Start Your Ear Off Right: The 40 Best Songs of 2025 (So Far)
Plus, 11 early contenders in the Album of the Year race!
Welcome back, dear visitor, to The Wax Museum — your new music and physical media sanctuary. Today’s exhibit is shorter than usual, as I just leveled up to girl dad x2! Between diaper duty and late-night lullabies, I refreshed my Favorite Songs and Albums of the Year playlists with the latest jams. Dig in, and I’ll catch you back here in a few days for the Album a Day roundup for January.
The Best Songs of 2025 (So Far) Playlist (40 Songs)
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
On Spotify, filter by Date Added—or on Apple Music, sort by Descending Order — to hear the latest and greatest in new music. In the last 24 hours alone, we’ve had fresh drops from Tunde Adebimpe (of TV on the Radio), Deafheaven, Sunflower Bean, and Sleigh Bells, just to name a few.
Album of the Year Leaderboard (11 Songs)
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
My Constantly Changing Top of Leaderboard:
FKA twigs - EUSEXUA
Bad Bunny - DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
Mac Miller - Balloonerism
flipturn - Burnout Days
Magic City Hippies - Enemies
Asian Glow - 11100011 (my review)
Charm School - DEBT FOREVER
The Weather Station - Humanhood
Prism Shores - Out From Underneath
Mogwai - The Bad Fire
Ethel Cain - Perverts (my one sentence review)
What a month for new music — 11 standout albums already on repeat, and yet, I’m just scratching the surface. What have I missed? Reply to this email or drop a comment on Substack — I’m all ears! Let’s keep the music conversation going. 🎧
I send this newsletter once a week, but if you’re craving up-to-the-second vinyl deals, new releases, and all things wax, join 17,000 fellow record collectors and follow the #1 vinyl resource on the Internet! Expect about 5-10 posts a day — your collection will thank you.
Got some goodies there for sure, Wax-man, especially Charm School. I can also recommend Kerosene by Melissa Mary Ahern (brilliantly catchy pop-rock with a smoldering emotional core), I Still Want To Share by Sophie Jamieson (elegant, restrained folk-rock fueled by a desire to connect), and It's Only A Love Song by C Duncan (floridly arranged orchestral pop). Happy listening!
Added for my upcoming workout.