13th Floor Top Albums of 2025 as Selected by Marty Duda
With 2025 done and dusted its time to think back and pick 10 albums that stand out among the thousands that were released over the past 365 days.
The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda lists his top 10 favourite albums of 2025…not necessarily the best…but the ones that still resonate with him on January 1, 2026…
10. Robert Plant – Saving Grace (Nonesuch) It was a good year for old rockers. Plant has given up squeezing lemons and turned his attention to more traditional sources of inspiration, namely traditional blues and folk songs. Along with singer Suzi Dian (apparently Alison Krauss was otherwise engaged) Plant wraps his leathered lungs around songs by Memphis Minnie, Blind Willie Johnson and…Moby Gape.
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9. Georgia Knight – Beanpole (Poison City) Composed on the autoharp (her weapon of choice) this debut album proved that this Lyttelton/Melbourne singer/songwriter was no flash-in-the-pan when she stunned audiences at the year’s Others Way Festival, indicating this this first long-player of hers is just the beginning of what promises to be artistic career worth watching (and hearing).
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8. Van Morrison – Remembering Now (Exile/Virgin) Van the Man still can! Possibly the most unlikely artist on the list, Van has been treading water for years while simultaneously pissing people off with his anti-lockdown rants. But all is forgiven…at least for now…as Morrison serves up a collection of transcendent originals that hold up against his very best.
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7. Tami Neilson – Neon Cowgirl (Neilson) We go from the Belfast Cowboy to New Zealand’s own Neon Cowgirl. Its been quite a year for Tami…touring with Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan…performing at the Grand Ol Opry…but best of all, making this record. Tami channels Roy O. while her ace band plays like their lives depend on it. The result…a new high point in a career filled with them.
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6. Robert Forster – Strawberries (Universal) The former Go-Between ain’t getting’ any younger (he’s 67), but he keeps getting better. Along with help from his wife, Karin Bäumler and Swedish producer Peter Morén, Forster keeps it simple, stupid…writing lovely melodies and telling poignant stories with his heart firmly on his sleeve.
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5. Margo Price – Hard Headed Woman (Loma Vista) Margo gets back to the country on this her 5th studio album, one that finds here reclaiming her place in the country music community after a brief fling with rock & roll. Call it Country, Rock, Americana or whatever you like…we call it good music from top to bottom. Any arguments? Talk to Margo!
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4. Theia – Girl, In A Savage World (Self) Finally…Christchurch’s own Em-Haley Walker serves up the album we’ve all been waiting for. But this is no run-of-the-mill r&b/hip-hop/pop mash-up that seems to be everywhere. No, no…Theia creates her own sonic world while getting her message across, one that celebrates indigenous cultures while raging against colonialism and mysogyny. An album that demands to be heard.
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3. The Saints – Long March Through The Jazz Age (Fire) Chris Bailey’s final album with The Saints (he died in 2022) has been gathering dust in the vaults since 2018. Thank goodness the folks at Fire Records had the good sense to let this record find an audience. Bailey’s songwriting has never been sharper and his singing is all the more emotion-filled now that we know how his story ends. Another reason to celebrate the incredible legacy that is The Saints.
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2. Pulp – More (Rough Trade) A mere 24 years after their last long player, Pulp comes back for More. Let’s face it, Britpop is all the rage again…just ask the Gallagher Brothers (and their accountants)…so why shouldn’t Jarvis have some of the spoils? But this is no cash-in. Pulp have made an album that proves they deserve the title of “Top Britpop Band”…thankfully Oasis knows better than to try and record again…now where is Blur?
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1. Mary Chapin Carpenter – Personal History (Lambent Light) Another 67-year-old…this one at the top of the list. Mary Chapin Carpenter has quietly gone about the business of making great records since 1987. Personal History finds her at her most honest, reflective and vulnerable. We dare you to sit through this record without shedding a tear. Hard times often make for great music. Times have been tough for Mary and for many of us, yet beauty wins in the end.
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