Every year brings great music. Here are my favourite albums of the year, the Best Albums of 2025.
10. Dillon Warnek – As the Neighbors Tried To Sleep
Dillon Warnek is a promising young songwriter from Monroe, about 30 miles northeast of Seattle, now living in East Nashville.
I first discovered Warnek last November when he was the opener for close friend Margo Price on a run of West Coast dates, including a stop in Vancouver.
His new album, ‘As the Neighbors Tried To Sleep’, was released last August. A construction worker by day and a keyboard poet by night, Dillon Warnek has emerged as one of Music City’s most skillful new songwriters, blending the piano-driven wit of Randy Newman and the idiosyncratic edge of Tom Waits into compelling, articulate songs.
The album features collaborations with Margo Price who co-wrote songs “Bluebird” and “Speeding Bullet Out of Georgia” with Price even singing backup on the latter. Margo Price’s husband and fellow musician Jeremy Ivey plays harmonica on “Pretend You Miss Me.”
9. Jeff Tweedy – Twilight Override
Oh Sandinista! Jeff Tweedy has released a triple album.
Tweedy’s solo work often calls to mind John Lennon’s post-Beatles albums.
Jeff Tweedy spent about two years writing and recording his triple album, ‘Twilight Override’, which was released in September 2025, with the creation process happening at The Loft, a third-floor warehouse practice space turned studio.
Besides his band Wilco, Jeff Tweedy’s most important musical collaborators are his family. Tweedy has been performing with his elder son, Spencer, since 2014, when they released the joint album ‘Sukierae’. His younger son, Sammy, along with Spencer, also played on his 2018 solo album ‘Warm’. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tweedy made the most of being home with his two musician sons, performing together on livestreams and recording ‘Love Is the King’, which was released in 2020.
For his new triple album, ‘Twilight Override’—his fifth solo effort and first since ‘Love Is the King’—Tweedy wanted to expand his in-studio sound. To do so, he turned to the people closest to him beyond immediate family: his touring band.
Along with Spencer and Sammy Tweedy, the band includes Liam Kazar, James Elkington, Sima Cunningham, and Macie Stewart.
8. Kathleen Edwards – Billionaire
Kathleen Edwards cried tears of joy when she received an email from Jason Isbell’s manager confirming that he would produce her album ‘Billionaire’. She was floored by the offer, never expecting an artist of his caliber to take on the role. Edwards had initially reached out to Isbell—whom she had previously opened for—seeking producer recommendations for her new record. Instead, he replied simply, “Maybe I would do it,” a suggestion that soon became reality when his manager followed up with the confirmation.
Co-produced by Jason Isbell and Gena Johnson, the album was released in August 2025. Working with Isbell pushed Edwards creatively, challenging her to be more decisive and to trust her instincts rather than overthinking her music—lessons that helped shape one of the most confident records of her career.
In addition to co-producing the record, Jason Isbell contributed musically throughout, playing electric and acoustic guitar as well as keyboards and synths.
7. Amy Lashley – Flatland Blossoms
Step right up, ladies and gents! Boys and girls!
Don’t be afraid to satisfy your innermost curiosities…
Singer-songwriter Amy Lashley released her 4th solo album called ‘Flatland Blossoms’.
It all starts with “Bearded Iris”, a happy and a beautiful tribute to Amy’s beloved dog, Miss Iris.
“Eiffel Temper” is one of the best songs of the year.
Ten tracks and running at 30:22 is perfect. ‘Flatland Blossoms’ was produced by Otis Gibbs & Thomm Jutz.
All songs and art by Amy Lashley.
This is no circus sideshow.
Amy Lashley (vocals)
Thomm Jutz (lead guitar)
Otis Gibbs (guitar)
Dave Jacques (bass)
Lynn Williams (drums)
Finn Goodwin-Bain (organ)
6. Mavis Staples – Sad and Beautiful World
Sad And Beautiful World is the latest solo album from a national treasure and multigenerational talent Mavis Staples. After starting out with her father Roebuck “Pops” Staples, sisters Cleotha and Yvonne, and brother Pervis in the Staple Singers more than seventy years ago, Mavis is the lone surviving member of the group.
The record spans seven decades of the American songbook — a range nearly as vast as Mavis’ career — and includes reinventions of timeless songs as well as original music.
‘Sad And Beautiful World’ includes cameos by artists who have become part of Mavis’ world, many of whom are legends in their own right: Anjimile, Sam Beam, Tré Burt, Eric Burton, Katie Crutchfield, Buddy Guy, Patterson Hood, MJ Lenderman, Andrew Marlin, Bonnie Raitt, Nathaniel Rateliff, Amy Ray, Derek Trucks, Jeff Tweedy, and Justin Vernon.
5. Otis Gibbs – The Trust Of Crows
Otis Gibbs has said that there’s a lot of ugliness in this world that he can’t seem to do anything about. He tries his best every day, but it weighs on him mentally. He thinks most of us feel this weight.
When Otis Gibbs and his partner Amy Lashley first moved to East Nashville almost 20 years ago, Gibbs spent his down time on the back porch trying to decompress. Amy introduced him to the simple joy of feeding birds. He’d sit there silently, watching birds at the feeders. They called it “Bird TV.” In those quiet moments, he says he could feel the stress leaving his body.
Most of the birds got used to Otis and they’d start chirping when he’d walk out into the yard.
“Then came the crows. The crows were different. They’d stay in the back of the property. Super cautious. It was obvious they were much smarter. If they decide you’ve wronged them, they’ll remember it. And they’ll pass it on for generations.” explains Gibbs.
Over the course of time and sustained effort, Gibbs noticed they were coming a little closer to him. Not real close, but they were no longer squawking when he’d walk outside. They were beginning to understand that he was alright. Gibbs had good intentions and he was beginning to earn their trust.
Everyone needs to hear this album. Begin to earn the trust of crows. Thanks for giving a damn.
4. The Limiñanas – Faded
Husband and wife team comprising Lionel (guitar, bass) and Marie (drums, vocals) Limiñana hail from Cabestany, a small town in the south of France. With the swagger of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, the most spellbinding French duo in psychedelic garage rock surround themselves with exceptional guests (Bertrand Belin, Bobby Gillespie, Rover, Penny, Anna Jean, Jon Spencer & Pascal Comelade).
The story behind the album traces back to the lyrics of “New Age” by The Velvet Underground, but ultimately draws inspiration from the many fallen female stars who were left behind—or “faded”—in the harsh wake of time. White, censored faces of the forgotten haunt the album cover, establishing an atmosphere of veiled mystery that carries through the record’s narratives and musical metaphors, exposing the dark underbelly of old Hollywood.
Singing in both English and French, ‘Faded’ is the duo’s ninth studio album, and Lionel and Marie show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
3. James McMurtry – The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
James McMurtry is one of songwriting’s most vivid storytellers. The album opens with “Laredo (Small Dark Something)” originally recorded by Jon Dee Graham in 2001.
The title track draws from hallucinations his late father—the acclaimed author Larry McMurtry—experienced while suffering from dementia in his later years.
The album closes with Kris Kristofferson’s “Broken Freedom Song.”
Austin-based singer-songwriter BettySoo who is a touring partner of McMurtry performs on the album with backing vocals on “The Color of Night”, “Back to Coeur d’Alene”, “Sailing Away”, “Pinocchio in Vegas”, acoustic guitar and backing vocals on “Broken Freedom Song”, plus accordion and tambourine on “Back to Coeur d’Alene”.
The album cover features a drawing of a young James McMurtry by his father’s friend, Ken Kesey. McMurtry felt it would make the perfect cover art, superimposing an image of one of his dogs onto the original drawing.
2. Counting Crows – Butter Miracle: The Complete Sweets
‘Butter Miracle: The Complete Sweets’ is the Counting Crows best album since their 1993 debut ‘August and Everything After’. The album feels like a reflective sequel to the band’s early work rather than a reinvention.
Adam Duritz may have reached a new peak on Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets by having a full-blown existential crisis over five songs. “They weren’t good enough,” he says of the tracks that make up the second half of the suite (Sweet Tooth). “They were okay songs. But not great.”
So Duritz sat with them for two years. Unsure, restless, second-guessing himself, Duritz eventually called the band and had them come stay with him. He needed to know if the songs were actually any good—or if he was fooling himself.
The four-year gap between Suite One and Suite Two wasn’t part of the plan, but the results speak for themselves. The new songs hit harder than anything Duritz has written since ‘Recovering the Satellites’, marrying urgency with clarity in a way that feels both renewed and familiar.
The characters that populate the record—Maria, Elizabeth, Bobby—aren’t just names. They’re recurring ghosts, flickering in and out of Counting Crows songs across decades. Bobby, in particular, is Duritz himself. “In ‘Elevator Boots,’ in ‘Spaceman in Tulsa,’ in ‘Bobby and the Rat-Kings’—it’s all Adam Duritz.”
Duritz wrote all the songs on Suite One on a farm in West England. Then he went home and wrote the rest. And then rewrote them. What emerged wasn’t just a completed album, but a reckoning—proof that sometimes the longest road is the one that leads back to believing in the songs again.
1. Pete Droge – Fade Away Blue
‘Fade Away Blue’ is a lifetime in the making. I’ve been following Pete Droge since his 1994 debut, ‘Necktie Second’. Droge toured as an opening act for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, exposing his wry, roots-leaning rock songs to a much wider audience during the height of the ’90s alternative era.
Droge has said that it was important to him that ‘Fade Away Blue’ open with the lens clearly focused on the positive aspect of his adoption story. And so, the record begins with “You Called Me Kid,” a song of love and gratitude dedicated to his late parents Jan and Arnie Droge who encouraged and supported his creative endeavors at all times. Originally written for his father after he passed away in 2015, the lyrics really apply to both of his parents. His mother passed away just three days shy of of the song being released as a single.
You called me kid
And I can’t thank you enough for what you did
You called me kid
Never in this life could anybody find
A more generous or precious gift to give
“Sundown at Francis Nash” follows “You Called Me Kid”. Another great song. Droge grew up on Bainbridge Island, a rural island in Puget Sound across the water from Seattle. There were many out-of-the-way spots where he and fellow teenagers would gather to party. One particularly trippy location was an old Army battery named after Revolutionary War Brigadier General Francis Nash. The song drops the listener in on one especially trippy night.
Always tried to feed the buzz
My senses chased away because
The pain was more than I could hide from
I was in a house of mirrors
Busted cracked with all the tears I couldn’t cry
The tasteful pedal-steel playing of Greg Leisz on this song is a joy to listen.
Thank you Pete and Elaine for this incredible and beautiful album. The production is perfect.
Written by Pete Droge & Elaine Summers
Produced by Paul Bryan and Pete Droge
THE PLAYERS:
Jay Bellerose: Drums & Percussion
Paul Bryan: Bass
Pete Droge: Guitars & Vocals
Lee Pardini: Hammond C3
Elaine Summers: Backing Vocals
ADDITIONAL PLAYERS:
Rusty Anderson: Guitar on “Fade Away Blue”
Nova Karina Devonie: Accordion on “Taking Leave of My Senses”
Greg Leisz: Pedal Steel on “Sundown at Francis Nash”
Gabe Witcher: Fiddle on “Gypsy Rose”