Best of 2025 – Community Picks
Ken Venet
- Sault – Sault 10
- Wet Leg – Moisturizer
- Galactic and Irma Thomas – Audience With a Queen
- Cristina Vane – Hear My Call
- North Mississippi Allstars – Still Shakin’
Amy Phung
- Bambi by Anxious
- Welcome to My Blue Sky by Momma
- Never Enough by Turnstile
- Wisher by Ben Quad
- Wrench by Flycatcher
Mig
- Ninajirachi – I Love My Computer
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Cameron Winter – Heavy Metal
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smerz – Big city life
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Wednesday – Bleeds
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Jane Remover – Revengeseekerz
Aaron Pires
- Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out
- Little Simz – Lotus
- Dijon – Baby
- JID – God Does Love Ugly
- Westside Gunn – Heels Have Eyes
Zach Vogt - Darkside – Nothing (not prolific, always perfect)
- Enemy – Fiend (piano trio from Europe)
- Aesop Rock – Black Hole / Mess There Too (prolific, depth without end)
- MANSLAUGHTER 777 – God’s Will (percussionists make loud dance)
- Eric Scott Reed – Out Late (or any Smoke Sessions Records release)
Thomas Jacob Jr
5. Yungblud – Idols (Capitol Records)
4. Sure Fire Soul Ensemble – Gemini (Colemine Records)
3. Coheed and Cambria – Vaxis Part III: The Father of Make Believe (Evil Ink Records)
2. Lust for Youth + Croatian Amor – All Worlds (Sacred Bones Records)
1. Between the Buried and Me – The Blue Nowhere (InsideOut Music)
K. Eric
1. FACS – Wish Defense
2. Just Mustard – We Were Just Here
3. Loscil – Lake Fire
4. Tim Hecker – Shards
5. Mogwai – The Bad Fire
And tons of great reissues!
Spencer Shanks
5. Geese – getting killed
4. Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes and Sad Women
3. YHWH Nailgun – 45 Pounds
2. Dean Blunt & Elias Rønnenfelt – Lucre
1. Wednesday – Bleeds
Mark Watkins
Nala Sinephro – The Smashing Machine Original Soundtrack
Blood Orange – Essex Honey
Jefre Cantu-Ledesema – Gift Songs
KeiyaA – hooke’s law
Steve Hauschildt – Aeropsia
Nate Johnson1. GaGa – MAYHEM
2. Rosalía – LUX
3. FKA twigs – EUSEXUA
4. Laufey – Matter of Time
5. Lucrecia Dalt – A Danger to Ourselves
Dan Jennings
- Rose City Band: Sol Y Sombra
- Greg Freeman: Burnover
- Wednesday: Bleeds
- Patterson Hood: Exploding Trees and Airplane Screams
- Steve Gunn: Daylight Daylight