Recommended Reading (and listening): The Quietus Albums of the Year So Far 2025

There are two ways to look at a list of best new music—one way is to get angry that none of our favorites are on it, the other way is to rejoice that none of our favorites are on it.

I fall into the latter group because the last thing I need is positive reinforcement for the music I enjoy listening to. And why would I? Enjoyment is its own reward.

Which brings me to a favorite list, The Quietus Albums of the Year So Far 2025, where the staff pick 100, one hundred!, favorite albums of 2025 (so far). While there are some I know and have written about here as an Album of the Week or been introduced to through Stephen Mejias’s excellent #NewMusicFriday picks, the majority of albums on The Quietus list are new to me and that fact fills me with anticipatory joy like being a kid on Christmas morning.

If you’ve listened to the recent Darko.Audio Podcast, we touch on the subject of how to find new music we enjoy when there’s so much new music out there and I mention The Quietus and their album reviews as one of my go to sources along with Pitchfork, Roon Radio, FM (radio), and a few weekly email updates from Boomkat and Bleep to name just two.

Of course lists like this one from The Quietus are a proverbial gold mine and I recommend giving it a good long read and listen to something(s) new!

The Quietus Albums of the Year So Far 2025