Another year is finishing up and @RockBodElec wouldn't be a proper music site if we didn't end the year with a "Best Of" list, so RtBE presents 2025's Favorite Albums Part 1 (Honorable Mentions and Let Downs):
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Again the focus here is on full albums, not singles, but long playing releases you can slap on and listen all the way through. We know these are a dying breed, but it still is the way we consume music, no shuffle, Spotify, AI curated playlists, or streaming for us.
These are the albums that just missed out on being included in our top ten favorite for the year (coming soon). After some excellent albums, we have a few releases from artists we dig, which we were let down by.
Like all of our lists or 'best of'', these are meant to start conversations, not end them...
Honorable Mentions:
(In no particular order)
From Jelly Roll Morton to Professor Longhair to James Booker to Allen Toussaint to Dr. John, Roussel absorbs influences from each, but continues to craft his own style. For Church of New Orleans, Roussel had help from a host of hometown players as he moves through jazz, funk, rock, gospel and more.
The 22nd entry into the Jazz Is Dead series is a winner. The Afrobeat legend Taylor and his son Henry along with Younge, Muhammad and everyone involved put out a really engaging effort. The cool upbeat, brief for Afrobeat, offerings work as the legendary Taylor at 89 still can put out some inspiring music.
The partnership between Ale Hop (Peruvian electronic musician and researcher Alejandra Cárdena) and Congolese guitarist Titi Bakorta is a very interesting mix of cultures, sounds and styles as the music bounces, shakes and shimmies down a new path of Peruvian/African rhythms. Mapambazuko is a wild ride and one very much worth taking.
We already mentioned the cool art work on this one, but we need to also praise the music inside. This solo project from Bobby Cole (THE ANNIHILATED, Brainrotter Records) is RtBE's favorite hardcore/punk album of 2025.
On her recent albums, Faster and Kill or Be Kind, as well as her duet album with Jesse Dayton, Death Wish Blues, Fish pushed her sound towards more modern pop flourishes with neon tinged buzzing and hip-hop collabs. While the pop sheen is not completely removed from Paper Doll, it is incredibly toned down as Fish focuses on classic rock touch points and hill country blues. In a way this is a retro record for Fish, returning more to her blues/rock roots with confidence.
As the title suggests, the 89 year old legend Buddy Guy has more blues to give on his fine new album Ain't Done With the Blues. Guy sounds strong on both guitar and vocals as he hooks up with a host of friends, but this is not a duet album, Guy commands the stage.
The newest offering from singer/songwriter S.G. Goodman, Planting Signs, looks deep into her home territory of Western Kentucky with a collection of weepy folk/American tunes. Goodman mixes story songs, sweet love offerings and tunes of sadness as she mourns the passing of time and friends.
Flashes of Paul Simon, John Mellancamp and Billy Joel are sprinkled over Dunne's Clams Casino. That connection can be felt in Brian Dunne's pop sensibilities, a throwback to when everyone sang the same songs off the radio. Even in these splintered times Clams Casino works with solid sounds, questioning lyrics and an urgent author.
The Let Down's:
Now for the bad news...some albums that let RtBE down...we had high hopes for these...no dice. These are by no means the worst albums of the year; they are just from artists RtBE like/respect that went a different route which we didn't particularly care for.
There are always releases RtBE does not particularly like that others seem to, but these let downs are harder for us to swallow because these are artists we enjoy, love, or at least respect:
Now for the bad news...some albums that let RtBE down...we had high hopes for these...no dice. These are by no means the worst albums of the year; they are just from artists RtBE like/respect that went a different route which we didn't particularly care for.
There are always releases RtBE does not particularly like that others seem to, but these let downs are harder for us to swallow because these are artists we enjoy, love, or at least respect:
Uncle Neil has a double dose of let down in 2025, for two different reasons. Oceanside Countryside is on this list, because it is unnecessary with Young revisioning his catalog and starting to milk it a bit. Talkin' to the Trees is on here because it just isn't any good and on top of that, it is mean.
A really weird live album that is not worth the time. It is too bad because I am sure they have an amazing live album in their career somewhere.
This one hurts. In the review for Glide Magazine I wrote, "Todd Snider seems to be in transition with this record. Here is to hoping he finds his way back from being High, Lonesome and Then Some."
Then when, I posted that review on this site I wrote, "A bleak affair all around and I hope that Snider is doing a bit better mentally/physically/emotionally than he sounds here."
Unfortunately, he never recovered from the pains that wrecked him and he sadly passed away in November at only 59. Our heart goes out to his friends and family and while we won't reach for this album again, he has a host of others that are worth seeking out.
Top 10 coming next week, but for now, how'd we do? Feel free to post any suggestions in the comments.
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