The music of 2025 brought raw sounds to a music world so clear and definite, teetering on the barrier line of where music could be headed in the upcoming years. Many bands, new and old, released records worth noting, making the curation of this list so tough. It could have highlighted at least 20 other artists, but after careful consideration, and in no particular order, here are the top 10 albums of 2025.

Check out Evan’s top ten albums of 2024

Budos Band: Vll

Release Date: May 30, 2025

Genre: Garage Rock and Jazz

The Budos Band, originating from Staten Island, New York, is a psychedelic jazz band incorporating the sounds of harder garage rock. “VII” brings life to a style of jazz worth noting. Daniel Foder’s bass bounces and flows with the brass section, blending two top-tier music types into one big album. It’s triumphant, it’s powerful, it moves, it shakes, but in the end, it’s just the Budos Band being the Budos Band. Notable tracks such as “Overlander” combine the gritty guitar riffs with heavy brass sounds to produce a conquering feeling in a state of battle.

The Sorcerers: Other Worlds and Habitats

Release Date: July 11, 2025

Genre: Jazz

Jazz is one of the most famous American genres, but it hardly lands on the playlists of younger generations. “Other World and Habitats” by the Sorcerers is determined to sway the listener through a series of haunting, yet serene sounds spanning from the xylophone to the alto sax, teetering on the line between what jazz is and what it should sound like. If you want to get into jazz, this isn’t a bad place to start. Like the Budos Band, The Sorcerers weave in and out structurally, with similar brass and rock instrumentation front-and-center. It’s as if the film noir movie genre had a 2025 jazz album counterpart. “Other Worlds” is driven by the stylistic drum patterns of Joost Hendrickx (awesome name). The bass thumps, the horns echo, the drums, neatly brushed by Joost, showing the younger generation that, like Frankenstein’s monster, jazz is still alive. Prominent tracks such as “The Ghosts of the Black Drift,” “Abandoned Satellites,” and “Beneath the Dunes” will catch the ear of anyone who has any interest in music whatsoever.

Hannah Cohen: Earthstar Mountain

Release Date: March 28, 2025

Genre: Folk

Evoking the sounds of the Catskill Mountains, Hannah Cohen’s “Earthstar Mountain” has become an instant folk hit. For those on the hunt for a unique folk album, Cohen is a treasure. The album is like a Clairo and Sam Evian collaboration, heavily driven by the thumping sounds of Sam Griffin Owen’s double bass and meshing with the low-pitched piano chords from Evian himself. Cohen’s voice glues together all of the pieces to create this instant classic. Every listen will show you something new, whether it be Cohen’s vocal range or the sheer musical talent backing her: Sufjan Stevens, Clairo, Sean Mullins, Liam Kazar, are a few of the most notable sit-ins. Listed solely as a folk record, “Earthstar Mountain” elevates even higher, combining elements of ‘70s rock and funk grooves, country twang, and some earthy dreampop. This is one of those albums the listener can physically dissect each song. Cohen’s voice in “Una Spiaggia” brings the listener back to Pink Floyd’s “A Great Gig in the Sky’s” vocal run, slowly building up its ambient sounds into a climax featuring the highest-pitched voices I’ve ever heard. On this record, Cohen reaches levels of music only perfected by musical stars, proving that within the next few years, she is going to be one herself.

Liam Kazar: Pilot Light

Release Date: November 7, 2025

Genre: Folk-Rock

A relatively recent release, Liam Kazar’s “Pilot Light” has earned it a top spot in this list. Kazar’s mindset seems deep yet is performed simply, showing the importance of subtlety in songwriting. Its intimacy comes from the warm baselines of Sam Evian, quietly leaning into soul sounds of the past, keeping everything close and personal in a cozy living room setting. Kazar is talking to us face-to-face rather than performing for us. In a year full of loud and eccentric music, “Pilot Light” doesn’t demand attention but rather gives you the chance to slowly build your way up to understanding it. With key standout tracks such as “Pick up the Pieces,” “Mission,” and “Didn’t I,” this album is sure to transport you to a light brown and olive green coffee shop from the 2000s. Listen to it anytime you want a little chill time out of life’s constant anxieties.

Geese: Getting Killed

Release Date: September 26, 2025

Genre: Rock

Geese has been the greatest rock band of the last five years. What isn’t there to say about the band and this album? I mean, before this release, Geese was an opening act, slowly gaining momentum from their 2023 sophomore release “3D Country.” Since the release of “Getting Killed,” Geese’s name has been at the top of almost every major magazine’s top albums of the year lists. What makes Geese stand out is how, with so much production available, Geese always sounds raw, leaving its blemishes in instead of editing them out. Geese proves that mistakes in music are human, making the songs easier to connect with. Geese is weird, and it’s okay to accept that. With key standout tracks such as “Islands of Men,” “Long Island City Here I Come,” and “Bow Down,” “Getting Killed” proves that music always finds a way to stay true, overpowering the averageness of modern-day normalities, bringing in fans of all genres, to capture how Geese wants us to feel. For more on “Getting Killed,” check out my previously published Wingspan review. 

Charlie Crockett: Lonesome Drifter

Release Date: March 14, 2025

Genre: Soul and Country

Another year, another Charley Crockett album that hits all the right western soul vibes. “Lonesome Drifter,” released in mid-March, is one of Crockett’s best. The bluesy guitars of Dave Biller and Alexis Sanchez carries the listener back to Crockett’s earlier records, perfecting that sound he once encapsulated but at times sounded too raw. This album is filled with Crockett’s earlier themes of heartbreak and travel, but this time, Crockett goes further. His album paints a picture of a lonely dirt road in the middle of the deep South where the silence of the road fills the void of a traveler deep in thought. With key notable tracks such as “Lonesome Drifter,” “Jamestown Ferry,” and “Under Neon Lights,” this album is sure to hit all the right spots, making it an essential Crockett album.

WITCH: SOGOLO

Release Date: June 13, 205

Genre: Zamrock

Havoc sure is caused by “SOGOLO”, the recent album by Zambian rock group WITCH (We Intend to Cause Havoc). Originally founded in 1974 in southern Zambia, WITCH helped pioneer the genre that is Zamrock. Zamrock was huge, meshing elements of classic African grooves, psychedelic moods, and garage rock into music that interested almost everybody living in Zambia at the time, according to the documentary “We Intend to Cause Havoc,” which is available on TUBI. They took a series of hiatuses, but within the last couple years, have come back to complement old roots with updated synth sounds, and improved production. With two remaining original members leading the way, WITCH still piping hot. Every track on “SOGOLO”  is a wave of colors, vibrant and gleaming through the psychedelic fuzz the band emits. Their KEXP studio session was enough to fascinate me, leading me into a deep rabbit hole of perfection, so who knows, maybe it might do the same for you. SOGOLO mixes together sounds so unique to American listeners. With key standout tracks such as “Nadi” and “Queenless King” this record is sure to hone in on those vintage WITCH sounds, mixing in futuristic jams to create this  

TFS (Tropical **** Storm): Fairyland Codex

Release Date: June 20, 2025

Genre: Art Rock 

Before I go into anything, I already know what you’re saying. Yes, that is the band’s real name. Residing in Melbourne Australia, Tropical F*** Storm, or TFS for short, is a squad that needs to be heard. “Fairyland Codex,” the band’s first full-length studio album since 2021, includes stylistic elements of psychedelia, noise, and tender embrace, showcasing why this band is so unique. Often overshadowed by Aussie-rock peers like Gizz and Amyl and the Sniffers, TFS, which includes ex-members of the Drones, has been gaining popularity since their initial release of “A Laughing Death in Meatspace” in 2018. Frontman and guitarist Gareth Liddiard is unlike anything I have ever seen before, playing raw and energetically, unafraid of mistakes. The way he slings his fingers around the frets at ease is quite evident in “Fairyland Codex.” TFS turns each track into a landscape.  On this record, they instead mix their raw sound with a well-produced insanity. TFS is a band that completes a music nerd’s most famed want: passion. Bangers such as “Fairyland Codex,” “Irukandji Syndrome,” and “Moscovium,” are sure to carry you through the ethereal waves of feedback fuzz, preaching the comfort in unconformity.

Greg Freeman: Burnover

Release Date: August 22, 2025

Genre: Alternative Country

Greg Freeman’s “Burnover” brings new additions to the alternative country movement started by pioneers such as Jason Molina and Jason Isbell. Freeman’s voice is unique to say the least, but I think that’s what makes the band who they are. His distinct piercing sounds carry his uncomfortable voice to new areas I didn’t think could even have vocals. Even if it doesn’t fit, Freeman finds a way to slip it through a gap. This may just be another case of a bad singer on paper to many, but it is important and fluent to me. The music, on the other hand, is like the sounds of MJ Lenderman with a little touch of brass. Sure, that’s a large comparison in this day and age, but Freeman’s music shares a lot of similarities. Freeman’s guitar playing elevates the tracks, hitting the listener directly with it’s passion, mixing in the noisy yet classy sounds of Cam Gilmour’s tenor sax. I just recently purchased tickets to go see Freeman and his band, and can’t wait to see how he blends all of his elements together in a live concert setting. If you happen to like this LP, give a listen to his first release, which in my opinion, is even better than this one.

Freckle: Freckle

Release Date: January 31, 2025

Genre: Psychedelic Rock

Freckle, yet another side project of the musical genius that is Ty Segall, made the top 10 at ease. Previously highlighted in last year’s list, Segall’s artistic value is one of the best of all time. His emotion in his singing is raw, his way around a guitar even better. This LP is a collaboration between Corey Madden from Color Green and Segall, a combination that was unexpected. “Freckle” includes the classic Segall, his talents of mashing both harder and simpler rock riffs together. These riffs will carry you through the waves of psychadelia, meeting bands such as Radiohead, and King Gizzard along the way. With key standout tracks such as “Taraval,” and “Paranoid,” this record is sure to transport you through the many projects of one of music’s greats.