Well, here we are again. Last year, I did something I hadn’t done in a long time and put out a Facebook post outlining my favorite music of the year. That awakened something in me that had been long gestating – a penchant for music criticism. Other have articulated the need for the genre better than I ever could, but I spent a long time wondering why I was writing about music, instead of making music myself, or…gosh….just listening to and enjoying it.
But there’s fun in writing about music, and there’s a lot of fun in making lists. The process helped me get in touch with what exactly I loved about these albums. And I hope you find a chance to love them to.
2025 was a banner year for music. After the drought of the pandemic, it seems the geese are coming home to roost, with some of the most creative music we’ve heard in years. My favorite music this year challenged me, forced a reckoning with taste, and inspired me to think differently about what exactly I wanted out of a listening experience.
You probably won’t like all of this, and that’s ok. But sharing favs is one of my favorite thing to do with friends, family, the general public at large. If you feel like things have been stagnant (hey, I liked Taylor’s new album, too), all you have to do is turn over a few rocks. If you need help, I’m happy to wade into the stream a get a little dirty in the process.
One note: I thought about including links to these albums on the various streaming services, but I figure we all know how to search Spotify/Apple Music/your streamer of choice. I found them, you can find them too. But I will include a Spotify list including all my picks for ease. Reader be warned, not everything here is kid friendly, so don’t throw it on random in the car with the littles.
Cameron Winter, Heavy Metal
I’m embarrassed to say that this album ACTUALLY came out in 2024 – in the waning days of December. It didn’t hit my radar until the spring as I traveled through eastern Idaho and Yellowstone National Park, and it hit me like the scalding water of a hydrothermal spring. The Geese frontman has the weirdest voice since Jeff Mangum, and like In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, this album kind of scared me at first, slowing boiling me alive. It’s got raucous piano ballads, grooving jam-band bangers, and strange confessional lullabies. And by the time you get to the “Nina + Field of Cops” climax, Winter had me in grizzly bear’s grip, only to then spit me out into the final, crushing coda. This is an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime album that crushed me, broke me into dust, and then put me back together. A balm for our crazy times.
Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band, New Threats from the Soul
Like many of my favorite albums, New Threats from the Soul took its time to get its hooks in, but once it did this jewel box of an album unfolded like a lotus flower. Deep, cyclical, melodic, strange, Dylan-esque with a tinge of (ahem) roadhouse country.
Geese, Getting Killed
Solo album or full band? Impossible choice, but Winter (and Co.) did it again with a barnburner rock album that makes you believe that music can be…anything. Intricate melodies, rock solid time signatures held down by absolutely beastly drumming, and crunchy guitar riffs almost put this at the top of my list. I want to see these songs on the grandest stages, in the biggest areas. Geese at Pompei? Sign me up.
Panda Bear, Sinister Grift
I was lucky that my buddy Nick introduced me to Animal Collection back in (checks notes) 2004. Otherwise I wouldn’t have discovered Panda Bear, who has put out some of my favorite albums ever. But after a spell of weird albums (a real accomplishment, considering Animal Collective and Panda Bear’s solo catalog), Noah Lennox returned in 2025 with a surprisingly gorgeous, melodic, and accessible album. It’s even more astounding considering the source material comes from a devastating divorce. But the Brian Wilson harmonies and dub beats are catchy as hell. Like a Tampa sunset, it’s an album that glows with possibility.
The Mountain Goats, Through This Fire Across from Peter Balkan
John Darnielle has put out about a thousand great records (and written three of my favorite novels). Through This Fire Across from Peter Balkan might be his crowning achievement. It sounds like the Original Cast Recording of a lost Broadway show. Darnielle gets the credit, but his band is crackerjack. It’s a beautiful album, with melodies that stick and lyrics that break my heart. Yet another top tier record from a top tier songwriter at the top of his game.
Clipse, Let God Sort ‘em Out
Clipse returned after what felt like a century, with more fire, more crack rap lyrics, and more luxury goods swagger than ever. There was no single lyric that got me moving more than the first verse of “So Be It” – I can’t get enough of Pusha T rapping “She leanin’ on Celine ‘cause she aint steppin’ in Giuseppe…” One after another, these songs prove Clipse is a melodic and lyrical force to be reckoned with, one that can even outshine Kendrick (who guests on the second track) at times.
Heems, A Hundred Alibis
One of my favorite rappers continues his mystifying evolution with a six-song EP that bounces wildly between genres, styles, and guest stars. There’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra bopping along in the background. Panda Bear shows up to make things weird. Even Sonic Youth’s Lee Ronaldo drops by with his trademark buzzsaw guitar. The highlight is “Nothing Good is Easy,” where the recalcitrant, newly sober Heems contends with a life that won’t stay still. Beautiful stuff, even with the somewhat cringey final track. I’ll let it slip for an artist who won’t settle for anything.
Ben Kweller, Cover the Mirrors
An absolutely radioactive album that sets off the Geiger counter you if you get too close. Born out of the devastating death of his 16-year-old son in a car accident, early oughts indie darling Ben Kweller contends with the unthinkable in an album that will make you smile, weep, and thank your lucky stars you haven’t had to deal with anything close to this kind of hurt. He’ll get by with a little help from his friends – Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, the Flaming Lips, and MJ Lenderman are there keeping him from collapsing under the galactic weight of grief and the endless waiting to finally hang again with your best friend.
Tyler Childers, Snipe Hunter
Barnstorming country bad boy Tyler Childers turned to Rick Rubin – the zen master of soundboards – for an album that sounds like it was recorded in the grimiest, boot-scooting dive bar in the south. Childers growls, expounds, and references everything from the Bhagavad Gita to Cyndi Lauper. I’m here for a rabid, rip-roaring good time.
Bon Iver, SABLE, fABLE
If this is the last Bon Iver album we get (sheds a tear), at least we went out with one of the best. More accessible than just about anything Justin Vernon has ever done, SABLE/fABLE reckons with the loss of the past, an uncertain future, and everything in between. Rings within rings within rings.
Huntr/x, K-Pop Demon Hunters (Soundtrack)
Holy hell, these are some bops. What I thought would be a throwaway Netflix streamer to keep my kids occupied for the evening ended up being the best dance music I’ve heard in years. Yes, “Golden,” and “Soda Pop” get all the credit, but start to finish this is a soundtrack that lives in your head long after the credits roll. It’s even better in the movie, with the bonkers animation providing a visual feast for these gems of electro-dance hotness.
Radiohead, Hail to the Thief (Live Recordings 2003-2009)
One of Radiohead’s most underappreciated albums gets a second chance with these recordings that peel back why Radiohead was one of the best live acts of the early 2000s. I was lucky enough to see the band on this tour in 2003 (unfortunately none of the tracks are from the Giants Stadium show I attended), but it’s all there. Thom, Johnny, Colin, Ed, and Phil were one thing on tape, and a completely different thing onstage, and you hear it all here. It’s electrifying music, and we’re lucky to have it.
