What a year, huh?
blindman’s holiday – marjorie wc sinclair
it was 8 am on sunday, february 2, 2025. i awoke from a mattresses-on-the-ground sleepover with buddies, as my ears were welcomed out of slumber with the “Sound of Silence” – the following 16 minutes and 43 seconds to follow solidified Blindman’s Holiday as 2025 album of the year upon first listen.
– Sadie Almgren
Stardust – Danny Brown
Danny Brown spent 20 years making some of the best rap music ever just to finally discover that he was actually supposed to make the best hyperpop music ever.
– Rowan
Crack in The System (Remastered) – Dead Moon
Melodic, simple, punk rock, and an absolutely delightful listen to put pep in your step as you walk across campus.
The lyrics will stoke some embers under the fire of your youthful angst with melodies that follow suit perfectly:
“pissed off, pissed off, pissed off is just the way I am.”
The tenth track on the album covering the great Bob Dylan, because, who is more punk rock? The times ARE a changing. And this album is the result of a crack in the system of conformity.
– Jane Keenan
Rebel by Esdeekid
I have been heavily disinterested in rap since high school but this album is proving that the UK is doing music better than the US. The scouser is bringing gritty drill to an even more interested level being a hit in club culture amongst EDM artists and hot girls.
– Maddy Golier
Debí Tirar más Fotos – Bad Bunny
It blends artistic precision with a cultural pulse that hits especially hard across Latin America. Its production is bold and modern, but what truly sets it apart is how it speaks to themes like identity, ambition, emotional vulnerability, and the contradictions of contemporary life, delivered with a voice that resonates deeply in a region shaped by resilience and constant reinvention. Every track, purposeful. Carrying a mix of confidence and introspection that has turned the album into a defining soundtrack for Latin American listeners this year.
– Gustavo Buezo
The Scholars – Car Seat Headrest
I’m re writing this because I’m not sure it got submitted last time. This album really snuck up on me, as I was not a fan of CSH until this one came out, and for some reason it just stuck with me. The characters, soundscape, and overall vibe of the album is so unique that I just couldn’t stay away. Each song is extremely fleshed out and full in a way not all albums are. They flow from one to the next, from indie rock to looooooooong indie rock to almost spoken word with harmonic chanting in the background. This album was just an eye opener into the wonders Car Seat Headrest has to offer and I’ll keep listening to it for hopefully the rest of my days. Peace!
– Richard Black
Bleeds – Wednesday
There were SO many albums that I loved this year, but Bleeds by Wednesday has been locked in as my favorite since it came out in September. I can’t say I’ve ever been as emotionally attached to an album as I have been to this one. A whirlwind of alt-country and punk influence, it reflects on topics like small-town life and heartbreak, bringing forth an intense sense of nostalgia unlike anything I’d ever felt before listening to it. It’s truly a beautiful album.
– Avery Ordner
Sleep Naked. Act Famous. – vorsp
This is my own album. I wasn’t going to pick it at first but my goal in 2026 is to be more real and this really is my favorite album of the year. This album means more to me than any album that anyone else could make. I worked on it pretty regularly for two years and thought about it every single day. I remember the first time I listened to it after it was done I felt like I had thrown the game winning catch at the Super Bowl. Making music makes me very happy and I’m so proud of what I have accomplished here. I think the song ‘indicator species’ will forever be how I remember the years 2024 and 2025. The other artists who made albums I loved in 2025 were Dominic Fike, Courting, Haim, Samia, The Hellp, and Laundry Day.
– Massimo Flumian
Little Lock by J
My right earbud is busted from going through the washing machine too many times, so when I listen to music the sound buzzes in my ear. Then I came across this album and when I listened carefully, there was no buzz, just the dull hum of a slightly muted song. I kept on listening and listening. I ordered new earbuds (because my friend who fixes things couldn’t figure out how to fix this one) so I’ll be listening to more music soon…but right now, this is all I can actually hear.
– Chloe Jung
Breach – Twenty One Pilots
This album is genuinely incredible, with every song feeling purposeful and deeply meaningful, and as it closes the decade-long DEMA storyline, you can hear just how much Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun poured into it. It’s bittersweet knowing this is the last record we’ll get from the duo for a while, but they truly went out swinging. The genre is almost impossible to define beyond “alternative,” because it pulls from so many sounds while still feeling cohesive. City Walls perfectly opens—and symbolically ends—the story with powerful callbacks, while RAWFEAR and One Way deliver club-ready energy paired with heavy, depressing lyrics. Drum Show is a standout moment with rare Josh vocals, a brief drum solo, Tyler’s screams, and pure chaos, while Garbage, Center Mass, and Cottonwood lean into the album’s most emotional and devastating moments. The Contract, their lead single, is easily one of the strongest tracks of the year, channeling Vessel-era experimentation with trippy instrumentals and visuals, and Downstairs finally gives fans a long-awaited demo that’s been in constant rotation since release. Robot Voices brings a Scaled and Icy-style pop-rock vibe, Days Lie Dormant strips things back into a rock-forward, emotionally grounded favorite, Tally adds a hype-driven electronic edge, and Intentions closes the record by echoing the intimacy of Truce from their Vessel record but in reverse, as Tyler reflects on the meaning of the story’s end/City Walls. Every track feels essential, making it nearly impossible to choose a favorite (either Drum Show or Days Lie Dormant in my opinion), and together they form a powerful, emotional, and fitting conclusion to the DEMA universe—an album that truly deserves to be experienced in full from start to finish. Rating: 10/10!
– Mason Randall
Getting Killed – Geese
2025 needed a dirty, gritty, grimy indie rock album, and this is it. A great balance of anger, angst, and sadness with big, loud, and chaotic instrumental sections, topped off with Cameron Winter’s most perfect vocals. Perfect for those who listened to too much midwest emo in high school and are now adults getting degrees they probably won’t use.
– Audrey Pozen
Bleeds – Wednesday
This album makes your toes wiggle and your arm hair stand up. I had to stop listening to it on my way to class because I had to use a notable amount of effort to not hit a jig walking through the quad. Such a unique sound that encapsulates all the best parts western North Carolina.
– MAISIE ANN MOYLAN
Lonely People with Power – Deafheaven
I was really disappointed when I listened to Deafheaven’s sophomore album, Sunbather. It was very well reviewed, and as someone who loves shoegaze and black metal I was excited to hear it. But when I listened there wasn’t one song that I wanted to put on a playlist.
I can’t say the same about Lonely People with Power. It’s harder for me to find songs I dislike more than I like on this album. There’s a pretty wide range of sounds on this album, but what I liked most was how well the songs progressed. Most songs are more than 5 minutes long, but it rarely feels like that. I recommend checking it out.
– Ezra Iovenko
Lick the Lens Pt. 1- Oli XL
yayayayayayay release part 2
– Bradley Humble
Ear World – Dorothy Carlos
True to its title. Trapped in the Dorothy Carlos contraption. A portrait of Chicago; its starts, stops, and constants.
Machines whirr. Humans breathe. Cellos chop. What’s the difference?
My ears are definitely in a world. It’s kind of a hear it for yourself type deal.
– Issa
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