ENTHUSIAST OF ALL

#10: “New Threats From The Soul”/ Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band

Driving back from Michigan this summer, I tossed this song on, and my wife looked at me and said “Since when do you listen to country?” Leaning heavily upon folky influences, Davis’ epic title track opener benefits from vibrant lyricism as it weaves and whistles under the strength of a warm, welcoming riff.

#9: “BLK XMAS”/ Billy Woods feat. Bruiser Wolf and Sadhugold)

Billy Woods may be the single best rap act of the current moment, and he gets a spectacular assist here from Bruiser Wolf, who delivers a stunning cameo verse over a haunting piano line. It’s a ghoulish tale that portrays poverty during the holiday season with descriptive, nightmarish imagery.

#8: “Playing Classics”/ Water From Your Eyes

The duo of Rachel Brown and Nate Amos delivered one of the most playful and enjoyable dance tracks of the year right smack dab in the middle of a shoegaze album. Brown’s comically nonchalant and monotone vocal musings ram up against a bouncy synth bass line and intermittent bursts of electronic piano; practice, shake it you’re free!

#7: “All Night All Day”/ Big Thief

Following the departure/ dismissal of bassist Max Oleartchik last year, it was fair to wonder if Big Thief would ever again reach its prior highs. The 2025 release of Double Infinity leaves that question somewhat unanswered, but the lush warmth of tracks like this one provide some hope.

#6: “Praise”/ Panda Bear

The brightly melodic opening track to Sinister Grift kept us warm all winter and had some serious staying power throughout the year. The endearing call and response structure Noah Lennox shares with partner Rivka Ravede creates a nostalgic vibe over the course of a track that could have very well been released in the late 1950s.

#5: “There’s a Rhythm”/ Bon Iver

The penultimate track from the underrated directional shift that is Sable, Fable pulls together all of the best aspects of the album before sending it out on a high note. Crisp production resonates over a gentle R&B riff, one of the prettiest numbers in a catalog full of them.

#4: “Getting Killed”/ Geese

One could choose any of a number of tracks to represent what was the year’s best album, but none better encapsulates its essence than its title track. Off-kilter time signatures cascade into nimble bursts of guitar that shift and evolve as lead singer Cameron Winter’s falsetto evokes a young Thom Yorke; this is their “Paranoid Android,” as triumphant as “getting fucking destroyed” can possibly sound.

#3: “Dancing In The Club”/ This is Lorelei (MJ Lenderman Version)

An essay in the power of redundancy and self-deprecation (“A loser never wins/ And I’m a loser always been”), Lenderman’s alt-country re-work of the track seems as effortless as it is chorus-less. The simple hum-along guitar riff picks up energy from a backbone of piano under the perfectly paired vocal delivery.

#2: “Elderberry Wine”/ Wednesday

Asheville-based rockers Wednesday possess a commendable range of sound capabilities, but are arguably at their best over impeccably arranged ballads like this one, with its gentle Americana guitar twang riding behind lead singer Karly Hartzman’s falsetto and backing harmonies from MJ Lenderman (who had a second consecutive massive year).

#1: “Afterlife”/ Alex G

Every gasp of vocal air is a matter of life and death for Alex Giannascoli over the course of the year’s best musical moment, although if dying and moving onto the next world feels anywhere near this triumphant, exciting and warming, then it won’t be so bad. A discordant mandolin riff (!) combines with an exhilarating chorus that contains a surprise yelp (“Eeeee/ eeeee!”) and a fake-out acoustic outro; the already well-accomplished artist has finally established his catalog masterpiece.