My favorites of 2025 (that came out in 2025)!

This is an album that had to grow on me - I loved the singles, but I found myself just whelmed with the rest at first. But the more I listen, the more I really dig it! The instrumentals are phenomenal, and it's just so damn jammy. It wont dethrone Nonagon Infinity for me, but it's still a really fun album!

What a beautiful record! I hadn't heard of Great Grandpa until this album (I initially checked it out because of the stunning album art), and I'm so glad to have them in my music rotation. The melancholic sprawling folk rock with a sprinkle of prog (Doom and Kid really embody that prog influence, and are some of my favorite tracks) is so my thing. It's only grown on me throughout the year, love it!

This album is such an emotional rollercoaster - the "controlled burn" of the first few songs that were released first as an EP are some of the best acoustic songs I heard this year, especially Awards Season. And the transition to the rest of the record is so masterfully handled - Short Story is stunning, and songs like Everything is Peaceful Love and From are so bubbly and fun. Also my introduction into Bon Iver, and a wonderful starting point!

PUP fucking rips, and this album is just more of their signature angry punk rock. Such a fun and cathartic project - Get Dumber, Paranoid, Falling out of Love, Cruel and Shut Up are some of my favorites, so so good!

TOP has always been my go-to for bombastic, very hooky pop rock, and this album fits that bill perfectly. Some of my favorite songs from them are on here - City Walls, Drum Show, The Contract, Center Mass, so many fun songs that never fail to get me moving. Really great!

Cheekface continues to be one of my favorite bands - they're just so infectiously fun, and this album is no different. Some of their best jams and most creative production choices on this album! Living Lo-Fi might be my favorite Cheekface song full stop, and songs like Rude World, Art House, Military Gum and Hard Mode are similarly great. Basically no skips though, fantastic project!

Was so excited for this record to come out - I started getting into CSH in a big way last year, and getting to be around for the release cycle of this album was so much fun. They took a swing at a huge rock opera this time around, and I think they absolutely stuck the landing. Some amazing songs on here - CCF, Lady Gay Approximately, The Catastrophe, Gethsemane, and even the colossal Planet Desperation at an insane 20 minute runtime, are all so so good. Stellar album!

So glad that Cheekface had a guest feature from McKinley Dixon on their album this year, because I otherwise would've never listened to Magic, Alive, and that would've been a tragedy. One of the best albums of this year without question - it's in equal parts playful, intense, and emotional in a way that feels so fully formed. This album had a very specific vision and story to tell, and it does so with a confidence that no other project this year had to me. Loved it!

This is technically an EP, but I don't care because it's one of my absolute favorite releases of the year. Twine is an Australian band pulling from noise rock and country in a way that speaks directly to my music tastes. They balance tender and pummeling in such a masterful way, and this EP refines that even further than the debut record. Amazing, have not stopped listening to this since it came out. The title track is one of my favorite songs of the year.

Black Country, New Road is a band that I hold very close to my heart for a myriad of reasons - they were a huge point of communal comfort, listening to their previous album Ants From Up There with a very close friend while going through some of the biggest changes of my life. They motivated me to explore music more seriously, and to go out of my way to sit with full albums more often. So when I saw the new singles for this album rolling out, I was completely enthralled.

It felt, like myself, the band too was finding their footing after a huge shake-up (with their previous vocalist leaving the band, citing mental health struggles), and that really drew me into this album. Unlike the previous record, this album feels deeply jubilant and playful, even with the darker lyricism of songs like For The Cold Country and Nancy Tries To Take The Night, and that jubilation was something I desperately needed this year. It took awhile for it to really understand my feelings towards this album, but seeing them live in May with my close friend really solidified my unwavering love for this project. What an amazing band and album.