My favorite albums from 2025
My top 60 albums from 2025. Indie, folk, hip hop, punk, hardcore, emo records and much more! The list you've been waiting for...
Welcome to Crucial Tracks
A crucial track is a song that changes the direction of your life or helps you see the world in a different way. The songs that represent relationships or trigger memories. The songs that make you, you.
Whether it's through interviews with interesting people, reviews of new releases, or our amazing music community, Crucial Tracks is here to help you think about the role music plays in shaping your life.
Latest posts
Quitting Spotify, ethics, and pay per stream
My thoughts on quitting Spotify, pay per stream, and the ethics of digital music consumption.
More Albums I Liked in 2025
The ones I liked that didn't make the final list for 2025. Broken down by genre... 53 albums in all!
Crucial Releases: November 21
New music from De La Soul, Glitterer, Haley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover, GASKET, Method of Doubt, and BOYS LIFE.
Crucial Releases: November 7 + 14
New music from Sword II, Sorry, DRAIN, Stella Donnelly, Danny Brown, Armand Hammer, Whitney, Navy Blue, and runo plum.
Crucial Releases: October 31
New music from Saintseneca, Snocaps, Florence + the Machine, Aesop Rock, Work Wife, The Belair Lip Bombs, and Camp Trash.
Crucial Releases: October 24
New records from Antibalas, Hannah Jagadu, Daniel Caesar, fanclubwallet, Joyer, Tortoise, The Alchemist, and Soulfly.
Crucial Releases: October 17
New music from they are gutting a body of water, Militarie Gun, Skullcrusher, 84 Tigers, Living Hour, Destiny Bond, and Mirrorless.
App Updates
App Updates for November
Announcing design updates, challenges to earn badges, new merch, and recapping the blog.
App Updates for September
Announcing four new features for the Crucial Tracks app: better reminders, prompt explorer, themes, and Bandcamp/YouTube support for entries.
App Updates for August 2025
Email reminders are here! As well as a look at what’s next.
The joy of Crucial Tracks
My favorite thing so far is the slow, serendipitous nature of the Public Tracks feed.
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