My Favorite Albums of 2025

January 22, 2026

In my opinion, it has been a really good year for music, and I've tried my best to explore different genres this year, listening to more music than usual. Below, you’ll find my twelve favorite releases of the year (in no particular order) and a few notable mentions at the end. I attribute my uptick in music listening this year to switching to Apple Music it has been really good to get the fluff of Spotify out of the way and just focus on the albums and artists I love and start to let the app feed me recommendations. Highly suggest.

Evidence
Unlearning Vol. 2

Not that I’ve ever tried, but I cannot get away from listening to Evidence, he has been my favorite for many years running, and he will be here during the years he releases a full-length project every time. With this release, the dark mood continues, and EV has clearly found this niche and is riding it. Dutch Angle is a top 10 song of the year.

Stream

Boldy James & Real Bad Man
Conversational Pieces

Boldy James put out A LOT of music is 2025 with a bunch of different producers and collaborators, but the best one is Conversational Pieces with Real Bad Man. I am a huge fan of both of these folks and am late to Real Bad Man, but am trying to catch up. He has also put out a lot of music this year with a wide variety of collaborators. The beats, the rhymes, the cover art, take it all in.

Stream

The Mountain Goats
Through This Fire Across from Peter Balkan

John and The Mountain Goats have been consistently making music for like 30 years, I have been in and out of paying attention, but this year I payed attention. This album hit me different than their other records and just feels good to listen to. Lots of sailing and seaside talk, and the instrumentation fits that aesthetic as well — this album makes me want to put on a cable knit sweater and look out over some water. Album cover and type check this vibe as well.

Stream

Hit-Boy & Alchemist
GOLDFISH

As someone who will listen to everything ALC puts out, I put this one on the day it came out. But also as someone who didn’t love the last collaboration between these two, I was skeptical. These two together have collectively beefed up and put out a really great record together. It's giving Jaylib vibes, two rappers who are primarily producers, and I am really happy Alchemist is rapping as much as he is these recent years. They made a great series of visuals to go with the album as well. The visuals are crazy good.

Stream

De La Soul
Cabin in the Sky

Happy De La hasn’t hung it up quite yet after Dave's passing 🕊️ and there have been hints there will be even more in the future. This album turned out really great and is a really great tribute to their fallen member and the way they wove guests in and out without being annoying. Dave’s verses hold up crazy well. I am not sure if he recorded them to these beats or not, but it certainly sounds like it. The Dave homage by Black Thought on the track EN EFF is worth the listen.

Stream

POLIÇA
Dreams Go

The story with this record is both sad, but also makes me so proud of this group of people and one of my favorite bands who is luckily from my city. Their bass player, Chris battling cancer, I thought, which meant a certain demise to the band, and I was curious about the story when this album was released. Apparently, this is a collection of some old and some new, and it all comes together in a magical way and is their best release since United Crushers, in my humble opinion.

Stream

Stereolab
Instant Holograms on Metal Film

A band I was very late on, but I have been doing my best to catch up on the large discography and history of Stereolab. For a band I got really into about five years ago to put out a new record for the first time in a long time was very exciting to me. As expected with Stereolab, this record sounds like the future in the most designer-y and European way that only they do. The beeps and boops, and drums and guitars just carry you through from song to song, the best.

Stream

Earl Sweatshirt
Live Laugh Love

Earl has been showing signs for a while now, but now he’s a full-ass grown man and fully making music like it. The link-up with Theravada for production is also a really great direction and matches Earl’s energy very nicely. I’m finding myself inspired to be a better father, listening to this album and Earl’s recent interviews.

Stream

Aesop Rock
Black Hole Superette

At this point, I don’t know how Aesop isn’t in the conversation of the best rapper/producers of all time. This being his first of two albums released this year, both fully self-produced, he just doesn’t stop putting out extremely solid material. I love the concept of this record; corner stores are very close to my heart, and he released a video game to go with the thing! Hard to beat.

Stream

Bon Iver
SABLE, fABLE

Another person/band I have very much enjoyed being along for the ride of their evolution as an artist. In the last few records, he has really hit his sweet spot and found a groove. I, for one, am on board. Moving into a minimal art style this round matches the more positive feel of this music, which is an interesting move with a history of having some of the most maximalist album art of all time.

Stream

Mobb Deep
Infinite

I am calling it right now, this is the best posthumous hip-hop record release of all time up until this point. This isn’t a terribly hard feat with that posthumous member being a top 10 rapper of all time and the remaining members involved being two of the best producers of all time. But really, the way Havoc and Alc captured Prodigy’s essence and really built this thing out into a full Mobb Deep feeling album while still feeling like a fitting tribute to the man is really incredible and a beautiful send off.

Stream

Geese
Getting Killed

A band I didn’t and still don’t know much about, and I kinda like it that way. Went into this one very blind after seeing a video of the band playing their album release show and loved the whole thing. Then I realized that the rest of the indie rock work agreed with me. Actually, while writing this, I just learned that Kenny Beats produced the album, which makes me like it that much more.

Stream