My favorite records from 2025

Published

This year I’ve listened to music for around 65,000 minutes, or about three hours daily. Here are 30 records I’ve played a lot, listed in alphabetical order.

I’ve also enjoyed:

  1. Abul Mogard, Rafael Anton Irisarri — Live at Le Guess Who? [Black Knoll Editions]
  2. Abul Mogard — Quiet Pieces [Soft Echoes]
  3. Adrian Crowley — Measure Of Joy [Valley of Eyes]
  4. Alexandre Tharaud — Satie: Discoveries [Warner Classics]
  5. All Seeing Dolls (Anton Newcombe, Dot Allison) — Parallel [A Records]
  6. Anika — Abyss [Sacred Bones]
  7. Anouar Brahem — After the Last Sky [ECM]
  8. Babx — Amour Colosse [La Familia]
  9. Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band — Big Crown Vaults Vol. 4 [Big Crown]
  10. Balmorhea — The Trap OST [Deutsche Grammophon]
  11. BJ Nilsen — True than Nature [Ideologic Organ]
  12. Bicep — Chroma 000 / Takkuuk OST [Ninja Tune]
  13. Biosphere — The Way of Time [AD 93]
  14. Blanck Mass — She Rides Shotgun OST [Invada]
  15. Blawan — SickElixir [XL]
  16. Blonde Redhead — The Shadow Of The Guest [section1]
  17. Brian Eno, Beatie Wolfe — Lateral / Liminal / Luminal [Verve]
  18. Caroline — Caroline 2 [Rough Trade]
  19. Cherrystones, Demdike Stare — Who Owns The Dark? [DDS]
  20. Christopher Willits — New Moon [Ghostly]
  21. Clipping. — Dead Channel Sky Plus [Sub Pop]
  22. Darkside — Nothing [Matador]
  23. Demdike Stare, Kristen Pilon — To Cut and Shoot [DDS]
  24. Destroyer — Dan’s Boogie [Merge]
  25. DJ Koze — Music Can Hear Us [Pampa]
  26. DJ Python — I was put on this earth [XL]
  27. Djrum — Under Tangled Silence [Houndstooth]
  28. Donato Dozzy, Sabla — Morpho [Gang of Ducks]
  29. Dustin O’Halloran — Eleanor The Great OST [Milan]
  30. Echolalia — Echolalia [Full Time Hobby]
  31. El Michels Affair — 24 Hr Sports [Big Crown]
  32. Emma Ruth Rundle — Music from the Bella Vista [s/r]
  33. Erland Cooper — Berriedale [Mercury Classics]
  34. Ethel Cain — Perverts [Daughters of Cain]
  35. Fabrizio Paterlini — Layers [Believe]
  36. Greet Death — Die In Love [Deathwish]
  37. HAAi — Humanise [Mute]
  38. Hilary Woods — Night Criú [Sacred Bones]
  39. Hildur Guðnadóttir — Where to From [Deutsche Grammophon]
  40. James Holden, Wacław Zimpel — The Universe Will Take Care Of You [Border Community]
  41. Jay-Jay Johanson — Backstage [29 Music]
  42. Jefre Cantu–Ledesma — Gift Songs [Mexican Summer]
  43. John Maus — Later Than You Think [Young]
  44. Kali Malone, Drew McDowall — Magnetism [Ideologic Organ]
  45. Kara–Lis Coverdale — Changes in Air [Smalltown Supersound]
  46. Keaton Henson — Parader [PIAS]
  47. Keeley Forsyth, Matthew Bourne — Hand To Mouth [s/r]
  48. Lawrence English — Even The Horizon Knows Its Bounds [Room40]
  49. Lido Pimienta — La Belleza [Anti]
  50. Loscil — Lake Fire [Kranky]
  51. Maria Somerville — Luster [4AD]
  52. Marissa Nadler — New Radiations [Sacred Bones / Bella Union]
  53. Max Richter — Hamnet OST [Deutsche Grammophon]
  54. Meitei / 冥丁 — Sen'nyū / 泉涌 [Kitchen Label]
  55. Melaine Dalibert, David Sylvian — Vermilion Hours [Ici d’ailleurs]
  56. Melody’s Echo Chamber — Unclouded [Domino]
  57. Milkweed — Remscéla [Broadside Hacks]
  58. Murcof — Twin Color (Extended Play No. 2) [InFiné]
  59. Múm — History of Silence [Morr Music]
  60. Nilüfer Yanya — Dancing Shoes [Ninja Tunes]
  61. Olof Dreijer — Iris [Rabid]
  62. Oren Ambarchi, Eric Thielemans — Kind Regards [AD 93]
  63. Oren Ambarchi, Fredrik Rasten — Dragon’s Return [Viernullvier]
  64. Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling, Andreas Werliin — Ghosted III [Drag City]
  65. Pelican — Flickering Resonance [Run For Cover]
  66. Perfume Genius — Glory [Matador]
  67. Peter Chilvers — Dust 4 [Curious Music]
  68. Rival Consoles — MindsEye OST [Erased Tapes]
  69. Rosalía — Lux [Columbia]
  70. S. Carey — Watercress [Jagjaguwar]
  71. Sandwell District — End Beginnings [Point of Departure]
  72. Sarah Davachi — Basse Brevis [Potraits GRM]
  73. Stephen O’Malley — But remember what you have had [Potraits GRM]
  74. Stereolab — Instant Holograms On Metal Film [Duophonic UHF Disks / Warp]
  75. Steve Gunn — Daylight Daylight [No Quarter]
  76. Sunn O))) — Eternity’s Pillars b/w Raise the Chalice & Reverential [Sub Pop]
  77. Sławomir Zubrzycki — Viola Organista: Monologues & Dialogues [Leiter]
  78. The Antlers — Blight [Transgressive]
  79. The Black Dog — My Brutal Life EP / My Brutal Life 2 [Dust Science]
  80. The Black Heart Procession — Hearts and Tanks [Solid Brass]
  81. The Black Keys — No Rain, No Flowers [Easy Eye Sound, Warner]
  82. The Weather Station — Humanhood [Fat Possum]
  83. Thylacine — Roads Vol. 3 [Intuitive Records]
  84. Tortoise — Touch [Intl Anthem]
  85. U.S. Girls — Scratch It [4AD]
  86. Vanishing Twin — In Piscina! [Fire Records]
  87. Verses GT (Jacques Greene, Nosaj Thing) — Verses GT [Luckyme]
  88. William Basinski, Richard Chartier — Aurora Terminalis [LINE]
  89. Yasmine Hamdan — I remember I forget بنسى وبتذكر [Crammed Discs, PIAS]
  90. Ólafur Arnalds, Talos — A Dawning [OPIA, Mercury KX]

From previous years. Played a lot of Living Circle (Fat Cat, 2023) and Shifts (Fat Cat, 2019) from Shida Shahabi, whom I’d seen in 2023 opening for AWVFTS at the Barbican but forgot to follow up on, only to go all wow, what is this heavenly music?? and why does it feel so eerily familiar? when my friend Alex recommended it a few months ago. Also big on MONO’s Oath (2024), which I discovered too late to include in last year’s list.

Live shows. Sharon van Etten in Berlin; Matt Berninger in Glasgow; Fred again.. in Rome.

This has been the 12th edition of my favorite records. Timeline: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.

Other 2025 lists: Boomkat, Bleep, Rough Trade, The Quietus, The Wire, Jon Hicks, Simon Collison, Scott Boms.