David’s Favorite Albums of 2025
- David Feigelson
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
Archiving music as an ordered list is simple. It's also impossible. Ranking art feels unnatural, but organizing memories is one of the best ways to navigate the sea of time, and listening back through my favorite releases always brings me out of and back into myself, reminding me where I am. Music is magic. Every year, more records wind their way into my consciousness, and sharing a list is like giving a tour through my brain—stops involve dancing, crying, laughing and longing, each with a distinct flavor and reason for inclusion. Some music this year felt like some of the best music ever. I probably say that every year.
Honorable Mentions
The BPM by Sudan Archives: Bold, thrilling, unpredictable pop.
black british music by Jim Legxacy: Vibrant and earnest UK hip hop.
45 Pounds by YHWH Nailgun: Crazy experiments, a band to watch.
Sounds Like... by Florry: Indie twang, oozing with flavor.
Vendrán Suaves Lluvias by Silvana Estrada: Radiant Mexican chamber folk.
THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED by The Armed: Noisy and cathartic shots of adrenaline.
I Love My Computer by Ninajirachi: Dancing like when I got my first iPod.
Evangelic Girl is a Gun by yeule: Grab bag of glitchy 90 infused bops.
Luminescent Creatures by Ichiko Aoba: Subaquatic lullabies.
wishful thinking by Duval Timothy: Relaxing ambient noodles; left turn patchwork.
Cowards by Squid: Towering, progressive, oddball post punk.
TOP 25
25: Fancy That by PinkPantheress
A fun sized collection of dance floor bangers you can keep in your pocket. Infectious grooves and masterful sequencing from an artist who's both fully in her bag and irresistibly fresh.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
24: Live Laugh Love by Earl Sweatshirt
A life affirming message in a bottle from an often enigmatic lyricist. Its levity shines through effortless confidence; relaxed meditations on finding inner peace.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
23: It's a Beautiful Place by Water From Your Eyes
Hypnotic indie tunes that flirt with the familiar while shapeshifting through jagged grooves and psychedelic hallways. Mildly disorienting and surprisingly danceable, it's as easy to get lost in as it is to forget where you came from.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
22: goodbye, world! by miffle
A window into a frozen world. Distorted tape loops emulate the bittersweet erosion of memories, aching with nostalgia, hibernating in the recesses of the mind. A good winter companion.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
21: Sinister Grift by Panda Bear
A basket of subtly surreal psychedelic pop that obscures darkness behind sun drenched production. Sugary harmonies and relaxed tempos propel songs that feel as though they've been long forgotten but lingered on the tip of your tongue.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
20: Unmusique by Lucy Bedroque
Brimming with exhilarating controlled chaos and overflowing with personality. Infectious vocal performances weave through crystalline synths atop bit-crushed beats, breathing color into abrasive yet varied production. An undeniable mixtape from an artist whose best is yet to come.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
19: The Passionate Ones by Nourished by Time
A record cloaked in contradiction. DIY R&B that's punchy and smooth, still rough around the edges. Casual yet cryptic lyrics call attention to untold angles of familiar stories. It's sleep deprived and wide awake.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
18: Choke Enough by Oklou
A serene adventure through negative space, like quietly floating around in a bubble. Soft synths cushion sweet melodies, disguising intricacy with simplicity and beckoning from a place where curiosity never dies.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
17: LUX by ROSALÍA
A tour de force of contemporary classical songwriting. Towering yet restrained vocal performances unravel an age old tension—Heaven and Earth, sex and purity, the divine and the tangible. Absolutely spellbinding.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
16: Pirouette by Model/Actriz
A barrage of jagged stilettos and smeared lipstick, filtering queer angst through industrial techno infused dance punk. Sharp edges and foreboding noise are mixed to perfection, leaving room for reflection and grace between shots of adrenaline.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
15: 2. Blue Lucent Reverie by Mydreamfever
Music that sparkles in vivid color but is so light it could float off without leaving a trace. It's a softer effort from a prolific master of digital soundscapes, a world where crescendos embrace more than they engulf. Pure ambient glitch pop electronic bliss.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
14: EUSEXUA (& Afterglow) by FKA twigs
Two and a half records in one universe with a spotlight on the afterglow. An intimate yet alien, synthetic yet ethereal embodiment of erotic tension. Sex appeal in the age of the internet.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
13: Vanisher, Horizon Scraper by Quadeca
An expansive voyage through the open seas, defying genre and beckoning adventure. Stunning production decorates the world of a sailor caught against the forces of nature, emerging stronger for his trials.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
12: Glory by Perfume Genius
Bold and tender, swaying through flourishes of optimism and fear, sometimes restrained and often overflowing. Seasoned elegance, deep curiosity and eternal yearning.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
11: Balloonerism by Mac Miller
A posthumous album treated with immense care for Mac's legacy. It's infused with nostalgia in every corner, from lyrics to atmosphere to literal childhood samples. Like staring at your younger self in a funhouse mirror.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
10: DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS by Bad Bunny
A jubilant celebration of Puerto Rican culture, fusing traditional musical styles with contemporary sensibilities to simultaneously pay homage, share the love and reinvent the wheel. It's bustling and endlessly danceable, laid back and the undeniable life of the party.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
9: I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away by Hayden Pedigo
A short collection of fingerpicked guitar arrangements so sublime I often leave them feeling like I've awoken from a dream. Webs of Americana ruminations, echoes of Little House on the Prairie, reflections on the passing of time.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
8: come back down by Total Wife
Music that swirls around digital distortion and shapeshifts through walls of resampled guitars, leaving a hazy impression of melody in its wake. An escape back in time into the future, tranquility in a chaotic sea.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
7: Getting Killed by Geese
Reflections of a world teetering on the edge, ready to explode but embracing the unpredictable ride. Mythopoetic musings gesture beyond their vagueness and illuminate tales of love and fear, heartfelt and half real.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
6: Los Thuthanaka by Los Thuthanaka
A collage of indigenous dance and untamed noise capable of freezing time and distorting the distinction between past, present and future. Truly unlike anything else.
Listen: Bandcamp
5: Live at Revolution Hall by Adrianne Lenker
An audience forward, mixed fidelity live album, cutting between fuzzy and distant snippets to close recordings and offering an intimate concert experience in your living room. Timeless songs about love refracted through the ears of many listeners.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
4: Revengeseekerz by Jane Remover
A masterwork of sample upcycling, spinning a frenzied dance party into a final boss battle. Ear splitting and irresistible anthems from a producer who knows no ceiling.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
3: Heavy Metal by Cameron Winter
A generational debut from a songwriter whose unexpected turns of phrase provoke the inevitable. Casually tapping a near biblical well of profound ambiguity while remaining unflinchingly sincere.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
2: caroline 2 by caroline
A record that preserves restrained meditations behinds rounds and polyrhythms, using subtle vocal manipulation and digital warping to contort a lush orchestral underbed. Revolutionary in production and form, cathartic and breathtaking, body and mind in motion.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
1: Baby by Dijon
An overwhelming expression of love and desire, unashamed in its boldness and meticulous in its execution. A work of collaborative genius that reimagines what music can do.
Listen: Apple Music | Spotify
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