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My favorite albums of 2025

Previously: 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014

Reactivating this long-dormant Tumblr, like I do every year around this time, to tell you about my favorite new releases of 2025! There were so many awesome records this year that I went to a list of 40, plus a lengthy honorable mentions list. I probably could have gotten up to 100. As usual, I interviewed several of these artists for Rolling Stone over the course of the year. Here are links to my conversations with Water From Your Eyes, Clipse, Horsegirl, Lifeguard, and Lily Seabird. There's lots more where that came from at my RS author page. And you can find more year-end thoughts from my colleagues and me in our annual Staff Picks post!

Water From Your Eyes, It's a Beautiful Place (Matador)

Clipse, Let God Sort Em Out (Roc Nation)

Bad Bunny, Debí Tirar Más Fotos (Rimas)

Horsegirl, Phonetics On and On (Matador)

Lifeguard, Ripped and Torn (Matador)

Jeff Tweedy, Twilight Override (dBpm)

Wednesday, Bleeds (Dead Oceans)

Girlpuppy, Sweetness (Captured Tracks)

Lily Seabird, Trash Mountain (Lame-O)

Geese, Getting Killed (Partisan)

Saba and No ID, From the Private Collection of Saba and No ID (self-released)

Sharp Pins, Balloon Balloon Balloon (K/Perennial)

Bar Italia, Some Like It Hot (Matador)

Steve Gunn, Daylight Daylight (No Quarter)

Alex G, Headlights (RCA)

Case Oats, Last Missouri Exit (Merge)

U.S. Girls, Scratch It (4AD)

Japanese Breakfast, For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) (Dead Oceans)

Sorry, Cosplay (Domino)

Mobb Deep, Infinite (Mass Appeal)

Sunflower Bean, Mortal Primetime (Lucky Number)

Wet Leg, Moisturizer (Domino)

Greg Freeman, Burnover (Transgressive)

Momma, Welcome to My Blue Sky (Polyvinyl)

Dutch Interior, Moneyball (Fat Possum)

McKinley Dixon, Magic, Alive! (City Slang)

Hayley Williams, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party (Post Atlantic)

Car Seat Headrest, The Scholars (Matador)

Lord Sko, PIFF (Uptown Sh*t/Stimulated)

Charley Crockett, Lonesome Drifter (Island)

Cardi B, Am I the Drama? (Atlantic)

The Head and the Heart, Aperture (Verve Forecast)

Tunde Adebimpe, Thee Black Boltz (Sub Pop)

FKA twigs, Eusexua (Young/Atlantic)

Lambrini Girls, Who Let the Dogs Out (City Slang)

Snocaps, Snocaps (Anti-)

Model/Actriz, Pirouette (True Panther)

Teyana Taylor, Escape Room (Taylormade/Def Jam)

Ivy, Traces of You (Bar/None)

Frankie Cosmos, Different Talking (Sub Pop)

Honorable mentions (alphabetical):

Anycia, Asher White, Automatic, Bartees Strange, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Blondshell, David Byrne, Ghostface Killah, Golomb, Kassa Overall, Lorde, Lucy Dacus, Olivia Dean, Raekwon, Rocket, Ryan Davis, Snooper, Talulah Paisley, Taylor Swift, Zora.... and lots of other albums I enjoyed this year but couldn't quite fit on this list

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My Favorite Albums of 2024

Previously: 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014

It's been another amazing year for new music! I've written about several of these artists at Rolling Stone, including profiles of This Is Lorelei, Allegra Krieger, Thus Love, and Lip Critic, and reviews of the Common/Pete Rock and Sophie albums. (As always, you can find all my recent stories at my RS author page.) Without further ado, here are my 40 favorite albums released in 2024!

Charli XCX, Brat (Atlantic)

This Is Lorelei, Box for Buddy, Box for Star (Double Double Whammy)

Waxahatchee, Tigers Blood (Anti-)

Fontaines D.C., Romance (XL)

Allegra Krieger, Art of the Unseen Infinity Machine (Double Double Whammy)

Kim Gordon, The Collective (Matador)

Kendrick Lamar, GNX (pgLang/Interscope)

MJ Lenderman, Manning Fireworks (Anti-)

Common and Pete Rock, The Auditorium, Vol. 1 (Loma Vista)

Thus Love, All Pleasure (Captured Tracks)

Cindy Lee, Diamond Jubilee (Realistik Studios)

The Smile, Wall of Eyes/Cutouts (XL)

Soccer Mommy, Evergreen (Loma Vista)

Lip Critic, Hex Dealer (Partisan)

Mannequin Pussy, I Got Heaven (Epitaph)

Anycia, Princess Pop That (UnitedMasters)

Young Miko, att. (Capitol)

Hello Mary, Emita Ox (Frenchkiss)

Doechii, Alligator Bites Don’t Heal (TDE/Capitol)

Mdou Moctar, Funeral for Justice (Matador)

Future and Metro Boomin, We Still Don't Trust You (Epic/Republic)

Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department (Republic)

Cavalier, Different Type Time (Backwoodz Studioz)

Hinds, Viva Hinds (Lucky Number)

Rauw Alejandro, Cosa Nuestra (Sony Latin)

Johnny Irion, Sleeping Soldiers of Love (Blackwing)

GIFT, Illuminator (Captured Tracks)

Been Stellar, Scream from New York, NY (Dirty Hit)

Sleater-Kinney, Little Rope (Loma Vista)

Ekko Astral, Pink Balloons (Topshelf)

Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter (Parkwood/Columbia)

Jack White, No Name (Third Man)

Bnny, One Million Love Songs (Fire Talk)

Sinkane, We Belong (City Slang)

Sabrina Carpenter, Short 'n Sweet (Island)

Sophie, Sophie (Transgressive)

Brutus VIII, Pure Gluttony (Ramp Local)

Schoolboy Q, Blue Lips (TDE/Interscope)

May Rio, Elegant Ensemble (DPI)

Sinaka, Kema (La única compañía)

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My Favorite Albums of 2023

Previously: 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014

I haven't been posting here much lately. In fact, my last post was exactly a year ago, when I shared my last year-end list. You can always find my most recent writing over at my Rolling Stone author page, if you're looking for it. Anyway.... here are 30 albums I loved in 2023!

Boygenius, The Record (Interscope)

Blondshell, Blondshell (Partisan)

Model/Actriz, Dogsbody (True Panther)

McKinley Dixon, Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? (City Slang)

El Michels Affair & Black Thought, Glorious Game (Big Crown)

Wilco, Cousin (dBPM)

Annie Blackman, Bug EP (Father/Daughter)

Mitski, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (Dead Oceans)

Tainy, Data (Neon16)

NewJeans, Get Up EP (ADOR)

billy woods & Kenny Segal, Maps (Backwoodz Studioz)

U.S. Girls, Bless This Mess (4AD)

Olivia Rodrigo, Guts (Geffen)

Blur, The Ballad of Darren (Parlophone)

Debby Friday, Good Luck (Sub Pop)

Hello Mary, Hello Mary (Frenchkiss)

Belle and Sebastian, Late Developers (Matador)

Anohni and the Johnsons, My Back Was a Bridge for You To Cross (Secretly Canadian)

Bonny Doon, Let There Be Music (ANTI-)

The Rolling Stones, Hackney Diamonds (Polydor)

Water From Your Eyes, Everyone's Crushed (Matador)

Katie Von Schleicher, A Little Touch of Schleicher in the Night (Sipsman)

Victoria Monet, Jaguar II (Lovett/RCA)

Patio, Collection (Fire Talk)

Lil Yachty, Let's Start Here (Quality Control/Motown)

Bar Italia, The Twits / Tracey Denim (Matador)

Allegra Krieger, I Keep My Feet on the Fragile Plane (Double Double Whammy)

Sen Morimoto, Diagnosis (City Slang)

Palehound, Eye on the Bat (Polyvinyl)

Bully, Lucky for You (Sub Pop)

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Best Music of 2022: SVL’s Picks

Previously: 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014

Might post more thoughts later, but for now: These are the albums I couldn’t get enough of in 2022. Truly an amazing year for new music!

TOP 40 ALBUMS

Bartees Strange, Farm to Table (4AD)

Pusha T, It's Almost Dry (G.O.O.D./Def Jam)

Alvvays, Blue Rev (Polyvinyl)

Sunflower Bean, Headful of Sugar (Mom + Pop)

The Smile, A Light for Attracting Attention (XL)

FKA Twigs, Caprisongs (Young/Atlantic)

Zora, Z1 (Get Better)

Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti (Rimas)

Soccer Mommy, Sometimes, Forever (Loma Vista)

Alex G, God Save the Animals (Domino)

Wilco, Cruel Country (dBPM)

Taylor Swift, Midnights (Republic)

Beyoncé, Renaissance (Parkwood/Columbia)

Angel Olsen, Big Time (Jagjaguwar)

Kurt Vile, Watch My Moves (Verve)

Empath, Visitor (Fat Possum)

Ribbon Stage, Hit With the Most (Perennial)

Katie Alice Greer, Barbarism (FourFour)

Trupa Trupa, B Flat A (Glitterbeat/Lovitt)

Pictoria Vark, The Parts I Dread (Get Better)

Blackpink, Born Pink (YG/Interscope)

Spoon, Lucifer on the Sofa (Matador)

Interpol, The Other Side of Make-Believe (Matador)

Saba, Few Good Things (Pivot Gang)

Say Sue Me, The Last Thing Left (Damnably)

Bruce Springsteen, Only the Strong Survive (Columbia)

Flasher, Love Is Yours (Domino)

Mitski, Laurel Hell (Dead Oceans)

Charli XCX, Crash (Asylum)

Lucrecia Dalt, ¡Ay! (RVNG Intl)

The Weeknd, Dawn FM (XO/Republic)

Tomberlin, I Don't Know Who Needs To Hear This... (Saddle Creek)

Billy Woods, Aethiopes (Backwoodz)

Cola, Deep in View (Fire Talk)

Flo Milli, You Still Here, Ho? (RCA)

Phoenix, Alpha Zulu (Glassnote)

Grace Ives, Janky Star (True Panther)

Belle and Sebastian, A Bit of Previous (Matador)

Jana Horn, Optimism (No Quarter)

Los Bitchos, Let the Festivities Begin! (City Slang)

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Say Hello to the Next Great New York Rock Band

Hello Mary are the trio behind one of 2023’s sharpest, noisiest debuts

They say that rock is dying, guitar solos are old news, and kids today don’t like that kind of noise. OK, sure — but have they heard Hello Mary? 

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Pusha T on Rolling Stone’s 2023 Grammy Preview cover. Story by me. Photos by Eric Johnson.

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Alex G on Music, Religion, and the Mysteries of Songwriting

Revered by indie-rock fans, respected by Frank Ocean: The regular guy at the center of it all talks about his ninth album, God Save the Animals

“I figure, ‘This is what got me here, doing it like this.’...I don’t want to jinx it.”

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Jay-Z's Verse on DJ Khaled's 'God Did' Is a Master Class in Mature Lyricism

Brooklyn’s finest pops up to critique the drug war and remind everyone that he’s really good at rapping

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How Katie Alice Greer Started Over and Rebuilt Her Sound

After her band fell apart, the former Priests singer had to find a new way forward on her own. Inside the radically warped pop experiments of her solo debut

Former Priests singer Katie Alice Greer's solo debut is a gem — radical, strange, moving. Thanks to Katie for telling me the story behind it.

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Blondshell's 'Kiss City' Brings the Alt-Rock Fireworks

Second single from hotly buzzed indie-rock artist is a slow burn with a big payoff

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'Ready for Some Levity': Alvvays Brighten Up Their Indie-Pop Dream

Molly Rankin reveals Blue Rev, the Toronto band’s first album since 2017

There’s a new Alvvays album! Five years was a long wait for a band this great to come back. I spoke with Molly Rankin about their fantastic return.

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Reinventing Flasher: How the D.C. Post-Punk Band Found a New Beginning

Band drama and a pandemic were just the spurs that the longtime D.C. band needed to make their great new album, Love Is Yours

Catching up with Flasher, whose new album is a welcome surprise.

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Zora on Finding Hope and Joy in a Hostile World: 'It's Honestly What Saved My Life'

Minneapolis-based singer, rapper, and producer on lifting up Black trans women, finding her community, and expressing herself to the fullest

I interviewed the new artist who made 2022′s best debut.

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Angel Olsen's 'Big Time' Is the Album She's Been Waiting All Her Life to Make

Six albums in, the indie rock darling makes a joyful, triumphant breakthrough

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Wilco links x 2

It’s been a Wilco-heavy season for me, and thank goodness for that. Back in April, I caught up with Jeff Tweedy about the impending return of the band’s Solid Sound Festival. A few days later, I saw two of Wilco’s remarkable Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 20th anniversary shows in New York and wrote a bit about that. Then, I spent Memorial Day weekend in North Adams, MA, experiencing the joy of Solid Sound in person, with two fantastic Wilco shows, a chance to appreciate the artwork of Sol LeWitt and James Turrell, and a whole lot more (photo of one highlight from the festival below). Til next time!

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Kurt Vile's 'Watch My Moves' Is a Majestically Mellow Zone-Out Session

Laid-back Philly guitar wizard’s ninth album stretches out and gets comfortable amidst the chaos

It’s been a few years since we’ve heard from our old buddy KV, and it seems he’s spent much of that time relaxing in his castle of chords, feeling the cosmic breeze, listening to the colors of the wind, and watching time pass slowly...

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Two Great New Songs to Listen to Right Now

Short hits on a couple of songs I couldn’t stop playing this week, from Rolling Stone’s Song You Need to Know series...

D.C. punks Flasher returned with one fewer member and a new sense of groove on “Sideways”

Minneapolis rapper/singer/producer Zora debuted with an anti-capitalist techno-rap bop called “Runnitup”