For me, the new year always brings lots of retrospection and reflection on the previous year. I find myself looking back on the past year’s music and thinking about which albums were my favorite. There was so much great music that came out in 2025, so it’s difficult to come up with a comprehensive list, but one has to try.

Here are my top five albums of 2025.

My favorite album of the year is *Getting Killed* by Geese. This is Geese’s breakthrough album following their lead singer’s solo album, *Heavy Metal*. My favorite songs off this album are the Radiohead-reminiscent “Trinidad” and the polyrhythmic “Taxes,” though it is an album I would highly recommend listening to in full.

My second favorite album of 2025 is *Planting by the Signs* by Kentucky-based singer-songwriter S.G. Goodman. Goodman’s third record is an Americana album that blends influences such as Sheryl Crow, Stevie Nicks and Lucinda Williams. Goodman is a true storyteller who weaves vignettes of grief, loss and rural Appalachian life with each song.

My next favorite album of the year is *What of Our Nature* by Haley Heyndrickx and Max García Conover. This folk album carries a pulse of resistance throughout its ten tracks and emulates folk singers of the past, including Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez and a pre-electric Bob Dylan. My favorite songs off this album are “Mr. Marketer” and “Fluorescent Light.”

*Bleeds* by Wednesday is also one of my favorite albums of 2025. I have been a fan of Wednesday since their album *Rat Saw God* (2023). *Bleeds* is a slight departure from the My Bloody Valentine-inspired shoegaze of *Rat Saw God* and leans more toward alt-country on songs like “Elderberry Wine” and “The Way Love Goes.” These slower tracks are contrasted with louder songs such as “Wasp” and “Reality TV Argument Bleeds,” balancing noise rock with Southern Gothic elements.

Another favorite album from this past year is the self-titled *Snocaps*. The band Snocaps is made up of Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee, her twin sister Allison Crutchfield and MJ Lenderman, who has notably left the band Wednesday. Snocaps are reminiscent of The Breeders, with hooky pop melodies paired with distorted guitars and twin-sister harmonies.

Some honorable mentions that didn’t make the list include Big Thief’s *Double Infinity*, Rosalía’s *Lux*, Alex G’s *Headlights* and Blood Orange’s *Essex Honey*.