Best of 2025

Here is my favorite albums of 2025. This was a tough list to write but I eventually put together a list of my favorite 2025 albums I could publish on my blog. This year I chose 40 of my favorite albums. There were some albums I could not excludes from the list and give them an honorary mention. That is the thought process I went through to making that decision of doing a top 40. I may or may not write a list of albums I could not include on this list. 

2025  has been a fantastic year in music. This year has been particularly good for the metal scene in Japan. Just to name a few bands, Ghost Cries,  Serenity in Murder, Onmyo-Za, Schonberg, Liv Moon, Fathomless Skywalker, Alicetopia, Hagane, and Paradoxx all dropped new music this year. I think the only J metal release I was left feeling meh was Babymetal's album. I like the album but the music didn't make me want to listen to it as much as the new albums by Ghost Cries, Serenity in Murder, and Schonberg.

Metal in general had a great year in music. My favorite metal moment in 2025 is hearing the metal cover of Golden from Kpop Demon Hunters . Of all the metal/rock covers, this version is the absolute best, next to the original version. Kristin Starkey really nailed the high note that Ejae does in the song. Kudos to Marina La Torraca for getting out of her comfort zone with the high notes too. Congrats to Marina for becoming Battle Beast's new lead singer. She has big shoes to fill but I know she will do great and I am excited to hear what the band will sound like in this new phase of their career. I will certainly miss Noora with Battle Beast but I fully support her in her decision to focus on her solo career. Her last album with the band is great.

This year was also a great year for dreampop/shoegaze music. Sometime around October/November I decided to see if Korea had a shoegaze scene and they did. Confined White, Zanryupa, and Jane Coral are a few Korean shoegaze bands I discovered and fell in love with. I especially love Jane Coral's music. The debut album of the Miki Berenyi Trio Tripla got lot of play in my boombox. I even saw the band at the Turf Club in October. 

I didn't see a lot of concerts this year to be honest. I was going to go to the Babymetal show with Bloodywood and Jinjer but I lost my wallet, well that killed my mood and summer. I did see Visions of Atlantis at the Turf Club, Rolling Quartz at The Green Room, and Miki Berenyi Trio at The Turf Club . This year, I am seeing Bloodywood, VNV Nation, Joe Hisaishi with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Weird Al Yankovic. I am debating whether to see Clan of Xymox or not, I mainly want to see the Las Vegas post-punk band Past Self.

Anyhoo, here is my top 40 favorite albums I listened to in 2025.

01. Azam Ali - Synesthesia
02. Ghost Cries - Vrykolakas
03. Nite - Nite
04. Carrellee - Carrellee
05. Sally Dige - Holding the Sun
06. Eleine - We Stand United EP
07. The Rose - WRLD
08. Schonberg - Resurrection
09. Serenity in Murder - Timeless Reverie
10. Deathless Legacy - Damnatio Aeterna
11. Erika de Casier - Lifetime
12. Jane Coral - Coral Forest
13. Zanryupa - Dream, dream, dream
14. Lacuna Coil - Sleepless Empire
15. Miki Berenyi Trio - Tripla
16. Teed - Always With Me
17. FIRST CONTACT - PEACEMILLION
18. Hagane - Top of the Power
19. Blush - Beauty Fades, Pain Lasts Forever

20. Darkling I Listen - From the Edge of Endless Black EP
21. Molly Nilsson - Amateur
22. Vioflesh - Nostalgia
23. Rumkicks - Hit a Nerve
24. She's Green - Chrysalis
25. Polica - Dreams Go
26. Brandi Carlile - Returning to Myself
27. Florence + The Machine - Everybody Scream
28. Liv Moon - The Land of Spirits
29. Onmyo-Za - Yasumi Gozen
30. VNV Nation - Construct
31. Battle Beast - Steelbound
32. Cosmicdust - Melancholy
33. Hatchie - Liquorice
34. Damaris Bojor - Folkpirana
35. Angie K. - Angie K.
36. Sasami - Blood on the Silver Screen
37. Lady Gaga - Mayhem
38. Margo Price - Hard Headed Woman
39. Ancient Bards - Artifex
40. Paradoxx - Iris Iris