It's 2025. 10 Songs Turning 30 This Year

2025 is here and another year has passed us by. 

With each year that passes, the songs from our childhood, the ones we enjoyed in our high school days, and other memorable moments in our lives become an even more valued memory. 

It's funny how it seems like not that long ago a song came out when in reality, a decade has gone by. Even more!  

While it might be hard to believe, here are some songs that are turning 30 in 2025: 

Just a Girl - No Doubt 

This song was quite iconic in the mid 90's as the music scene shifted into the 2000's. With punk rock elements and upbeat pop, this song gives way to an edgy fast-paced dance tune. 

This song describes the burdens and frustrations of being a female. It is also about the perspective of lead singer Gwen Stefani and her time in No Doubt, an all guy band.

Waterfalls - TLC

This song starts out with a smooth R&B flow that lasts throughout. The tune is both upbeat and soothing. The lyrics contain a meaningful lesson about not chasing the things in life that aren't worth chasing. A message that is as relevant today as it was thirty years ago. 

Gangster's Paradise - Coolio

Heavy elements of hip-hop and rap mix in this iconic 90's song. Right from the start, there's a constant edgy beat throughout the song that gives it a powerful feeling. The tone blends fierceness with sheer determination. 

Ironic - Alanis Morissette

In this song, elements of acoustic meet mellow rock with a slight edge. There's plenty of meaning behind the lyrics to this song. 

The song shows that sometimes life has a strange way of happening. The bad things in life can unexpectedly turn out to be or into something good. Sometimes, they really aren't bad at all. 

It reached number 4 on the U.S. charts and number 11 in the U.K. 

Be my Lover - La Bouche

Wow! This songs brings back memories! As a kid riding in the car, I heard it quite often on the radio and elsewhere too. Surely, it was one of the more overplayed hit songs at the time. 

With a strong female vocal and an electronica like male voice in the background, this song contains fast paced electronica and dance fitting for the lively dance clubs of the 90's era. 

Wonderwall - Oasis

An easygoing alternative rock acoustic starts this iconic 90's song. Before long it picks up into a steady tune. It is by far the song Oasis is known for and was also the first single Oasis released in the U.S. 

It reached number 8 in the U.S. and number 2 in the U.K. 

Til I Hear It from You - Gin Blossoms

I love the Gin Blossoms and I haven't listened to them for a while. This is one of my favorites of theirs. 

There is plenty of soul contained within this song. Its lyrics make me feel a bittersweet blend of different emotions but always makes me smile. 

It reached number 11 on the U.S. charts and number 39 on the U.K. charts 

One of Us - Joan Osborne

Here is another song I distinctively remember from my childhood. Every so often when my mom had the radio on in the living room, I would hear this song play. I didn't understand much about music as a young kid and I'm sure I only understood this song at surface level. I did know I found the female vocals beautifully light hearted and soothing and the lyrics inspiring and deep. It's one of those songs that both comforts you and makes you do some deep thinking. 

Give Me One Reason - Tracy Chapman

With soulful upbeat lyrics, this soft rock and R&B song is yet another song that helped define 1995. It also demonstrates the impressively wide soulful range that Tracy Chapman can go.

The World I Know - Collective Soul

And to conclude my list, here is another deep and meaningful song from the year 1995. It is a song filled with a whirlwind of hope and despair. It's one of those songs in which it's impossible to listen to without being mindful to the lyrics. This song is powerful and stirs up so many emotions.

As the years continue, these songs prove to be timeless. Many of these are songs I distinctively remember from my childhood. 

Hopefully these songs that helped define the year 1995 brought back some good memories for you as well. And even if it wasn't quite your time to be alive, I hope these songs still made you smile and maybe sparked your own memories.