Wednesday, November 26, 2025

2025 The Albums - Top 10

via GIPHY

Click Here to see the 2025 League of Their Own Pick 


It is that time of the year again, our favorite time actually, as we look back on the year in music and select the 10 best albums of the year. 

 Click Here to see the 2025 Honorable Mentions  

 

10. Slick Rick - Victory


 9. Yeule - Evangelic Girl is a Gun


 8. Shame - Cutthroat

 

7. Billy Nomates - Metal Horse
 

6. Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out


 5. Pulp - More

4. Deftones - Private Music

3. The Murder Capital - Blindness


 2. Model / Actriz - Pirouette 


 1. Sharon Van Etten and the Attachment Theory


 

2025 The Albums - League of Their Own

via GIPHY


As said in previous years, this award started long before the site was even a thought, in one publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a "League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the most important record to be released at that time.

In the past winners have included:

2000 - Radiohead - Kid A

2001 - The Strokes - Is This It?

2002 - NERD - In Search of...

2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant

2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss

2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute

2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

2007 - Kanye West - Graduation

2008 - Santigold

2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye

2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach

2011 - Bjork - Biophilia

2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes

2013 - Arcade Fire - Reflektor

2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2

2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic

2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar

2017 - Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

2018 - Richard Russell - Everything is Recorded

2019 - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats Nest

2020 - Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters

2021 - St. Vincent - Daddy's Home

2022 - Black Midi - Hellfire 

2023 - Algiers - Shook 

2024 - Tyler, The Creator - Chromakopia 

 

...and the 2025 League of their Own winner is...

 

FKA Twigs - Eusexua  


 

2025 The Albums - Honorable Mentions

via GIPHY

In keeping with our Thanksgiving weekend tradition, we are coming out of hiatus to post our year-end music lists for the year. Here is the first of three lists dedicated to our favorites of the calendar. 

Here is our first list -- Honorable Mentions -- records, in no particular order, that were good but not strong enough to crack our top 10. 

Nems - America's Sweetheart

 Cappadonna -Godly Wealthy and Beautiful 
Wu-Tang Clan - Black Samson: The Bastard Swordsman

 Little Simz - Lotus

Bruiser Wolf - Potluck

 Adult Leisure - The Things You Don't Know Yet