My favorite recordings of 2025 đ Now Spinning
music that moved me this year & a look my current listening queue
AHBâs Goodies is about eclectic music discovery without algorithms. I call it a mixtape delivery service. For a proper introduction, check out the post Welcome To My Mixtape Delivery Service, or click this footnote1 for some popular older playlists.
Paid subscriptions are what keep AHBâs Goodies going. Itâs currently discounted to $25 annually. In the past month there have been two posts exclusively for paid subscribersâone on DâAngeloâs generational talent, another about the kindness of Lou Reed.
# of Tracks: about 100 recordings
Length: 6.5 hours
Themes: anti-algorithmic music to fight the AI monster until Terminator finally Skynets our asses2 ~ music that made an impression on me this year ~ mostly recordings released in 2025 ~ musicians shaped by diasporic and regional identities including Cajun American (Louis Michot3), Palestinian/Canadian (Nemahis), Japanese/Scottish/Canadian (Saya Gray), YolĹu/Australian (Drifting Clouds), Uruguayan/New Yorker (Juan Wauters), Senegalese/German (Mark Ernestusâ Ndagga Rhythm Force), Portuguese/Danish (Erika de Casier), Swedish (Viagra Boys), and New Zealander (The Beths) ~ yes, Iâm still a globalist ~ and my album of the year might just be the one with lyrics in fourteen languages (RosalĂaâs LUX)
Links: Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
This post includes two playlists. The first is my Year End Favorites List for 2025. Mixed in are a bunch of older tracks4 that hit me especially hard. Some are by musicians we lost (Sly Stone, David Johansen, Brian Wilson, Donna Jean Godchaux); itâs always worth listening more intently to People Who (recently) Died. Others slipped into my rotation for reasons I canât entirely explainâfor example, two songs from Captain Beefheart & the Magic Bandâs 1972 album Clear Spot, perhaps because it feels like music that wouldnât stand a chance in todayâs playlist-focused streaming ecosystem. (More details on how I organized the playlist are in this footnote.5)
The second playlist is AHBâs Today Show, an ever-shifting mix of whatever is on my virtual turntable at the moment.6
Both were created for my own enjoyment. Iâm sharing the human experience of exploring culture through the lens of my own biases and taste. For some reason, in the age of AI maximalism, the value of that feelsâŚoff-trend. But Iâm a big believer in tasteâhaving it, refining it, sharing it. Iâm also a believer in eclecticism and happenstance. Play these on shuffle; maybe youâll discover something new.
As always, thanks for listening. If you have a new or old recording that meant a lot to you this year, Iâd love to read about your picks in the comments section.
Find the playlist on⌠Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube
The 2025 favorites playlist includes songs such asâŚ
^ Alex G: âAfterlifeâ
^ Erika de Casier: âYou Canât Always Get What You Wantâ
^ YHWH Nailgun: âSickle Walkâ
^ Ken Pomeroy: âCicadasâ
^ Geese: âCobraâ
^ Jay Electronica: âReal Magicâ (feat. Ronald Reagan)
A friend gave me grief for championing Jay Electronica because heâs both a genuine poet and a certified whackadoodle. But it takes an unhinged mind to make sense of unhinged times; just look at how a wildly unqualified nepo-mogul and reality-TV star became the American president. Along those lines, Jay has a rare ability to cut through the haze of 2025 reality with poetic clarity. Take his track âBIG Baby Jesusâ which doubles as an homage to Olâ Dirty Bastard, and contains an absolute motherlode of bars:
Greetings, I hate to interrupt your algorithm
Your dreams, daydreams, evening routines, and meetings
Since quarantine, everybody pretending that everythingâs all good
And shit fall apart at the ceilingA-haha-ha-ha...
Sounds so beautiful, donât you agree?
[quoting Olâ Dirty Bastardâs cadence] âDa Ha, da Ha, da Ha-Ha-Haha-Ha...â
Below is the second playlist AHBâs Today Show. This ever-changing mix is exclusively for paid subscribers (and for friends of the mixtape delivery service whoâve received a complimentary subscription!) Itâs literally whatâs Now Spinning at my home: a constantly updated list of recordings Iâve queued up to check out, generally full albums rather than singles. This isnât a tightly curated playlist but I hope it provides you with ideas of new music you might want to check out too.
