2025 was another great year for music. Some surprises, some disappointments, and some artists proving that they can deliver over and over again. Quite a few new names making the final top 25 this year, including our number 1, which shot to the top of the charts after a single listen.

I’ve included some Bandcamp links where possible. I had to give up on YouTube embeds earlier this year, as labels have begun making them unembeddable to, I guess, make it harder to find their artists music (?). Clippy is telling me that unembeddable isn’t a word, but that’s a problem for the 2026 Best Of.

Until next year, enjoy these 25 albums and so many more that were released over the last 12 months. There’s no greater gift around the holidays than music that isn’t holiday music.

25 Slothrust-Wildcard EP

24 Jay Som-Belong

23 Clipse-Let God Sort Em Out

22 Turnstile-NEVER ENOUGH

21 Fort Frances-We Will Stop Time

20 Snocaps-Snocaps

19 Portugal. The Man-SHISH

18 CMAT-Euro-Country

17 Jeff Tweedy-Twilight Override

16 Hayley Williams-Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party

15 Miya Folick-Erotica Veronica

14 yeule-Evangelic Girl Is A Gun

13 Josh Ritter-I Believe In You, My Honeydew

12 Kicking Bird-11 Short Fictions

11 Little Simz-Lotus

10 Wednesday-Bleeds

9 Marlon Williams-Te Whare Tiwekaweka

8 Blondshell-If You Asked For A Picture

7 S.G. Goodman-Planting By The Signs

6 McKinley Dixon-Magic, Alive!

5 Ezra Furman-Goodbye Small Head

4 James Felice-The Little Ones

3 The Besnard Lakes-The Besnard Lakes Are The Ghost Nation

2 Benjamin Booker-LOWER

1 Rosalía-Lux