A Sunnyvale 2025
My top 100 releases for this year in music
Here’s my top 100 releases (all non-single formats bunched together) from this year, loosely ranked. Slightly weaker year in my book, but lots of great music to be found. Here we go!
#100: Rhun - Burial Pact
Release Date: Mar 14th
Genre: Black Metal/Ambient
#99: Maruja - Tir na nOg
Release Date: Feb 21st
Genre: Post-Rock
#98: The Chameleons - Arctic Moon
Release Date: Sep 11th
Genre: Post-Punk/Gothic
#97: Home Is Where - Hunting Season
Release Date: May 23rd
Genre: Emo/Alt-Country/Punk
#96: Windswept - The Devil’s Vertep
Release Date: Dec 12th
Genre: Black Metal
#95: Acopia - Blush Response
Release Date: Sep 12th
Genre: Dream Pop/Indie Rock
#94: Hammock - Nevertheless
Release Date: Jul 11th
Genre: Ambient/Post-Rock
#93: Divorce - Drive to Goldenhammer
Release Date: Mar 7th
Genre: Indie Rock
#92: Jonathan Hulten - Eyes of the Living Night
Release Date: Jan 31st
Genre: Psychedelic/Rock
#91: Teardrinker - Killing the Flowers Will Not Delay Spring
Release Date: Apr 14th
Genre: Screamo/Post-Hardcore
#90: The Exit Bags - A Fear of Open Water
Release Date: Aug 8th
Genre: Folk/Slowcore/Ambient
#89: Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band - New Threats from the Soul
Release Date: Jul 25th
Genre: Alt-Country/Americana/Rock
#88: Phoebe Rings - Aseurai
Release Date: Jun 6th
Genre: Dream Pop/Indie Pop
#87: The Stargazer Lilies - Love Pedals
Release Date: Aug 22nd
Genre: Shoegaze/Psychedelic/Noise Pop
#86: Bruce Springsteen - Tracks II: The Lost Albums
Release Date: Jun 27th
Genre: Heartland Rock
#85: Beirut - A Study of Losses
Release Date: Apr 18th
Genre: Indie Folk/Chamber Pop
#84: Lily Seabird - Trash Mountain
Release Date: Apr 4th
Genre: Indie Folk/Alt-Country
#83: Athletics - What Makes You Think This is How it All Ends?
Release Date: May 30th
Genre: Emo/Post-Rock
#82: Surgeon - Shell-Wave
Release Date: May 2nd
Genre: Techno/Birmingham Sound
#81: Alfa Mist - Roulette
Release Date: Oct 3rd
Genre: Jazz
#80: Dutch Interior - Moneyball
Release Date: Mar 21st
Genre: Indie Rock/Alt-Country
#79: Indigo De Souza - Precipice
Release Date: Jul 25th
Genre: Indie Pop
#78: Trha - lact’eben
Release Date: Jun 30th
Genre: Black Metal
#77: Ruston Kelly - Pale, Through the Window
Release Date: Sep 12th
Genre: Americana/Country/Folk
#76: Vanishing Earth - The Boundless
Release Date: Jun 17th
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal/Folk
#75: Grandbrothers - Elsewhere
Release Date: Sep 26th
Genre: Post-Minimalism/Ambient
#74: Just Mustard - We Were Just Here
Release Date: Oct 24th
Genre: Shoegaze/Post-Punk/Alternative
#73: Snowpoet - Heartstrings
Release Date: May 23rd
Genre: Jazz/Folk/Indie
#72: Vulture Feather - It Will Be Like Now
Release Date: Feb 14th
Genre: Post-Punk/Emo/Alternative
#71: Ken Pomeroy - Cruel Joke
Release Date: May 16th
Genre: Folk/Americana
#70: Elder - Liminality / Dream State Return
Release Date: Sep 2nd
Genre: Stoner Metal/Heavy Psych
#69: Sanam - Sametou Sawtan
Release Date: Sep 19th
Genre: Post-Rock
#68: Emily Yacina - Veilfall
Release Date: Sep 26th
Genre: Indie Folk/Rock
#67: StoneBirds - Perpetual Wasteland
Release Date: Oct 10th
Genre: Sludge Metal/Heavy Psych
#66: Port Ross - Nighttime at Gardner Hall
Release Date: Dec 5th
Genre: Indie Folk
#65: James McMurtry - The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
Release Date: Jun 20th
Genre: Americana/Alt-Country/Folk
#64: Laura Stevenson - Late Great
Release Date: Jun 27th
Genre: Indie Folk/Alternative
#63: Matt Berninger - Get Sunk
Release Date: May 30th
Genre: Chamber Pop/Indie Rock
#62: Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures
Release Date: Feb 28th
Genre: Ambient/Folk/Dream Pop
#61: Havukruunu - Tavastland
Release Date: Feb 28th
Genre: Black Metal/Heavy Metal
#60: Arm’s Length - There’s a Whole World Out There
Release Date: May 16th
Genre: Pop-Punk/Emo
#59: The Lions Constellation - New Moon Rising
Release Date: Nov 21st
Genre: Shoegaze/Alternative
#58: Pelican - Flickering Resonance
Release Date: May 16th
Genre: Post-Metal
#57: MF Tomlinson - Die to Wake Up From a Dream
Release Date: Jul 11th
Genre: Alt-Country/Chamber Pop/Psychedelic
#56: Craig Finn - Always Been
Release Date: Apr 4th
Genre: Heartland Rock/Folk
#55: Ada Lea - When I Paint My Masterpiece
Release Date: Aug 8th
Genre: Indie Folk
#54: Raein - Forme Sommerse
Release Date: Oct 24th
Genre: Screamo/Post-Hardcore
#53: Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles - Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles
Release Date: May 30th
Genre: Indie Folk/Bluegrass
#52: Obscure Sphinx - Emovere
Release Date: Jan 6th
Genre: Post-Metal/Sludge Metal
#51: Amble - Reverie
Release Date: May 23rd
Genre: Celtic Folk/Pop
#50: Turnpike Troubadours - The Price of Admission
Release Date: Apr 11th
Genre: Country/Americana/Folk
#49: Faetooth - Labyrinthine
Release Date: Sep 5th
Genre: Doomgaze
#48: Weft - The Splintered Oar
Release Date: Dec 19th
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal/Prog Metal/Folk
#47: Hotline TNT - Raspberry Moon
Release Date: Jun 20th
Genre: Shoegaze/Alternative
#46: Saya Gray - SAYA
Release Date: Feb 21st
Genre: Indie Folk/Art Pop
#45: Djrum - Under Tangled Silence
Release Date: Apr 25th
Genre: IDM
#44: Voices From the Lake - II
Release Date: Dec 5th
Genre: Ambient Techno
#43: Skullcrusher - And Your Song is Like a Circle
Release Date: Oct 17th
Genre: Indie Folk/Ambient
#42: Paradise Lost - Ascension
Release Date: Sep 19th
Genre: Doom Metal/Gothic Metal
#41: Modern Nature - The Heat Warps
Release Date: Aug 29th
Genre: Indie Pop/Rock
#40: Tobacco City - Horses
Release Date: Mar 7th
Genre: Alt-Country/Americana
#39: Samia - Bloodless
Release Date: Apr 25th
Genre: Pop/Indie Rock/Folk
#38: Floodlights - Underneath
Release Date: Mar 21st
Genre: Indie Rock/Alternative/Post-Punk
#37: Insecure Men - A Man for All Seasons
Release Date: Nov 7th
Genre: Indie Pop/Psychedelic/Alt-Country
#36: The Antlers - Blight
Release Date: Oct 10th
Genre: Indie Rock/Art Pop
#35: Veilburner - Longing for Triumph, Reeking of Tragedy
Release Date: Nov 14th
Genre: Black Metal/Death Metal
#34: Joshua Burnside - Teeth of Time
Release Date: Feb 28th
Genre: Folk/Alternative
#33: Drudkh - Shadow Play
Release Date: Mar 21st
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
#32: Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You
Release Date: Aug 8th
Genre: Slowcore/Folk/Ambient
#31: Joan Shelley - Real Warmth
Release Date: Sep 19th
Genre: Indie Folk/Americana
#30: Friendship - Caveman Wakes Up
Release Date: May 16th
Genre: Americana/Alt-Country/Indie Rock
#29: Teethe - Magic of the Sale
Release Date: Aug 8th
Genre: Slowcore/Indie Rock
#28: Of Monsters and Men - All is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade
Release Date: Oct 17th
Genre: Indie Folk/Pop
#27: Unreqvited - A Pathway to the Moon
Release Date: Feb 7th
Genre: Blackgaze/Post-Rock/Ambient
#26: Flock of Dimes - The Life You Save
Release Date: Oct 10th
Genre: Indie Folk/Dream Pop
#25: The Ophelias - Spring Grove
Release Date: Apr 4th
Genre: Indie Rock/Folk
#24: Big Thief - Double Infinity
Release Date: Sep 5th
Genre: Indie Rock/Folk/Alt-Country
#23: Red River Dialect - Basic Country Mustard
Release Date: Nov 14th
Genre: Folk/Psychedelic
#22: Press Club - To All the Ones That I Love
Release Date: May 2nd
Genre: Indie Rock/Power Pop/Punk
#21: Great Grandpa - Patience, Moonbeam
Release Date: Mar 28th
Genre: Indie Rock/Folk
#20: Jason Isbell - Foxes in the Snow
Release Date: Mar 7th
Genre: Country/Folk/Americana
#19: Deafheaven - Lonely People with Power
Release Date: Mar 28th
Genre: Blackgaze
#18: Kauan - Wayhome
Release Date: Nov 7th
Genre: Post-Rock/Folk/Doom Metal
#17: Marissa Nadler - New Radiations
Release Date: Aug 15th
Genre: Folk/Gothic/Americana
#16: Motorpsycho - Motorpsycho
Release Date: Feb 21st
Genre: Psychedelic/Hard Rock/Prog Rock
#15: Der Weg einer Freiheit - Innern
Release Date: Sep 12th
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
#14: life - demo eleven
Release Date: Sep 4th
Genre: Screamo/Midwest Emo/Metalcore
#13: Chris Eckman - The Land We Knew the Best
Release Date: Jan 24th
Genre: Country/Americana
#12: Messa - The Spin
Release Date: Apr 11th
Genre: Doom Metal/Heavy Psych
#11: Pile - Sunshine and Balance Beams
Release Date: Aug 15th
Genre: Indie Rock/Post-Hardcore/Noise Rock
#10: Geese - Getting Killed
Release Date: Sep 26th
Genre: Indie Rock/Art Punk
#9: Wednesday - Bleeds
Release Date: Sep 19th
Genre: Alt-Country/Shoegaze/Indie Rock
#8: Saintseneca - Highwalllow & Supermoon Songs
Release Date: Oct 31st
Genre: Indie Folk/Americana
#7: Boneflower - Reveries
Release Date: Jul 25th
Genre: Screamo/Post-Hardcore/Post-Rock
#6: oldstar - Of the Highway
Release Date: Mar 7th
Genre: Alt-Country/Americana/Slacker Rock
#5: Adrianne Lenker - Live at Revolution Hall
Release Date: Apr 24th
Genre: Indie Folk
#4: Rapt - Until the Light Takes Us
Release Date: Feb 21st
Genre: Indie Folk/Slowcore
#3: Watchhouse - Rituals
Release Date: May 30th
Genre: Bluegrass/Americana/Indie Folk
#2: Moving Mountains - Pruning of the Lower Limbs
Release Date: Jun 27th
Genre: Emo/Post-Rock/Indie Rock
#1: Fust - Big Ugly
Release Date: Mar 7th
Genre: Americana/Alt-Country/Indie Rock
DROPPIN HUNNIDS ON EM
Also thank you for introducing me to Rapt, was my #4 release of the year as well!
Awesome post, so glad to see it up in full! May have to appropriate this format for a similar list dropping soon. 82 and 81 were a nice surprise (didn't know either was on your radar), as was seeing Marissa Nadler and Messa so high
Also glad to see I'm not the only one who struggled to find a high res image for the new Ethel Cain (they're out there, but SEO has not been kind to them for some reason :/)