For fans of Cardiacs, They Might Be Giants, Husker Du, the Elephant 6 Collective, and the death of the so-called American Dream, Is Lemons by Gavin Caine brings a baroque flamboyance to 80s college rock to add depth to the famously jaded narratives of the forerunners of mass-market alternative rock.

For fans of MF DOOM, Injury Reserve, Armand Hammer, vaporwave, and that absurd space halfway between here and psychedelia, DRAYMOND BROWN by THEFOODLORD and Konart1st takes a glitchy approach to classic samples to form a hip hop sound equal parts traditional and transcendent.

For fans of Geese, Algernon Cadwallader, Mogwai, the more emo-tinged side of the Windmill Scene, and the desperation to feel something in the midst of a numb depression, Many Other Things by Fargo crafts love songs which burn with the desire for all ends of the romantic spectrum, from heartbreak to passion to tenderness to chaos.

For fans of Oneohtrix Point Never, 23WA, Schpongle, and syncretic gnostic mysticism, the channeled electronica of O Great Epiphany! Pt 2: Echoes in the Kundalini Maze by IHP is like a power-drill to the third eye, a surgical operation of auditory trepanation.

another full rotation around the sun; another album of the year list. these are the outside noise top 50 albums of 2025 from the world of underground music. released, characteristically, much later than every other publication. some things are worth waiting for.

want to know more about how we selected album of the year? view our spreadsheets in all their glorious beauty here.

For fans of Brian Eno, Moribet, Spiritualized, dungeon synth, and the nagging belief that there’s something out there beyond sensation, Unschooled by Disorganism chastises us for the abandonment of our curiosity, setting us out on a much-needed adventure with an experimental electronic soundtrack.

For fans of A Tribe Called Quest, McKinley Dixon, Squarepusher, hard bop jazz, and the little victories in a tough world, Joint4u! by Kaicrewsade pulls together vintage and contemporary styles to craft an upbeat testament to the immortality of jazz rap.

For fans of early Animal Collective, Sleep, Olivia Tremor Control, noise pop, and the harrowing abyss at the center of the psychedelic experience, Then & Now by The Goslings entombs its psych pop sensibilities in dense layers of distorted chaos.

For fans of LSDXOXO, Siu Mata, Lechuga Zafiro, industrial techno, and dance as a radical, subversive act, Aftermath by Twofold vocalizes our desire to escape this imperial machine through a lush, organic take on heavy electronica.

For fans of Brave Little Abacus, Algernon Cadwallader, Tiny Moving Parts, spiritually folksy math rock, and the melancholic pastime of staring into the daytime sky, hay algo sobre el reflejo del cielo en el pavimento mojado que no me deja pensar en algo que no seas tú by Tori Inu combines complex songwriting with a lo-fi aesthetic to craft a Midwest emo sound equal parts charming and intense.

For fans of Elliot Smith, Pavement, Cindy Lee, internet bedroom rock (Asher White, Willy Rodriguez, Car Seat Headrest), and the fading allure of being an absolute hot mess, About the Elephant by Firebug Invasion! examines the character of a wild child through a charmingly homespun style.

For fans of Ethel Cain, Weyes Blood, Masma Dream World, slowcore, and the spillover of mass cultural mistrust into personal relationships, God Is Written All Over Your Walls by Cult Friends begs for romantic loyalty in its dark, expansive take on the signer-songwriter genre.

For fans of Roland Kayn, Vangas, Caroline, noise music, and the dark twists and turns of medieval fairy tales, INSTAR by Denis Conoscente inventories our subconscious in search for that dark spirit which haunted every premodern culture.

For fans of Tim Hecker, Rafael Toral, Saba Alizadeh, Kubrick movies, and the quiet horror of a life spent scrolling social media, Extary II by Roland Kayn continues the work of archiving and exposing the brilliant work of this key member of the electroacoustic scene.

For fans of Thantifaxath, Molchat Doma, dissonant death metal, and that vulnerable release emotion which springs forth from us when we have nowhere else to go, Tykiai ir slaptingai pakampėm belangės by Extravaganza blends a black metal cocktail to immerse us in infinite despair.

For fans of Death’s Dynamic Shroud, Maria & The Mirrors, Lydia Roberts, the ascendent vapornoise scene, and whatever the opposite of a Marvel movie script would be, Before They Were Gone by netbooks.WRLD sets a soundtrack to the action in our lives devoid of the linear grandiosity which typically motivates us to call music “cinematic.”

For fans of Jawbreaker, Mineral, Snowing, internet noise rock, and learning to live on after the loss of something that felt eternal, Forever, Always, Never-Ending by Mount Junior employs a varied emo sound to soothe our aching hearts after a romantic catastrophe.

For fans of Lou Reed, the more toned down work of Captain Beefheart, Jeffrey Lewis, traditional country, and the look you see in everyone’s eyes of just struggling to carry on, PROFESSIONAL QUITTER by Zist takes us to the slopes of Sisyphus with a psychedelic twist on a time-tested sound.

For fans of Duster, Helvetia, Slint, bedroom emo, and the peaceful melancholy of a gray winter day spent indoors, sleep & glisten by Wino na tells a humble, intimate emotional tale in understated tones of whispers and twinkly riffing.

For fans of Tim Hecker, Squarepusher, Bagel Fanclub, witch house, and the uncanny coziness of warm electronica, We Don’t Talk Anymore by Prototype Money brings an inexplicably twee atmosphere to abstract ambient music.