2025 - Year in Review, Music

Alli Grant Est. 5 minutes (975 words)
year in review music 2025
My standard year in review for what music I listened to! 2025 Edition

I mostly had scrobbling working again this year! Mostly. It wasn’t perfect (like me actually remembering to upload this on the date I wrote it, cough cough), and my kids’ music tastes dramatically shifted what shows up here thanks to car listening (guess why there’s so many musicals on my list!), but yeah, I like having music stats again. I’ve been trying to make sure that I don’t get set into only listening to things from when I was a teenager, and according to ListenBrainz at least, the majority of what I went through this year was less than five years old.

That’s pretty cool! I’m a fan of that.

There were some great new albums and singles this year from the bands I’ve been following for a while, though! Like, I did not expect that The Protomen’s Act 3 would finally drop in the same year as Silksong – maybe they had just been holding out for it? Voxtrot has a new album coming out shortly, every single on it is incredible. Florence’s new album came out at about the same time as Pacifica’s new album, and I listened to both nonstop for ages. Florence really followed up Dance Fever in the best way–“The Old Religion” hits the same vibes that No Choir did for me, the sort of song that just rewrites itself into something I’ve always known. One of the Greats (and its associated video) took my breath away. Pacifica wasn’t slouching either, “Soltame!” and its English version “Just No Fun” are jams. “Corridor” and “Fixer Upper” also caught my attention, they’re just so much to listen to. Seeming’s newest also came together nicely, between “Grindshow” and “Tomorrow Place” and “Zebra Tramples Horse Trainer” – shame that “La Zona Phantasma” wasn’t on the album proper and just the EP they put out, but I have to include it as an honorable mention under the circumstances of, well, 2025 and 2026.

As far as new bands I started listening to, it’s almost too many to list. I found unpolished, Kid Sistr, Vienna Vienna, Em Beihold, Ella Red… They might not have topped my listening charts, but getting an injection of some fresh pop/rock was excellent. Reminds me a lot of having found GUNSHIP (practically a modern 80’s hair metal band) a bit ago – people making music “out of season” that still scratches some old itches that other people don’t seem to really be going for with how modern pop works. Vienna Vienna in particular – absolutely fantastic, can’t believe that’s a new artist and not something from the 90s.

I hit a lot more vocaloid music in general, not just with Jamie Paige and KAT, but they stick out in my mind the most. “Affection Addiction” played on loop in my head for like three weeks after I first heard it, it only didn’t get more actual listens because it wasn’t something to listen to around the kids. Most of those weren’t new releases, just new to me, and wow what another great category. I had listened to some of DOING IT AGAIN BABY! by girl in red, but not nearly enough of it. chloe moriondo’s Blood Bunny? Same boat, which is a huge shame! I think this was the first year I gave 100 gecs a real shot, and wow. glass beach hasn’t really hit me like that yet, but I guess there’s still time.

Concerts? I actually made it out to a few this year, first time in ages! Hozier for my birthday (thank you wife), and the set list almost felt like it was made for me in particular considering some of the less popular tracks he did. Then there was all the local punk music – The Seditionists, Trans Panic, Uncanny Valley Girls, girls in cages, Trigger, and so on. Damn, I missed local punk music. The Seditionists, in particular, if you have a chance to attend one of their shows…. Mr. Nobody’s crowdwork puts a lot of far more “Established” bands to shame, not to mention the fact that most of them don’t do rituals to close out a concert.

Anyway, here’s the stats from my scrobbling submitting listens.

Top Albums

  1. Hadestown Original Broadway Cast Recording
  2. A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out - Panic! at the Disco
  3. Blood Bunny - chloe moriondo
  4. 10,000 gecs - 100 gecs
  5. All Hell - Los Campesinos!
  6. Everybody Scream - Florence + the Machine
  7. In Your Face! - Pacifica
  8. Dance Fever - Florence + the Machine
  9. DOING IT AGAIN BABY! - girl in red
  10. Vices & Virtues - Panic! at the Disco

Top Tracks

  1. Dumbest Girl Alive - 100 gecs
  2. Miseria Cantare: The Beginning - AFI
  3. I Constantly Thank God for Esteban - Panic! at the Disco
  4. Affection Addiction - KAT x Aku P feat. POPY
  5. River - Bishop Briggs
  6. VILLAIN - K/DA
  7. TAKE ME - Casiopea
  8. Midnight Rendezvous - Casiopea
  9. I Eat Boys - chloe moriondo
  10. Grindshow - Seeming

Top Artists

  1. Florence + the Machine
  2. Panic! at the Disco
  3. Pacifica
  4. 100 gecs
  5. They Might Be Giants
  6. Los Campesinos!
  7. Hozier
  8. chloe moriondo
  9. Casiopea
  10. The Mountain Goats

Highlights

Top Discoveries

Defined as popular songs that I also listened to!

  1. Grindshow - Seeming
  2. DOING IT AGAIN BABY - girl in red
  3. The Old Religion - Florence + the Machine
  4. Idle Hands - Vienna Vienna
  5. Bodybag - chloe moriondo

Top Misses

Defined as the popular songs from people with similar music tastes that I … well, missed. It looks like I should really check out Elliot Lee, I guess.

  1. Disease - Lady Gaga
  2. Red Wine Supernova - Chappell Roan
  3. Sicko - Elliot Lee
  4. Weird - Elliot Lee
  5. … Well, Better Than the Alternative - Will Wood