Year-End Lists

Brad Luen: 45 Favorite Albums of My 2025, as posted to his newsletter, Semipop Life

[see also 2024]

1. Buya Buya: Come Back
   Mahotella Queens
2. Los Thuthanaka
   Los Thuthanaka
3. The Even More Freewheelin' Jeffrey Lewis
   Jeffrey Lewis
4. Snipe Hunter
   Tyler Childers
5. Diblo Dibala Special
   Champeta w/ Edna Martinez
6. 1985: The Miracle Year
   Hüsker Dü
7. The Ancients
   Isaiah Collier, William Hooker, William Parker
8. Maria Esmeralda
   Thalin, Cravinhos, VCR Slim, Pirlo & iloveyoulangelo
9. 031 Studio Camp 2.0
   Dlala Thukzin
10. One Hour Mama: The Blues of Victoria Spivey
    Maria Muldaur
11. Euro-Country
    CMAT
12. The Most Wanted
    JAZZWRLD & Thukuthela
13. Stardust
    Danny Brown
14. Giant Beauty
    [Ahmed]
15. About Ghosts
    Mary Halvorson
16. Edna Martinez Presents Picó: Sound System Culture from the Colombian Caribbean
    various artists
17. Bleeds
    Wednesday
18. Resort
    Skee Mask
19. The Music of Anthony Braxton
    Steve Lehman
20. If Your Mirror Breaks
    The Ex
21. Fancy That
    PinkPantheress
22. Squirrels
    Jubal Lee Young
23. MAGNÜN deluxe
    Lella Fadda
24. Hard Headed Woman
    Margo Price
25. Only Dust Remains
    Backxwash
26. Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025
    Public Enemy
27. OUI, LSF
    Les Savy Fav
28. The Kasambwe Brothers
    The Kasambwe Brothers
29. Always Been
    Craig Finn
30. Dieuf-Dieul de Thiès
    Dieuf-Dieul de Thiès
31. #gigi
    skaiwater
32. Vanguardia Subterránea: Live at The Village Vanguard
    Miguel Zenón Quartet
33. Under Tangled Silence
    Djrum
34. Rowing up River to Get Our Names Back
    Anthony Joseph
35. Connie Live
    Low Cut Connie
36. The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
    James McMurtry
37. Phonetics On and On
    Horsegirl
38. The BPM
    Sudan Archives
39. Rave Immortal
    ALT BLK ERA
40. Bunna Summa (Ice Cream Summer Deluxe)
    BunnaB
41. Radio Libertadora !
    DJ K
42. Live in Philadelphia
    Marshall Allen's Ghost Horizons
43. Being Poor is Expensive
    Bashy
44. O Mundo Dá Voltas
    BaianaSystem
45. The Kurt Weill Album
    Joana Mallwitz / Konzerthausorchester Berlin