My Favorite Albums of 2025
There’s a sticker on a light post illuminating the train platform I walk by almost everyday. It’s tattering at the edges. It has the adhesive residue from other stickers that have come and gone, and yet it’s held strong for at least the five years of me walking by it.
It can be a lot, this world, but I don’t need to tell you that. Pain and guilt and sadness unite us. But so does love and hope and joy. And through all of that, we’re all just floating in space. Conscious of our mortality, finitude, and presence within it all.
It can be a lot, this mind, but I don’t need to tell you that. There’s grace to be given, to yourself and others. Everyone’s fighting a battle you know nothing about. After all, we are all just floating in space.
And while we’re floating here, together, we might as well put on some bangin’ music.
DeBí TiRAR MáS FOToS by Bad Bunny
Vacation destinations and famous musicians are a lot alike. They’re a spectacle to see in person and as a result people feel entitled to a piece of it. Yet, all the pain, hard work, and struggle that it took to create it is hidden behind the facade of its beauty.
Bad Bunny has come to understand his own experience as a global icon by observing his home of Puerto Rico. He puts all sides of the island on display on his sixth studio album, and uses it as a call for awareness and activism.
On “TURiSTA,” he says, “Tú solo viste lo mejor de mí y no lo que yo sufría” (”You only saw the best of me and not how I suffered”). Bad Bunny mixes in all different styles on his latest record, from his familiar Latin trap, reggaeton, and rap, with more traditional Puerto Rico sounds, like plena, bomba, jíbaro and salsa.
Lonesome Drifter by Charley Crockett
Charley Crockett makes me want to open a pawn shop in San Benito, Texas and shoot beer bottles off a fence with a pistol. The only time I would take a toothpick out of my mouth is to smoke a cigarette that I light by striking a match on my boot.
I was in Nashville for work recently and I stumbled upon The Nashville Palace, which catches the overflow or passing traffic from The Grand Old Opry. They host line dancing and musicians looking to catch a gig on Broadway, but they were also very proud to have hosted Charley Crockett over the summer, who celebrated his new record deal with the same crowds that he started his career with. During this celebratory set, he told the audience, “Country music is learning how to stand up for yourself.”
It’s crazy to think that it took Charley Crockett 13 album releases to land his latest record deal with Island Records, which gave us Lonesome Drifter in March and Dollar A Day in August. He’s been a drifter in his musical journey, floating, fighting, and ready to stand up for himself when the opportunity strikes.
The Art of Loving by Olivia Dean
Olivia Dean is here to remind you that in order to love someone else, you have to love yourself first. And she’s riding that message to fill stadiums, take down corporate monopolies, and add a different shade to what it means to be a man. She’s curating dancing in the kitchen while no one’s watching and delivering bars like, “I’m the perfect mix of / Saturday night and the rest of your life.”
“Man I Need” has taken social media by storm, empowering people from the macho-est of men the cutest of grandmas to dance like no one’s watching. Under this roof of mine, it’s one of the first non-children’s songs that my 2 year old son has fully embraced. Hearing his little voice sing “talk to me” and showing pure joy while dancing to this GRAMMY nominated jam warms my soul. It’s a moment that will be played in the highlight reel of my life. And in building these core memories we’re also laying the foundation for a strong and loving little man with a great taste in music.
People Watching by Sam Fender
Do they have Taylor ham in East Midlands? Because Sam Fender feels like British Bruce. He’s captured the The Boss’s heartland rock and brought it to modern day UK with energetic ballads, deep vocals, and provoking lyrics, channeling pain of the past into perspective of the future. He’s collaborated with Elton John and Olivia Dean on his extended album, and brought in Andrew Scott (aka Hot Priest from Fleabag) for his “People Watching” music video.
Hope We Have Fun by Mt. Joy
I love tracking a band’s assent by seeing how they rise through the Boston music scene when passing through town. They’ll often debut in front of hundreds at Brighton Music Hall or the Theater District’s Royale. They’ll then go on to earn their balconies and mezzanines near Fenway at the House of Blues or the new MGM Music Hall.
Most stall there, but a select few go on to share the same institutions as Boston royalty. I’m talking about those who earned and defended the moniker for this salty “City of Champions.” They are the legends who have left blood, sweat, and teeth on the parquet or the Davids who have defeated the Goliaths of Green Monsters and Curses. A few times a year, the keepers of these hallowed grounds will allow musical greats to attempt to bring the same magic to tens of thousands.
Mt. Joy has taken this very trajectory in their gradual rise over the past eight years since their debut album. And they’re still having fun. Hell, it’s in their name (and this album’s name, for that matter). Matt Quinn, lead singer and law school drop out, told NPR, “I think for us, it’s like, we’ve realized that where we’re at our best is when we’re having fun making music, and shows are a place where people can come and kind of let loose.”
Lotus by Little Simz
I’m admittedly listening to less hip hop now than in previous years. Maybe it’s the state of the game, maybe it’s having a toddler, maybe this is just being in my 30s. But Little Simz is one of those rappers who always brings the smoke and makes me want to act like Chalamet in the EsDeeKid feature.
Little Simz balances the hard with the heavy. Sometimes she makes you want to run through a brick wall and tackle whoever is on the other side, like on the album opener “Thief.” Sometimes she makes you want to lean up against the same brick wall and watch the clouds pass overhead. On “Free,” she raps:
“I think that love is forgiving yourself
I think that love is offering your immediate help
I think that love is everything that we need in this world
I think the key is being honest and being yourself
I think love is understanding that people can change
And loving them anyway through every stage”
Copper Changes Color by Caamp
Your clothes smell like the fire, the food is simple, but you have everything you need: the company is great and the drink in the cup tastes as good as ever. The sound of silence shakes the voice in your head loose, bringing depth and clarity that’s normally clouded back in the noise of the regular world. Caamp curates camping folk and evokes the perspective that comes with it. On “Mistakes,” Taylor Meier sings, “I feel like I am just trying to keep my plants alive / And trying to drink water.” Same, man.
Caamp created the intro music for Stick, one of my favorite shows of the year. And while we’re on the subject, I also really enjoyed The Studio, Mo, and The Bear.
LUX by Rosalía
A sign of someone truly being an exceptional artist is their ability to move across styles or mediums while still being able to excel. They are not bound by their past success or current cultural expectations. I think of actors like Ryan Gosling, who can make you believe in love in The Notebook, want to dance in La La Land, or roll on the ground laughing as Ken in Barbie. There’s Beyonce, who found success within a trio or as a solo artist, earning the most GRAMMYs ever by performing pop, hip hop and country. And then there’s Picasso, who expanded past painting into ceramics, sculptures, and print making across different periods of work.
Rosalía never ceases to amaze me, bending each genre she decides to step into. She has a Master’s degree in Flamenco, debuted her discography with folk, and moved on to flourish in pop, urbano, and reggaeton. But LUX seems to take it to the next level, creating a classical, operatic experience that is absent from the mainstream. Rosalía will make you feel like you’re in a thousand year old cathedral making a groundbreaking scientific discovery.
Give Me All Your Love by DON WEST
I wish I could buy stock in DON WEST because, mark my words, my guy is going to be a star. You’ve got an Australian built like a Tight End with a velvety smooth voice singing timeless romantic soul music. On “Day to Night,” he sings, “If Heaven was a place to go / Just 30 minutes down the road / Oh, lead you to a wonderland / Anything you need is on the menu.” He goes on to sing in the chorus, “I’m a candle, You’re the flame / Come on over and light me up and we can slip away” I mean, COME ON.
He makes me feel like Koumba Diabaté in Pluribus. Despite the end of the world as he knows it, Koumba is just out there making the best of world around him, creating a story with himself as the protagonist and hero in the middle of it all.
Honorable Mention
The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift
Game respect game.
Snipe Hunter by Tyler Childers
That moment when a sip of bourbon warms your soul after coming inside from the cold. Also, Rick Rubin.
Balu Brigada
The Strokes and Tame Impala had a baby and named ‘em Balu Brigada.
Royel Otis
What can I say? I love Aussie indie bands. My most played artist of 2025.
it’s Franky baby! by Young Franco
Speaking of Aussies. Sunny Saturday vibes. Great supporting cast.
Getting Killed by Geese
The noise in my head as I navigate the seemingly never-ending to-do list on a Tuesday. Not the jam band Goose.
If you made it this far, I appreciate you greatly.
Peace, love, and positivity.