I added Addison Rae but it'll probably be a bit before I get around to it.


61. Never Enough by Turnstile - 7

-I'm on my fourth listen and still find this a hard one to grade. Can something be really good and really disappointing at the same time? I'll admit my expectations were far too high. After getting massive success (by rock standards) from their previous album, touring with Blink 182 and generally being considered the next big thing ... of course it was stray away from their hardcore roots and be more alternative / accessible. So on first listen I was just clinging to songs like Birds and Sunshower, desperate for the old Turnstile to return. Now? I've come to appreciate the Seein Stars and Look Out For Me experimentation. It's highly possible this score will rise as we go along in the year, and then rise even higher when I finally get to see them live.

62. God Of Angels Trust by Volbeat - 7.5

-A bit of the inverse of Turnstile, where this is basically more of the same from the Danish rockers, thus technically not that musically impressive, but I am very satisfied anyways since I love Volbeat's sound. It's pretty unique even after all this time with the rockabilly goofiness mixed with 80s throwback thrash metal and highly theatrical vocals. Some might even call it an acquired taste (though most metal bros I know think they stink lol.) And despite having songs called "In the Barn of the Goat Giving Birth to Satans Spawn in a Dying World of Doom" , they are relatively harmless, more demon hunters in a fantastical world than following all the way through with the 80s throwback and selling their souls and whatnot.

63. Lullabies For Dogs by Chase Petra - 5.5

-First off, great album title. Unfortunately, I'm a cat person, so most of these lullabies for dogs just make me snoozy. Chase Petra is something my algorhythm would insist that I'll love, since they do really sound like a lot of other indieish powerpop that I listen to, but maybe I want more than just beach bunny adjace? Though it does make me wonder, are people out there listening to beach bunny for this first time all like "meh this sounds like Chase Petra..." ?

64. Tha Carter VI by Lil Wayne - 6.6

-After all the doom and gloom surrounding this album (it has a 1.9/5 on musicboard) I was expecting worse. I thought it was quality consistent with what he has been putting out for the last 15 years or so. Not amazing, but there were enough songs to like on there, more than enough to equal out the ones to not like. Hard to be too mad about that.

65. Piroutte by Model/Actriz* - 7

-These Brooklyn based electronicers are clearly inspired by the other famous Brooklyn based electronic dude - LCD Soundsystem. And I appreciate that. It's not a 1-1 though, there's some Depeche Mode in here too with the whole emo lyrics in a dance club type vibe. LCD was always too cool to have emotions.

66. Lotus by Little Simz - 8.8

-Simzie continues to prove herself as one of the best and most consistent names in modern hip-hop. This is her sixth full length album and only one of them has fallen below an 8 for me (the second album and only just barely.) If she retired today she would already be crowned the best female rapper of all time (by me and a select few others, likely British people, who have heard of her lol.) She brings what you'd expect with the fast flow and intellectual lyrics, Enough is probably the best song, but also adds some new tricks to her arsenol. Young is a ton of fun and features her acting silly, similiar to another British rap act The Streets (my favorite line "Next summer I'll be probably overseas, I speak alot of French 'oui oui oui'.) And Blood is a rap version of a phone call with her brother (that she apparently doesn't see as often as she'd like.) Just impressive stuff as per usual.

67. Addison by Addison Rae* - 6.9

-Well that might be the easiest score I've ever given. I'd heard this name before, and knew that she was really hot, but somehow had never heard Diet Pepsi unless it was in public and I mistook it for someone else. I'd wonder if it was too naughty for sports arenas and the like, but they were playing Sports Car quite often earlier in the year not to mention all the Chappell Roan and Billie Eilish songs about getting their poons eaten. Anyways, Diet Pepsi is awesome. The rest of the album? Just ok. I dunno if any of the other songs will stay in my rotation, but they certainly weren't bad or anything.

68. I Live, I Die, I Live Again by Chuckyy* - 4.1

-This dude has some decent songs where he sounds like Big Sean, but far too many songs on this album were more remeniscent of Drake. And really ... if the best you can do is sound like someone else then there's not much worth bothering with to begin with.

69. A Door Left Open by Orthodox - 10

-Balls to the walls relentless intensity, yet the chaos is also fully controlled with pitch perfect tempo changes throughout. Obviously this type of music is not going to appeal to everyone, but this is as good as it gets right here.

A third album of the year contender has hit 2025.

*Shocked George W Bush face*

The breakdown at the end of Sacred Place is absolutely filthy. I love using words like that to describe music. So even though its already the highest score possible, Orthodox get even more points for expanding the sonic vocabulary.

Elton John and Brandi Carlile - Who Believes in Angels?: 6/10

This seems like the type of album the Grammys used to give Best Album to over the young hip ones while people groan (Though the Kendrick bandwagon seems hard to beat this year). Some flashes of greatness and they sound pretty good singing together, but too many average songs and the ones where Brandi sounds like a radio country girl are not that appealing, but I like her style of verse on the the title track and others like it. Little Richard's Bible is probably the most interesting song overall.

Yeah, I feel she doesn't really have her own sound yet, but either way Fame is a Gun is a great song.

70. Forever My Moment by Tee Grizzly* - 6.5

-There's a song called "They Shot At Trump" on here which naturally piqued my interest, but its really not a political song at all. More just saying "it dont matter how rich you are, they can still get at you." And that type of cookie cutter opinion is all over his music, though his rapping style and the beats are pretty damn decent. I'd call it Easy Listening rap, which is not what I expected considering how I opened this review, but I guess I'll take it anyway.

Benson Boone - American Heart: 7.5/10

Pretty solid pop album, I think Beautiful Things is probably more rock than anything on this, as this feels more electric keyboard/synth type sound. Harry Styles comp is easy to make though the production also feels like a throwback at least a little bit, maybe at least to mall friendly 2000s songs? While it doesn't have mind blowing songs, most are at least a 6/10 or 7/10 due to good production and singing and he seems genuine as lyric writer, and the overall feel of the album makes sense together. Man in Me is the standout for me so far and Take Me Home a solid ballad, the Momma Song might be slightly too much trying to make those soccer moms thirsty for him melt, but is still a decent song. I think he is talented.

71. Virgin by Lorde - 7.5

-Back to the basics and better for it. I am Lorde, ya ya ya.

72. Mental Madness by Pig Pen* - 5.9

-I was originally gonna give this a positive grade (6+) but I completely forgot that I even listened to it for several days and you gots to lose points for that. Anyways, this is a hardcore band with hardcorey songs and a hardcorey attitude.