Few artists today combine vulnerability, sensuality, and poetic lyricism quite like SZA. Since her breakout with CTRL in 2017, she’s cemented herself as one of the most emotionally resonant and sonically innovative voices in modern R&B. With a blend of neo-soul, alternative R&B, and confessional songwriting, SZA’s music feels both timeless and urgently of the moment.
Whether you’ve followed her from Z and CTRL or discovered her more recently with SOS, here’s our definitive ranking of the top 10 SZA songs, the ones that stay in your head, hit your heart, and keep your playlists on repeat.
10. Prom
Upbeat and deceptively light, “Prom” explores the fear of growing up and not meeting expectations. It’s SZA at her most melodic, blending vulnerability with poppy production in a way that’s both danceable and emotionally raw.
9. Snooze
From SOS, “Snooze” is slow-burning perfection. With silky vocals and understated production, it’s a love song for people who know love isn’t always perfect, it’s complicated, lazy, and real.
8. Garden (Say It Like Dat)
This sensual, aching track showcases SZA’s unmatched ability to sound both confident and insecure in the same breath. “I need your touch, not your scrutiny” is peak SZA: intimate, direct, and devastating.
7. Kill Bill
A viral hit with dark humor and a soft vocal delivery that contrasts its revenge-fantasy lyrics. “Kill Bill” is catchy, clever, and slightly unhinged, in the best way. It’s proof that SZA can turn even murderous jealousy into a pop masterpiece.
6. 20 Something
The closing track of CTRL is quiet, but it cuts deep. “Hoping my 20 somethings won’t end / Hoping to keep the rest of my friends”, it’s the kind of lyric you only write when you’re telling the whole truth. No beat drop, no distractions, just SZA and her soul.
5. Nobody Gets Me
A standout from SOS, this ballad feels like a breakup text you were too afraid to send. It's SZA stripped bare, with acoustic guitar and a gut-punch vocal delivery that makes it one of her most hauntingly beautiful tracks.
4. Love Galore (feat. Travis Scott)
A career-defining moment. “Love Galore” marked SZA’s true arrival in the mainstream. The chemistry with Travis Scott, the lush production, and the mix of sweetness and venom in her lyrics make this a modern R&B classic.
3. Normal Girl
One of SZA’s most relatable songs, “Normal Girl” captures the longing to be accepted, to be “the type of girl you take home to your mom.” It’s melancholic, mature, and one of her best lyrical moments.
2. Broken Clocks
The beat hits, the vocal floats, and SZA’s flow weaves perfectly through themes of time, regret, and emotional disconnection. It’s arguably her most radio-ready song without compromising her introspective style.
1. Good Days
SZA at her most expansive and ethereal. “Good Days” is a spiritual journey, both sonically and lyrically. With a hypnotic guitar loop and lyrics about growth, mental clarity, and letting go, it’s her most transcendent work to date. It’s the kind of song that feels like therapy in a headphone.
Honorable Mentions
Shirt – A dark, sultry bop with cult appeal.
Supermodel – The opening track on CTRL sets the tone with brutal honesty.
Ghost in the Machine (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) – One of the boldest genre crossovers on SOS.
Why SZA Matters
SZA doesn’t just write songs, she writes diaries in melody. Her voice is breathy but powerful, her production choices are fluid and genre-bending, and her lyrics feel like conversations you’ve had with yourself at 2 a.m. She’s given a voice to anxiety, lust, insecurity, and joy — especially for Black women and women of color in a space that often lacks honest representation.
She’s not perfect, and she doesn’t want to be. And that’s exactly why she’s iconic.