The Bad Penny’s Top 50 Best LPs of 2025, Pt. 1: Sharon Van Etten, Spy, Turnstile, Swans, Cloakroom
A lot of fucked-up up shit happened in the U.S. this year. Way, way too much of it. For many of us Americans who actually carry values in our hearts instead of bloviating about them or slapping bumper stickers on our monster trucks, it was almost too much to bear.
Fortunately, 2025 also saw the release of a staggering number of stellar records, which made the year a little more … well, bearable. Hence, for the first time ever, The Bad Penny is deviating from its usual annual tradition of limiting out favorite listens to just 10 and breaking them into a five-part series containing 10 records per installment.
What follows is the first batch.
41. Sharon Van Etten – & the Attachment Theory (Jagjaguwar)
42. Spy – Seen Enough (Closed Casket Activities)
• Spy Vocalist Says Last Five Years ‘Have Been a Crazy Time for Hardcore’
43. Stress Positions – Human Zoo (Three One G)
• Stress Positions Frontman ‘Voice[s] Thoughts Fully and Without Fear’
44. Swans – Birthing (Young God)
• Big Takeover #45: Michael Gira and Todd Trainer Interviews, Bernie/AOC Rally Coverage, More
45. Torpedo Torpedo – Arrows of Time (Electric FIre)
46. Cloakroom – Last Leg of the Human Table (Closed Casket)
47. Tunde Adebimpe – Thee Black Boltz (Sub Pop)
• Tunde Adebimpe’s ‘Thee Black Boltz’: Two Cent Review
48. Turnstile – Never Enough (Roadrunner)
• Turnstile’s ‘Never Enough’: Two Cent Review
• On Tyranny: Off-Duty Cop Reportedly Pepper-Sprays Teen at Turnstile Concert
49. Young Widows – In and Out of Youth and Lightness (Temporary Residence Ltd.)
• Young Widows’ ‘Power Sucker’: Two Cent Review
50. Car Seat Headrest – Scholars (Matador)
• Car Seat Headrest’s ‘The Scholars’: Two Cent Review
Check back next week for entrants 31 to 40 on The Bad Penny‘s list of Top 50 Best LPs of 2025.
This list was originally submitted to Treble for publish.
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