Mid-Year 2025 Lists (Best of 2025 ... So Far) • Page 3

Pretty good year so far:

• Cloakroom - Last Leg of the Human Table
• Superheaven - Superheaven
• Turnstile - Never Enough
• PUSH - maybe our days are numbered
• Moving Mountains - Pruning of the Lower Limbs
• Greet Death - Die In Love
• Hotline TNT - Raspberry Moon
• L.S. Dunes - Violet
• King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Phantom Island
• Wishy - Planet Popstar - EP
• Bedridden - Moths Strapped To Each Other's Backs
• Alien Boy - You Wanna Fade?
• Momma - Welcome to My Blue Sky
• Cryogeyser - Cryogeyser
• The Callous Daoboys - I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven
• GLARE - Sunset Funeral
• Soft Blue Shimmer - They Will Leave Us With Nothing
• Glixen - Quiet Pleasures
• Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power

My most anticipated records for the rest of the year atm:

Alex G, Bleary Eyed, Chevelle, GOON, Hard Chiller, Liquid Mike, Pool Kids, World's Worst

 

Is this allowed Albums You May Have Missed in 2025 - The Alternative

 

Weird start to the year - only one artist in my top 30 albums of the half-decade has released an album this year. More room for new artists (or old favorites) to rank high here, I guess!

Favorites:
1) Penny & Sparrow - Lefty
2) Bon Iver - sABLE fABLE
3) Haim - I quit
4) IDER - Late To The World
5) Momma - Welcome To My Blue Sky
6) Addison Rae - Addison

Others I Liked (Loosely Ranked):
7) King Giz - Phantom Island
8) Julia Wolf - PRESSURE
9) FKA Twigs - EUSEXUA
10) Trousdale - Growing Pains
11) Mumford and Sons - RUSHMERE
12) Alien Boy - You Wanna Fade?
13) Turnstile - NEVER ENOUGH
14) Lorde - Virgin
15) late night drive home - as i watch my life online
16) Beach Bunny - Tunnel Vision
17) Sleep Token - Even In Arcadia
18) Anxious - Bambi
19) lighthearted - we all live on borrowed time
20) SYML - Nobody Lives Here

 

this year hasn’t been nearly as fruitful as last year was for me so far. favorites are deafheaven, hotline tnt, greet death, perfume genius, and hayden pedigo

 

This year already beats the hell out of last year for me

 

Very down on this year so far. I think Anxious is the only album I’ve heard this year so far that might have cracked my 2023 or 2024 top 10 and even that has fallen out of rotation for me a bit. Other than that really enjoy Alien Boy, Lucius, and Hotline TNT. Still, overall feels like a down year after some really impressive ones. Lots coming soon that I’m looking forward to at least.

 

I am annoyingly optimistic about every year in terms of new music, but the first half of 2025 has got to be the strongest start in a long time imo

 

FKA twigs - EUSEXUA
billy woods - GOLLIWOG
Cloakroom - Last Leg of the Human Table
Bon Iver - SABLE, fABLE
Lorde - Virgin
MIKE & Tony Seltzer - Pinball II
Addison Rae - Addison
Turnstile - NEVER ENOUGH
yeule - Evangelic Girl is a Gun
Deafheaven - Lonely People with Power
Greet Death - Die In Love
MIKE - Showbiz!
Glare - Sunset Funeral
Oklou - choke enough
Lady Gaga - MAYHEM

 

Staff/contributor list is up: The Best Albums of 2025 (So Far)

My favorites so far:

1. Moving Mountains – Pruning of the Lower Limbs
2. The Maine – Dyed (2008-2023)
3. Turnstile – Never Enough
4. Spiritbox – Tsunami Sea
5. Coheed and Cambria – The Father of Make Believe
6. Matt Nathanson – King of (Un)Simple
7. Heartwork – Revisionist History
8. Oversize – Vital Signs
9. Winona Fighter – My Apologies to the Chef
10. Underoath – The Place After This One
11. The Callous Daoboys – I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven
12. Slow Joy – A Joy So Slow at Times I Don’t Think It’s Coming
13. Scowl – Are We All Angels
14. Bon Iver – Sable, Fable
15. Lady Gaga – Mayhem
16. Grayscale – The Hart
17. Miley Cyrus – Something Beautiful
18. Anxious – Bambi
19. Arm’s Length – There’s A Whole World Out There
20. Sunday (1994) – Devotion (EP))
21. Ruston Kelly – Dirt Emo Vol. 2 (EP)
22. Nightly – Song to Drive To
23. Scott Sellers – One and, and, and, and One and, and Three and, and
24. Momma – Welcome to My Blue Sky
25. Charmer – Downpour
26. The Young Hearts – The Good, the Bad, & the Rest of Us (EP)
27. Lucy Dacus – Forever Is a Feeling
28. Spitalfield – Play + Record (EP)
29. Felicity – Mixtape For The End of the World, Vol. 1
30. Last Night Saved My Life – The First Hello

 

1. Momma - Welcome To My Blue Sky
2. Verifiziert - Bulletholes (2024)
3. Haim - I Quit
4. Less Than Jake - Uncharted (2024)
5. Central Cee - Can't Rush Greatness

I could have made a top 10, but I only like about half of the songs on albums 6-10, so why bother.

 

yeah i think its gotta just be moving mountains for me. nothing else is even close

 

My list. Is it cheating to put the seven-album archival box set from Bruce Springsteen as my number 1? Yes. Definitely the most enamored I’ve been with anything this year, though.

1. Bruce Springsteen – Tracks II: The Lost Albums
2. Ryan Hurd – Midwest Rock & Roll
3. Jason Isbell – Foxes in the Snow
4. Maren Morris – Dreamsicle
5. Ken Yates – Total Cinema
6. Trousdale – Growing Pains
7. Anxious – Bambi
8. The Maine – Dyed
9. Momma – Welcome to My Blue Sky
10. Matt Nathanson – King of Unsimple
11. I’m with Her – Wild and Clear and Blue
12. The Head and the Heart – Aperture
13. Florry – Sounds Like…
14. Counting Crows – Butter Miracle
15. Hotline TNT – Raspberry Moon
16. Mae Erlewine – What It Takes
17. Bon Iver – Sable, Fable
18. Knox – Going Going Gone
19. Haim – I Quit
20. Michigander – Michigander

 

Oh nice I didn’t realize there was a new I’m With Her album

 

It's really nice! Seeing them with Iron & Wine this week, so I've been listening to it a bunch.

 

This year has been amazing for me so far. I’m listening to more music than I have in recent years past and enjoying it more deeply! As of Jun 30, I’ve listened to 236 LPs and 90 EPs from 2025 at least once. Looking forward to the second half of the year :)

LPs
1) pigeon pit - crazy arms (folk punk/alt country)
2) Trousdale - Growing Pains (country pop/indie pop) [think HAIM meets twang]
3) Career Woman - Lighthouse (indie)
4) Vandoliers - Life Behind Bars (alt country/cowpunk)
5) Free Range - Lost and Found (twangy indie folk)
6) Jensen McRae - I Don’t Know How but They Found Me! (singer-songwriter indie)
7) Mereba - The Breeze Grew a Fire (alt R&B/soul)
8) Hope Tala - Hope Handwritten (alt R&B/indie pop)
9) Chase Petra - Lullabies for Dogs (“quarter life crisis pop”/alt rock/indie)
10) Olive Klug - Lost Dog (folk/alt country)
11) Soot Sprite - Wield Your Hope Like a Weapon (shoegaze/alt rock/emo)
12) Press Club - To All the Ones that I Love (indie/punk)
13) EGOISM - And Go Nowhere (indie pop)
14) saoirse dream - saoisre dream (chiptune meets emo/indie/alt rock)
15) Winona Fighter - My Apologies to the Chef (pop punk)

EPs
1) Chloe Parché - Split Ends (indie)
2) hey, nothing - 33° (emo/indie)
3) Berra - Lover’s Virginia (indie)
4) Yola - My Way (neo soul)
5) No Windows - The Great Traitor (indie)
6) Clarity - Out of Love (PDX post-hardcore)
7) Jahnah Camille - My sunny oath! (indie)
8) Alix Page - Bug (singer-songwriter)
9) Neve - Playgirl (indie pop)
10) Myriads - Find Ourselves Again (PDX indie pop)

 

Current top 10:
Jennie - Ruby
Jane Remover - Revengeseekerz
Muscadine Bloodline - ...And What Was Left Behind
Skrillex - F*CK U SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Phantom Island
Chung Ha - Alivio
The Callous Daoboys - I Don't Want to See You in Heaven
Turnpike Troubadours - The Price of Admission
NMIXX - Fe304: FORWARD
Ethel Cain - Perverts

Ready for Clipse to top this list

 

1. Arm's Length - There's a Whole World
2. Charmer - Downpour
3. Moving Mountains - Pruning of the Lower Limbs
4. Greet Death - Die in Love
5. Yubiori 2
6. Anthony Green - So Long Avalon

 

super underrated band/ep

 

1. My Morning Jacket - Is
2. King Gizzard - Phantom Island
3. Sam Fender - People Watching
4. Japanese Breakfast - For Melancholy...
5. Murder By Death - Egg & Dart
6. Hotline TNT - Raspberry Moon
7. Pup - Who Will Look After the Dogs
8. Slowly Slowly- Forgiving Spree
9. Matt Berninger - Get Sunk
10. Coheed and Cambria - Vaxis 3

edit: just listened to Moving Mountains and that’s going to be slotting in there pretty high somewhere.

 

I’m partial to Quarantunes (released under Maria DeHart), but I think ‘Who Takes Care of You?’ is the best song Maria’s ever written!

 

Hell yeah Olive Klug is underrated as fuck

 

1. Deafheaven
2. Greet Death

 

i’m so excited by their artistic growth and trajectory! Don’t You Dare Make Me Jaded was pretty good, but Lost Dog is miles above in songwriting and execution. the former felt a bit sophomoric at times. here’s hoping the next LP is filled with more alt country bangers!

 

https://thequietus.com/tq-charts/al...-far-2025-in-association-with-norman-records/

 

Here’s my Top 30: