We asked a few of our staff members to tell us their favorite albums of 2025 and here’s what they had to say!
Abby Bullock (Music Director)
#1 – Blondshell, If You Asked For A Picture
This album was the first one I truly fell in love with through WRFL. I remember receiving it while I was making the review list over the summer and giving it a quick listen to see if it was review-worthy. I ended up “stealing” it (leaving it off the review list) and adding it to my personal playlist instead. I had it reviewed in about an hour. I had never heard of Blondshell before WRFL (surprise!) and immediately shared this album with all my friends. I placed it at #3 in the playbox, and Blondshell completely blew it out of the water. Her rounds at WRFL ended just a couple weeks ago, as I had to take her out, but she charted multiple times and had over 120 spins! I hold this album close because it made me even more excited to be a part of WRFL and deepened my appreciation for what my role means. It resonates with me on a personal level because she tackles really difficult topics in her songs, and she does it exceptionally well. The album is carefully curated around themes of grief, body image, failed relationships, successful relationships, and societal expectations, all delivered with incredible honesty and artistry.
#2 – Lorde, Virgin
#3 – MOBO, MOBO Presents: The Perfect Cast LP feat. Modern Baseball (30th Anniversary)
#4 – Pool Kids, Easier Said Than Done
#5 – Folk Bitch Trio, Now Would Be A Good Time
#6 – Sedona, Getting Into Heaven
#7 – The Beths, Straight Line Was A Lie
#8 – Briston Maroney, Jimmy
#9 – fanclubwallet, Living While Dying
#10 – Emily Yacina, Veilfall
C.J. Jones (Membership Director)
#1 – Jane Remover, Revengeseekerz
In the best way possible, listening to Revengeseekerz feels like someone wired a jailbroken Nintendo 3DS straight to your cerebral cortex and just started mashing random buttons. It’s glitchy, frantic, ecstatic, full of rage, abrasive as hell, and so ridiculously overproduced that I can only imagine how much steam Jane’s laptop coughed up every time they opened the FL Studio project file for any one of these tracks. Layers and layers of distorted screams and pop-star crooning about magic curses and demons are overlaid on chaotically maximalist digicore beats composed of samples from Jane’s old music and audiobites from video games like Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Pokémon Battle Revolution; an all-killer-no-filler collection of hyperstimulating anthems for a chronically online generation to doomscroll their lives away to.
#2 – billy woods, Golliwog
#3 – clipping. Dead Channel Sky
#4 – Armand Hammer & The Alchemist, Mercy
#5 – Ninajirachi, I Love My Computer
#6 – MIKE, Showbiz!
#7 – McKinley Dixon, Magic, Alive!
#8 – Earl Sweatshirt, Live Laugh Love
#9 – Mark William Lewis, Mark William Lewis
#10 – Mac Miller, Balloonerism
Nicole Greene (Station Coordinator)
#1 – Leon Thomas, MUTT Deluxe: HEEL
Leon Thomas has been a sleeper cell in the industry for about 10 years now, quietly producing and writing many of today’s hits and cult classics for other artists. I am so happy someone as talented as him is finally taking center stage. After the untimely death of one of my musical heroes D’Angelo (who Leon’s uncle sang background for), it is nice to see someone with the instrumentation, vocals, and songwriting ability of our OGs thrive. MUTT Deluxe: HEEL blended the R&B my mom loved with the futuristic sounds that can’t yet be defined. It was by far my most listened to album and I am so excited for what’s next. Here’s to an R&B revival!
#2 – Durand Bernarr, Bloom
#3 – Destin Conrad, Love on Digital
#4 – Hayley Williams, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party
#5 – Party of 2, AMERIKA’S NEXT TOP PARTY!
#6 – KWN, With All Due Respect
#7 – Clipse, Let God Sort Em Out
#8 – Monaleo, Who Did the Body
#9 – Jessie Reyez, PAID IN MEMORIES
#10 – Juicy J & Endea Owens, Caught Up in this Illusion
Mary Clark (Station Advisor)
#1 – Die Spitz, Something to Consume
I had the pleasure of seeing Die Spitz live last year and I’ve honestly been obsessed with them ever since. Born out of the incredible Austin, TX music scene and signed to Jack White’s Third Man Records, Die Spitz combines raw, unfiltered guitar-driven punk energy with vulnerable lyrics that dig deep at the frustrations of being a girl living in this world right now, both at an interpersonal level and a more national/global one. I think that’s why I adore it so much – it encapsulates my own angst in a very polished and poignant way. And it’s just damn good music at the end of the day, seamlessly combining elements of punk, garage, grunge, prog, and shoegaze across the different tracks.
#2 – Deafheaven, Lonely People With Power
#3 – ROSALÍA, LUX
#4 – Mclusky, the world is still here and so are we
#5 – Osees, ABOMINATION REVEALED AT LAST
#6 – The Armed, THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED
#7 – Wolf Alice, The Clearing
#8 – Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Trash Classic
#9 – SPELLLING, Portrait of My Heart
#10 – SPRINTS, All That Is Over
Jake Butler (Operations Director)
#1 – Anamanaguchi, Anyway
It’s been a pretty shitty year, huh? Maybe that’s a little whiny. I guess what I’m trying to say is everything’s has been a lot recently. I think that’s why this album has been on repeat. It’s catchy, uncomplicated, full of pleasant hooks, riffs, solos, and video game synths. It’s plain stupid fun, and I ended up listening to it more than anything else. Not surprising coming from the guys who have worked with Hatsune Miku. In a year dominated by weighty and heart-wrenching releases (see my back-to-back black metal picks), something light and sweet ended up rising to the top. Can’t blame a guy for having cake for breakfast every once in a while, can you?
#2 – PARKiNG, PORTRAiTS
#3 – Sharp Pins, Balloon Balloon Balloon
#4 – Deafheaven, Lonely People With Power
#5 – Agriculture, The Spiritual Sound
#6 – Nourished By Time, The Passionate Ones
#7 – Chat Pile & Hayden Pedigo, In The Earth Again
#8 – Water From Your Eyes, It’s A Beautiful Place
#9 – First Day Back, Forward
#10 – Lifeguard, Ripped And Torn
Nolia Williams (News Director)
#1 – DJO, The Crux
I’ve been a fan of DJO’s music since his first album Twenty Twenty in 2019, and The Crux is no different. Very multi-faceted, strong old school 70s/80s references, and simply really enjoyable. Nostalgic, fun, wistful, dynamic, sincere, The Crux brings a different musical landscape with each track and they’re all GREAT!!!
#2 – Post Animal, Iron
#3 – Durand Jones & The Indications, Flowers
#4 – Olivia Dean, The Art of Loving
#5 – ROSALÍA, LUX
#6 – Laufey, A Matter of Time
#7 – Addison Rae, Addison
#8 – Vulf, Deg
#9 – Vulfpeck, Clarity of Cal
#10 – Jackie Evans, Sleep For Days (Single)
Emmy Wells (Library Director)
#1 – PARKiNG, PORTRAiTS
PORTRAiTS by PARKiNG is my top album of the year because it was the main album that I kept wanting to come back to. They’re a local Louisville band that takes noise punk to a more fun, experimental level. It’s rough but easy to get into, and it feels like a big part of Louisville’s sound right now.
#2 – Desinteresse, Onschuld
#3 – Magic Wands, Cascades
#4 – Shrudd, No Man is Good Three Times
#5 – War Room, Please Don’t Fight In Here
#6 – Weatherday, Hornet Disaster
#7 – Honningbarna, Soft Spot
#8 – Black Eyes, Hostile Design
#9 – Home Front, Watch It Die
#10 – W.I.T.C.H., SOGOLO
Will Majors (Promotions Director)
#1 – Mt. Joy, Hope We Have Fun
Mt. Joy’s Hope We Have Fun sneaks in as my 2025 album of the year, not because of its blend of folk rock ballads, or its earthy song lyrics, but because of its purity and small moments that makes it a memorable listen that suites your current situation anytime you press play. For me, that situation, was my fall semester of my senior year. With enough firepower in tracks like ‘Coyote’ and ‘Lucy’ to qualify playing it on WRFL, melodic grooves from ‘Pink Lady’ and ‘She Wants to Go Dancing’ and classic Mt. Joy sounds from ‘More More More’ and the title track ‘Hope We Have Fun,’ this simple, but effective album has, and will continue, to help me face the most difficult challenge posed to mankind: postgrad. It’s not perfect or revolutionary by any means, but it’s a reminder that nothing needs to be, and your album of the year can be whatever the hell you want. I’m sure they had fun making this record, and will have just as much fun performing it live. If we don’t have fun then what the hell was this all for?
#2 – Geese, Getting Killed
#3 – Joan Shelly, Real Warmth
#4 – Watchhouse, Rituals
#5 – Snocaps, Snocaps
#6 – Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Pogo Rodeo
#7 – Chance the Rapper, Star Line
#8 – Lorde, Virgin
#9 – PinkPantheress, Fancy Some More?
#10 – Olivia Dean, The Art of Loving