Every year we diligently assemble a list of our favorite albums of the year. Each SPB staff member enters the large arena we nickname THE DOJO, and yells out the name of their top album of the year. Rival staffers quickly assemble and shout out their own highly-favored record, and quickly the battle begins.
Whoever is left standing after surviving the onslaught of music-loving nerds is crowned and anointed as the SPB CHAMPION, and their album duly takes the #1 spot on our list (below). The second-place champ gets to call their preferred choice our #2 album, and so on and so forth.
Some might say this is a needlessly brutal way to assemble a site-wide list of our favorite albums of the year, but we believe it's raw, democratic, and we can't really think of another way of deciding on the best albums of 2025. If you have any ideas, please email us.
But for now, let's put our differences aside, stock up on anti-bruising medication, and read Scene Point Blank's Top 30 albums of 2025. Check out the final page for our individual staff lists, too.
Overall list
1
Radioactivity
Time Won't Bring Me Down
Dirtnap, Wild Honey Records
It's been 10 years since Radioactivity released Silent Kill, and this time around the Jeff Burke-led group shows clear growth and change, while still capturing the same vibe as the previous two records. In addition to Burke, the band includes Mark Ryan (Marked Men), plus Daniel Fried and Gregory Rutherford (Bad Sports).
Radioactivity takes a core garage-rock foundation but chills a bit. The tempos on this record vary but it's still melodic, pop-structured rock that wears its heart on its sleeve. My takeaway as I listen to Time Won't Bring Me Down is really that it has a personal tone to it. It feels more reflective and introspective. Throughout, there are modest solos and '60s reverby psych elements but it's more like spacey garage rock with some punk undertones if I have to summarize it in genre-speak.
The album seems to follow a trajectory that starts with action, then consequence, then acceptance -- not tranquility but a sense of finding peace of mind amid turmoil. It's a journey with a lesson to look both inward and outward at the world. While I've been a fan of the band since day one, Time Won't Bring Me Down feels like the most complete, from an album perspective. While I love The Marked Men's output, I do feel like their records have one sound where all the songs kind of blur together as you listen. Radioactivity offers a welcome expansion to that sound, while developing its own identity.
– Loren
2
AFI
Silver Bleeds the Black Sun
Run For Cover
AFI could be described as the Taylor Swift of the alternative rock scene: hits to die for; a penchant for the dramatic; a borderline-parasocial fanbase; fan theories and layers of mystery; and—most importantly—a continual desire to reinvent new "eras".
This latest one is no exception. After a couple of slightly tired forays into new-wave/synth rock, they've evolved once again into a new iteration which simultaneously alienates half their existing fanbase, and wins them an equally-sized new one.
When "Behind The Clock" dropped on YouTube earlier this year, I wondered if AFI was over. It felt adventurous and yet empty, powerful and somehow lacking. And the less said about Davey Havok's moustache, the better. But I should've known it would be a grower.
The album is brief at just ten songs, and a couple of songs here are difficult to distinguish on first listen. Havok's vocals are unlike most of the band's previous releases, and anyone hoping for anything approaching the "goth punk" glory days will leave mostly disappointed. But that's why the album shines.
This is the sound of a band on their own terms, making the record they want to make. It wears its influences heavily and can sometimes feel like auditory cosplay, but when it's done this well, you'll find yourself forgiving the more obvious Sisters Of Mercy tributes. It's an angry, depressed record for an angry, depressed world, and it's hard to argue that any of us deserve anything more. Just don't call it their Eras era.
– Matt
3
Dauber
Falling Down
Dromedary Records, Recess
The lazy approach would be to call Dauber "ex-Screaming Females," but that barely scratches the surface. If I had to pick one band to namedrop a comparison to, it would be labelmates Night Court. They play a familiar style but with a lot of quirks that set it apart from the genre standard-bearers. It's driving and energetic -- more importantly, though, it's fun. "Sweet Tooth" highlights the band's sensibilities well: a swaying, rhythmic jam with some stoner pop vibes. In between all of these you'll find a lot of punk and garage influence that really set the tone. It all feels urgent and relatable -- I can almost smell the sweaty basements and hole-in-the-wall venues as I listen.
– Loren
4
The Necks
Disquiet
Northern Spy
There are no signs of slowing down for Australian jazz masters The Necks. Following the release of the excellent Bleed in 2024, the legendary trio makes a return with their 20th full-length record, Disquiet. Long-form compositions are nothing new for the trio, but here they dive headfirst into a three-hour tour de force, traversing the abstract and meditative territories they have explored across nearly four decades. This extraordinary concoction imbues Disquiet with its deeply meditative quality. And it makes its long duration fly by in what feels like moments. There is so much emotive richness that accompanies the long-form compositions, from the hypnotic glow of "Rapid Eye Movement," to the free-spirited pulse of "Ghost Net" and the uplifting sway of "Causeway" to the sentimental and melancholic take of "Warm Running Sunlight." It is simply another record by The Necks, which is to say, another work of quiet brilliance.
5
Turnstile
Never Enough
Roadrunner
Hardcore's biggest crossover band return with another hotly-anticipated release of their mashup of 80s synth pop, crushing hardcore and... jazz flute? It's impossible to pinpoint exactly how they keep putting out challenging, unusual records that somehow work despite the clashing of sounds and tastes, but it works indeed. The only risk here is that Turnstile becomes completely untethered from whatever scene or sound we think they're part of, but when they manage to ride this many genres simultaneously and (just about) remain cohesive, it's hard to find much else at fault.
– Matt
6
The Mars Volta
Lucro sucio; Los ojos del vacio
Clouds Hill
The band's second act continues at pace. After a ten year gap, The Mars Volta returned in 2022 with an understated self-titled album in 2022, later updated with an acoustic version a year after. Seemingly deeply comfortable now with their new lineup (including returning original bassist Eva Gardner), this is the sound of a band truly making music for themselves.
It's lush and poetic and somehow roots-y despite covering jazz, prog, fusion and electronica. No fretboard wizardry here or pounding drums that'll trash your eardrums: this is an introspective, moody and challenging listen that will reward your attention and focus. The band have been touring the album by performing it in full with minimual audience interaction, once again emphasising the degree to which Lucro Sucio is the sound of fearsome, uncompromising musical vision.
– Matt
7
Angel Face
Out In The Street
Slovenly
Slovenly calls this JAPANPUNK. My preliminary google search of this portmanteau didn’t come up with much but I already know Angel Face features Fink from noisey ’90s Japanese garage rockers Teengenerate. I also learned that some people consider them a supergroup as members also previously played in other bands, none of whom I’m familiar with, so I had my work cut out for me here. I read that Angel Face started without a singer but this dude Hercules kept showing up to their shows and dancing his ass off so they invited him to join the band! I don’t know if this is true but as they say never let the truth get in the way of a good origin story. His snotty growl sounds like an animal telling a leg hold trap where to stick it, while Fink’s guitar blasts from the speakers like raw meat through a meat grinder. As they say in Wild Zero, all it takes is courage and rock’n’roll.
8
Faulty Cognitions
They Promised Us Heaven
Dead Broke Records
On their debut, Somehow, We Are Here, Faulty Cognitions made their statement. This wasn't a garage-punk band in the style of the members' previous bands (Low Culture and Shang-A-Lang, among others). It's a guitar-first rock indie-punk band schooled by the college rock of the 1980s. This time around the transition has been so seamless that maybe the debut was a perfect introduction to a developing sound. Right from the start, you get the familiar voice of Chris Mason and the familiar guitar tones that are rooted in garage rock, but the songs meander a little more. There is more texture and the mood is a little less aggressive, especially the drumming. It's still 100% DIY-fueled, punk-schooled rock 'n' roll but what you get is more delicate and vulnerable. Ultimately, this is an album, a collection of stories that come together as a whole. Just as important, it's just plain enjoyable music that's catchy, bouncy, and fun to sing along to.
– Loren
9
Lambrini Girls
Who Let The Dogs Out
City Slang
Who Let The Dogs Out is Lambrini Girls’ first full length album. 11 tracks, 29 minutes, no time at all for clowning around. This album is accessible and I don’t mean that, well, mean. The guitars are loud and the vocals are uncomplicated. The message is clear- they’re angry and with good reason. I think a lot of us are too. Lambrini Girls charge forward with an album that milks every second of its 29 minute runtime. Juicy bass, driving drums and enough vitriol to fuel several hundred mosh pits, Who Let The Dogs Out is worth far more than 30 minutes of your time. Lambrini Girls have lived up to their own hype with their first full length release and I hope we continue to see more singles in the future.
– Delaney
10
Wreckless Eric
England Screaming
Tapete Records
A reworking, a reimagined release breathing new life into songs created 40 years ago under the moniker Captains Of Industry for an LP( A Roomful Of Monkeys) that Eric was never happy with. Pulling this monkey from the closet and shapeshifting these into well-crafted stories under the title - England Screaming proves Wreckless Eric is as relevant today as he ever was.
11
Crippling Alcoholism
Camgirl
Portrayal of Guilt Records
Crippling Alcoholism have always navigated a delicate balance between musical depth and immediacy. A blend that few bands attempt, let alone master, but Crippling Alcoholism's two previous full-length records, When The Drugs That Make You Sick Are The Drugs That Make You Better and especially With Love From A Padded Room did exactly that. With a foundation formed through post-punk structures, darkwave aesthetics and noise rock explosions, Crippling Alcoholism never forget about the power of hooks and catchiness. Intricate hooks and stunning melodies threaded through their dark passages, while the lyrics dwelled unabashedly in decadence. If Type O Negative chronicled the pre-digital malaise of the '90s, Crippling Alcoholism have become one of the few acts articulating the psychic disarray of our current age. But Camgirl does not just depict this lyrically, it mirrors its rhythms, its contradictions and its addictive volatility.
12
Action/Adventure
Ever After
Pure Noise
Chicago’s Action/Adventure have been grinding the pop-punk trenches since 2014. They have always played pop-punk like it still has something to prove because for them, it does. They went viral in 2020 on TikTok with their song “Barricades” by calling out the exact thing no one in the scene wanted to say out loud. The genre is full of white bands singing about being outsiders, while the actual outsiders get ignored. Their newest offering, Ever After is the sound of pop-punk growing up without losing the bruises. This 13-song release is the sound of a band choosing the hard road on purpose. Pop-punk isn’t just for the already-known voices. Heavier, hungrier, still swinging even when the dream hurts. Not happily ever after but ever after anyway.
13
Loop
Twelves
Reactor Records
This gathers all of Loop's 12-inch releases in one essential package, so prepare to sonically erupt towards the galaxies and float in the time and space continuum until the final groove sends you plummeting back down to your dull life of repetition.
14
La Dispute
No One Was Driving The Car
Epitaph
Occasionally bands will surpass being musicians and become artists. La Dispute aren’t making music. They’re making art. The band returns after six years with their self-produced 14 track, full-length, No One Was Driving The Car. The album is a concept piece that is heavily inspired by the 2017 psychological thriller “First Reformed”. La Dispute comes back not just to play, but to haunt. The narrative and atmosphere of this album is immersive. It was difficult for me to narrow it down to my top three tracks off this. Give this a spin and you won’t be disappointed, but you will feel like you’re doing a séance with your own regrets.
15
Coroner
Dissonance Theory
Century Media
Back in the ’80s, Coroner were among thrash’s true forerunners. Alongside Voivod, they tapped into the same discordant stream, but where the great Canadian act embraced chaotic exhilaration, the Swiss outfit favoured an unyielding sense of order and precision. Twenty-two years after their last full-length, the monumental Grin, Coroner return and once again stand among the vanguard. In a genre largely enamoured with its past, they have no time for nostalgia. Dissonance Theory is packed with razor-sharp riffs, industrial machinations, atmospheric passages and undeniable hooks, reaffirming that Coroner still sound ahead of their time.
