The Best Albums of 2025

Dec 30

It’s time for my favorite annual tradition - the roundup of my picks for the best albums of the year. I’m doing 25 for 2025 - a top 10 and then 15 more that I also really liked.

2025 was an incredible year for music, leaving me with many new life-long favorites that I’ll return to for years to come. In an era of life where I feel like I’m either constantly glued to a screen or getting caught up in the perpetual “need to always be working to make money” mindset imposed on me by late-stage capitalism, music continues to be my dearest friend, always there when I need some respite from the chaos. Hearing interesting new music from friends, existing heroes, and new (to me) artists reminds me that there is still so much beauty and connection in a world that often feels devoid of genuine expression.

This was also a huge musical year for me personally. I released SO THIS IS LIVING with Barbara and i’m not a perfect person, but i’m trying to make you proud with Specific Ocean. I also recorded my debut jazz album as a bandleader with my quartet performing all my original compositions. The resulting album, I Grew Up, comes out on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 with a celebratory performance at Dazzle in Denver on March 5. I’m very proud of all of this music and infinitely grateful to the people I get to play and collaborate with on a regular basis.

Anyway, back to the reason we’re all here. This year, I spent the last month contemplating my favorite albums and deciding whether to even rank them at all, with the top 10 shifting positions nearly daily. Ultimately, I had 4 first place winners that I couldn’t bring myself to separate, listed first alphabetically below. The following 6 are ranked, but just know that no matter that “final” ranking, these amazing works are all cherished parts of my musical collection.

As a reminder, the best way to support musicians you enjoy is by buying their music, merch, and going to see them live. There’s nothing I love more than holding the physical vinyl copy of an album I love and reading the lyrics and seeing the art up close, or putting on my favorite hat or crewneck sweatshirt from a band I was lucky enough to see live. I will link all the Bandcamp links for the albums/artists below, so if you love something, please consider purchasing it!
I do have a playlist available through Tidal to listen to here, but want to urge you to buy the things you love. Also, if you’re still using Spotify, you should seriously consider switching to something that doesn’t support ICE or fund AI weapons (among many other things).

Alright, thanks for reading. Here are my favorite albums of 2025.