Top 50 Albums of the Year 2025 (Vol. I)

It’s that time again! I’m excited to share my fifty favorite albums from 2025, split into two volumes. Sorry for being so late with this—I was procrastinating.

2025 was an incredibly difficult year personally and for the channel. I wasn’t as active as I hoped, and I wasn’t sure this list would happen. But here we are.

But what a year for music! Choosing favorites was brutal, which shows how spoiled we were. Athletics made a triumphant comeback, while We Lost The Sea, Psychonaut, we.own.the.sky, and Kauan delivered brilliant masterpieces. Newcomers also shook up the <Post> scene.

I felt it more fitting to name the Top 50 in no particular order, so this list is organised alphabetically.

The list is divided into two volumes. Some personal favorites definitely didn’t make the cut. Drop a comment about what I missed or what you think of the list. Check it out:

Alex Henry Foster – A Nightfall Ritual

I’m pretty new to Alex Henry Foster’s music but I’ve been binging his diverse catalog lately. A Nightfall Ritual is a 4 song live EP that pulls you in with its unique blend of prog rock, spoken post-rock, and atmospheric drone soundscapes. If you’re unfamiliar with AHF, this makes for a solid entry point into his world.

Favorite Tracks: I’m Afraid, The Son of Hannah

ALL IS VIOLENT – Monolith of Becoming

A wonderful, gritty Post-Rock album that doesn’t shy away from raw, dirty riffs that occasionally veer into Post-Metal territory. This Aussie trio knows how to keep things fresh while staying tethered to their atmospheric roots. So damn groovy!

Favorite Tracks: Departure Of The Sun, Monolith of Becoming

ATHLETICS – What Makes You Think This Is How It All Ends?

Oooh boy, I didn’t imagine I’d hear an Athletics album in 2025, but here we are with a top 3 contender. 13 years later, the world’s changed (for the worse), but Athletics haven’t—and I’m beyond stoked. Hope this isn’t how it all ends and they don’t make us wait another 13 years!

Favorite Tracks: VI, Gaps, Where I First Heard The Sound

Ayden – Seadrift

This brilliantly original Polish quartet return after 8 years away. Seadrift takes the band to the next level, blending reverberating atmospheric Post-Rock with their unique Stoner and Desert Rock influences.

Favorite Tracks: Frontiers, Bottom of the Ocean

Bank Myna – EIMURIA

Perhaps one of the most unique bands in the <Post> Music sphere right now. A worthy successor to the magnificent ‘Volaverunt,’ EIMURIA doubles down on hypnotic soundscapes, ethereal vocals, and a creative marriage of doomgaze, drone, shoegaze, and ritualistic Post-Rock. A spiritual journey that rewards repeat listens. Read my review here.

Favorite Tracks: L’Implorante, Burn All The Edges

Barrens – Corpse Lights

A stunning record showcasing synth-laden atmospheric passages that travel between light and dark themes effortlessly. The mix is gorgeous—every layer gets its moment to shine. Not a single wasted moment!

Favorite Tracks: The Derelict, Sorrowed, Collapsar

Baulta – Pure Escapism

The quintessential Post-Rock record of 2025, IMO. Each track is packed with headbang-worthy melodies while subtly weaving in violin and piano during quieter moments. Baulta’s trajectory keeps accelerating, and this album hits the gas hard. Pure Escapism? More like Pure Indulgence!

Favorite Tracks: Death Stare, How On Earth?, Nothing Less Than Everything

Black Narcissus – There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten

If there were a best album artwork list, Black Narcissus would win hands down. The music itself is intensely moody and profound. A Post-Rock drum and bass duo creating soundscapes with this depth, carefully skirting genre tropes while delivering a gut punch? Not something you hear everyday.

Favorite Tracks: In Throes of Increasing Wonder, A Story and a Friend, It Calls, It Beckons, It Guides Us Through the Gloom

BLACKSHAPE – Prismer I

Prismer I blew me away and then some—honestly, calling it amazing doesn’t even cut it! It’s this beautifully balanced fusion of mathcore, post-rock, shoegaze, and atmospheric stuff, all wrapped up with a progressive twist. Post-Progressive Mathcore? Sure, why not! I’ll invent whatever genre label I need as an excuse to keep spinning this thing on repeat.

Favorite Tracks: Like the Fourth Wall, Break Me, Falling

BRUIT ≤ – The Age Of Ephemerality

The modern masters of Neoclassical infused atmospheric Post-Rock have tweaked their formula a bit but never strayed too far from their layered texture, delicate instrumental passages and introspective build-ups and crescendos. You can read Pat’s review here.

Favorite Tracks: Progress / Regress, The Intoxication Of Power

Carved Into The Sun – Silent Tower

I’ve always been a sucker for Carved Into The Sun and have gushed about this album here [add link]. Melancholic music just hits different for me, and Silent Tower scratched that itch while somehow making me crave things I didn’t even know I was missing.

Favorite Tracks: Catastrophist, Silent Tower

Celestial Wolves – V I I I V

V I I I V is the kind of album that pulls you under, dragging you into this space where post-rock’s serene atmospheres blend with mathrock’s technical chops and progressive rock’s restless ambition. It’s seriously impressive from a technical standpoint, but it doesn’t hold back emotionally either.

Favorite Tracks: Forest Spirits, Autumn’s Dew

Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power

This album caps off the band’s incredible 15-year run and feels like their most ambitious work yet, while also being their most mature. I wouldn’t be shocked if this becomes a cult classic down the line, or honestly, one of the defining Post-Black Metal records of the decade. Ferocious black-metal energy meets haunting atmospheres, making this one of their most captivating albums yet.

Favorite Tracks: Doberman, The Garden Route, Amethyst

distance – so as not to forget

I have already spoken my mind about this album here, and it remains one of the most endearing albums for me in 2025.

Favorite Tracks: dunharrow, the red cloud, artificial scarcity, parhelion

EF – Give Me Beauty… Or Give Me Death! (20th Anniversary)

Two decades later and this album has aged like fine wine. EF basically taught a generation what expansive and emotive post-rock could sound like. Remastered with lost tracks, it’s beautiful nostalgia that’ll never lose its magic.

Favorite Track: Misinform the Uninformed, Hello Scotland, Tomorrow, My Friend

Endless Dive – Souvenances

Souvenances wraps up nearly a decade of genre experimentation and lineup shifts for Endless Dive. Going from a four-piece down to a duo, they’ve completely reworked their songwriting approach, tapping into childhood memories while keeping that modestly upbeat vibe intact. It’s all more stripped back now, with acoustic and electronic textures leading the way.

Favorite Tracks: Petit bain, La petit danseuse

Fallen Letters – Mindfractures

India’s most devoted Opeth worshippers crafted a love letter to the Swedish masters. But Mindfractures transcends tribute, carving atmospheric doom-prog depths entirely their own. I’d definity be keen to see where they go from here.

Favorite Tracks: A Fractured Monologue, Beneath the Opaque Veil

Ghosts Of The Sun – Animist

Easily one of the most slept-on albums of 2025 and definitely one I kept coming back to all year. This instrumental prog/post-rock gem hits hard with moody atmospheres and intricate guitar work that really showcase their growth as a band. The Post-Djent vibes get me headbanging through those weird time signatures with the dumbest smile on my face.

Favorite Tracks: Storma, Animist, Blood Ritual

GoGo Penguin – Necessary Fictions

GoGo Penguin really stepped outside their comfort zone here and it totally paid off. Their signature blend of jazzy piano, electronic flourishes, and precise drumming is still intact, but they’ve thrown in strings and even vocals for the first time that feels celebratory and weirdly comforting. Definitely their most adventurous work yet, and I’m here for it.

Favorite Tracks: Fallowfield Loops, The Turn Within, Luminous Giants

Grails – Miracle Music

Grails leaned hard into the experimental side here, cooking up this dense mix of post-rock grooves, spiritual vibes, and brass flourishes that feel almost ceremonial. The whole thing has this trippy, meditative quality that either pulls you in or leaves you scratching your head. Miraculous? Maybe not, but I’m a believer.

Favorite Tracks: Silver Bells, Strange Paradise, Visible Darkness

Halocraft – The Sky Will Remember | To Leave a Single Wolf Alive

Quite possibly the most ambitious double album of 2025. Halocraft wraps up their ‘Witches Forest’ saga with parallel endings that keep you glued. Immersive storytelling at its best, like binging a top-tier Netflix series finale. The kind of release people will discuss long after it ends. Absolutely worth the marathon session. If you want a deep dive, read here.

Favorite Tracks: You Are, The Sky Will Remember, The Silent Forest, A Handful of Rust

Hammock – Nevertheless

21 years into their career and Hammock still knows how to craft heartbreaking ambient soundscapes. Nevertheless strips everything down to pure atmosphere, no vocals or drums, just layers of gorgeous melancholy that wash over you. Born from profound grief, it manages to feel comforting rather than crushing. The duo continues proving that less is often more when it comes to emotional resonance.

Favorite Tracks: In Distance Pavilion, Through Nameless Air, Like a Sadness We Get Used To

Heretoir – Solastalgia

Heretoir nailed it by bringing together the raw aggression from their earlier work with the dreamy atmospheres from Nightsphere. Solastalgia got blast beats and crushing riffs alongside those gorgeous, soaring moments that hit you right in the feels. They’ve basically perfected their sound by cherry-picking the best parts of their discography. Proof that you can have beauty and brutality without sacrificing either.

Favorite Tracks: You Are The Night, The Ashen Falls, The Heart of December

Hiroe – Wield

Philly’s Hiroe pack three guitarists into their sound and the layering is just mindblowingly gorgeous. They swing between delicate post-rock shimmer and crushing doom-influenced heaviness without breaking a sweat. The production is crisp, the melodies stick with you, and those long tracks actually justify their runtime.

Favorite Tracks: Collider, I’ve Been Waiting For You All My Life

Idiogram – Reunion of Broken Parts

Scotland’s Idiogram crafted something genuinely different here. Blending post-prog, electronics, and ambient textures into soundscapes that constantly surprise you. It jumps from sparse beauty to massive walls of sound without warning. Taking this ambitious route for a debut? That’s seriously bold.

Favorite Tracks: Chromosphere / Tidal Disruption, Telemetry

See the volume II (26-50) in alphabetical order