The Top 40 Albums of 2025
2025 will go down as a particularly fine year for melodic rock. Alright, maybe it won’t rival 1979 or even 1990, but in my book it was the best of the 2020’s so far. Hopefully this means even more heights will be reached in 2026. We live in hope.
#1 The Mayflies USA - Kickless Kids (Yep Roc)
#2 Splitsville - Mobtown (Big Stir)
#3 Sloan - Based on the Best Seller (Yep Roc)
#4 The Webstirs - High in the Trees (Presmark)
#5 Bur - Snowy Chloe (Kool Kat)
#6 King Husky - s/t (Hype City)
#7 Lolas - Big Hits and Freak Disasters (Kool Kat)
#8 Dennis Davison - Sirens and Hellbenders (Pretty Plague)
#9 The Jellybricks - Dreaming in Stereo (Wicked Cool)
#10 The High Frequencies - s/t (Jem)
#11 The Wellingtons - Baby Moon (Popboomerang/Kool Kat)
#12 Yours and Mine - The Shadow You Cast (Kool Kat)
#13 Bird Streets - The Escape Artist (Plastic Dreams)
#14 Dropkick - Primary Colours (Sound Asleep)
#15 The Vapors - Wasp in a Jar (Red Chuck)
#16 The Gold Needles - Mood Elevator (Big Stir)
#17 Joe Giddings - Stories with Guitars (Kool Kat)
#18 The Dynamo Hymn - s/t (Kool Kat)
#19 Star Collector - Everything Must Go (Clockwise)
#20 The Valery Trails - Winter Palace (Self Released)
#21 The Lucky Shots - Clearly Opaque (Kool Kat)
#22 Trevor Blendour - Breaking Up with… (Self Released)
#23 Tetsuians - Ego in Echo (Self Released)
#24 The Glad Machine - All the Pretty Things (Kool Kat)
#25 The Lonely Bulls - s/t (Kool Kat)
#26 Greg Pope - The Roar of Silence (Octoberville)
#27 Bob Mould - Here We Go Crazy (BMG)
#28 Future Clouds & Radar - Big Weather (Self Released)
#29 I Was a King - Until the End (Hype City)
#30 Webb Wilder - Hillbilly Speedball (Landslide)
#31 The Greek Theater - A Deeper Scar (Kool Kat)
#32 Jeanines - How Long Can it Last (Slumberland)
#33 Dom Mariani - Apple of Life (Alive Naturalsound)
#34 Oberon Rose - The Sun Stood Still (ThouART)
#35 Wiretree - Back on Track (Self Released)
#36 Icecream Hands - Giant Fox Pineapple Tree (Self Released)
#37 The Len Price 3 - Misty Medway Magick (Wicked Cool)
#38 Go Time! - X (Kool Kat)
#39 Welcome Strawberry - Desperate Flower (Cherub Dream)
#40 20/20 - Back to California (Spyderpop)
Do yourself a favor and seek out these sounds and support these artists!
