I love to start the year off with a look back at the year that was.
I started doing this album countdown back in 2009 and instead of doing a Top 10 list, I thought I’d be clever and do a Top 9 Albums of 2009.
Since then, I have had to add an album to the list every year to keep up the pattern. This is becoming more and more of a chore, but fortunately this year, there were so amazing albums. My shortlist was five albums longer.
So without further ado, here is my Top 25 of 2025 – In this format #. Artist – Song (Album)
25. MindsOne ft DJ Iron – Why We Do This (Stages)
24. MotionPlus ft A.F.R.O. – Lyrical Whatever (FOCUS)
23. Aavery ft m4artin – Something (Childhood Dreams)
22. Awich ft Joey Bada$$ & RZA – Fear Us (Okinawan Woman)
21. Ryan Nicole – Guard Down (#YoursTruly)
20. Lords of the Underground & Snowgoons – U Can Get It (So Legendary)
19. Queen Herawin ft Ke Turner & DJ Deception – Power (Awaken the Sleeping Giant)
18. Substantial fy DJ RBI & T. Lucas – 1580 Remix (Adultish 2.0)
17. Grace Chia – Books I Read In Hues
16. Sol Messiah ft Sa-Roc – Maat (War of the Gods)
15. Timbuktu & T.O. Huxtable ft Wordburglar & More or Les – Ready for War (Thunderdome)
14. Phill Most Chill & Djar One – Deal With It (Deal With It)
13. SL of Repeat Offenders ft Eternia & Apollo’s Sun – I Choose (Throwback Theatre)
12. Von Pea & The Other Guys ft J-Live, Verbal Kint & Wordsworth – Talent (J-Live Feature Presentations Vol 1)
11. Circle of Native Vibes ft Vex Davortex – This Is Hip Hop (Art And Science)
10. M-Dot & Confidence – Rollercoaster (Library of Sound)
9. Blacktivity – A Better Way (#UNCIVILRIGHTS)
8. K-Rec and 4-Ize ft Megaton S.P. & Primo Jab – Cypher Psychology (Animated Colloquialisms 3)
7. Amadeus 360 & Devine Carama ft Craig G – Hip Hop Commandments (Guardians of the Boom Bap)
6. Nas & DJ Premier – Writers (Light Years)
5. Arrested Development – My Job Ain’t Done (Adult Contemporary Hip Hop)
4. McKinley Dixon – Run Run Run Pt 2 (Magic, Alive!)
3. Brother Ali – The Counts (Satisfied Soul)
2. Shad ft pHoenix Pagliacci – Look Pt. 2 (Start Anew)
1. De La Soul – Sunny Storms (Cabin In The Sky)
Did I miss anything?
Are there albums I need to check out?
Do you agree or disagree with my rankings?
Originally aired on 94.9 fm Radio Western on January 8, 2026
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