What we listened to in 2025

If streaming services’ year-in-review campaigns person shown america anything, it’s that we’ve spent a staggering magnitude of clip drowning retired nan hum of mundane life pinch music, podcasts and audio series. And pinch immoderate unthinkable caller releases this year, we were really eatin’ good. Here are immoderate of nan Engadget team’s favourite things we listened to successful 2025.

Spiritbox - Tsunami Sea

I became alert of Spiritbox successful precocious 2024 soon earlier nan set dropped its latest album, Tsunami Sea. At nan time, I was successful a heavy Sleep Token phase, and I don’t retrieve really I stumbled upon Spiritbox, but I’m judge gladsome I did. Not knowing thing astir nan band, I initially thought it had 2 singers: 1 for cleanable vocals and different for nan harsh, guttural screams.

Well, I was wrong. Vocalist Courtney LaPlante handles it all, and she is simply a unit of nature. After learning of a caller band, I do what immoderate self-respecting euphony nerd does: I looked up unrecorded videos of them connected YouTube. The measurement LaPlante seamlessly transitions from airy, ambient singing to immoderate of nan champion growls you’ll perceive successful metallic euphony is effortless. And aft seeing Spiritbox unrecorded successful personification earlier successful December, I tin attest to her expertise to consistently nail some vocal styles for nan entirety of an hour-long set.

My infatuation pinch Spiritbox isn’t conscionable pinch nan vocalist though. Guitarist Mike Stringer, LaPlante’s husband, besides has a batch of unsocial abilities to offer. Stringer’s usage of sound and whammy effects successful his riffs create a signature style, not to mention his operation of nu-metal, djent and metalcore sensibilities. He besides has immoderate of nan thickest guitar tones I’ve ever heard live, and I was mesmerized for nan afloat set. Stringer’s guitar activity connected Tsunami Sea is a premier illustration of a  unsocial musician astatine nan tallness of his powers.

Tsunami Sea takes you connected a ride. The first 2 tracks are all-out ragers, and aft a flimsy respite successful “Perfect Soul” and “Keep Sweet,” nan album’s champion opus comes fifth. I’ve heard LaPlante dedicate it to “all nan group I emotion to fucking hate,” and it’s intelligibly written astir her enemies. It’s besides nan cleanable illustration of what this set is tin of. It’s 3 minutes of LaPlante’s screams interlaced pinch plentifulness of Stringer’s trademark guitar work.

The remainder of nan medium showcases nan band’s expertise to blend dynamics, pinch “No Loss, No Love” and “Ride The Wave” providing nan highlights connected nan backmost half of nan record. The album’s title way is simply a awesome conveyance for LaPlante’s cleanable vocals, serving arsenic nan preamble to nan album’s 2nd act. If you’ve been enamored pinch Sleep Token this twelvemonth for illustration I have, springiness Spiritbox a spell — you won’t beryllium sorry you did. — Billy Steele, Deputy Editor, Reviews

Bandsplain

I didn’t observe Bandsplain in 2025, but I decidedly listened to it much than immoderate different podcast successful position of full clip spent. Sure, that’s because astir episodes are complete 3 hours long, but I digress. Host Yasi Salek does a heavy dive connected “cult bands and iconic artists” to… ahem, bandsplain why group emotion them. There’s a heavy catalog of backmost episodes, truthful there’s judge to beryllium an in-depth study of a set you’re acquainted with. But moreover if you deliberation you cognize an artist, I’m consenting to stake Salek will divulge parts of nan communicative you weren’t alert of.

Jimmy Eat World’s Clarity is a apical 5 all-timer for me, and Salek had plentifulness to connection astir nan communicative astir that medium I didn’t know. Her grunge bid from 2024 was a history instruction I wish I’d had successful mediate schoolhouse erstwhile I first discovered Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice successful Chains and nan remainder of nan lot. An older section astir Nine Inch Nails served arsenic nan primer for maine seeing nan set unrecorded for nan first clip successful September. And that’s nan point astir nan show: nan backmost catalog holds up. If you’re waiting for nan adjacent installment to drop, there’s surely thing successful nan archives you’ll enjoy.

No shadiness to Salek’s colleagues astatine The Ringer, but nan champion episodes of Bandsplain are erstwhile nan impermanent is simply a musician. Thursday beforehand man Geoff Rickly was fantabulous connected that Nine Inch Nails episode, and Death Cab for Cutie vocalist Ben Gibbard had maine connected nan separator of my spot erstwhile he was connected to talk The La’s — a set I’d ne'er heard of before. I’d besides highly urge nan episodes connected Oasis and nan much caller 1 connected Alanis Morissette. But, really, you can’t spell incorrect starting from anyplace connected nan section list. — B.S.

Lucy Dacus - Forever is simply a Feeling

I retrieve being a teen and proceeding from an big that they did not religiously activity out, research, measure and present caller bands and songs into their lives arsenic if each beingness would cease without nan life-sustaining power of caller music. I was confused, concerned and damn judge that wouldn’t hap to me.

You cognize wherever this communicative goes: Job. Kid. House. Spouse. Pets that will dice if I don’t feed, walk, play pinch and/or medicate them. I let nan algorithm to provender maine caller songs but seldom does thing stick, truthful I extremity up listening to tracks I bonded pinch successful my teens and twenties.

This year, Blossom & Bones, a three-day euphony show successful Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, managed to push done nan churn and lodge caller euphony into my brain. Along pinch my kid and immoderate friends, I camped among immoderate of nan astir beautiful landscapes imaginable and ambled complete to nan shape each evening for performances by Santigold, Ani DiFranco and astir a twelve more.

Lucy Dacus, 1 3rd of nan indie group Boygenius, did a one-hour group pinch plentifulness of songs from her latest medium Forever is simply a Feeling. Hearing nan songs for nan first time, I felt for illustration I’d been listening to them for years. Lilting harmonies and layered strings create a beautiful backdrop for Dacus’s velvet voice, but there’s a sharpness to her observations astir relationships, rejection and sex. I’ve been looping nan medium ever since. — Amy Skorheim, Senior Reporter, Buying Advice

Blanco White - “So Certain” (single)

Early connected nan past performance of nan time astatine that aforesaid festival, Blanco White took nan stage. People were aimlessly milling astir and nan sun hadn’t yet set. Kids were playing connected nan section and nan smell from nan nutrient trucks was intense, but I was enrapt by nan 4 group connected stage. The sad violin and strummy guitars floated pinch nan hand-beat drum retired into nan reddish hills. The euphony sounded for illustration I felt: rooted and wrapped successful nan harsh beauty of nan godforsaken and I was really gladsome to return that location pinch me. — A.S.

Martian Revolution 

If you're arsenic large a nerd arsenic I am, you mightiness cognize that Leo Tolstoy didn't see War and Peace to beryllium a novel. The communicative is what astir group publication for, but successful nan author's mind, each nan play was a parable to exemplify his expansive mentation of history.

Over nan past year, history podcaster Mike Duncan has accomplished a akin feat utilizing a mean Tolstoy ne'er imagined. Duncan's Revolutions podcast has covered 10 different revolutionary upheavals crossed history, starting pinch nan English Civil War and ending pinch nan Russian Revolution. After wrapping up nan Bolsheviks, Duncan took a fewer episodes to propose a expansive mentation of really revolutions unfold. For a while, it seemed for illustration that was each we'd get. Then, successful nan mediate of 2024, he started posting original sci-fi — without immoderate denotation that this tale, which followed early Martians revolting against their firm overlords connected Earth, was successful immoderate measurement different from nan erstwhile 10 seasons.

Part of what makes nan Martian Revolution truthful fantabulous is Duncan's deadpan delivery. He ne'er erstwhile breaks character. He rattles disconnected lists of fictional sources, apologizes for inaccuracies successful anterior episodes, and introduces made-up humanities figures pinch nan aforesaid gravity he erstwhile utilized to mention George Washington aliases Simon Bolivar. If you're a instrumentality of Revolutions, you'll person a blast recognizing characteristic archetypes. (Mabel Dore is nan Liberal Noble! Timothy Werner is nan Man of Blood!)

But nan podcast is awesome moreover if you've ne'er listened to an section of Revolutions. It has an fantabulous grasp of characteristic and a consciousness of inevitable tragedy, but pinch moments of joyousness leavened throughout. I surely dream we don't upwind up successful nan megacorp-ruled early of nan podcast, but if we do, it'll beryllium a awesome consolation if it yet turns retired nan measurement Duncan imagines. — Sam Chapman, Senior Writer

Ron Gallo - Checkmate

My favourite artists are ones that astonishment me, and Ron Gallo is simply a maestro of reinvention. He's dabbled successful absurdist punk, psychedelia, car shed rock, Beatles-tinged popular and, now, stripped-down acoustic music. This is not a genre I americium typically a instrumentality of, Elliott Smith withstanding, but Checkmate is thing special. His lyrical prowess is disconnected nan charts here, trading his accustomed wordplay for elemental and emotionally-gutting truisms astir life, emotion and, well, nan extremity of nan world.

Of course, nan lyrics wouldn't activity if nan songs weren't good. The songs are very good. The title way is conscionable astir nan cleanable emotion song, pinch a superior hook that gets mislaid successful your caput for weeks. Other tracks connection hints of Mac DeMarco, Dan Fogelberg, Kevin Morby and conscionable astir everyone other who has crafted awesome songs connected an acoustic guitar. It's fitting that Gallo has recovered a location connected nan explanation Kill Rock Stars, which released truthful overmuch of Elliott Smith's activity backmost successful nan day. As an aside, Gallo regularly posts songs astir existent events connected TikTok and different societal media platforms, which are worthy checking retired if you for illustration worldly for illustration Jesse Welles. — Lawrence Bonk, Contributing Reporter

De La Soul - Cabin successful nan Sky

There person been hip-hop albums that explored nan finality and calamity of death, but not galore that genuinely tackled spirituality and semipermanent grief. De La Soul has done conscionable that, pursuing nan passing of founding personnel Trugoy nan Dove. This medium serves arsenic a last testament of sorts for Trugoy, arsenic he's heavy featured throughout. In that way, Cabin successful nan Sky is reminiscent of A Tribe Called Quest's 2016 masterpiece We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service, which followed nan decease of rapper Phife Dawg.

Like Tribe's modern classic, Cabin successful nan Sky is filled pinch absolute bangers. It features standout thumps by DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Trugoy, Jake One and others. The rhymes are awesome and each 3 superior De La members are fixed clip to shine. Guest rappers for illustration Common and Nas sewage nan memo, delivering immoderate of their astir memorable verses successful years. Heck, moreover Giancarlo Esposito is connected committee arsenic nan narrator. Some reviewers person dinged this medium for being excessively agelong but, travel on, that's for illustration complaining there's excessively overmuch pizza. It's De La Soul. — L.B.

FKA twigs - Eusexua

This was a really bully twelvemonth for caller euphony IMO, truthful overmuch that I've been uncovering it beautiful difficult to deliberation backmost and settee connected my favourite releases. But, FKA twigs' Eusexua undeniably did immoderate dense lifting for me, beautiful overmuch carrying maine done nan first six aliases truthful months of nan twelvemonth without overmuch competition, and I've circled correct backmost to it arsenic nan twelvemonth closes. It's an medium that someway seems to meet each vibe. It'll person you successful nine mode and fresh for a nighttime of sweaty, filthy dancing successful nether 3 minutes, aliases emotion agleam and upbeat for illustration a midday locomotion connected nan first time of outpouring — yet it still hits erstwhile you're having a bully ol' car cry.

"Girl Feels Good" is for judge 1 of my most-played songs of nan year, followed intimately by "Eusexua," "Perfect Stranger," "Keep It, Hold It" and "Striptease." If ever I can't determine what I'm successful nan temper to perceive to, I propulsion this medium connected and it doesn't disappoint. — Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor

Faetooth - Labyrinthine

Faetooth's sophomore album, Labyrinthine, is face-melting, melancholic perfection. The set describes its sound arsenic "fairy doom," but don't fto that first connection fool you into reasoning it isn't dense arsenic hell. Labyrinthine goes unbelievably hard, and will person you emotion for illustration you're eternally wandering a cursed bog, surrounded by nan wailing of nan unfortunate souls who came earlier you. Don't judge me? Put connected "White Noise." This is really an medium that should beryllium enjoyed successful its entirety, though, and I can't individually sanction half nan songs connected it because I thin to conscionable support nan full point playing connected rotation. — C.M. 

Orville Peck - Appaloosa

This EP is genuinely a testament to my expertise to tally my obsessions into nan ground, because it only came retired successful mid-November and someway landed connected my most-listened wrapup for nan extremity of nan year… which was released immoderate 2 weeks later. It's front-loaded pinch its strongest songs, a powerful and benignant of haunting trio that conscionable flows beautifully from 1 into nan other: "Dreaded Sundown," to "Drift Away" into "Atchafalaya" (ft. Noah Cyrus). As a instrumentality of musicals, I besides loved nan inclusion of "Maybe This Time," a screen from Cabaret, particularly since I was beautiful bummed to person missed Peck's stint arsenic nan Emcee successful Cabaret connected Broadway this summer. — C.M.

Case 63 

I sewage into an audio bid footwear this year, and dove into shows for illustration Unicorn Girl, Stalked! and more. But nary of nan dramatized fabrication I listened to successful 2025 had maine hooked for illustration Case 63. Setting speech that it’s voice-acted by A-listers Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac, which is simply a phenomenal pairing that won maine complete connected prima powerfulness alone. The champion point astir Case 63 is its storytelling.

Moore stars arsenic a psychologist, gathering Isaac for nan first clip successful a situation interview. Isaac has been claiming to beryllium a traveler of sorts, and done recorded sessions and sound notes, we perceive his broadside of nan story, arsenic good arsenic her reactions and eventual engagement successful nan adventures. Every measurement of nan way, peculiarly successful nan beginning, location is clear mentation arsenic to why nan speech is being recorded. It isn’t necessary, but it’s adjuvant successful my buying into nan realism of nan story.

It isn’t conscionable nan method and method aspects of nan storytelling, of course. Narratively, Case 63 is simply a gripping ride, and acknowledgment to its short episodes, it’s easy to binge really quickly. There is surely a generous usage of cliffhangers to thief velocity things along, but I recovered myself eager to devour nan full bid successful 1 commute. The communicative continued to linger successful my mind days aft I vanished some existing seasons, and I’m hoping nan caller 1 drops soon. If you’re looking for a speedy and easy sci-fi audio series, do not miss Case 63. — Cherlynn Low, Managing Editor

Secure Love 

I spent a batch of clip this twelvemonth trying to study much astir my attachment style and really it shows up successful each nan relationships successful my life. Between Stephanie Rigg’s On Attachment podcast, nan TV show Couples Therapy and each nan books connected nan taxable of attachment styles, trauma and more, I’ve consumed them all. And while they’ve each been adjuvant successful different ways, 1 podcast stuck retired to maine this year. It’s hosted by Julie Menanno, MA, LMFT, LCPC, creator of nan @TheSecureRelationship relationship connected Instagram and nan writer of Secure Love: Create a narration that lasts a lifetime.

You tin astir apt show from that preamble what Menanno’s activity is each about. Relationships, from nan lens of attachment styles. The Secure Love Podcast doesn’t conscionable re-deliver nan aforesaid accusation we’ve seen published crossed various media and platforms, though. Each play of nan podcast (it’s partway done nan 2nd arsenic of this writing) sees Menanno activity pinch 1 mates done their antagonistic cycles, utilizing somatic practices to thief each partner understand their emotions, triggers and reactions. Because we’re listening to existent group talk astir real-life happenings, it’s not only easy to relate, but listeners often spot themselves successful these scenarios. At nan commencement of each episode, too, Menanno sounds retired aliases plays notes from nan audience, and you tin spot really chap listeners person reacted.

This season, for example, my friend and immoderate different listeners seemed to really dislike Brian, nan anxious antheral partner successful this season’s pair. While I’ve surely recovered immoderate of Brian’s ways of speaking borderline offensive, I had a batch much sympathy for him arsenic I started seeing his traits successful my loved ones. I besides started to place pinch his partner Bethany, who Menanno typed arsenic having an avoidant attachment style.

As I listened to Bethany and Brian picture nan reasons they sewage into fights and explicate wherever they were coming from, abruptly it felt for illustration nan world made sense. I saw akin patterns and reasonings successful my ain relationship, arsenic good arsenic those of my parents, relatives and friends.

It is somewhat voyeuristic to perceive to thing truthful intimate, of course, but Menanno makes it each acquisition alternatively than conscionable entertaining. She mildly interrupts parts of each section to show nan assemblage why she asks definite questions aliases what she’s attempting to execute by asking Brian aliases Bethany to beryllium pinch their difficult feelings.

I recovered her method familiar, arsenic I precocious started moving pinch a somatic coach whose attack is akin to Menanno’s, which is rooted successful emotion-focused therapy (EFT). Staying pinch uncomfortable feelings makes maine want to jump retired of my skin, but being capable to strengthen them, mobility why they originate and past understand wherever they travel from is important to helping uncover nan reasoning that causes them. Sometimes they’re nan consequence of flawed logic, catastrophic reasoning aliases a elemental deficiency of context, but often they’re very reasonable reactions.

If you’re looking to understand yourself and your emotions a spot better, aliases conscionable want to get an thought of what EFT aliases couples therapy sounds like, I can’t urge The Secure Love Podcast highly enough. — C.L.