We’ve hit the point where, as bittersweet as it is, we’re wrapping up our countdown of best albums of 2025. Here’s what to expect: five records that you cannot miss if you’re a fan of quality music. So, let’s get started reviewing this year’s releases that really captured my ears!

#5: Lambrini Girls – Who Let The Dogs Out

I posted online at the end of 2024 that a band I felt was on the precipice of a huge breakout was Lambrini Girls. With a debut record on the way at the start of 2025, I felt confident they’d immediately take off. I was still surprised over the course of this year at just how huge they got. At a time when punk rock seems to be resonating with the anger and frustration so many feel today, Lambrini Girls are the right band at the right time. From outcrying the harms of patriarchy to the need for an energy that bites back at the harmful powers set to run every aspect of our lives, this is a wild debut.

When we think about the future of punk music, we know it will always ebb and flow with the day’s influences. Still, Lambrini Girls feel like today’s answer to punk’s continued question of authority and power imbalances. I’m sure that another year of top-billed touring and global shows will see their stock continue to rise. I’m not even eager to say I told you so to my friends; I just want this band to get the flowers they deserve.

#4: Beach Bunny – Tunnel Vision

I’ve been waiting for a Beach Bunny record that feels like songwriter Lili Trifilio knows how damn good she is, and we finally got it. In their most self-assured release to date, Tunnel Vision doesn’t look to deviate from the pop punk stylings Beach Bunny perfected years ago, but rather, ages alongside its members into the most well-rounded project of the group’s life.

I think some people want Beach Bunny to stretch what they do into a new type of sound, but the maturity in the songwriting, as well as the ability to confront both worldly and interpersonal existential threats head-on, shows the growth you want from a band like this. Trifilio continues to show the development you want from an early-career songwriter, and I feel like the sky is the limit for this group, given her clear talent and ear for a great hook.

#3: Sharon Van Etten – Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory

My biggest surprise of the year was the latest from artist Sharon Van Etten. She’s a well-known name in the indie scene, but this project with a new band stands out immediately for fans of 80s synth rock or post-punk. This record could have been released in 1987 and been right alongside the works of Depeche Mode as genre-defining.

The bass work on this record, alongside the always stellar vocals of Sharon Van Etten, continues to lead me to spin this record over and over. I’m astonished more folks didn’t hop on this one past its initial release period. There’s a lot of depth in the songwriting, but the instrumentals alone are worthy of repeat listens. Hopefully, this one has legs and continues to catch folks’ attention as the year runs its course.

#2: Wednesday – Bleeds

Wednesday was a band I thought was heading for greatness after the release of their last project, Rat Saw God. On Bleeds, we get a more straightforward delivery of what makes the group special, led by frontperson Karly Hartzman. The group is twang and hardcore on a pendulum, and there’s so much here to enjoy for some music circles. On “Townies” or “Phish Pepsi,” there are lines that feel like you could have read them in a text from a friend. As a fan of the everyday happenings in a normal life, Hartzman depicts these otherwise unremarkable moments as monumental.

The secret sauce for Wednesday is two-fold. Slide player Xandy Chelmis and drummer Alan Miller are massively underrated parts of this band. Without these two, Hartzman and guitarist MJ Lenderman, along with bassist Ethan Baechtold, would likely be great. But Miller and Chelmis make them excellent, immediately defining a sound no other band in indie rock has today. I imagine we’ll hear a lot more from this group in the future as they’ve continued to climb the scene’s steps toward being the next great American band.

#1: Samia – Bloodless

On a track-for-track basis, Samia’s Bloodless is the best album of 2025. There’s not a weak spot on this record, and as it progresses, it gains steam, launching toward a six-minute conclusion that feels cyclical and could easily drive back to track one. Samia was due for a breakout in a big way, averaging just 200,000 listeners on Spotify before the likes of SZA shared her performance of “Pool” from NPR Tiny Desk on social media. While it’s a track from her debut record, it helped get more eyes on her work, which was much overdue.

“Bovine Excision” was a terrific lead single for the record, but “Dare” might be my favorite Samia song to date. Her voice is clearly strong, and her tone is unique enough to avoid comparisons. But her lyricism, and the non-linear, indirect way she talks about the most natural feelings and urges feels otherworldly. If 2025 was her big arrival, what comes next is limitless. There are a lot of new listeners working through her three nearly flawless records, and the future is as bright as ever for the most underrated name in indie pop. What are your thoughts on our top 5 albums of the year? Let us know in the comments, and thanks for reading along for another year of music reflection!

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