My favorite albums from each week in 2025!
In 2025, I decided to select an album of the week for each week. I found that I am happier the more music I listen to, so I figured I would listen to a lot of music this year and share some of my favorites throughout the year.
With a few exceptions, the selected albums aren’t necessarily my favorite new releases, but rather the albums that I listened to and enjoyed the most on the respective week (almost always my first time listening to that entire album).
I hope you enjoy reading this and consider listening to some of the albums I selected.
Side note: I do not like or support Spotify. I would probably switch to Tidal but I am on Spotify’s family plan so my hands are tied, and Spotify has some social upside over any other option anyway.
Jul 28-Aug 3: Mezzanine by Massive Attack 🔗
- Massive Attack was one of the main pioneers of the trip hop genre, along with Portishead
- Strikes a lot of similar notes to Portishead with relatively slow hip hop-esque beats and somewhat whispery vocals
- Incorporates some heavy sounds with electric guitars and percussion ramping up at certain points
- Favorite tracks: Angel, Inertia Creeps, Group Four, Teardrop
Jul 21-27: Vanisher, Horizon Scraper by Quadeca 🔗
- Good week for new releases, as I really liked Alfredo 2 by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist, and Don’t Tap The Glass by Tyler, The Creator was a pleasant album as well
- Had high expectations for this album since I was blown away by the singles, but it did not live up to my lofty expectations
- Experimental and stylistically fluid artist, incorporating elements of many genres, some of which I enjoy more (e.g. baroque pop) and others of which I don’t enjoy as much (e.g. noise)
- There is also an album movie, which I felt didn’t add a ton to the overall experience, although its ending (particularly the last song CASPER) was incredible
- With all being said, an awesome listening experience with the singles pulling plenty of weight in my view
- Favorite tracks: FORGONE, GODSTAINED, MONDAY, RUIN MY LIFE
Jul 14-20: Melt My Eyez See Your Future (The Extended Edition) by Denzel Curry 🔗
- Somehow convinced myself I had listened to this already but that was evidently not the case
- Denzel Curry is a consistently fantastic rapper
- This is some of the more jazzy production that Denzel has been a part of, especially the second disc, which contains fully acoustic instrumentals and no autotune
- Favorite tracks: Walkin (both versions), X-Wing - Cold Blooded Soul Version, The Ills (Both Versions), Melt Session #1 - Cold Blooded Soul Version, The Last
Jul 7-13: Titanic Rising by Weyes Blood 🔗
- Getting some more pop-ish music from the last 10-15 years into my rotation
- Instrumentals stood out to me with immersive strings and keys
- Favorite tracks: Andromeda, Something to Believe, A Lot’s Gonna Change
Jun 30-Jul 6: When The Pawn… by Fiona Apple 🔗
- I Realized my selections weren’t passing the Bechdel test so I decided to do something about that, and I really enjoyed this album
- The piano chord progressions throughout in conjunction with the emotion-filled vocal delivery were effective for me
- Favorite tracks: Limp, Paper Bag, Fast As You Can
Jun 23-29: Lumin Rain by Arc De Soleil 🔗
- I listened to a lot of MF Doom this week as well and highly enjoyed Vaudeville Villain (Madvillainy is also an excellent album and I highly recommend both)
- Been a huge fan of Arc De Soleil’s music since discovering him last summer and his debut album did not disappoint me
- Uses of guitar create a sort of desert vibe
- Most of his songs don’t include vocals but a few on this album do, and his voice is produced to suit the instrumentals well
- Favorite tracks: Dunes of Djoser, Midnight in Saqqara, Lumin Rain, Chimera
Jun 16-22: Magic, Alive! by McKinley Dixon 🔗
- Argentinian rock has impressed me; I listened to three of Gustavo Cerati’s albums and Siempre Es Hoy was my favorite of the three, although Magic, Alive! in hindsight took the cake
- 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 (Magic, Alive!): Sugar Water; We’re Outside, Rejoice!; Run, Run, Run Pt. II; Sugar Water; Could’ve Been Different; Magic, Alive!
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 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
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
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 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 5-11: Chasing Summer by SiR 🔗
- Extremely smooth R&B/neo soul album
- Favorite tracks: John Redcorn, Hair Down
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
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 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 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
Mar 31-Apr 6: Kind of Blue by Miles Davis 🔗
- Needed something jazzy for BlasterHacks
- A classic jazz album
- Favorite tracks: all of them?
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 17-23: Wave by Antônio Carlos Jobim 🔗
- Listened to a lot of bossa nova this week, and Jobim is one of the pioneers of the genre
- Also enjoyed Toco’s vocal bossa nova album Outro Lugar
- Very chill and good for studying (which I clearly needed this week)
- Favorite tracks: Wave, Triste, Batidinha
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 3-9: A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay 🔗
- I enjoyed listening to Coldplay’s earlier stuff
- Favorite tracks: Amsterdam, In My Place
Feb 24-Mar 2: Bang Bang by DISPATCH 🔗
- Close between this and America, Location 12
- Excellent storytelling from DISPATCH
- Favorite tracks: The General, Bang Bang, Bats in the Belfry, Railway
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 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 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
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!
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 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 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
Published June 10, 2025 | Last updated July 30, 2025