Best Albums of 2025

It's me, your favorite loser/weirdo who hates himself but also has an ego so large it could only be calmed by falling in love with his superego. I moonlight as the forefront of music criticism. I listened to seventy two albums, finishing 69 of them, and here's the best. 

Ten: Blackbriar - 1000 Little Deaths. Melancholic symphonic metal sung by women who want to sing opera is good. 
Best song(s): Bluebeard's Chamber

Nine; Ghost - Skelatá. The only pope I recognize. FTB!
Best song(s): Peacefield, Satanized, Lachryma

Eight; Sleep Token - Even in Arcadia. I joined another cult. 
Best song(s): Even in Arcadia, Emergence, Caramel

Seven: Larkin Poe - Bloom. Blues based rock is also fun. 
Best song(s): Nowhere Fast

Six: Avatar - Don't Go In The Forest. Avatar just kinda does stuff, and it's usually really good. 
Beat song(s): Captain Goat, Don't Go In The Forest

Five: The Lathums - Matter Does Not Define. 
English rock is a strange thing. It usually sucks, but when a band masters the region specific differences from the Reds, Whites, and Blues rock, it creates something that works on so many levels. I don't know those differences, nor the levels, but since The Lathums are in my top ten, again, these fellas certainly do. 
Best song(s): Long Shadows, Stellar Cast*, Until Our Bitter End*

Four: Rivers of Nihil - Rivers of Nihil. 
Rivers of Nihil has been on my radar for a few years. I've liked their musicianship, but found their growls a bit too much. So they got a new singer and started using clean vocals a lot more. The changes worked, and we got this mesmerizing gift that takes us to dreamy hellscapes. This is what I'd like to do if I ever tried my hand at being a musician again. 
Best song(s): Water & Time, House of Light

Three: Dax Riggs - Seven Song for Spiders. 
My favorite musician released an album for the first time since 2010. It's too short, but the quality is here. Heavily distorted blues riffs about incomprehensible stories work perfectly in this mid apocalyptic world. It makes me want to drive into a swamp and just experience the vibes. And probably mosquitoes...
Best song(s): Even the Stars Fall

Two: Machine Head - Unatøned. 
There are very few bands I listened to in high school that I'm still infatuated with. Machine Head is one of them. MfH hasn't lost a beat since 1994. And when they did, they found it again. I know it's cool to hate on Machine Head, but they're the best groove metal act, and they're another band I'd like my hypothetical band to sound like. Sadly, I lack the needed riffage or melodic chops to hang. Song writing, growls, vocals, vision... I know it's a Machine Head by numbers, but I don't care. 
Best song(s): These Scars Won't Define Us, Bønescraper, Bleeding Me Dry

One: Marko Hietala - Roses of the Deep. 
Fresh off a journey of self discovery, the Voice of Finland returned with a masterful solo album. Filled with examples of the second greatest voice I've ever heard, belting out rock anthems, ballads, blues rock, and a duet with an old friend, I keep coming back to RotD. Marko's voice is just so perfect. And the range!!! Roses From The Deep has more bangers than any other album at five.

Best song(s): Frankenstein's Wife, Left on Mars, Inpatient Zero, Roses of the Deep

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Banger of the Year: 
5: Even In Arcadia - Sleep Token
4: The Flood - Ben Caplin
3: House of Light - Rivers of Nihil
2: Water & Time - Rivers of Nihil
1: Long Shadows - The Lathums

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Awards:
YouTube Al Gore Rhythm, for the best album YouTube blessed me with. 
Mark Morton - Without the Pain

Facebook Ads work award, for proof that capitalism is successful. 
Korypheus - Gilgamesh

The worst produced album that isn't black metal, for the purpose of shaming the incompetent. 
Rise Against - Ricochet

Lucy's Banger of the Year, for the purpose of showcasing happy songs that are still, somehow, good.
Lovin' You - Richard Ashcroft