Honorable Mentions
Little Simz- Lotus, Alex G- Headlights, Dijon- Baby
Top Fifteen
15. Racing Mount Pleasant- Racing Mount Pleasant
Mid-2000's bombastic orchestral indie lives on. This young Chicago-via-Ann Arbor band uses the "fit as many people on stage as possible" model to great effect. Plus gotta love a band name that riffs on the "Racine Mount Pleasant" sign I've driven past in Southern Wisconsin countless times.
14. Jeff Tweedy- Twilight Override
I never expected Mr. Tweedy to show up on this list again, but here he is putting out a career highlight nearly four decades into his career. Tweedy set out to make a triple album that could be played and enjoyed on a long roadtrip, and he succeeded tremendously. Never dull across its two hours, Twilight Override has consistently engaging songwriting.
13. Florry- Sounds Like...
Super fun, rollicking Philly country-rock band approximating Rolling Thunder Revue era Bob Dylan by-way-of Gram Parsons.
12. Friendship- Caveman Wakes Up
One of my favorite discoveries of the year, Friendship is another great alt-country Philly band. Intense, riveting music that evokes a feeling not dissimilar from Jason Molina's work.
11. McKinley Dixon- Magic, Alive!
Definitely one of my favorite rappers of the last half-decade, McKinley Dixon employs a lush horn-inflected production style paired with sharp storytelling.
10. Billy Woods- GOLLIWOG
I will never not listen to something this guy puts out. Unbelievable production and rapping every single time, and GOLLIWOG ranks among his best work.
9. Horsegirl- Phonetics On and On
Love this band's evolution from Sonic Youth worship on their debut to showcasing a strong Stereolab and Flying Nun Records influence on Album Two. Truly infectious music.
8. Water From Your Eyes- It's a Beautiful Place
Great experimental rock record filled with hypnotic noisy guitar, deadpan vocals, and electronic textures.
7. Great Grandpa- Patience, Moonbeam
This is my "no one else seemed to like this album quite as much as me" pick of the year. Patience, Moonbeam has a nice variety of tunes spanning art rock and folky Americana. Big Thief-esque but more satisfying than the actual Big Thief album that came out this year.
6. Nourished by Time- The Passionate Ones
Fantastic synthesizer-laden bedroom pop from Baltimore's Marcus Brown. This is one of the better "one person playing/singing every note" albums in recent memory. Great hooks throughout, and a nice mix of upbeat bangers and moodier ballads.
5. Rosalia- LUX
Definitely one of the artier albums you'll ever hear by someone who plays stadiums. LUX is a mesmerizing work of operatic art pop recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra. Rosalia's vocals are stunning, and though I can't speak for the lyrics (in addition to her native Catalan and Spanish, she sings in 12 other languages) the music had me completely transfixed this year.
4. Wednesday- Bleeds
Wednesday's last album topped my 2023 list, and Bleeds was a more-than-worthy follow-up. Karly Hartzman is a great, approachable lyricist who writes about the mundane and makes you feel that you, too, once got super stoned and made an ill-fated decision to watch Human Centipede and a 3-hour Phish concert back-to-back. I appreciate that Hartzman rejected the impulse to go poppier after the band's breakthrough, and instead further embraced her noisier and screamier side (though the album still has plenty of mellow moments, such as the lovely "Elderberry Wine").
3. Cameron Winter- Heavy Metal
This technically came out in December 2024, but I didn't hear it until January and my list/my rules. Cameron Winter has had quite a year. He went from his record label burying this album (his solo debut) with a December release due to low expectations, to selling out Carnegie Hall and having Paul Thomas Anderson film the concert. Dude is even getting satirized on SNL. He did all this while simultaneously fronting the most hyped rock band in years; see #1 below. People are calling this guy (still only 23 years old) a generational talent and honestly....I am one of those people. Heavy Metal has some truly remarkable songwriting, gets better the more you hear it, and has a timeless quality to it. "Love Takes Miles" is a perfect song. I was fortunate to catch one of his recent shows in Chicago and it was an arresting performance, just Winter on the piano banging out the Heavy Metal songs alongside extremely intriguing new/unreleased tunes. It felt like I was witnessing a future music legend at a key inflection point in his career, and it will be fascinating to watch if that proves true.
2. Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band- New Threats From the Soul
Louisville's Ryan Davis had been toiling away in the musical underground for nearly two decades before deservedly breaking through with this incredibly special album. Davis writes majestic country rock epics, with some of the best (and most clever) lyrics you'll ever hear. Davis is often compared to Silver Jews' David Berman (who, fun fact, once called him "the best lyricist who’s not a rapper going") in part due to his baritone vocals and lyrical approach. But New Threats From the Soul deserves to be heard on its own merits. Davis makes bold musical choices that have you thinking "how the heck did he think of that?" (ever heard fiddle paired with a breakbeat?). All of the songs run at least six minutes, but Davis doesn't waste a note— employing shapeshifting song structures and brilliant turns of phrase (one example you'll hear right at the start: "I left my wallet in El Segundo/I left my true love in a West Lafayette escape room"). I am pretty sure this album is headed to my lifetime rotation— I can't recommend it enough.
1. Geese- Getting Killed
I am on the record for calling Geese "the future of guitar rock" on this very blog in 2023 after the band released the sublime 3D Country, so I have to say it was surreal watching them blow up this year. But they deserve it! And it has been fun getting this excited about a new musical act (though apologies to my wife, who never needs to hear the word "Geese" ever again). I have seen them referred to as "Gen Z Radiohead" and that comparison generally tracks. Both bands went from an unremarkable debut, to a massive step forward and reinvention of their sound on album two, and then to a denser, headier, ambitious album three that brought universal acclaim. I am not saying Getting Killed is OK Computer level good, but it is a pretty unforgettable listen. As noted above, Cameron Winter is an incredible songwriter, and if you can handle the sometimes unusual vocals (my friend Bob can't, but that's his loss) the music is pretty thrilling. This band really, really knows how to finish a song— the build-ups and release of tension are amazing. "Islands of Men" is a particularly good example. Geese are also a great live act, and I am grateful I was able to see them at the relatively small Thalia Hall when they could be on their way to playing stadiums. Getting Killed was undoubtedly the album that defined my 2025 listening and judging by the currently astronomical demand to see Geese in concert, lots of people felt similarly. [Pro-tip: if all of the above sounds good but you don't want to hear a guy repeatedly (and abrasively) screaming about how there's a bomb in his car, start the album on track two for a smoother listening experience].
Best of 2025 Playlist: 13 Favorite Songs
Here are 13 of my favorite songs of the year.
Best of 2025 Playlist: Long Version
And here is an extended playlist of the best songs I heard this year. Unlike past years I did not sequence it. I now have a toddler who yells "no phone!" at me when I stop giving her attention for two seconds to glance at my phone. So tragically, sequencing three-hour Spotify playlists is just not on the agenda these days. Anyway, if you listen to the playlist in order it will be largely a chronological tour of 2025, which might be cool but no promises on how well it will flow. I would personally just throw it on shuffle, but enjoy it however you want!
