One Louder Magazine… RESURRECTED!

Album Of The Year 2025
Concert Of The Year 2025
Movie/TV Series Of The Year 2025

One Louder Magazine… RESURRECTED

Hey, it’s almost FEBRUARY 2026, so I suppose there’s no better time than NOW to release the kraken! That’s correct, the annual BEST OF THE YEAR list is now (and finally) bestowed upon us!

As always, this is the most difficult blog to write. Why?

Because I have to whittle down roughly 1800 – yes, nearly ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED – albums that I listened to in 2025 down to a select few. For reference, I listened to a little over 1500+ releases in 2024.

This number (roughly) breaks down as follows:
Roughly 1,800 – albums listened to in all of 2025
Roughly ~35 – albums listened to per week in 2025
Roughly ~7 – albums listened to per day in 2025

My favorite albums, albums of the week, and several tip-of-the-hat honorable mentions are listed below in order of popularity by number of Spotify followers (not my “rankings”). There are a total of 50 albums listed below, (almost) one for each week of the year!

There is something here for everyone:
Singer-songwriter, krautrock, blues, psychedelic rock, instrumental, doom metal, yacht rock, stoner rock, progressive rock, post-everything, soul, goth metal, classical, synth wave, jazz, R&B, the list goes on and on and on…

While there were so many excellent choices in a variety of genres, I simply could not get enough of Dream Theater’s latest release, Parasomnia. I have listened to it relentlessly ever since it was released way, way back on February 7th, 2025. It’s not for everyone, but it’s everything to me. It’s really f’n good!

15,962,146 – Elton John & Brandi Carlile – Who Believes In Angels?
8,230,656 – Deftones – private music
3,856,164 – Ghost – Skeletá
2,976,342 – Rise Against – Ricochet
1,813,911 – Dream Theater – Parasomnia 🏆
1,230,195 – De La Soul – Cabin In The Sky
1,209,848 – Whiskey Myers – Whomp Whack Thunder
952,136 – Brandi Carlile – Returning To Myself
911,908 – The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever The Hives
447,244 – Steven Wilson – The Overview
286,492 – Larkin Poe – Bloom
197,699 – Mammoth – The End
172,887 – Jade Bird – Who Wants To Talk About Love?
133,765 – Big Wreck – The Rest Of The Story
110,242 – Dinosaur Pile-Up – I’ve Felt Better
100,092 – Naxatras – V
83,077 – We Lost The Sea – A Single Flower
77,237 – Ben Kweller – Cover The Mirrors
52,877 – Planning For Burial – It’s Closeness, It’s Easy
34,578 – KAUAN – Wayhome
34,344 – Flock Of Dimes – The Life You Save
33,521 – Unreqvited – A Pathway To The Moon
32,782 – The Re-Stoned – Dreams From The Outside. Stories Of The Astral Lizard, Vol. 3
32,233 – Green Carnation – A Dark Poem, Part I: The Shores Of Melancholia
29,575 – Hangman’s Chair – Saddiction
26,212 – Abul Mogard – Quiet Pieces
21,623 – Envy Of None – Stygian Wavz
19,299 – Ihlo – Legacy
13,408 – Mirador – Mirador
12,964 – Howling Giant – Crucible & Ruin
8,158 – Pothamus – Abur
7,793 – Giöbia – X-ÆON
5,612 – Deraps – Viva Rock N’ Roll
5,130 – Telepathy – Transmissions
4,479 – Håndgemeng – Satanic Panic Attack
3,486 – Media – Media
2,568 – One More Satellite – One More Satellite
2,204 – Hiroe – Wield
2,029 – Beneath A Steel Sky – Cleave
1,348 – Sky Joggers – 12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse
1,286 – HÖG – Blackhole
1,282 – Museum Of Light – Diviner
1,234 – Sheev – Ate’s Alchemist
1,167 – Thumos – The Trial Of Socrates
1,147 – KOLLAPS\E – K L P S
1,068 – Stonebirds – Perpetual Wasteland
598 – Pyres – Yun
585 – Supernaughty – Apocalypso
493 – D.D. Verni & The Cadillac Band – Buckle Up
144 – Basaltic Plateau – Dead Dinosaur Echoes

In addition to the 50 albums listed above, I have attached a couple of spreadsheets (which I believe are downloadable by clicking). The first is titled BEST AND WORST RELEASES OF 2025.

There are three tabs located in the bottom-left corner of the spreadsheet (and it should open to the “Hell yes!” tab if I did things correctly):

Hell yes! – Albums that I listened to and ENJOYED in 2025 👍🏼
Hell no! – Albums that I listened to and DID NOT ENJOY in 2025 👎🏼
Would have liked to have heard – Albums that I did not listen to in 2025 🤷🏻‍♂️

There is one additional spreadsheet titled BEST AND WORST RELEASES OF 2025 BY POPULARITY, which is also (hopefully) attached via link. Just hover-and-click. This lists the albums that I “Would have liked to have heard” but never got around to listening to… but in order by “popularity”, not alphabetical order.

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Concert Of The Year 2025:

Yes, my concert viewing has gone down. There are two reasons for this change: (1) Age. I am just not as young as I used to be. Bouncing back the next day to be firing on all cylinders isn’t as easy as it was in my 20s, 30s, or even 40s. That 50+ wall is for real! And (2) I used to live in Seattle (Queen Anne) and could easily be to/back from the venue in under 20-30 mins… max. Now I live an hour north of the city, so taint as easy as it once was. That said, let’s take a look back at the concerts I DID attend:

January 11th – Pat Travers – The Central Saloon
February 27th – Dream Theater 40th Anniversary – Moore Theatre 🏆
March 16th – Russian Circles and Pelican – Showbox Market
April 25th – Mogwai – Showbox Market
May 9th – The Wooten Brothers – Nectar Lounge
August 23rd – The Sword – Neumos
September 18th – Brass Against – Hidden Hall
October 20th – Earthless – Neumos
October 21st – Spafford – Hidden Hall

Whoa, I saw some pretty cool shows, rad… I have good taste in music, haha!

The big weiner, without question, was the 40th anniversary show that Dream Theater played. The return of founding drummer Mike Portnoy after a 13-year hiatus from the band was a big draw and it was easy to hear (and see) why. Portnoy is the guy who needs to be on that DT throne. Everyone else is a mere mortal.

The band was locked in, played a nearly 3-hour show, and showed us why THEY are the kings of technical prog-metal. Not to mention that we had 4th-row seats, right in front of guitar God, John Petrucci. It was a night in heaven that I won’t soon forget. Come back soon!!!!

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Movie/TV Series Of The Year 2025:

While my concert attendance has dropped, my movie/TV viewing has increased. Let’s take a look back at some of my favorites from 2025. In alphabetical order…

The Pitt Season 1
The Righteous Gemstones Season 4
Spinal Tap II: The End Begins
Task Season 1
The White Lotus Season 3

The Pitt was so good that it was renewed for a second season, airing now. I prefer to wait until the entire season is released, then binge. So, if you’ve been watching S2 of The Pitt, no spoilers!

Yes, The Righteous Gemstones and The White Lotus aired seasons 3 and 4 in 2025, respectively, but if you haven’t seen the previous seasons / episodes, I would recommend starting from the beginning and working your way up to the latest season. Speaking of The White Lotus, after finishing S3, I suggest watching SNL’s version, titled The White Potus. SNL doesn’t make me laugh much these days, but that skit had me in stitches.

Spinal Tap II: The End Begins was infinitely better than I could have ever expected! Look, I got into the original Spinal Tap mockumentary 40-some-odd years ago, only for the sequel to be released four decades later is wild! If you’re a fan of the original, then I say that this is a can’t-miss!

Lastly, season one of Task starring Mark Ruffalo. Man, his acting – and the acting of all of the characters – was incredible. The pacing, the drama… edge-of-your-seat thriller. Season one ended with a conclusion, yet I could also see them doing another season with all-new characters (except Ruffalo) kinda sorta like the True Detective series.

I hope you enjoy these shows as much as we did!

Any questions or concerns? Leave a comment!

Enjoy!

Cheers,
desTROYer