Staff Picks

One of the nice things about working in a place where music discovery is basically everybody’s job is that, well, everybody’s discovering new (and new-to-you) music all the time! A week or so back, we put out an office-wide email for folks to send in a few notes about their favorite tracks of the year. What we got back is now a massive spreadsheet, which we will not share with you, because anyone who’s looking at a spreadsheet right now (or ever) should be getting paid to do so. What we will share is the entries from the team that made us say, “Oh word?” Get your playlist app out, because we’re about to have some fun. Happy holidays and happy new year, everybody!

MY TYPE

Sudan Archives

Whitney Houston once said it’s about the clubs. The clubs are what’s happening. Sudan Archives’s THE BPM understands that. The record is soaked in the sounds of Detroit, Chicago, New Jersey and other dance music capitals. “MY TYPE” is its crown jewel. It’s frenetic, vibrant, reverent to the past, yet made fresh thanks to her secret weapon: the violin. This is my favorite kind of artist. Ambitious, encyclopedic, singular and in full control of their artistic vision.

— Miguel Perez

Can’t Face Another One

Nation of Language

The atmosphere of reflection, longing and bittersweet nostalgia that echoes throughout the whole album is encapsulated in this song. Ian Richard Devaney’s aching New Order-esque vocals and the effects-laden harmonica melody between verses supports the feeling of someone looking back in regret as he repeats “I’m not ready for the change,” over and over throughout the song. Somehow, the song manages to transform personal experience into a universal reflection on the reluctance we all feel when confronted with change.

— Abby Nixon

100 Horses

Geese

Is this an anti-war song? Possibly. The rhythm gallops along. The lyrics pull you in, especially the lines “There is only dance music in times of war” and “All people in times of war must go down to the circus.” Cameron Winter sings with such confidence that the song insists that you pay close attention, even as you interpret the lyrics in your own way.

— Bruce Warren

Avvelenata

Annalisa (feat. Paolo Santo)

Through a very convoluted chain of events, I have now become enamored with Italian contemporary music. One of my favorite discoveries is Annalisa, an absolute vocal powerhouse and arguably the queen of pop music in Italy right now. She released her much awaited album Ma Io Sono Fuoco (“But I Am Fire”) in October. Her last album was very 80s pop inspired and this one continues that theme, but with a darker/heavier/synth-y vibe. Go figure, though, my favorite track “Avvelenata” (“Poisoned”) is the most upbeat and sunny one on the album…ironic considering the title! I love the combo of the fast paced 80s synth-pop with the sharp, modern production. The repeated “tu tu tu” in the chorus? Stuck in my head constantly. The bridge? Immediately makes me want to dance like I just walked into the final scene of an 80s prom movie. I guarantee I will still be blasting this track all next summer!

— Lauren Scott

Optimystic

Ben Kweller

Kweller’s latest album Cover The Mirrors is an exercise in perseverance in the wake of one of the darkest experiences a person can face: the death of his teenage son, Dorian. “Optimystic” is no exception to this theme. It’s a manic dose of 90s grunge-pop that heavily harkens back to his teenage trio, Radish, with lyrics that detail the utter mental chaos that one experiences processing the kind of grief he has been living with.

— George Murphy

Flood

Little Simz

A great example of what I love about Little Simz’s layered, sophisticated, grounded style. I dare anyone to listen to it and not feel just a little bit cooler.

— Kate Brett

Tonight

PinkPantheress

“Tonight” has that signature PinkPantheress touch: brisk, British, and slightly aloof in the best way. She knows exactly how to deliver a pop song that hits fast and packs a whole vibe into a tiny pop moment. I once watched her makeup routine where she admitted she never touches her forehead, not even with water, and somehow that tracks. There’s something about her unapologetic quirks that makes me love her music even more.

— Emily Pavie

Seein’ Stars

Turnstile

If you are not familiar with the brilliant punk side of this band, you’d think this was a long lost Police song—not a bad thing—and a great entry into this band’s incredible work on the album Never Enough.

— Bruce Warren

Jamie Oliver Petro Station

CMAT

This was also the year that I got CMAT. I’d heard about her more than I’d heard her, then this album Crazymad, for Me just brought it together for the Irish singer. This song—which opens by mocking celebrity brand extension—”I was at the Jamie Oliver Petrol Station / I needed Deli but God, I hate him / That man should not have his face on posters / I feel so angry and sad”—ends with CMAT feeling bad for slagging on him: “The man’s got kids, and they wouldn’t like this.” Sometimes the world just makes you want to strike it, and at the same time, maybe we should try to channel our energy just for positivity, you know? At least that’s what I hear, and combined with artists like Orla Gartland and The Sprints, there’s a vibe of new acts coming from Ireland to keep an ear on.

— Jim McGuinn

Vortex

Kamasi Washington

So the guy who created Cowboy Bebop made a bad show [Lazarus, 2025]. Hey, it happens. But the one thing Shinichirō Watanabe didn’t mess up was the music. Kamasi Washington’s soundtrack (alongside Bonobo and Floating Points) was my album of the year. The highlight is, of course, Washington’s bombastic theme that spirals in on itself, immediate, catchy, unforgettable. Wouldn’t exist if not for the disappointing anime, so I take the wins where I can get them.

— Stephen Kallao

Feel Free

Jeff Tweedy

Twilight Override is an absolutely stacked triple-album, but the highlight for me is this mesmerizing incantation that would’ve made Leonard Cohen blush in terms of verses and wit. It stopped me dead in my tracks the first time I heard it and I’ve probably listened to it fifty times since then.

— George Murphy

Headphones On

Addison Rae

Addison Rae feels unreal. Like a beautifully rendered fictional character who somehow ended up releasing pop music. And she’s doing something different. The line “wish my mom and dad could’ve been in love”? Be serious. Give her the accolades. This is the song I’m listening to if I were in the Gina Linetti Brooklyn 99 GIF. The one where chaos is happening behind her, people are getting tackled, and she’s just swaying with her headphones on. That’s this song: embrace the chaos and accept the pain.

— Emily Pavie

Old Tape

Lucius

“Old Tape” speaks so eloquently about the struggles to move past the oppressive inner voices so many of us struggle to overcome, and the cyclical nature of how the struggle to move past self doubt, old stories, and shame is evergreen. As they always do, the Lucius women’s powerhouse Berklee-trained harmonies guide us up and out towards hope, riding on the wings of a driving, synth-flavored rhythm section. Love the touches of slide guitar on this one too.

— Abby Nixon

First it was a movie, then it was a book

Florry

On the opening song on their recent album Sounds Like…, hometown Philly heroes continue to wear their Neil Young influences on their sleeves, in only the best way. It draws on Crazy Horse guitar energy disguised as an Americana Southern indie-rock rager, with lead singer and guitarist Francie Medosch’s beautiful off-kilter vocals front and center.

— Bruce Warren

The Duke Ellington Bridge

Des Demonas

My wife and I went up to Woodstock in October to see Neko Case at Levon Helm’s barn. The last thing I expected was a groovy garage punk psychedelic band out of DC but fronted by a guy from Africa to take the stage and rip us open with killer riffs, swirling keyboards, and lyrics that melded politics and pop in new and fascinating ways. Plus, they were all really tall. And sweaty. I bought the t-shirt and the album, and THIS song is the groover that sealed the deal for me. Dig in if you can and if you dare!

— Jim McGuinn

Deslocado

NAPA

Yet another foreign language favorite from this year. NAPA are an indie band from the island of Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal. They had a divisive win at the 2025 Festival da Canção music festival with their song “Deslocado” (“Displaced”) and went on to represent Portugal at Eurovision this year. Though pretty much dead last in the odds, they shocked everyone (myself included) when they qualified for the grand final. As much as I love me some dreamy indie rock, “Deslocado” was initially not my favorite of the selection. That said, every time the song shuffled on I was more and more drawn to it. From the lead singer’s earnest vocals, to the catchy guitar licks, to the poignant lyrics about missing the place you used to call home, it became one of those songs that feels simple at first, then suddenly hits you in the chest when you least expect it. And it seems many others felt the same—the song went viral on TikTok and just recently hit the 100 million streams milestone on Spotify (the 28th Eurovision song to do so).

— Lauren Scott

Heel Dragger

Owen Stewart

This was an XPoNential discovery for me! I was mesmerized by their set—it’s a blast of sunshine, country-fried rock and roll from the streets of Philadelphia. I’m so in!

— Nick Bisaccia

Two Picks, One Album

Mangetout

Wet Leg

One of the best takedown songs I have heard in a while. Both angry and funny at the same time.

— Roger LaMay

Catch These Fists

Wet Leg

Wet Leg is my “stop what I am doing, who is this band” discovery of 2025. Such fun energy!

— Carol Lerner

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