Chorus.fm’s Top 30 Albums of 2025 • Page 3

Every year I’m fascinated (and sometimes dumbfounded) about what resonates with me that goes almost completely unrecognized and vice versa. Not in a condescending way, but because music is so personal it’s unfathomable that something I love couldn’t be loved by others to the same degree. Thanks to all the contributors for putting this together.

 

Damn also the wet leg album is up there for me too! Saw that on some lists/honorable mentions. Probably added like 10-15 things to listen to from the various folks who contributed.

 

Warms my heart to see Have Mercy get some love on this list! Biggest surprise for me this year and a great return to form.

Here is my top 5


1. Arms Length
2. Have Mercy
3. Ruston Kelly
4. Anxious
5. Hot Mulligan

 

some favourites:
-the starting line "eternal youth"
-yellowcard "better days"
-michigander "michigander"
-ace enders "posture syndrome"
-slowly slowly "forgiving spree"
-lewis watson "blue skies grey"
-acceptance “phantoms/twenty”

and it’s not an album but a project/series of ep’s, but sleeping at last’s “atlas: III” is sounding really good so far.

 

Sam Fender was definitely in my top 10, good note!

 

This was my list:

1. Deftones - Private Music
2. Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power
3. Alex G - Headlights
4. Mac DeMarco - Guitar
5. Brian the Fly - Messengers
6. Navy Blue - The Sword & The Soaring
7. Greet Death - Die in Love
8. Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo - In the Earth Again
9. They Are Gutting a Body of Water - LOTTO
10. Youth Lagoon - Rarely Do I Dream

11. Wednesday - Bleeds
12. Geese - Getting Killed
13. Tyler, the Creator - DON'T TAP THE GLASS
14.Thrice - Horizons/West
15.Bon Iver - Sable, Fable
16. Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer
17. Ethel Cain - Perverts
18. Open Mike Eagle - Neighborhood Gods Unlimited
19. Westside Gun - 12
20. Hayley Williams - Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party

21. Japanese Breakfast - For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)
22. Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out
23. billy woods - GOLLIWOG
24. wet leg - moisturizer
25. Conway the Machine - You Can't Kill God With Bullets
26. Earl Sweatshirt - Live. Laugh. Love.
27. Tame Impala - Deadbeat
28. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo 2
29. Sorry - COSPLAY
30. Momma - Welcome to My Blue Sky

 

Appreciate these lists, always try to check some stuff out to see if it catches my ear.

Was kinda surprised Ghost didn't make it with how acclaimed their album was this year, but also realize they may not be the normal tastes of this website haha

 

Good list, but I am shocked Sam Fender, Pup, Wolf Alice, and Lord Huron didn't make the top 30.

Also you are all sleeping on Creeper's new album.

 

I do gotta give it another shot...it just didn't catch me as immediately as the first Sanguivore did.

 

New AFI is so good. Weird and different in all the best ways.

 

Great record. Great live show. Love Stateside!

 

I love All Get Out, but because it's not on Spotify I've barely listened to it. They seem to be releasing a single every two weeks on Spotify, I wonder if there's going to be an actual release date, maybe with more songs than what's on Bandcamp.

 

As always, an amazingly varied list with some surprises, some that perfectly align with my own, some I've never heard, and a few that I completely missed (how did I not know there was a new Ace Enders album?!). I always look forward to this list every year, and I think this is one of the best since I started reading AP/Chorus. Here's my list:

1. The Starting Line – Eternal Youth
2. Hayley Williams – Ego Death
3. Thrice – Horizons/West
4. Caroline – 2
5. Deafheaven – Lonely People
6. Michigander – S/T
7. Yellowcard – Better Days
8. Deftones – private music
9. You, Infinite – S/T
10. Dijon – Baby
    
    
11. Anxious – Bambi
12. Unwed Sailor – Cruel Entertainment
13. Motion City Soundtrack – Wasted Wonderful World
14. FKATwigs – Eusexua
15. Turnstile – Never Enough
16. The Callous Daoboys – Don't Wanna See You in Heaven
17. Pelican – Flickering Resonance
18. HEALTH – Conflict DLC
19. Athletics – What Makes You Think
20. Sabrina Carpenter – Man's Best Friend

Honorable Mentions:
AFI, Addison Rae, Alan Sparhawk & Trampled by Turtles, Algernon Cadwallader, Arm's Length, Ben Quad, Blackbraid, Clipping, Cloakroom, The Depth Beneath Us, Drain, Hiroe, Lydia Night, Militarie Gun, Mogwai, Momma, Moving Mountains, MSPAINT, Nine Inch Nails, Panchiko, Pinkshift, Rodeo Boys, Silverstein, Snooper, Spiritbox, Tame Impala, We Lost the Sea, Weakened Friends, Weatherbox, Wednesday, Winona Fighter, The World is a Beautiful Place

 

I probably knew and forgot there was a new HEALTH release but it's a surprise to me now, damn I gotta listen

 

Almost every song on that Deftones album has been my favourite at one point or another.

 

Athletics album was one that was difficult to leave off of my list. Awesome record that just happened to release in a crowded year. Even still, I’m surprised it wasn’t more talked about on this site

Need to check out that Unwed Sailor album too. Their stuff is always great, but they release a lot of music and it’s hard for me to keep up haha

 

it's good

 

Funny comparing this to your 2024 list, feels like a little less pop/rap/country this past year and big lean into the pillars of the broader scene (Deftones, Coheed, Thrice, TSL, MCS, YC, AFI, Silverstein)...

Is this a list from 2005 or 2025?

 

I've been following Athletics for nearly a decade, so having them finally release a new album this year was so cathartic. I also got to see them live for the first time in 2024, so that was the cherry on top as well.

Also saw Unwed Sailor recently and got to create the show poster for their show in my city, so their new album was on heavy rotation for me.

Glad to know I'm not the only post rock fan around here. Check out You Infinite, The Depth Beneath Us, Hiroe, and We Lost the Sea from my list as well if you haven't yet!

 

You definitely gotta, it's very good. It came out like a month ago so it was an easy one to miss! The same thing happened with Rat Wars, it came out close to the end of the year which probably led to it being left off of EOTY lists.

 

I had the same thought when I saw our top three - feels like a huge throwback, but obviously deserved and not just due to nostalgia. Really cool to see such a great year for scene veterans summarized like this.

 

That Blackbraid record is so good. Forgot about that one. And Drain is great. Glad to see another mention!

 

What a list. So much I know and love but so much I still need to check out. Such a varied list this year! My only shocker is no L.S. Dunes, my AOTY

 

First thing I noticed was a lot less country, I feel like the last few years were heavy on that.

 

Listening to Dijon for the first time because of this list. It's pretty damn good!