My favorite albums from each week in 2025!
Jan 6-12: AAA by HYUKOH and 落日飛車 Sunset Rollercoaster 🔗
- Collaboration between a Korean indie pop/rock band HYUKOH and a Taiwanese jazzy synth-pop band Sunset Rollercoaster
- Discovered from Graydon from Hivemind on YouTube
- Favorite album from 2024
- On repeat when I was settling into my new apartment
- Favorite tracks: Young Man, Do Nothing, Y
Jan 13-19: Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest 🔗
- Very close between this and The Low End Theory
- Excellent production from Q-Tip
- Favorite tracks: Steve Biko (Stir It Up), Award Tour
Jan 20-26: Lord Willin’ by Clipse 🔗
- Put Pusha T on the map
- Good music for working out
- Favorite tracks: Intro, When The Last Time, Virginia, Grindin'
Jan 27-Feb 2: Things Fall Apart by The Roots 🔗
- Smooth and raw production from Questlove, and Black Thought is consistently a strong rapper
- Favorite tracks: Ain’t Sayin’ Nothin’ New, You Got Me, Adrenaline!
Feb 3-9: Can’t Buy A Thrill by Steely Dan 🔗
- Plenty of classics
- Steely Dan’s instrumental solos tie their songs together
- Aja is also excellent
- Favorite tracks: Midnite Cruiser, Only A Fool Would Say That
Feb 10-16: Making Movies by Dire Straits 🔗
- Consistenly impressive instrumentals from Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits
- Pretty much every track was a banger for me
- Favorite tracks: Tunnel of Love, Expresso Love
Feb 17-23: A Picture of Nectar by Phish 🔗
- Phish does a great job of towing the line between rock and jazz
- This is one of their jazzier albums
- Favorite tracks: Stash, Llama, Magilla
Feb 24-Mar 2: Bang Bang by DISPATCH 🔗
- Very close between this and America, Location 12
- Excellent storytelling from DISPATCH
- Favorite tracks: The General, Bang Bang, Bats in the Belfry
Mar 3-9: A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay 🔗
- I am a big fan of Coldplay’s earlier stuff
- Favorite tracks: Amsterdam, In My Place
Mar 10-16: La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros by La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros 🔗
- Could’ve also been Películas
- Argentinian prog rock album, shoutout to Gabriel Pino for indirectly showing them to me
- Favorite tracks: Como Mata el Viento Norte; Boletos, Pases Y Abonos; Por Probar El Vino Y El Agua Salada
Mar 17-23: Wave by Antônio Carlos Jobim 🔗
- Jobim is one of the pioneers of bossa nova
- Very chill and good for studying (which I clearly needed this week)
- Favorite tracks: Wave, Triste, Batidinha
Mar 24-30: From The Private Collection of Saba and No ID by Saba and No ID 🔗
- First appearance of an album that came out the previous week
- Pretty much every track impressed me, especially the ones on the more chill side
- Favorite tracks: Every Painting Has a Price, a FEW songs, Crash
Mar 31-Apr 6: Kind of Blue by Miles Davis 🔗
- Needed something jazzy for BlasterHacks
- A classic jazz album
- Favorite tracks: all of them?
Apr 7-13: The Crux by Djo 🔗
- Did not expect this out of Stranger Things guy; was pleasantly surprised
- Favorite tracks: Lonesome Is A State of Mind, Back On You
Apr 14-20: Malibu by Anderson .Paak 🔗
- Very talented musician, great singing and rapping here
- Not many songs get my energy up like Come Down, which is now a poker classic
- Favorite tracks: Come Down, Celebrate
Apr 21-27: Phenomenon by UFO 🔗
- This was an extremely busy week so I didn’t pay attention to a lot of the music I listened to, but this one gave me some needed energy
- Pretty influential album with some nice guitar performances
- Favorite tracks: Lipstick Traces, Rock Bottom, Time on My Hands, Doctor Doctor (BBC Radio 1 Session my favorite)
Apr 28-May 4: Skip, Hop and Wobble by Jerry Douglas, Russ Baremberg, Edgar Meyer 🔗
- Good vibes instrumental bluegrass album
- Good for studying (which I also clearly needed this week)
- Some tracks may not be available in some regions :(
- Favorite tracks: Big Sciota, Big Bug Shuffle
May 5-11: Chasing Summer by SiR 🔗
- Extremely smooth R&B/neo soul album
- Favorite tracks: John Redcorn, Hair Down
May 12-18: Dinner Party by Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder 🔗
- Also listen to the remixes on Dinner Party: Dessert
- Favorite tracks: Freeze Tag (preferred remix with Cordae), First Responders (preferred original)
May 19-25: Egotrip by John michel, Anthony James 🔗
- Discovered this on YouTube, hadn’t heard of any of the artists
- Impressed by clean and jazzy production and passionate rapping from both main artists
- Favorite tracks: Going Down, NOBODY, PREACHER!
May 26-Jun 1: SATURATION II by BROCKHAMPTON 🔗
- Relistened to a bunch of BROCKHAMPTON after being a fan in high school and was most impressed by SATURATION II
- Favorite tracks: GUMMY, JELLO, TOKYO
Jun 2-8: Buena Vista Social Club by Buena Vista Social Club 🔗
- Saw the Buena Vista Social Club musical on Broadway this week and was extremely impressed with the instrumental performances
- Most of these artists were either late in their careers or previously retired
- Still need to watch the film about this album
- Favorite tracks: Chan Chan, Buena Vista Social Club, De Camino a la Vereda
Jun 9-15: Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes 🔗
- I also liked Helplessness Blues a lot but I had already listened to it earlier
- Favorite tracks: White Winter Hymnal, Your Protector, Ragged Wood, He Doesn’t Know Why
Jun 16-22: Siempre Es Hoy by Gustavo Cerati and Magic, Alive! by McKinley Dixon 🔗
- I listened to a lot of music this week and I couldn’t decide between these two so I just went with both because I make the rules
- Argentinian rock has impressed me; I listened to three of Cerati’s albums and Siempre Es Hoy was my favorite of the three
- Jazz rap almost always does it for me and Dixon’s is the best I’ve heard from this decade so far with its passionate rap performances and excellent instrumentation
- Magic, Alive! was highly rated from Fantano so this is a W for the music nerds in my book
- Favorite tracks (Siempre Es Hoy): Cosas Imposibles, Nací para Esto, Tu Cicatriz En Mi, Altar
- Favorite tracks (Magic, Alive!): Sugar Water; We’re Outside, Rejoice!; Run, Run, Run Pt. II; Could’ve Been Different; Magic, Alive