First off, some news that makes me feel pretty old: I’ve been doing this for twenty years now. I’m not entirely sure why I’ve kept it going so long, but I think at this point it has basically become a beloved holiday tradition for me, so why not keep it going? I’ll have to think of something fun to do for the 25th…
There’s honestly not many positive things I can say about 2025 in retrospect, but one undeniable bright spot: the album is certainly not dead! I probably say too often how many great albums I listened to each year and how hard it was to choose–I’m doing a top 11 this year, as you’ll see– but I think this might be one of the deepest rosters of albums I’ve ever had in a single year. Some of the albums in the #8-11 range this year might have been a top 5 (or even top 3!) album if they’d come out another year. They’re that good.
With that, here’s my list of the top 11 albums of 2025:
My Top 11 Albums of 2025 (Spotify playlist)
My Top 40 Songs of 2025 (Spotify playlist)
Current Jams 2025 (longer list of songs I was into this year) (Spotify playlist)
11. Bleeds – Wednesday (Spotify)
I really enjoyed Wednesday’s 2023 breakout record Rat Saw God, but they definitely hit another level with Bleeds. Karly Hartzman and crew show off stunning range on this one, weaving tons of different genres into their southern rock repertoire and nailing everything from the feel-good country vibes of “Elderberry Wine” to huge post-punk hooks (“Reality TV Argument Bleeds”), bluegrass-tinged ballads (“The Way Love Goes”), and even a dash of straight-up hardcore (“Wasp”). The lyrics are full of dark, witty, memorable glimpses into the non-idealized reality of small-down southern life, and some of the lines came out of nowhere and made me laugh out loud (“Stokin’ bonfires with leaf blowers,” “You saw a pitbull puppy pissing off the balcony,” basically all of “Gary’s II,” etc.) Absolutely one of the best and most innovative rock albums of the year.
10. Bloodless – Samia (Spotify)
I listened to this album on a bit of a whim after hearing and really liking LA-based alt-folk singer-songwriter Samia’s 2023 hit “Honey”, but Bloodless immediately grabbed me and was one I kept coming back to repeatedly this year. It’s musically intricate, lyrically complex, and makes the most of Samia’s top-notch writing and storytelling skills. It seemed like it revealed more and more layers every time I listened. I also liked the steely edge she brought to this record, especially on tracks like “Carousel”; when those power chords hit it gets me every time.
9. Straight Line Was A Lie – The Beths (Spotify)
This band out of New Zealand is one of my favorite discoveries of the past decade, but this album was more of a slow burn for me than 2022’s Expert in a Dying Field (#2), which I fell immediately in love with. The Beths softened their sound significantly on Straight Line, trading in the big hooks and shredding guitar solos for a quieter, more introspective vibe, so it didn’t catch me as quickly as some of their past records. But it grew on me more and more with subsequent listens, probably because the lyrics are just so brilliant–easily the best songwriting Elizabeth Stokes has done in her entire career thus far. “Mosquitos” is a genius track, and “Mother Pray For Me” destroys me every time. This is one I’ll be coming back to for a while.
8. Glutton For Punishment – Heartworms (Spotify)
One of those delightfully random discoveries, as I could not tell you how I stumbled upon this quirky solo project from UK-based musician Jojo Orme, but credit to the Spotify algorithm I guess!) This debut album ended up being a go-to whenever I needed to rage about the state of the world, which this year was pretty often. Nothing else I listened to captured the zeitgeist of the train wreck that was 2025 quite like Glutton for Punishment‘s dark, brooding mix of goth, new wave, and post-punk. This is an album that should be played as loud as you can stand it. Just throw on “Jacked” and you’ll see what I mean.
7. No scope – crushed (Spotify)
Coolest vibe of any album I listened to this year. This was an impressive debut LP from Bre Morell and Shaun Durkan, who seem to have solidified the unique 90s-nostalgia-soaked alt-dream pop sound they showcased on last year’s EP extra life (which I also loved). Morell’s vocals are cranked up a notch on this one, as is the precision of Durkan’s drumming. But don’t let the fact that they apparently like to use video game lingo for their album titles fool you — this is a highly sophisticated, deeply introspective, and impressively technical performance from a duo who seem like they know exactly who they are and where they’re going.
6. Cut The Cord – Vistas (Spotify)
Cut the Cord was a welcome return to form for this Scottish indie rock quartet, who I thought might be headed for Alex’s-new-favorite-band status after their incredible debut Everything Changes In The End (#1 in 2020) and excellent sophomore follow-up What Were You Hoping To Find? (2021). I was disappointed by 2023’s Is This All We Are?, which seemed to move away much of the infectious energy and exuberance that made their first two albums so much fun. While this album features heavier riffs and more minor keys than the sunnier, indie-rock hooks on the early records, Prentice Robertson and crew still manage to recapture a lot of that same magic. You’ll be humming a lot of these choruses after a couple listens.
5. From the Pyre – The Last Dinner Party (Spotify)
Definitely the biggest surprise of 2025 for me. TLDP made a splash with their 2024 debut Prelude to Ecstacy and quirky baroque-pop aesthetic, and while I really enjoyed a few songs on that album, I was absolutely blown away by From the Pyre. Everything is taken up several notches on this record. They’ve refined their sound in a big way, making it all feel like it hangs together more cohesively even as they explore new genres (delving into southern rock on “Second Best”, throwing in a bit of country-western storytelling on “This Is The Killer Speaking”). I kept coming back to this one, and very often ended up listening to it all the way through.
4. moisturizer – Wet Leg (Spotify)
Wet Leg had already established themselves as one of my favorite bands after their self-titled debut (also coming in at #4 in 2022), and their highly anticipated follow-up did not disappoint. The first half of this album explodes out of the gate with “CPR” and then just delivers banger after banger. “Catch these fists” and “mangetout” are probably two of the best songs they’ve ever written, and I loved the new dream-pop sounds they weaved into the second half of the album on tracks like “pond song” and “don’t speak”. This album is so much fun, and I loved getting to see them live at the 9:30 Club in DC this year!
3. Welcome To My Blue Sky – Momma (Spotify)
This album would probably have been #1 in any other year. Momma has become one of my favorite bands, and I was obsessed with Welcome To My Blue Sky, which managed to somehow top their breakout Household Name (#10 in 2022). Adding in more of a pop flavor than their previous work while retaining the huge, crunching guitars and headbanging riffs, WTMBS is a perfect encapsulation of an album as a fully formed, cohesive whole. Momma just one of the best rock bands around right now. I was incredibly fortunate to see them kill it at the Atlantis (a new and 500-capacity venue) earlier this year, and was so impressed with the energy they bring to their live shows. “I Want You (Fever)” was also my song of the year (see below).
2. Debí Tirar Más Fotos – Bad Bunny (Spotify)
Benito’s decision to make this album–an ambitious, magnificent, impassioned love letter to his native Puerto Rico–when at the absolute peak of his global superstardom will forever impress me. He could’ve mailed it in with some standard reggaeton club bangers and still made millions. But instead, he dropped this gem in January. And then instead of touring the US he did a months-long residency in PR, which meaningfully boosted the entire island’s economy. There’s no one doing it better right now and he deserves all the success he’s achieved (including the Super Bowl halftime show!). An inspiring lesson in what you can achieve when you refuse to settle and use your gigantic platform for good. Salud.
1. An Energy Inside This Address – Audiostrobelight (Spotify)
I am not sure there’s ever been a more obvious #1 album, honestly. Without a doubt my most-anticipated album of the year, and boy…did it deliver. The ASL crew put five years of labor and love into this, and it paid off big time: their first album in 10 years, released 20 years after they first formed as a band, is easily their best yet.
Here’s how I summed up my feelings a week after its release:
I could try to describe the anticipation I felt leading up to it, or how in awe I am of it as a piece of art—a shimmering, shape-shifting, jaw-dropping, genre-hopping masterpiece of instantly infectious hooks, stunning songwriting prowess, musicianship, and orchestration.
But I had tears in my eyes when the last few notes of “All My Time” faded out the first time I listened to this album all the way through, and the musical skill on display—while impressive—wasn’t what moved me. I think it was the realization that I was lucky enough to witness so much of the journey it took for them to get here, and to produce something this amazing.
It’s a rare thing to get to watch your friends pour their hearts into doing what they love. It’s even rarer to get to watch them do it over and over continuously for twenty years, continuing to hone their craft bit by bit, growing and evolving and becoming better musicians and better humans along the way. It’s a true gift to then get to watch the fruits of that labor touch so many people’s lives and bring so much joy both to themselves and their community. This album feels like an Avengers: Endgame-level mic drop — a worthy testament to the tens of thousands of hours of dedication, love, and community that ASL members (present and past) have devoted their time and effort to building.
I’ve been fortunate to have gone to dozens of ASL shows in my life. I’ve seen them play huge venues with nationally touring acts, on the floors of school gyms, in the middle of nowhere in a random barn. Regardless of whether they’re playing for a crowd of thousands or a crowd of 15, everyone there leaves that set significantly happier (and likely significantly sweatier!) than they were when they walked in.
With a certain…energy, if you will.
And in a world like this, I’m not sure there’s any greater power than that.
This album was one of the highlights of the year for me–and not just musically. Getting to listen to an album this good, in a year this bad, was such a gift.
Honorable Mention:
Billboard Heart – Deep Sea Diver – This album rocks hard. A great discovery.
Burnout Days – flipturn – Fun little 2010s indie-rock throwback vibe on this one.
Swim School – swim school – Really solid full-length debut from this addicting UK rock band.
Again – The Belair Lip Bombs – Stumbled across this Australian band lately and was super impressed with their sophomore release.
Everybody Scream – Florence + The Machine – She’s a phenomenon. We are blessed to have a songwriter this good in our generation.
If Not Winter – wisp – Carrying the banner for shoegaze and killing it.
RUSHMERE – Mumford & Sons – Nothing groundbreaking here, just a really solid record from a band that sounds just as sharp as ever.
Top 40 Songs of 2025 (Spotify playlist)
- I Want You (Fever) – Momma
- Wouldn’t Quite Call That A Good Year – Audiostrobelight
- catch these fists – Wet Leg
- BAILE INoLVIDABLE – Bad Bunny
- Right? – flipturn
- Jacked – Heartworms
- 777 – illuminati hotties
- starburn – crushed
- How The Story Ends – Audisostrobelight
- What Do I Know – Deep Sea Diver
- mangetout – Wet Leg
- Goodnight – Florence Road
- Elderberry Wine – Wednesday
- Second Best – The Last Dinner Party
- What Was That – Lorde
- Mother, Pray for Me – The Beths
- PIToRRO DE COCO – Bad Bunny
- Black Sails On A Saturday Night – Audiostrobelight
- On & On – swim school
- Focus Is Power – Self Esteem
- The Old Religion – Florence + The Machine
- Malibu – Mumford & Sons
- Us Against It All – Vistas
- Day One – Bon Iver, Dijon, Flock of Dimes
- Lizard – Samia
- Shapeshifter – Lorde
- Where To Look – Nilufer Yanya
- Welcome To My Blue Sky – Momma
- Mosquitos – The Beths
- Sucker – Chloe Slater
- Hey You – The Belair Lip Bombs
- many lives – Purity Ring
- Jumpy – ANIMA!
- Reliquia – ROSALÍA
- Gold Rush – Lucius
- Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl – Maggie Rodgers, Sylvan Esso (…it takes a lot for a cover to make this list. This one deserved it.)
- Who Laughs Last (feat. Kristen Stewart) – Lord Huron
- I Lied To You – Miles Caton, Sinners Cast
- Did I Say Too Much – The Beaches
- Karma – Meet Me @ The Altar
Alex's Top Albums 