By cave 
The final list for 2025 comes rolling in! It’s an overview of the songs from 1975 that still appeal to me the most after half a century of following music. Anyone who takes the time to listen to the tracks will find plenty of nostalgia in them. At the very top are songs like “Wish You Were Here” (#1) by Pink Floyd and “Vroeger” (#2) by Magenta. Not to mention the concept album “Schoolboys in Disgrace” by The Kinks, which takes me straight back to youthful years and mischievous escapades in “Schooldays” (#4) and “Education” (#16). Those days are now so far behind us that it isn’t always easy to recall those memories with complete clarity.
The Kinks, by the way—together with Bob Dylan—are the acts that manage to rack up the highest number of songs in the top 100: six each. In addition to the already mentioned Kinks tracks, we also encounter “Everybody’s a Star (Starmaker)” (#10), “Ordinary People” (#33), “You Can’t Stop the Music” (#42), and “Underneath the Neon Sign”(#69). Bob Dylan is equally present, though somewhat less prominently. “Tangled Up in Blue”, his highest-ranking song, only appears at #26. It’s followed by “Shelter from the Storm” (#34), “Hurricane” (#55), “Simple Twist of Fate”(#67), “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts” (#76), and finally “Idiot Wind” (#94). With the exception of “Hurricane”, all are tracks from Blood on the Tracks.
After The Kinks and Dylan with six songs each, Bruce Springsteen follows with a handful of classics from his third album, Born to Run. The title track just misses the top 10, landing at #11. Next come “Thunder Road” (#22), “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” (#39), “Backstreets” (#45), and “Night” (#63), which neatly rounds off the set. Roxy Music (😎), and by extension Bryan Ferry (3), last year’s big eater who showed up no fewer than 11 times, takes it much easier this time with four songs: “Both Ends Burning” (#5), “Love Is the Drug” (#12), “End of the Line” (#47), and “Casanova” (#86).
From our own region, Kris De Bruyne triumphs with four half–singer-songwriter, half–kleinkunst tunes. From high to low, we encounter these wonderful Belpop classics: “Amsterdam” (#17), “Vilvoorde City” (#25), “’s Nachts Als Het Donker Is” (#32), and “Alweer Een Dag Voorbij” (#70). Finally, a brief mention of the bands that, each with three songs, make a more than substantial contribution to the cohesion of the list: Pink Floyd, Magenta, Pavlov’s Dog, Kraftwerk, Peter Hammill, and Electric Light Orchestra.
Moving on to the regions from which so many great sounds have emerged: true to tradition, the British once again tower head and shoulders above the rest. They occupy 46 of the 100 spots—quite substantial, though still a notable drop compared to last year, when the British contingent accounted for 59% of the total. America remains more or less stable: with 28 entries, it’s just one more than in 2024. Belgium takes an honorable third place: alongside the already mentioned Magenta (3×) and Kris De Bruyne (4×), Kandahar (#49 with “The Day I Came to Life”) and Raymond van het Groenewoud (#84 – “Ik Wil de Grootste Zijn”) also make their presence felt.
Also not to be overlooked are the seven mentions for Krautrock contenders: three times Kraftwerk, twice Neu!, supplemented by Triumvirat and Jane, keeping the German honor high. Of the total 100 tracks in the list, 60 were at some point released as singles in one form or another—be it as a B-side or even just promotional. The remaining 40 had to settle for a spot on one of the artist’s albums.
For nine years now—108 monthly editions in total—I’ve managed, with few hiccups, to cobble together my single top 40 and make it available here. To be precise, between January 1967 and December 1975, a total of 4,428 songs have so far been put on display to escape oblivion. Available to anyone with an ear for it on Facebook, Rate Your Music, YouTube, Spotify, and since last summer also on Instagram—and thanks to Christophe, on Apple Music as well.
On to the tenth, jubilee year: 1976, a year in which an explosion of new musical approaches and refreshing movements will (finally) bubble up. The age of punk, new wave, art rock, and more will gradually take shape. Each time, it’s a formidable challenge to scour the globe for single and album releases from the months in question. But despite the occasionally hellish and exhausting searches, one thing remains unshakably true: the pleasure is still—and entirely—mine.
To all my music-loving and other friends, I wish a stable 1976—sorry, 2026! The Age of Disclosure is slowly dawning for many of us who have been roaming this bumpy little planet for quite some time now. I wish you all the courage to face 2026 with an open and unprejudiced mind.
(Jan VH)
Playlist
- Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
- Magenta – Vroeger
- Patti Smith – Gloria / In Excelsis Deo
- The Kinks – Schooldays
- Roxy Music – Both Ends Burning
- Pink Floyd – Shine On You Crazy Diamond
- Roky Erickson & The Aliens – Starry Eyes
- Pavlov’s Dog – Julia
- Grand Funk – Bad Time
- The Kinks – Everybody’s a Star (Starmaker)
- Bruce Springsteen – Born to Run
- Roxy Music – Love Is the Drug
- Rob de Nijs – Onweer (Hotel Room)
- Kraftwerk – Radioactivity
- Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel – Make Me Smile
- The Kinks – Education
- Kris De Bruyne – Amsterdam
- Neil Young & Crazy Horse – Don’t Cry No Tears
- Al Stewart – Carol
- Magenta – M’n Goeie Vriend
- Roky Erickson & The Aliens – Red Temple Prayer (Two Headed Dog)
- Bruce Springsteen – Thunder Road
- Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
- Rainbow – Man on the Silver Mountain
- Kris De Bruyne – Vilvoorde City
- Bob Dylan – Tangled Up in Blue
- Pavlov’s Dog – Song Dance
- Led Zeppelin – Kashmir
- Kraftwerk – Autobahn
- Queen – Love of My Life
- Uriah Heep – Return to Fantasy
- Kris De Bruyne – ’s Nachts Als Het Donker Is
- The Kinks – Ordinary People
- Bob Dylan – Shelter from the Storm
- Rainbow – The Temple of the King
- Kraftwerk – Kometenmelodie 2
- Deep Purple – Soldier of Fortune
- Procol Harum – Pandora’s Box
- Bruce Springsteen – Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
- Jonathan King – A Very Very Melancholy Man
- Jonathan Richman – Roadrunner
- The Kinks – You Can’t Stop the Music
- John Cale – Heartbreak Hotel
- Peter Hammill – Shingle Song
- Bruce Springsteen – Backstreets
- Patti Smith – Free Money
- Roxy Music – End of the Line
- Eagles – One of These Nights
- Kandahar – The Day I Came to Life
- Pink Floyd – Have a Cigar
- Heavy Metal Kids – The Big Fire
- Television – Little Johnny Jewel
- Electric Light Orchestra – Strange Magic
- Peter Frampton – Show Me the Way
- Bob Dylan – Hurricane
- Tubes – White Punks on Dope
- Peter Hammill – Been Alone So Long
- Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – Spirits in the Night
- Ross Ryan – Blue Chevrolet Ballerina
- Pavlov’s Dog – Episode
- Eagles – Lyin’ Eyes
- Fumble – Here We Go Again
- Bruce Springsteen – Night
- Jet – Nothing to Do with Us
- Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel – Mr. Raffles (Man It Was Mean)
- Neu! – Isi
- Bob Dylan – Simple Twist of Fate
- Splitz – Just for You
- Kinks – Underneath the Neon Sign
- Kris De Bruyne – Nog (Alweer) Een Dag Voorbij
- Triumvirat – The Sweetest Sound of Liberty
- David Bowie – Fame
- Magenta – Heer des Huizes
- Electric Light Orchestra – Evil Woman
- Uriah Heep – A Year or a Day
- Bob Dylan – Lily, Rosemary & the Jack of Hearts
- Neu! – Hero
- Neil Young – Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown
- Electric Light Orchestra – One Summer Dream
- David Bowie – Across the Universe
- Al Stewart – Sirens of Titan
- Peter Hammill – Airport
- Jane – Lord Love
- Raymond van het Groenewoud – Ik Wil de Grootste Zijn
- Procol Harum – I Keep Forgetting
- Roxy Music – Casanova
- Genesis – The Carpet Crawlers
- Alexander Curly – Freek!
- Leonard Cohen – Tonight Will Be Fine
- Bad Company – Feel Like Makin’ Love
- Gordon Lightfoot – Cherokee Bend
- Roger McGuinn & Friends – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
- Junior Byles – Fade Away
- Bob Dylan – Idiot Wind
- Jean Ferrat – La Femme est l’Avenir de l’Homme
- Strange Days – 9 Parts to the Wind
- Lucifer – House for Sale
- Bob Marley & The Wailers – No Woman, No Cry
- Johnny Cash – Reason to Believe
- Lewis Furey – Hustler’s Tango