Albums of the Year: Emma Wilkes & Sean Adams Pick Their Standouts

2025-12-08

It’s that time again: lists, arguments, consensus (or lack of it). So.. how do we choose an ultimate “Album of the Year’? In this episode, Emma Wilkes joins Sean Adams to talk through their favourite albums of 2025. No this is not the definitive list, not the ‘right’ list, just the stuff that has stuck, been obsessed over, demanded repeat listens, or just briefly rearranged their internal wiring. They also talk openly about the collapse of monoculture, the impossibility of ‘keeping up’, and why criticism still matters amongst the fractured scenes, algorithmic bubbles, and overwhelming volume of new music to choose from. This is not so much a ranked list and more as two v...

It’s that time again: lists, arguments, consensus (or lack of it). So.. how do we choose an ultimate “Album of the Year’?

In this episode, Emma Wilkes joins Sean Adams to talk through their favourite albums of 2025. No this is not the definitive list, not the ‘right’ list, just the stuff that has stuck, been obsessed over, demanded repeat listens, or just briefly rearranged their internal wiring.

They also talk openly about the collapse of monoculture, the impossibility of ‘keeping up’, and why criticism still matters amongst the fractured scenes, algorithmic bubbles, and overwhelming volume of new music to choose from.

This is not so much a ranked list and more as two very online music obsessives trying to map a year that refuses to be summarised.

The Drowned in Sound podcast is presented in partnership with Qobuz, the pioneering high-quality music streaming and download platform for music enthusiasts and audiophiles. Each week we curate playlists on Qobuz, featuring our favourite records, artists, and the themes we explore on the show.

Visit https://drownedinsound.org/playlists/ to discover new music in rich Hi-Res lossless quality and start your 30-day free trial of Qobuz at https://qobuz.com/dis.

Edited by:

Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio

Chapters

00:00 – Hayley Williams and the case for a bold AOTY

01:00 – Emma’s pick: The Callous Daoboys and joyful heaviness

04:00 – Grassroots venues, noise scenes, and Atlanta’s rise

06:30 – Introducing Emma Wilkes: rock, metal & Kerrang!

09:00 – Why heavy music needs catharsis, humour, and chaos

12:00 – Hardcore’s new era and the crossover wave

14:00 – The collapse of monoculture in 2025

16:00 – Discovery fatigue and the algorithm problem

18:30 – Model/Actriz, grief albums, and theatrical noise