Some years glide by. 2025 absolutely did not. It lurched, snapped, fizzed, spiralled, and yet spat out moments of such clarity, chaos and brilliance that they somehow made the whole thing feel worth it.

As always, we’ve argued, sulked, shifted things up and down spreadsheets at 1am, changed our minds, changed them back, and eventually landed on a Top 100 that captures the full, messy shape of the year. Some of these records arrived with full blockbuster fanfare; others crept in sideways and refused to leave. Some are debuts that signalled a door blowing open; some are by artists who’ve never felt more in command. What they all share is that special jolt that something real was happening, whether it was shouted from rooftops or whispered into headphones.

That’s the version of the year we’re counting down over December, not the tidy narrative the machine likes to pretend exists, but the one we actually lived through. The one full of odd left-turns, tiny triumphs, emotional haymakers, ridiculous bangers, huge statements, quiet killers and albums that lodged themselves so firmly under our skin we’re still shaking them loose over the festive nut roast.

Across the next two weeks, we’ll be revealing the list bit by glorious bit. Just the albums that made our hearts race, our brains fizz and our year make a tiny bit more sense. From the cult favourites to the big hitters, this is 2025 as we heard it: brilliant, unpredictable, occasionally unhinged, and absolutely worth celebrating.

100-81 | 80-61 | 60-41 | 40-21 | 20-11 | 10-6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1

Sometimes, artists and albums come sweeping into frame like a tidal wave and drop you off in a whole new playing field. Geese had already established themselves as celebrated darlings for many guitar-music fans, but following the global acclaim that came with frontman Cameron Winter’s debut solo album at the end of 2024, ‘Getting Killed’ arrived with perfect timing. An album that changes the rules for bands breaking into the here and now, it found a band daring to push further and doing things distinctly in their own voice.

And what a voice it is. With the standout vocals of Winter acting as a calling beacon that pulls you in - whether it’s with rattling rage or unbridled emotional ripples - ‘Getting Killed’ is an album that revels in the unpredictability of what comes next. There are crashing breakdowns and song structures that in any other scenario simply shouldn’t work. There are funky twists and thrashing turns. Yet it’s underpinned by a knowing sense that no matter how wild things might get, it’s all orbiting one unstoppable core. A band revelling in their biggest stage and instead of shying away from the spotlight, grabbing it with both hands and doing whatever the fuck they want with it. ‘Taxes’ and ‘Au Pays du Cocaine’ may well stand as the two tracks that take Geese into something even bigger, but that’s not a worry. In fact, it’s an album and band arriving to take the flag at the perfect moment.

One of the best albums of the year, and the sort that won’t just be played over and over as Geese climb festival bills and capture defining moments - but one that might just inspire a whole new scene to emerge in the process. 2025 will sit as the moment Geese stepped to the front, and nothing is going to sound the same ever again. JM