Time to recognize those albums crawling out of the sewers of the underground. The ones that struggle to even get 30 seconds of your attention, but promise a deep reward if you stick around. So here they are, in no particular order, the revelations of 2025.
This top is meant to recognize the work of those bands that don’t have a specific niche to attack—the kind of artists that make you say “what the heck was even that?” or “I didn’t know I could feel this.” It’s a journey through albums that are each more mixed and harder to pin down than the last, but that’s the whole point, right? To be disturbed beyond repair. Or, if you prefer, you can also call this the top albums I couldn’t fit anywhere else.
(according to vibes, weather, and emotional damage)
2025 seemed so forked (Catto still won’t let me swear, so The Good Place rules apply) that it felt like it would never end — and honestly, it still kind of does. I’m not entirely convinced it isn’t yet time for the apocalypse. If this list abruptly ends, please assume society collapsed or my attention span finally did. On a lighter note, there’s no better time to count your blessings than cold, cold December — the month of numb fingers, hot headphones, and staring out windows in contemplation. Hopefully this list leaves you more blessed than before you found it.
I remember this time last year I was worrying about not having listened to enough music… Well, let’s just say that version of me would call my present self a lazy slob in that regard. But, the only thing I can do in that regard other than try and put together this Judgement Day of a list, is to hope that 2026 will find me in a place where I actually pull myself together enough to keep up with music properly. However, despite all that, choosing what went in or was left out of this list ended up being a surprisingly difficult endeavor, since the underground has been undoubtedly just as busy as always. But now I will spare you of my ceaseless lamenting and get on with the list.
Since I’m the youngest member here, it seemed fit to try and include as many genres as humanly possible. Also, this is like the third variant of my incredible list, so please be patient. Just remember, the correct question is never “oh, what did Vicky include in her list?”, it’s “what didn’t she include?”… Here it goes, the long overdue list, featuring dramas, friends, and spoilers: