who absolutely lapped it up. Drummer Cotter Ellis dealt with the verses, and guitarist Rick Mitarotonda the chorus, both very soulfully, while Trevor Weekz applied funky slap bass and Mitarotonda, again, the epic guitar solos which helped stretch this spooky ode to paranoia past the 11-minute mark. Further would have been fine! — Adam Mason

35. Bridget Hayden and The Apparitions — She Moved Through The Fayre (Trad. cover)

Ain’t it great when the wide and wonderful world of Trad. Arr. gets a new shot in the arm, as yet another generation of performers find ways of plundering the plenty available therein? Bridget Hayden is one such, based in Yorkshire, Northern England, and with a musical background in pre-form noise. Belatedly, she has discovered her ancient roots, with this track coming from a set of similar folk-derived renderings, all morphed and mixed through a wyrd prism, awash with harmonium drones. For this song, Hayden utilizes her sonorous voice to terrific effect, the textures shape-shifting beneath her. Simultaneously eerie and ethereal, this is the sound of a siren, if transported out onto Heathcliff’s wily, windy moor. When the viola comes in, the darkness is almost too much. It is certainly nothing like Art Garfunkel’s version! — Seuras Og

34. BOY SODA — I Write Sins Not Tragedies (Panic! At the Disco cover)

The opening horns set the scene for this jazzy and soulful cover. The same storytelling nature of the song remains, but this smooth R&B take mellows the song out, slowing down the pace and ramping down the manic energy of the original. BOY SODA’s vocal range is on display throughout with deep vocals on the verses and tasteful falsetto riffs between phrases. — Sara Stoudt

33. Good Kid — I’m Like a Bird (Nelly Furtado cover)

This Nelly Furtado cover was originally released for The Juno Sessions, a series that features Canadian bands performing for the titular awards show. “I’m Like a Bird” encompasses everything from fear of commitment to true love and its rarity. This one was originally released in the year 2000 and is from Whoa, Nelly!, but what used to be a folk-pop hit has now turned into an indie anthem. Out with the bowed strings that morph in R&B, and in with an alt-rock vibe a la The Kinks. — Aleah Fitzwater

32. The Mayries — Pink Pony Club (Chappell Roan cover)

The Mayries take “Pink Pony Club” and turn it into something that is soft and subtly defiant. The dance anthem dominated the radio this year in all its glam-pop glory. The Mayries give the song a refreshing acoustic makeover, delivered with a cool intimacy. The softly sung lyrics hang in the air like confession. For any fans of Chappell Roan looking for a quiet evening in, this wistful cover is the perfect choice. — Ally McAlpine

31. The Dead South — Joey (Concrete Blonde cover)

I’m more a bluegrass appreciator than a fan; ask me to name its top practitioners today and I could count the number I know on one hand and have fingers left over. Among other things, this has meant that the first bluegrass covers I became familiar with were at least partly designed to be goofs. They came from bands like Hayseed Dixie and Steve ‘n’ Seagulls, and albums like Luther Wright & the Wrongs’ Rebuild the Wall. Good stuff, yes, but veering awfully close to comedy, more about finding the laugh than the hurt.

That’s why I’m grateful for cuts like the Dead South’s “Joey.” They take an adult song about an adult topic and don’t play it for the giggles. The music sounds pained and lonely, and the vocal matches it. Joey could be a gal pal or a good buddy, but who it is doesn’t matter – what matters is the message that may or may not be getting through. It certainly got through to me. — Patrick Robbins

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