A few months ago, I hit my breaking point. It felt like nothing was going right for my family and me. The harder we tried, the harder it got. I was tired, overwhelmed, and didn’t have the energy to do much more than lay in bed and watch TV after work. I even posted something on my Facebook page, saying 2025 was the worst year in memory for me.
One of my friends challenged me on that statement because the year wasn’t over yet. He noted that you never know when something can happen to turn everything around. Within the span of a couple months, the worst year in my life turned into a pretty good year. While there’s still a long way to go to change my fortunes completely, things are definitely on the right track again.
What does that anecdote have to do with a Top 25 Albums of 2025 column?
It’s simple. When the year started out, not much music grabbed my attention. Sure, there were some good albums, but none really had the staying power to remain in my regular rotations. At one point earlier in the year, I even wondered if I would have enough records to choose from for this year’s column.
Just like my luck turned around, so did the music. The floodgates opened, the competition became fierce, and I ended the year fighting to get the order right. In fact, every single album on this list spent time as my number one. Hell, even some of the albums that just missed the final Top 25 list spent some time high up there.
Here are the Top 25 Albums of 2025 that really stuck with me and became the time capsule of my year.
25. The Pandemics – Youthful Exuberance
The album starts off with a ska punk bang, urging everyone to let go and enjoy life. The next track, “Reject, Reset, Repeat,” dominates with a killer bass line and a catchy chorus. It also asks you to look at your life, see how you interact with the world, and make changes as needed. It’s a nice little anti-commercialism anthem that is perfect for our current timeline. The Pandemics are one of my favorite New York ska bands, and Youthful Exuberance is a wonderful collection of their talents and diversity.
24. Lot Lizards – The Horrors of Adulting
Welcome to the first true full-length album from Lot Lizards. Musically, you get a solid dose of melodic punk with heavy inspiration on bands like Bigwig, Lagwagon, and No Use For a Name. Speaking of NUFAN, Lot Lizards lyrics hit as emotional as Tony Sly’s do. However, the album’s name isn’t just a catchy title: It encapsulates exactly what you get. It has songs about watching disease take over a loved one’s life followed by tracks about throwing it all away to just start traveling. The Horrors of Adulting encapsulates the feelings and experiences many in the young Gen X and elder millennial crowds currently battle.
23. Space Monkey Mafia – Death of the Party
What a treat for your ears and mind. With the opener, “Cult of Idiocracy,” the band lets you know exactly what their views are. From that point on, you’ll get a healthy dose of current events, politics, and mental health topics. Space Monkey Mafia also don’t just stick to one type of ska. They merge it with metal, prog, swing, vocal jazz, pop, and alternative. The kaleidoscope of styles matches the power and energy of lead singer Dante Leyva, who is a vocal chameleon.
22. The Best Of The Worst – New Dead Ends
It’s the new standard for skacore music. For every peppy upstroke, The Best of the Worst delivers a devastating breakdown filled with aggression and a cathartic release. New Dead Ends includes everything I’ve grown to love about this band, but better. They know exactly who they want to be now as a band, and it just sounds so refreshing and effortless.
21. The Autocratics – No Time To Waste!
With No Time To Waste!, The Autrocratics created a love letter to 2-Tone with a modern spin. The band’s raw energy pays tribute to the ’70s and ’80s UK ska scene, but their sound is firmly planted in the 21st century.
20. Murder By Death – Egg & Dart
As a standalone album, Egg & Dart is hauntingly beautiful. When you pair it with the entire Murder By Death catalog, it reveals a knowing exclamation point at the end of the band’s storied career. A perfect cap to an amazing 25-year run, it’s also an appropriate wake filled with sadness, weirdness, macabre melancholy, and love. Each song highlights every single band member’s extensive talent. While I’m sad the band is ending, they’re exiting at the top of their game. Not many bands get that privilege.
19. The Players Band – SKAZILLA!
This album is so good, it’s really not fair. The Players Band has been wowing big band ska fans for over 25 years now, seamlessly flowing between ska, rocksteady, reggae, and dub. Over an hour long, the album contains collaborations with Vic Ruggiero from the Slackers and mixing from Victor Rice. It really has a little something for every type of ska fan.
18. Tired Radio – Hope In The Haze
It’s the therapy session I didn’t know I needed. The acoustic, gut-wrenching “Seem OK” served as a warning that I was going to be in my feelings for the entire album. What resulted was a melodic punk psychiatrist hitting all the beats of what haunts me on a daily basis. Listening to Hope in the Haze caused a lot of self-reflection that I wasn’t ready for yet, but I’m glad I was pushed into. This absolutely beautiful album overflows with infectious guitar hooks, grooving basslines, and introspective lyrics that are essential for a fractured psyche in 2025.
17. Norman Sann – Abnormally Norman
Easily my favorite hip hop discovery of 2025. Abnormally Norman is Norman Sann’s second album this year, and it’s the better of the two. Filled with a truly independent spirit, he makes music for himself and his fans, instead of a record label. His rhymes are clever, thought-provoking, and filled with a flow that is unique and engaging. His beats complement the words perfectly, shuffling between boom bap and trap.
16. Half Dizzy – Yard Sale
One hell of a way to end the year. When an album comes out in December and makes the list, you know it’s good. Long Island’s Half Dizzy offer up a reflective and personal scrapbook of punk rock on this album. It’s the kind of album that tells a roller coaster tale of isolation, being left alone, and being forced to grow up fast, only to persevere and thrive. Yard Sale has a healthy mix of fight songs, party songs, sad songs, and political songs. It’s an honest portrait of a life lived, filled with plenty of heart and soul.
15. The Mercurials – Tend The Fire!
The band’s first full-length album, and it sounds better than groups who have been at it for years. Tend the Fire! sounds like The Specials and The Slackers got together to make music. If this is what we get for their debut effort, The Mercurials should be one of the top ska outfits for years to come.
14. Blue Tone Stompers – Look Up!
This quartet from Eastern France masterfully embodies the best of traditional ska, rocksteady, and reggae. I also hear elements of R&B and jazz as well. Between the amazing solos and skankable rhythms are the smooth, velvety vocals that remind me of a cross between Louis Armstrong and Louis Prima. The album is a triumph, a must-listen for folks who prefer a more classic ska sound.
13. Foolish Relics – Somebody Please Just Wake Me Up
There’s no a sophomore slump here! Across Somebody Please Just Wake Me Up, Foolish Relics deliver a few references us older heads might appreciate on a different level. “Childlike Empress” anyone? They also constructed one hell of an album that any ska and ska punk fan will enjoy. One of my favorite tracks on the album, “Sweet Oasis,” features a guest spot from Dunia Best. It talks about finding the place that gives you peace of mind and safety.
12. Fuzzy Slippers – let’s get nervous
I have my TikTok algorithm to thank for discovering Fuzzy Slippers. Their sound is a blend of quirky college rock, indie, punk, and ska. Touching on everyday awkwardness and millennial anxieties with catchy, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, the music is equal parts entertaining and talented. This band deserves way more attention than they’re currently getting.
11. Brunt Of It – It’s A Mad, Bad, Sad, Rad World
A love letter to all forms of ska, This a musical roller coaster takes you on a ride. Sometimes, it’s a controlled energy, but we all know what happens when we get up to the top of the hill. The songs pulse with anticipation and nervous energy, and I couldn’t wait to hear where they took us next. In this current mess we’re all facing, It’s a Mad, Bad, Sad, Rad World is required listening. It’s also one hell of a way to celebrate Brunt Of It’s 30th anniversary as a band.
10. Keep Flying – Time & Tide
A prime example of why I think it’s so important to catch the opening bands when you go see live music. I didn’t know who Keep Flying was before I saw them open for Diesel Boy and Nerf Herder earlier this year, and now their new album is in my Top Ten. The group blends pop-punk with 2000s emo and hardcore, complete with a hard-hitting horn section. Time & Tide touches on several mature themes such as mental health and societal disillusionment, which are sadly all too relatable these days.
9. Fishbone – Stockholm Syndrome
The iconic band return with an absolute vengeance to put on a clinic of an album. Stockholm Syndrome feels like a greatest hits of sorts, because it showcases the best of what Fishbone has to offer. That makes it perfect for long-term fans and a great introduction for newer fans. It features ska, punk, reggae, rock, metal, funk, disco, and more. The record showcases a re-energized band with a chip on their shoulder and the swaggering confidence to prove how good they are.
8. Bite Me Bambi – Eat This
I love the new aggression! Eat This starts with “Too Many People,” a fast-paced organ-heavy ska track addressing energy vampires. It’s got a catchy chorus, it’s highly danceable, and it’s a perfect introduction to this new look Bite Me Bambi. The entire album is a coming out party for the band’s new attitude. I detect more edge, a lot more dancing, and an increased level of authenticity to the songs, as Tahlena Chikami offers up some extremely personal lyrics.
7. De La Soul – Cabin in the Sky
On the first album since the tragic and unexpected passing of Trugoy The Dove, his presence is felt throughout. Cabin in the Sky album that mourns his loss, but also celebrates his life. But De La Soul is not just the Pos and Maseo show now. They brought along a veritable who’s who of hip-hop greatness to join in on the celebration of life. We got features from Nas, Killer Mike, Blackthought, Common, Slick Rick, and Q-Tip, making the record an even more grand occasion. It’s my favorite hip-hop album of 2025, and potentially the best I’ve heard in years.
6. The Planet Smashers – On the Dancefloor
The tenth album released during The Planet Smashers’s 30-year career. On the Dancefloor is chock-full of the Montreal ska royalty’s vintage sound. Don’t mistake that as me saying the band is resting on their laurels. Each of the 13 tracks bubbles over with energy, life, and the vibrancy needed to make it through another day in this hellish landscape. The album is a slice of life of sorts. No matter the individual theme of a given track, the band calls out for resilience and defiant optimism in the face of tyranny.
5. The Pomps – Partial Eclipse of the Pomps
When I reviewed this album in February, I predicted it would be in my Top Five in this column. Fast forward ten months, and here we are. The new wave synths from their previous album still exists, but The Pomps emphasized more organ, 2 Tone, and post punk on this album. Partial Eclipse Of The Pomps is political and intellectual, as Alex Stern and company aren’t dishing out generic unity anthems. Instead, they’re offering up observations and shining lights on areas of society that demand our attention.
4. Matt Wixson – MERICANNIA
Matt Wixson typically works in the ska genre, but lately, he’s shifted to more introspective folk-punk songs. Following up 2023’s Redacted Memories, MERICANNIA features Wixson with the gloves completely off. Fully embracing his reputation as a provocateur, he’s laid all his beliefs on the table with no restriction or censorship. The 12 songs of this manifesto aren’t offensive or off-putting. While he wants to highlight the world from his leftist point of view, he does so in the most respectful way possible.
3. Joker’s Republic – The Hand You’ve Been Dealt
Recorded and produced by Roger Lima from Less Than Jake, he knocked it out of the park. The songs of The Hand You’ve Been Dealt are tight, catchy, and memorable. This album should eventually be talked about in the same breath as classics like Losing Streak and Keasbey Nights. It’s one hell of a breakout record that everyone needs to hear, not just ska punk fans. Joker’s Republic is angry, vulnerable, thoughtful, and inspiring. No need to skip around to the singles either, as this is a guaranteed start-to-finish listen.
2. The Kilograms – Beliefs & Thieves
Music that is sincere, poetic, and timeless. Sammy Kay and Joe Gittleman are storytellers at heart, and their songs run the entire gamut of emotions people feel while navigating life. Beliefs & Thieves is essential listening, as these gravel-voiced bards use ska, reggae, and melodic punk to pass on life’s lessons. While the band recently announced they were calling it quits, thankfully, they’re going out on a high note.
1. The Boy Detective – Disco Lunch
To the shock of absolutely no one, The Boy Detective ended up in my top spot for the second year in a row. I’m not shy about how much I love this band, but don’t think this is me playing favorites. Disco Lunch is amazing. The band has grown immensely in the past year. This time around, they enlisted the talents of Roger Lima (Less Than Jake) to help them. The songs are tighter, more ambitious, and absolute earworms. It’s as if Taking Back Sunday and New Found Glory were a ska band with hardcore breakdowns, a powerful horn section, and some machine gun drumming.
I don’t typically include EPs on my Top 25 Albums of 2025 list, but these five were so good that they deserved some special attention.
5. Skappository – For Your Health!
Opening up the EP, “Sometimes Antisocial (Always Antifascist)” might just be my theme song. It’s joined by five other tracks that fans of bands like The Specials, The Skoidats, and Mephiskapheles will love.
4. The Iron Roses – AGITPOP
The EP starts with an urgent call to action on “Class War Cheer Squad.” In that two and a half minutes, The Iron Roses perfectly express what I’ve always thought about politics: It’s not left vs. right, it’s the elite vs. everyone else. Those in power spend their time keeping everyone mad at each other so the masses don’t organize against them. After that barn-burning opener, the band keeps up the pressure with a rousing anthem called “Fight Back.”
3. Catbite – Doom Garden
If Catbite releases new music, you can pretty much guarantee they’ll end up somewhere on my year end wrap-up. With Doom Garden, the band’s sound has evolved to the next level. While ska is still the backbone, their music has added power pop, hardcore, and guitar tones that would make Elvis Costello smile.
2. 1876 – Pow Wow Punk Rock IIII
There’s something raw, authentic, and original about 1876’s music, as it blends ’90s skate punk with indigenous drum circles. As Pow Wow Punk Rock IIII concludes the band’s EP series, I’m really looking forward to what’s next for this band. They’re right on the verge of blowing up, and I hope it includes a tour that routes itself through Michigan.
1. The Slackers – Money Is King
The new EP from The Slackers might be the most political release they’ve had since International War Criminal. Each track on the EP really deserves a close examination, as different members of the band wrote each song between the pandemic days into our current political climate. In true Slackers fashion, they’re inspired by more than just one genre of music. Each song is a masterpiece, but “Hold On” continues to pop into my head. It has an essential message about mental health and leaning on friends and family to help you though the dark days.
When I’m not busy writing my Top 25 Albums of 2025 list, I write a monthly column for Bearded Gentlemen Music called Ska, Punk, and Other Junk.
Just this year, I featured almost 200 releases in my column. If you want to discover the other 175 releases that didn’t make my Top 25, feel free to take a dive into the column’s archives, and then stick around for next year. My column comes out the last week of each month (except December). Thanks for reading!