My Year in Music 2025

EricMesa

- 16 minutes read - 3392 words

Trends

Just like last year, I spent a lot of time listening to the Chillhop seasonal albums. They provided an easy soundtrack to work without any distracting lyrics. That said, there were a few exceptions to that. In February I used Spotify to listen to Bad Bunny’s New Album “Debi tirar más fotos”. In March I made a Cover Songs playlist and spent a good chunk of the month listening to it. I also listened to a lot of Kill Lincoln while prepping for their September concert. When I wasn’t listening to chillhop or those albums, I mostly listened to random music while at work. For some reason, the random radio doesn’t work on the phone app for me, so if I wanted to listen to random music while on my phone, I would listen to my favorites radio. I have a decent amount of tracks so it’s not too repetitious, but it does tend to concentrate the songs I listen to. Also, when I was at work, if I wanted to listen to a whole album, the design of funkwhale biases me towards more recent additions as those appear right on the home screen.

I only went to one concert this year, the aforementioned Kill Lincoln concert. It was in a tiny venue in Baltimore where I could reach out and touch them. In fact, someone bumped into the mic and it smacked the saxophone player in the face. (throughout this blog post I’ll have photos from the concert)

I barely listened to music on Spotify this year, so I won’t be including their stats this year. It’s all out of whack with everything else and pointless to include.

New Albums

I added a decent amount of new music this year.

Purchased

  • Humblewood Soundtrack
  • Chillhop Essentials Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
  • Hadestown Soundtrack
  • Obojima Soundtrack
  • My Sister’s Fugazi Shirt - Nautilus VII
  • ODESZA - Music to Refine to
  • The Pomps - Partial Eclipse of the Pomps
  • Ben Prunty - Into the Breach Soundtrack
  • Catbite - Doom Garden
  • Doseone - Enter the Gungeon Soundtrack
  • Kill Lincoln - Good Riddance to Bad Advice (10 yr anniversary edition)

Gifts

  • Fleetwood Mac - Rumors
  • Humblewood 2 soundtrack
  • Transistor Soundtrack
  • Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl
  • The Apothecary Diaries Soundtrack

Last.fm

Top Artists of 2025

  1. Kill Lincoln (425) - Absolutely no surprises for me here. I got the 10th anniversary edition of Good Riddance to Bad Advice as it had a bunch of singles they tend to play during concerts. Between listening that, preparing for the concert, and listening to their other albums it would have been a surprise if they didn’t end up as the top artist for this year.

  2. MxPx (165) - Most of these songs came from random listens and from favorites radio. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I have more tracks by MxPx than any other artist so they are naturally going to come up a lot during random listens.

  3. Taylor Swift (135) - Someone gifted us The Life of a Showgirl. I like a few of the songs, but, like much of the Internet, I find it to be one of her weaker albums.

  4. The Pomps (132) - They’re on Bad Time Records with Kill Lincoln and so I heard about them from the newsletter. They have a very fun sound and very fun lyrics that really make you think when you sit and listen. This album Partial Eclipse of the Pomps is mostly about the unaffordability of the American Dream in modern times.

  5. Sabrina Carpenter (126) - I’m surprised I listened to Sabrina Carpenter this much. Just like Taylor, I feel this latest album isn’t quite up to par with the older one. That said, I do enjoy the double entendres in “House Tour”.

  6. Five Iron Frenzy (96) - 2025 had me in a mood to listen to certain FIF songs that rage against the system. Reese has always been at the top of his game with those songs. Particularly important to be in 2025 - “Zen and the Art of Xenophobia”.

  7. The Beatles (94) - It would be a weird year if the Beatles didn’t appear somewhere on the list. This is half as many listens as last year. I think I purposely put on Abbey Road one day. Other than that it was from randomly coming up.

  8. Fleetwood Mac (91) - These were all from the new (to my library) album which we listened to a lot when traveling.

  9. Catbite (86) - Considering the fact that Doom Garden is not full of that many songs, I’m surprised they made it this high. Then again, when I bought it, I did listen to it a lot on repeat.

  10. Half Past Two (85) - I really like the album I got last year - Talk is Killing Me - and selected it a few times this year.

  11. Sweeps, luv pug (76) - As an example of how often I listened to the Chillhop albums, this collab (and a few others) actually showed up on here. Usually these are too spread out to make it to the top artists.

  12. Bad Bunny (69) - All of these came from Debi…Fotos. Overall, I’m not a huge fan of Bad Bunny, but this album had the right amount of sampling of old songs I used to hear as a kid.

  13. Ian Ewing (67) - same as sweeps

  14. I Fight Dragons (59) - I still enjoy I Fight Dragons, but I listened to their music SO MUCH over the past decade that I don’t throw them on as often as I used to. I was surprised they made it this high but with all the Chillhop albums, I think it gave them more of a chance. Last year, for example, the bottom artist had 64 listens, but they made it to #14 with only 59.

  15. My Sister’s Fugazi Shirt (58) - Mostly from Nautilus. Just like Chillhop, a good album to listen to at work.

  16. Birocratic, Søren Søstrom (55) - same as sweeps

  17. Ben Prunty (54) - From the Into the Breach soundtrack.

  18. Philanthrope (51) - same as sweeps

  19. Run the Jewels (50) - I listened to RTJ 3 and 4 a few times this year. Still great albums.

  20. Anberlin (49) - This is mostly from listening in the car with Danielle.

Top Albums of 2025

Since most of these correspond with the artists as mentioned above, I’ll just comment on any albums that didn’t figure into the artist stats.

  1. Kill Lincoln - Good Riddance to Good Advice (10 Year Anniversary Edition) (192)

  2. The Pomps - Partial Eclipse of The Pomps (131)

  3. Kill Lincoln - No Normal (110)

  4. Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl (95)

  5. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (91)

  6. Kill Lincoln - Can’t Complain (90)

  7. Half Past Two - Talk Is Killing Me (73)

  8. Sabrina Carpenter - Man’s Best Friend (71)

  9. Catbite - Doom Garden (70)

  10. Bad Bunny - DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (66)

  11. Ben Prunty - Into the Breach (54)

  12. Sabrina Carpenter - emails i can’t send fwd: (42)

  13. Obojima - Obojima OST (40) - I was a backer of the Kickstarter for this D&D setting and adventure. The soundtrack is a fun listen.

  14. My Sister’s Fugazi Shirt - Nautilus VII (39)

  15. The Black Piper - Kaladin (39) - This is a soundtrack for The Stormlight Archive that I was listening to as I prepared to run the Cosmere TTRPG.

  16. ROSALÍA - MOTOMAMI (33) - The release of Lux at the end of 2025 made me go back to this album to listen to the incredible contrast in the soundscape. This one has a lot of Latin American influence while Lux is very European.

  17. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 3 (32)

  18. This Repeats - This Repeats (30) - I did a Kickstarter for this album in 2024 and I still love the odd duck sound of the album. It’s very New Orleans-inspired (or so it seems to my ear)

  19. The Beatles - Abbey Road (28)

  20. We Are the Union - Ordinary Life (28) - I’m not as much of a fan of this album as I originally was so I’m surprised I listened to it this much in 2025.

Top Tracks of 2025

As I mentioned above, I listed to a lot of Chillhop and a lot of those songs are represented here. While the artists might not get as much recognition and even any one album wasn’t enough to make the top 20 this year, individual songs were played enough to show up here!

  1. Kill Lincoln - Good Riddance to Good Advice (28) - This is my favorite song from the album of the same name. It’s a real banger.

  2. Kill Lincoln - Ronald… Help Me (25) - This is the first song from Good Riddance to Good Advice and it’s only an instrumental. Got lots of plays for being the first song on that album as i listened to it a lot.

  3. Mama Aiuto - Telegraph Hill (25) - Chillhop

  4. Styles Davis, Venuz Beats - Pivot (24) -Chillhop

  5. Gas‐Lab, Guillaume Muschalle - Growing Season (23) - Chillhop

  6. Sweeps, luv pug - Bloom (23) - Chillhop

  7. Toonorth - Green Tea (23) - Chillhop

  8. El Train, Paal Singh - New Dae (22) - Chillhop

  9. invention_ - Hypha (22) - Chillhop

  10. Kill Lincoln - Days I Spent Inside (22) - Mostly from listening to Good Riddance.

  11. Kill Lincoln - Second Cities (21) - My second favorite song from Good Riddance. It’s almost always played at every Kill Lincoln Concert. A song about wishing someone is confident with their choices.

  12. santpoort - night fauna (21) - Chillhop

  13. TESK - Spark (21) - Chillhop

  14. The Pomps - That’s Not a House (21) - This is the best song from their album and it’s about mega mansions hiding in plain sight.

  15. Kill Lincoln - I’m Fine (I Lied) (20) - This is from their most recent album and it encapsulates how I felt most of 2025.

  16. King I Divine - Jasmine (20) - Chillhop

  17. Kissamilé - Filao (20) - Chillhop

  18. Aviino - Velo (19) - Chillhop

  19. dennisivnvc, Dani Catalá - Jake (19) - Chillhop

  20. Gas‐Lab, Guillaume Muschalle - Otoño (19) - Chillhop

Top Overall Artist

  1. Five Iron Frenzy (5618) (no change in position) - This is the second year where they fended off MxPx taking the top spot for overall artist. Last year they were 200 songs ahead of MxPx. This year they’re only 100 songs ahead. What will happen? Will they keep their lead?

  2. MxPx (5521) (no change) - I thought they would release a new album in 2025. They didn’t, but they’ve been putting out a lot of singles. Maybe in 2026? That would definitely push them to #1.

  3. Anberlin (4624) (no change) - Last year I was happy that Vega came out. But in 2025 it was mostly just releases with their new touring singer who I do not like as much as Christian.

  4. The Beatles (4022) (no change) - Not much to say. They don’t have any real challengers for their spot any time soon.

  5. Fantastic Plastic Machine (3843) (no change) - My former #1 artist remains comfortably at #5.

  6. I Fight Dragons (3598) (no change) - What has arrested their rise is mostly the fact that they are currently on hiatus and not producing new music.

  7. Relient K (3338) (no change) - I thought I might get some of their newer albums in 2025, but I mostly focused my music money on ska and chillhop.

  8. “Weird Al” Yankovic (2127) (no change) - As I said last year, Weird Al isn’t really doing as many parodies. He said it’s hard to know what to do when we don’t all listen to the same music anymore.

  9. The PDX Broadsides (1999) (no change) - Only about 30 listens this year - more than 2024, but not a whole lot. They’d have to do a lot better to overtake Weird Al.

  10. Fall Out Boy (1920) (no change) - I only listened to 5 FoB songs in 2025. WOW!

  11. Jonathan Coulton (1763) (no change) - Again, only a few listens in 2025. But he hasn’t come out with anything new (that I know of)

  12. Lana Del Rey (1622) (no change) - I actually listened a lot more in 2025 due to putting her songs on random one morning while in the kitchen with Danielle.

  13. YUNG BAE (1381) (rose by 1 position) - I’m actually surprised he went up again (after jumping up by 2 last year). I didn’t remember listening to that much YB.

  14. Chance the Rapper (1378) (fell by 1 position) - I could potentially see Chance and YB trading spots for the next few years as I listen to each of them so infrequently that just a little extra could push one over the edge.

  15. Bee Gees (1359) (no change) - Apparently I didn’t listen to any BeeGees songs in 2025 (that were scrobbled) and SOMEHOW they weren’t overtaken by anyone! The power law is strong!

Off the list this year:

  • No one

Potentials for Next Year:

  • Taylor Swift (1224) - Currently at #17. While I’m not a huge Taylor fan, I’m not a hater either. I could easily see the kids asking to listen or me just putting her discography on one day and having it knock the BeeGees off the list.
  • Bad Rabbits (1002) - Currently at #27. They’re a long shot as they haven’t released any new music and I don’t have a lot of music so it’s hard for them to come on random. However, I do have a few of their songs on my favorites radio. I could see a slow, but steady potential rise to put them on the top 15 in 2026 or 2027.
  • Kill Lincoln (920) - Currently at #34. This one is tricky. I listened to them SO much in 2025 that I might have gotten sick of them. But another year like this one would definitely put them in the top 15 or within striking distance.

Anyone else, even artists I like would have to do something between double and triple their current listens in one year which would be pretty wild.

Top Overall Albums

  1. Bee Gees - The Ultimate Bee Gees (1343) (no change in position) - The BeeGees might be in danger of falling off the top artist list, but they’re currently very safe when it comes to top albums.

  2. Fantastic Plastic Machine - Luxury (977) (no change) - I predicted it might be in trouble from Blueprints at #4, but I didn’t end up listening to too much Anberlin. Still, of the albums currently in the top 15, that’s the most likely to topple it.

  3. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere (933) (no change) - But only for lack of listening to Anberlin.

  4. Anberlin - Blueprints For The Black Market (918) (no change) - I thought it would rise last year. We’ll have to see if it gets a boost in 2026.

  5. Five Iron Frenzy - The End Is Here (911) (no change) - Only a few listens this year.

  6. Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal (861) (no change) - As I said last year, I could see this one rise one or two slots.

  7. Andrea Echeverri - Andrea Echeverri (834) (no change) - No listens in 2025 either.

  8. Fantastic Plastic Machine - Beautiful (793) (no change) - I am more likely to listen to this one than #7, so it might rise.

  9. I Fight Dragons - Canon Eyes (760) (no change) - As I said last year, it’s not my favorite IFD album, so I’m surprised it’s this high.

  10. Chance the Rapper - Acid Rap (714) (1 position higher) - This is my favorite Chance album, so it makes sense that this would beat out #11 which I hate and never listen to on purpose.

  11. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (714) (dropped one position) - And will certainly fall again next year to #12, which is an album I love.

  12. Louis Jordan - The Best Of Louis Jordan (695) (no change) - I can definitely see this one going up 1-2 positions in 2026.

  13. Pizzicato Five - Happy End of the World (588) (no change) - I’m glad this one is still here, but it may not last too long.

  14. Five Iron Frenzy - Engine of a Million Plots (581) (1 position higher) - I listened to this one about twice in 2025. It jumped back to #14 where it was in 2024.

  15. MxPx - MxPx (577) (dropped one position) - Traded positions with the one above. They’re really close so I can see that happening again.

Potential Contenders for 2026:

Looking at all the albums below, it’s tough. There are many that aren’t too many listens away, but they’re also not albums that I listen to often. I’m going to make some wild guesses here.

  • Frank Ocean - Channel Orange [Explicit] (546) - currently #16. When I listen to this album on purpose I usually listen all the way through. That could push it up. But I also listen to the #15 album a lot which could make it a moving target.
  • Jokabi - Chilltendo Deluxe (521) - currently #23. If I put it on more than once it could end up jumping into the top 15.
  • Kill Lincoln - Can’t Complain (375) - #61 could be a really long shot, but I could see it getting really close in 2026.

Top Overall Tracks

Until they eventually fall off, there are some top tracks here that rose to the ranks 3 years ago because of the way last.fm was scrobbling on my phone at the time, examples are 1, 2, 5, 6, and 12.

  1. gog.com - Stardeus - Trailer (623) (no change in position)

  2. BeothSlayed - Eddie Izzard - Godspeed from “Circle” (2002) (464) )(no change)

  3. Dissidente - Atlantis (354) (no change) - I still enjoy it quite a bit.

  4. I Fight Dragons - Artifact (312) (increased by 1 position) - It’s nice to see real songs pushing the weird entries off the list.

  5. Humble Bundle - Humble Bundle Presents: Construction Simulator (2015) Deluxe Edition (311) (dropped by one)

  6. Team17 - Neon Abyss | Launch Trailer (209) (no change)

  7. Liberty X - Just a Little (188) (no change) - I can’t believe this song I heard 20ish years ago is STILL on here!

  8. Elaine Li - Beginners (Ragnarok Online II) (156) (no change)

  9. Jonathan Coulton - The Princess Who Saved Herself (130) (increased by 1) - I love this song and the book it inspired.

  10. The PDX Broadsides - Tiny Little Octopus (130) (dropped one position) - If my kids had continued to request it during tooth brushing it might have kept its spot.

  11. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood (124) (no change)

  12. alyankovicVEVO - “Weird Al” Yankovic - Fat (Official Music Video) (118) (no change)

  13. Five Iron Frenzy - Handbook For The Sellout (115) (no change) - and no listens

  14. Fantastic Plastic Machine - Steppin’ Out (112) (no change) - and no listens

  15. Five Iron Frenzy - Blue Comb ‘78 (111) (no change)

Off the list this year:

  • None

Potential for 2026:

  • Anberlin - Audrey, Start The Revolution! (105) - At #17. I predicted this one last year and it didn’t even get one listen this year! Still, I’m going to predict this one again.
  • last year I also predicted a bunch of other Anberlin songs. They remain the best bet because Kill Lincoln (for how much I listed to the artist) doesn’t have ANY songs in the top 100.

Stats from Last.fm EOY email

  • 1675 artists (15% drop)
  • 12% new artists (10% increase)
  • 2467 albums (15% drop)
  • 23% new albums (22% increase)
  • 4094 tracks (265 drop)
  • 22% new tracks (30% increase)
  • First track of 2026: Tessellate by alt-J
  • Busiest Day - Monday (1354 scrobbles on busiest day)
  • Busiest Hour: 11AM (1196 scrobbles at that time)
  • Most USA artists
  • Weighted to 1980s and newer
  • Total Listening Time: 18 days 6 hours (23% drop)
  • Average: 23 scrobbles/day (21% drop)
  • Longest streak: 39 days in a row (vs 45 in 2024) 0 21 Jan - 28 Feb.
  • 185 on most active say - 21 September
  • 29 trackcs with the word “night” in the title
  • In the top 0.43% of listeners to Kill Lincoln (I’m a super fan!)
  • #26 Top listener to The Pomps