Best Music of 2025 - Part 5

Usually I write something about the past year here, and I guess I will keep with that theme, although 2025 was certainly a bittersweet year.

As I said earlier, my father passed away. He lived a terrific long life, despite an upbringing that wasn't so great, so the fact that he modeled for me what it's like to be a strong father figure and family man is certainly something to be celebrated. My mom died over 30 years ago, so it's definitely strange no longer having a living parent, but I'm obviously not the first person to feel that emotion. 

Shortly after my father's passing, LC broke his leg in a skiing accident. That made his life difficult for a few months and ruined his entire baseball season, but he handled it well overall and it didn't stop us from seeing AC/DC live in May. In fact, it allowed us to obtain ADA seating and handicapped parking, which made the whole experience significantly easier than it might have been. 

So, politics aside, 2025 wasn't bad and it probably helped me learn to see the bright side and make the most of an otherwise not great situation. Happy New Year to all who made it this far!

5. Cassandra Jenkins - My Light, My Massage Parlor

This album is a mostly instrumental companion piece to 2024's My Light, My Destroyer, yet somehow I enjoyed this even more than that album, and it's her second top five in the past five years. 

4. Julien Baker & Torres - Send a Prayer My Way

Julien Baker's second top ten appearance and Torres's first, this is definitely my country album of the year. 

3. Hamilton Leithauser - This Side of the Island

Another entry to the "second top five in the past five years" category, I've been really taking to The Walkmen frontman's solo material. 



2. Craig Finn - Always Been

I'm pretty sure I've ranked this album higher than probably anyone else, but the addition of The War on Drugs -- the album was produced by Adam Granduciel and features several of this band mates -- to Finn's wonderful storytelling puts this one on another level for me. 



1. Jason Isbell - Foxes in the Snow

This one has essentially been in my top spot since it came out in March. I really expected something else to come along and bump it down, but that never happened. Not to take anything away from this effort, it's really a great album, but 2023's Weathervanes is significantly better. Regardless, with two #1s and a #2 at just past the halfway point of the decade, Isbell is well on his way to artist of the decade status.