The Top 20 Albums of 2025 (Part Two 10-1)

 

Last year, I expanded what was once the Top 10 Albums of the Year to the Top 20. The Top 10  was limiting, considering there are now 20 best-of-genre lists.  a Top 10 often left off ten albums that captured the top spot for their respective genres.  So we are continuing the countdown here in this second part to the top 10 albums. These are the albums I listened to most. When you take into consideration the fact that I listened to over 900 albums this year, it's impressive for these albums to have endured the influx of new music that hit my inbox every morning and made me want to hear them again and again. Yes, this is the culmination of all the other lists done up to this point for other blogs and was refined down to this master list of all genres.; So here ya go...

10-HAIM- "I quit" 

The Haim sisters came back after five years, which in pop music is an eternity, given how attention spans and trends cycle out. In being generous and taking things like touring into consideration, we can say they had 3 years to follow "Women in Music pt 3" which was a career-defining album, that elevated the band's status. This time the focus was on playing their instruments and busting out guitar solos rather than pop hooks, but they packed a few of those as well. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/06/haim-i-quit.html

 

9-Patriarchy -"Manual for Dying." 

The steamiest batch of bumping grinders since the golden years of Lords of Acid, certainly, is enough to give this duo the number one spot. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2023/08/patriarchy-forcefully-rearranged.html

8-Sanguisugabogg -"Hideous Divinity." 

 This is an album I have been looking forward to, so expectations were high. Halfway into the first song, I  heard the needed tweaks I wanted from these guys in terms of production have been made, and it is rocking fucking hard. There is more attention to detail in songwriting as riffs have purpose and are not just shifting into the next heaviest chug possible. Songwriting is storytelling, telling, and the message is coming through with a more mature and perfected vision. Devin still does what he does, though his phrasing is refined and more articulate without sacrificing brutality. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/sanguisugabogg-hideous-divntiy.html

7- Coroner - "Dissonance Theory."

The band's first album in 32 years. Things are different in many ways, though they do not sound like they are in their 60s. Weirdly, Marquis Marky is not behind the kit, leaving Ron Royce and Tommy Baron as the only original members who feel more pronounced as a trio. Their new drummer, Diego, certainly pulls it all off. This is not them trying to recapture their 80s sound. Nor should they. A big difference lies in how forward Royce's vocals are in the mix, as he used to sit back in the guitars more, certainly having grown more confident in what he does.  You can hear how they influence bands like Meshuggah. This album grew on me with each listen, and it's clear they are more vital now than ever. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/09/coroner-dissonance-theory.html

 

6-Heartworms - "Glutton For Punishment."

Why is this album taking the top spot, you ask?  There are organic qualities blended with a chamber-pop sound that brings Dresden Dolls to mind in equal doses as Rasputina .. Helmed by Jojo Orme, this project is mroe organic and capable of rocking out than your average darkwave band, with songs like "Jacked' falling on the more post-punk side of the equation. The guitars are capable of delivering the needed jagged tension. The album spends a great deal of time juggling the more electronic elements against a jangle of guitar that leans left of center into a moodier indie rock. 

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/gothtober-heartworms-glutton-for.html

 

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5-Freeze the Fall - "The Red Garden." 

Big radio rock that hits with an infectious bite. Their anthemic choruses are balanced by the brooding atmosphere that is dark enough to keep me interested, despite the more hopeful mood they build. This young Canadian trio is great songwriters who sometimes find their overall sound following a 90s formula, which proves highly effective as it puts them in the number one spot, beating out veteran acts, so the future clearly holds big things for them. If you have not heard this album yet, do yourself a favor and give it a listen.    

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/05/freeze-fall-red-garden.html

 

4-Taylor Swift- "the Life of a Showgirl" 

At the end of the day, she can whip out songs that sit effortlessly next to the other classics in her discography with no effort. Even Tay Tay dialing it in is better than what most can do with two dozen producers and co-writers. This album grew on me, and makes it clear she is the dominant force in not just pop music, but songwriting. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/10/taylor-swift-life-of-showgirl.html

 

3-Hangman's Chair- "Saddiction" 

The modern kings of gloom bring a sonic pounding counterbalanced by the trademark passion of the vocals, and things ebb down into a more depressive introspection as the rollercoaster of the album's dynamic sets in motion. Some interesting production choices in this often reverb-heavy recording are best appreciated when played loudly through headphones. It's a band whose songwriting continues to exceed expectations and put them at the top of the heap, not just when it comes to doom or metal, but all artists making music today. 

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/02/hangmans-chair-saddiction.html

 

2-Spiritbox- "Tsunami Sea." 

It's the band's pop lean that helps separate them from their peers, as Courtney is better at vocal hooks than the singer for Jinger or Infected Rain, who work in similar sonic circles. She has continued to grow as a singer to further distance herself from her peers. Even with the pop hooks in play, the dynamics pack a heavy enough punch to have the metallic impact to take the top spot here. Their drummer has really stepped up on this album as he fills the spaces with interesting playing that they build off of. At the end of the day, it's the top-tier songwriting that wins out.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/03/spiritbox-tsunami-sea.html

1-Ethel Cain-  "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You."

Not only the best shoegaze/post-rock album of the year,  the best album of the year. I don't think she set out to make a shoegaze album, which is what makes it so effective; the ethereal atmosphere just organically came about thanks to the hypnotic drones that also incorporate pop and country music into the mix. Unlike Wednesday, who takes a jarring turn between the two genres, on this album, you can't tell where one ends and the other begins as they are woven with such sonic beauty. As stated, these albums are ranked according to how much I actually listened to them, and I listened to this album more than any other this year.  

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2025/08/ethel-cain-willoughby-tucker-ill-always.html

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