The Best Music of 2025

2026 was a strong year for music from both veterans and newcomers. This is the list of my favorite albums that I heard this year.

Creeper – Sanguivore II: Mistress of Death

English band Creeper did what so few artists can accomplish: it bested the original. The first Sanguivore was my pick for album of the year back in 2023. That tale of two immortal monsters in love, carving a bloody path through the centuries was a love letter to Jim Steinman and his operatic style of rock. For the sequel, Creeper shifts forward to the 80’s and borrows from pop and glam to tell a new story steeped in the bombast and over-the-top spectacle of 80’s vampire movies. You need look no further than the triumphant “Blood Magick (It’s a Ritual)” for a shining example of Creeper’s genius. This is a band that wears its influences for all to see, yet still delivers something wholly unique. “Blood Magick “takes the chant chorus of “Heaven’s a Place on Earth”, mixes an 80’s hair metal lead guitar, layers on lyrics that play like a demented version of “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”, and wraps it in a song with a melody so anthemic you’ll be humming it for days. “Blood Magick” is just one great song on an album that is filled to bursting with great songs. While part of me hopes that Creeper hangs up their fangs and explores a new storyline for their next album, I’ll note there are no horror movie duologies, only unfinished trilogies.

Lady Gaga – Mayhem

Lady Gaga – Mayhem

Few albums in 2025 happily shocked me more than Mayhem. This dance-pop-rock masterpiece held a permanent spot in my rotation the whole year. Anchored with guitars that are straight out of 70’s disco grooves, Prince, and assorted funk, Mayhem built on everything Lady Gaga has done before and delivered, for me, her best album to date. Lady Gaga always sounds great, but the production on Mayhem is truly extraordinary. This is especially welcome because at its core, Mayhem is a rock album and you want to hear those lead guitars amidst the bass and dance music mix, and here you always do.

Ben Nichols – In The Heart of the Mountain

Ben Nichols – In The Heart of the Mountain

Ben Nichols is the lead singer and songwriter for alt-country Memphis band, Lucero. I featured the most recent Lucero album in the same end-of-year list as Creeper’s Sanguivore. I love Lucero, I saw the full band in 2024 and was lucky enough to see Ben debut this new album last summer. This show was one of the best I’ve seen in some time. Raw, heartfelt, very funny, just a tremendous live experience. In The Heart of the Mountain is a terrific album from start to finish. Like Ben’s other album in 2025, Lucero Unplugged by Ben Nichols and Lucero keyboardist Rick Stefs, the production on this album is perfect. You can hear every individual gorgeous note from lead guitarist Cory Branan, pedal steel guitarist Todd Beene, and Morgan Eve Swain on violin. While there is no drummer, the way the music is played is so percussive that you don’t really notice.

The Haunt – New Addiction

The Haunt – New Addiction

The Haunt siblings, Anastasia and Maxamillion Haunt, have previously released singles but New Addiction is their first full length. This album is the first full volley from a band that may be a dominant force in the coming years. Like so many Gen Z bands, The Haunt combines elements from rock, metal, hip-hop, and electronica. Lead singer Anastasia Haunt is vocally reminiscent of early career Gwen Steffani. Think No Doubt’s first album when they were still a punk band and you can get an idea of her delivery style. While in a similar genre as Royal & the Serpent and DeathbyRomy, The Haunt has a bit more radio polish that lends itself to mainstream success that has so far escaped both of those other acts. To that end I heard The Haunt often this year on my local rock station (yes, I am lucky enough to live in a market that still has a hard rock station in 2025!).

William Prince – Further From the Country

From the first notes of the lead off title track, “Further From the County”, its evident that Canadian singer-songwriter William Prince is forging a new path. An extensive note in the liner notes of the album reinforce this new direction and after listening to Further from the Country several times I’m here for it. The production on the album is more lush, the studio musicians that fill out the sound serve the music rather than overwhelm it. This is Prince’s strongest album since his breakthrough Reliever, and I’ll happily travel with him as further from the country as he wants to go.

Honorable Mentions

Sleep Theory – Afterglow

Wu-Tang Clan – Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman

Them Dirty Roses – Lost in the Valley of Hate and Love Vol. 2

Ghost – Skeleta