What a year, huh? Sometimes it seems like almost everything on earth is getting worse every single day, but we’ve also had an outrageous abundance of truly dazzling music, more than any of us could ever hear in a lifetime. The news sure looks bad most days, but you know who’s got our back? All the hardworking artists who create incredible work every single year, all while living in the same conditions that are making all of our lives collectively tougher. It’s a miracle, really, that despite everything going on, I can confidently state once again:
Every year is a great year for music.
In 2025, it’s easier than ever to just coast on whatever some corporation decides to put into your feed, consume the music that they paid to put in your ears, stay comfortably inside those guardrails that always seem to get narrower every year. So I applaud anyone going out of their way to discover something truly new, take a recommendation from a friend or even a stranger, roll the dice on an artist they never would’ve otherwise encountered. For some folks, I am that stranger. But I’m not special. I’m just a regular guy who spends a lot of time talking with artists and labels, scouring Bandcamp and reading music journalism, and mostly just spending time with great people who fill my life with magic every day. I’m forever grateful that I’ve found a community online where I can share it all and spread the love. I wouldn’t be here without all the great recommendations that have been shared with me all year long.
So, here we are with my ever-growing annual album list. Twenty five of them are singled out at the end as the best of the best – especially masterful, poignant, mindmelting pieces of music that affected me more deeply than anything else I heard this year. Every album below is listed with its full title, record label, cover art, and a link to listen and buy.
As always, I know that I missed loads of incredible music. I’m just one guy with only so much time on my hands, so please share your own recommendations in the comments or on twitter @funkentechno or bluesky. I’ll never catch up, but it’s always fun to try. Here we go, in the order I heard them, plus my best of the best TOP 25 at the end:
• • •
Friends Meeting – some fantastic proportion
self released
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
DOVS – Psychic Geography
Balmat
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Voice Actor – Lust 1
STROOM.tv
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Oklou – choke enough
True Panther
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Eddie Chacon – Lay Low
Stones Throw
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Michael J Blood – Spaces In Between
Blood
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Rod Modell – Northern Michigan Snowstorms
Silentes
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Memory Pearl – Cosmic-Astral
Boiled Records
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Ichiko Aoba – Luminescent Creatures
Psychic Hotline
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
M. Geddes Gengras – QUIK-MELT
self released
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Whatever The Weather – Whatever the Weather II
Ghostly International
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
more eaze & claire rousay – no floor
Thrill Jockey
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Lucy Liyou – Every Video Without Your Face, Every Sound Without Your Name
Orange Milk
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
DJ Elmoe – Battle Zone
Planet Mu
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Purelink – Faith
Peak Oil
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Dustin Wong – Gloria
Hausu Mountain
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson, Sam Wilkes – Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes
International Anthem
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Khotin – Peace Portal
Khotin Industries
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Maria Somerville – Luster
4AD
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Nazar – Demilitarize
Hyperdub
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Andrea – Living Room
Ilian Tape
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
William Tyler – Time Indefinite
Psychic Hotline
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Kara-Lis Coverdale – From Where You Came
Smalltown Supersound
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Surgeon – Shell~Wave
Tresor
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force – Khadim
self released
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
Optimistic Underground 
I’m always just SO shocked at how aligned we are musically! YES, YES, YES to this fantastic list! I’ll be revisiting this often — and happy to share some news ones. As I’m largely OFF social media, this is the best place for me. Thank you!
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very happy to read this, thank you
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