14 artists on their 2025 soundtrack

One of the best ways to understand where the alternative genre is headed is to take cues from the artists who are actively shaping it. Paramore touring member Brian Robert Jones embraced the full spectrum of 2025, listening to everything from Lady Gaga and Lorde to Addison Rae, while Pierce Jordan of Soul Glo and Commitment paired underground punk releases with pop and hip-hop. 

Edith Victoria of Meet Me @ The Altar decided that her show of the year was the Story So Far — a band she describes as “the epitome of perfect pop punk” — along with Neck Deep and Pain of Truth. Genre-pushing was a common theme in many artists’ favorite selections this year, with Love Spells selecting Rosalía’s Lux and Harry Wilkinson of Maruja picking Vanisher, Horizon Scraper by Quadeca as their favorite full-lengths of the year.

Read more: 50 best albums of 2025

Below, you can find a collection of end-of-year reflections from the artists themselves, including Bert McCracken of the Used, the Linda Lindas, and Provoker, who all spent 2025 absorbing the sounds around them. Check out their picks for yourself.

The Linda Lindas

BEST ALBUM: Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party by Hayley Williams. Hayley has always been someone I’ve really looked up to, and this new work is so vulnerable and specific in a way I aspire to be while still being something so many people can relate to. Love, love, love her and her music so much. —Mila de la Garza

Beast by Witch Post. Discovered this band on accident and am now obsessed. —Bela Salazar

Death of the Heart by JER. The catchiest soundtrack to the times we live in, highlighting how racism, capitalism, colonialism, and apathy are killing us. From the beautiful melodies of “Silence is Violence” to the pure anguish of “Capitalism Breeds Devastation” and “What Will You Do?,” JER perfectly captures our frustrations and calls us to channel them to action. —Eloise Wong

Cartoon Darkness by Amyl and the Sniffers. I need to see them live again. It’s been so long, but I love how they tried so many new things on this album, and her voice and writing style are always so exceptional. —Lucia de la Garza

BEST SONG: “Til My Heart Stops” by the Beths. I think this song encapsulates a feeling that I frequently find myself chasing, which I think is really valuable when it comes to music. The Beths are such great musicians, and we got to see them live when they played at The Wiltern in LA. They’re so good at drawing you in as a watcher and listener and making it feel so intimate. —Mila de la Garza

“Hecho para ti” by Latin Mafia. This song makes me want to dance in the car every time it comes on! —Bela Salazar

“Went On T” by Um, Jennifer? Catchy, witty, and cool, I love, love, love. Honestly, their self-titled album, Um Comma Jennifer Question Mark, is all hits, and is also an album of the year, but I don’t have enough space to write in two. —Eloise Wong

“Love It Here” by Pinkshift. We had the honor of touring with them this spring, and then reuniting in September and October, and it was just the most joyful thing getting to see them again. This song is so poignant and catchy, and I can’t wait to see them again. —Lucia de la Garza

BEST LIVE SHOW: Lucy Dacus at the Greek. I cried my eyes out at this show wow. Lucy’s stage presence is basically what I want to embody, and her two most recent albums are some of my favorite ever. I admire her artistry so much, and she’s definitely one of my biggest inspirations. —Mila de la Garza

Rusowsky at The Roxy. Was so awesome to see Rusowsky live shredding on a 12-string and a classical guitar in such an intimate venue. Vibes were awesome! —Bela Salazar

The Ritornello Form, Aplacewevealwaysbeen, Muerte De Ti, nsixhundred, and First Day Back at the Ring of Hearts. I took the bus there to enjoy the raw screams of Muerte De Ti, mathy noise of nsix, and heavy breakdowns of Aplace. What I didn’t expect was to be enchanted by the soaring melodies of First Day Back and the Ritornello Form. Their pure joy is contagious. —Eloise Wong

The Last Dinner Party at All Things Go NYC. I was so excited about this show, because we just happened to be in New York for it, and they were one of my favorite parts of the whole trip just because of how contagious it was to see how much fun they were having onstage. —Lucia de la Garza

Bert McCracken of the Used

BEST ALBUM: The band’s called vianova. They’re a brand-new band from Berlin, and they’re kind of spastic and all over the place in a really cool way. The record’s called Hit It! I’ve been listening to it a lot.

Provoker

BEST ALBUM: lucre by Dean Blunt and Elias Rønnenfelt —Christian Petty

Corbin – Crisis Kid, Freeman 713 – Weapons: Fully Reloaded —Jonathon Lopez

No fav album for 2025, but enjoyed a lot of stuff put out by Eurohead and Varg. —Wil Palacios

BEST SONG: “Carbon Monoxide” by Corbin —Christian Petty

Romeos – “Little Dagger,” Blood Orange – “Somewhere in Between,” Broken English Club – “Death Cult” —Jonathon Lopez

“ZEET NOISE” by Skrillex, Boys Noize, and Dylan Brady —Wil Palacios

BEST LIVE SHOW: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds at Cruel World —Christian Petty

Beherit + Negative Plane at The Regent —Jonathon Lopez

Brutalismus 3000 and Underworld at Portola afterparty —Wil Palacios

Edith Victoria of Meet Me @ The Altar

BEST ALBUM: Definitely Earthkeeper by Pinkshift. I love this record. I think it’s literally perfect. It’s powerful, it’s heavy, which I love, and it’s just a fun listen, so definitely check it out.

BEST SONG: My song of the year is “BIRDS” by Turnstile. Surprise, surprise. I’m pretty sure everyone’s obsessed with it right now. I love Turnstile. I’ve seen them about nine times. First time I saw them, I was 13 years old. Just a really good band. Incredible.

BEST LIVE SHOW: My show of the year was the Story So Far headliner with Neck Deep and Pain of Truth. That show was a dream for me. I had so much fun. Neck Deep is the band for me, and it was the band for me when I was 13 and just getting into pop punk. After I found Neck Deep, I found the Story So Far, and then there was no stopping me after that. I was obsessed. The Story So Far is the epitome of perfect pop punk.

Love Spells

BEST ALBUM: My album of the year is gonna go to Rosalía’s Lux. I feel like that album is very transformative and, honestly, a beautiful addition to her discography. It feels like if I died and the angel that’s taking me to heaven is Rosalía. I just think it’s an amazing album, something that was very much needed in the world.

BEST SONG: My song of the year is gonna go to Cameron Winter. I love “Love Takes Miles.” Every time he sings, he sounds like someone’s grandpa giving you very wise advice: “Love will call when you’ve got enough under your arms…” It’s so wise, and he has a very aged voice for his young age.

BEST LIVE SHOW: My live show of the year’s gonna go to Geezer at [Camp] Flog Gnaw. I just think that set was awesome. I may have been involved, so I’m a little biased, but it was just an amazing night in my life. It felt very full circle to do the song we made together on that stage in front of all those people, and they know the words. It was very beautiful. Felt like a movie.

Harmony

BEST ALBUM: Audrey Hobert – Who’s the Clown? 

BEST SONG: Slayyyter – “BEAT UP CHANEL$”

More songs:

Camila Cabello – “June Gloom”
Pearly Drops – “Deep-fried”
Addison Rae – “Money is Everything”
Lisa Germano – “A Guy Like You”

Music that I found ultimately essential this year:

Pretty Sick – Streetwise EP
Stina Nordenstam – People Are Strange

Harry Wilkinson of Maruja

BEST ALBUM: Quadeca – Vanisher, Horizon Scraper. We had the pleasure of being featured on the last track of this album. This body of work takes you through a universe of sounds, traversing through an eclectic mix of folk, electronica, and hip-hop. It’s layered, beautifully produced, and pushes the boundaries of genre, conveying true authenticity. 

BEST SONG: SPEED – “AIN’T MY GAME.” SPEED are one of the most exciting up-and-coming hardcore bands I have heard. “AIN’T MY GAME” is a perfect example of their profound energy, power, and ability to write music that stirs something primal in one’s soul. 

BEST LIVE SHOW: It would have to be Kneecap’s set at Glastonbury this year. With what is happening in the world today, I have never felt such a strong sense of community and connection at a show that highlights a message most important. It was empowering, inspiring, and cathartic.

Brian Robert Jones

BEST ALBUM: I listened to a lot of records this year. It’s very hard for me to choose just one, so I am gonna give a couple of honorable mentions. Lady Gaga’s Mayhem, one of the best records of this year. One of the best-sounding records of this year. It’s always great to hear a new Lady Gaga record.

Number two, Lorde’s Virgin. She’s gotta be one of my favorite pop writers of all time. Love listening to how she crafts songs. Great synth sounds. Does a lot with a little. Very cool. Number three has gotta be Coheed and Cambria’s Father of Make Believe. My favorite band. Crushing it. Making great records 23 years into their career. What can you say? Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party by Hayley Williams. Gotta give it up to my girl. Another great record in the books for her. Then also gotta give a shout out to Kyle M’s The Real Me. If you know, you know. Three songs in, I had already sent it to everybody I know, saying, “Stop what you’re doing right now. You have to listen to this right now.”

But my top record of the year kind of snuck up on me: Addison Rae’s Addison. I mean, all the songs on it are ridiculously good pop songs. All the production is really fun and interesting and colorful. I just didn’t expect it from where it was coming from. I had no expectations, and I was kind of blown away.

BEST SONG: My top song, slightly different, I gotta give it to “If Only I Could Wait” by Bon Iver featuring Danielle Haim. I love when he kind of goes a little harder with the production and tries to find some interesting textures that are really emotive and colorful, and that song had to be one of the songs. I listened to the most this year. I just kind of would put it on repeat and go about my day doing tasks, driving around. It’s just great. I love the way their voices sound together, harmonizing and playing off each other. Couldn’t get enough of it.

Claudio Sanchez of Coheed and Cambria

BEST LIVE SHOW: Deftones and Weezer at Crystal Palace, U.K. I brought my son to that show because Weezer is his favorite band, and the joy it brought him reminded me how to be a fan.

Pierce Jordan of Soul Glo and Commitment

BEST ALBUM: Sewer Baby Eaten By Worms by Early Grave

Honorable mention: Demo 2025 by the Damage

BEST SONG: “BAILE INoLVIDABLE” by Bad Bunny

Honorable mention: “So Be It” by Clipse (no samples Pharrell version)

BEST LIVE SHOW: El Alfa at The Fillmore

Honorable mention: Q Brawl In The Bar at Foto Club

Dazy

BEST ALBUM: I think my favorite album of the year just by sheer listens was the new Alex G record [Headlights], but I’m sure that’s on everyone’s radar, so I wanna shout out another record I really liked — the new crushed album, no scope. I’m kind of a sucker for most of the bands who have been dabbling in this trip-hop revival kind of thing lately, but I really love the way crushed lean into the poppiest side of that sound. The production is very intricate and icy, but there’s something kinda warm and songwriterly about the melodies that always sticks with me. 

BEST SONG: I’ve been obsessed with the song “Open Air Backseat” by haloplus+. It opens their album, Musicality, which is another of my favorites this year, but this song in particular has been on repeat a bunch. It starts out with these really lovely acoustic guitar chords and feels like you’re about to hear a dream-pop ballad, and then it goes in unexpectedly upbeat and quirky directions without losing that delicateness. Just a very unique and pretty little song that I keep coming back to.  

BEST LIVE SHOW: I’m sure this isn’t going to be a very unique answer, but it’s of course Oasis! I went to the two shows at MetLife, and by the time they were actually happening, the external hype and my own internal expectations were absolutely massive, but somehow the actual experience was even better than I imagined. Not only was the band phenomenal, but seeing a crowd that huge become completely uninhibited with emotion, singing those songs, was really something to behold. 

Russell Edling of Golden Apples

BEST ALBUM: Honestly, my favorite new music that I’ve heard lately is the Addison Rae album. I think it’s incredible. My dad got me a copy of Seductive Reasoning by Maggie and Terre Roche, and I really love it and have been listening a bunch. Mimi [Gallagher] and I have also been enjoying Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee a lot. It’s perfect Saturday morning music.

Patrick Shiroishi of the Armed

BEST ALBUM: Guck – Gucked Up

BEST SONG: Joy Daughter – “Building Up”

BEST LIVE SHOW: Murder by Death at The Belasco, 10/29/25

Silverstein

BEST ALBUM: We’re hanging out at the end of the year, celebrating an amazing year for ourselves, where we released two albums, but our personal favorite of the year is by our buds the Devil Wears Prada and their album Flowers.

BEST SONG: As for our favorite track, we gotta go with “For You.” That’s the jam.