Let’s all agree that 2025 wasn’t a great year overall (unless you won the lottery or something), but thankfully the music didn’t suffer. I remain somewhat astounded that very few artists (especially in the U.S.) have met this trying era with songs and records that push back against the tyrrany and evil permeating our world. A protest record, particularly by a prominent artist or band would not only be relevant but could serve as inspiration for others to use their voices and do the same. Alas, it was not to be in 2025, but if you plan to make music next year and are reading this, there’s a wide open topical direction you could take with a real potential for positive impact.
But enough about what types of records we didn’t get in 2025, and more about what we did. There wasn’t really a general theme or style that dominated this year, other than maybe pop music remaining pop(ular) and hip hop struggling to find new ways into the cultural zeitgeist. A TikTok star somehow managed to pull a pretty damn good debut album out of her ass (with the help of a talented team), a well-known rock band singer made her strongest solo album to date, and alt/experimental pop brought a couple of new names to the forefront. We reaffirmed that just about anything with the names billy woods or Earl Sweatshirt attached to them is going to be quality, welcomed back a beloved rap duo to reclaim their status for the first time in nearly 20 years, and saw a slightly different side of Tyler, The Creator.
You want to prove rock music isn’t dead or dying? Listen to Geese, Wednesday, Viagra Boys, Wet Leg, Deftones, and Deafheaven. R&B certainly isn’t suffering either when Dijon, FKA twigs, PinkPantheress, and Amaarae are giving us inspiration. Then there’s the immense talents of Chicagoans like Saba, Jeff Tweedy, Sharp Pins (/Lifeguard), Pixel Grip, and Circuit des Yeux, with Horsegirl getting honorary local ststus even though they’ve relocated to New York. I’m grateful for all their contributions this year, even if some didn’t make the list.
Below you’ll find my 50 favorite albums from 2025, plus 10 more Honorable Mentions because I couldn’t just stop there. Honestly this list could have gone to 75 without much trouble, but I don’t want to assign you even more homework beyond what’s already here. In short, if you haven’t heard these records yet, please do yourself a favor and give them a try. My hope is that you’ll fall in love with something new and continue to expand your world through music. Taste is subjective, and most likely everything listed here won’t fully capture your attention or imagination. But in the off chance some of this does, it’ll turn out to be well worth the exploration. Please enjoy this list and these records as we collectively prepare to strap in for the wild ride 2026 is sure to bring.
Well we have once again made it through another year. As such, the time for reflection and list making is upon us. Did you listen to a lot of new music this year? If you did, congratulations because 2023 happened to be a pretty great one overall in terms of pure artistry and quality recordings. Some years it’s a struggle to name 50 records that both held my attention and truly impressed. This one both came together with relative ease, and left me a little sad not everything I loved in 2023 could be included. 50 is a manageable number, plus another 10 honorable mentions because I can’t help myself. Even still, everyone from Jessy Lanza to PJ Harvey to The Armed to Lydia Loveless to Bar Italia all couldn’t quite survive the inevitable cuts and it breaks my heart.
One thing that fascinates me about year-end lists is how little true consensus there tends to be between them. It makes the moments when everyone actually IS in agreement so much more powerful, and a testament to the quality of something. Call it the Paddington 2 effect, or I suppose the Dolly Parton effect, because nobody actually dislikes either of those two things. My favorite song of 2023 falls into that “broad consensus” category. So many people and publications ranked it as their top track of the year that seeing another list fall in line like this one might induce another eye roll and a “here we go again”. But I can’t deny something that’s objectively true, as much as I’d like to be a contrarian. You’re of course more than welcome to disagree with me, along with the hundreds of other music writers who listed this as the #1 song of 2023. What’s wilder, in my mind, is how this 7+ minute track received no commercial or terrestrial radio placement, as far as I’m aware. Instead it just got a lot of organic, fully chosen plays across a variety of formats. If you know your music and have been paying close attention to year-end lists, hopefully my favorite song of 2023 won’t come as a surprise.
We’ve once again reached the halfway point of another year, and as such it creates a perfect opportunity to reflect on the past six months just to check in and see how things are going so far. You don’t need another recap of pandemic fatigue, vaccine distribution, and the “return to normalcy” while our democratic institutions remain in constant peril. That’s not what this site is about. Everyone is stressed out enough already, so let’s take a moment to remember the good things, like music. Oh hey, remember music? It’s that thing you can play to soundtrack your life and enhance your emotional state. The right song can turn your entire day around, for better or worse. A fond memory can be triggered by a song, or an uptempo beat can somehow make a sunny day that much brighter. Great stuff, right?
Selecting and ranking 100 songs as the “Best of” any given year is a fool’s errand. There’s simply too much music to choose from and the notion that any of these lists can truly encapsulate what it was like to listen to music in 2020 inevitably leaves some important things out or places too much importance on certain artists or genres. In the end it’s all subjective anyway, and what captures one person’s imagination might leave another in the cold. Plus, with so much music available there’s no way you can listen to everything. I know I’ve discovered plenty of songs and artists weeks, months, or years later, only to wish I had known about them sooner so they could’ve been included in a year-end roundup. It’s the way life goes sometimes. But that’s also the benefit of any list like this! For anyone to tell you these are songs that meant something to them in 2020 automatically elevates those tracks above your standard fare. If you’re looking to put your music listening in focus, a list like this can help to some degree. 
