I wanted to listen to more music in 2025. So obviously I set out to listen to the nr 1 rated album in each category from Rate Your Musics list of Genres . Should take no time, right?
Genres listened to Link to heading
I spent a lot of time digging into Jazz this past weeks. Like a lot of time. And so of course now I have a list of hundreds of “essential Jazz albums” I’m going through as well. If I could ever stop re-listening to stuff. Ah, music is fun.
But, tangents. Here are the new genres:
New Beat Link to heading
Emerged in the mid-1980s in Belgium; characterized by dark basslines, hard-hitting grooves, and a slow tempo.
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - Sexplosion
Ok, innocent enough. Not to bad. Got some nice grooves.
★★★ stars.
But what’s this second most highly rated album in the genre…
Oh lord did the short genre description not prepare me for this. I had to stop listening on speakers and switch to headphones because I became slightly embarrassed. At home. When no one else was here.
This is the music equivalent of watching a seduction and sex scene on TV with your mother next to you on the couch. But instead of a drama it’s watching hard core gang bang porn.
★★★½ stars.
Vocal Trance Link to heading
Melodic, polished, Pop-like, and vocal-focused with around 120-145 BPM and frequent overlap with Progressive Trance, Uplifting Trance, and Euro-Trance.
Sent me right back to 1999 when everyone was worried about 2000 bug but we were to young to really care and instead partied. Classic ”trance for people not into trance” kind of music as I remember it. Not the best, but mixing slightly catchy with outright cheesy.
★★½ stars. Has its moments, but isn’t strong
Epic Doom Metal Link to heading
Epic doom metal is a style of Traditional Doom Metal with an emphasis on its Heavy Metal influence, which oftentimes includes US Power Metal. The genre owes its name to Epicus Doomicus Metallicus by Candlemass, which was a crucial release for the development of its sound.
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
Epic (duh). This is what I think about when I think about some heavier metal.
That the solo (3:20) on the track Black Stone Wielder is taken from the Swedish Christmas song Gläns över sjö och strand is just amazing.
Not overproduced, lyrics not perfect, heavy guitars, slow epic drums. Great album.
★★★★ stars. Very good.
RABM Link to heading
Leftist movement related to Crust Punk that variably espouses Marxist, environmentalist, and anarchist views.
The Rime of Memory - Panopticon
This is an epic tale of how we as a species destroyed ourself and the world. A mix of ambient and black metal. Loons, strings, guitars, growling. I feel physically cold, in a good way. In all the album is a beautiful reminder to cherish all that we have, since one day we will all be gone.
Or you can just think of it like ”It’s like what the last season of game of thrones should have been”.
★★★★ stars.
Red Dirt Link to heading
Oklahoman and Texan acts descended from the Stillwater, Oklahoma independent Country scene of the 1980s.
A Long Way From Your Heart - Turnpike Troubadours
I’m sure this is really good if you like country.
Well played and well produced album. But alas - not for me. I did enjoy my dip into this style more than I expected though so probably came out appreciating country a bit more than before. hattip
★★½ stars.
Boom Bap Link to heading
Production style identified by an acoustic-sounding drum pattern of a kick drum on the downbeat followed by a cracking snare on the upbeat.
Grew up listening to this and 90s hiphop in general, but it never really clicked with me. Don’t know why.
★★★½ stars.
Proto-Punk Link to heading
Used to describe what influenced or in some way resembled Punk Rock before that genre’s commercial breakthrough in 1976.
Not much to say really. Decent but not good.
★★½ stars.
Glitch Link to heading
Uses abstract sound design and malfunctioning electronics—CD skips, data corruption, and hardware noise—as main compositional elements.
I don’t know if this is a good representation of “glitch” as a whole since people call it “glitch ambient” - but who cares, it’s really enjoyable.
Sidenote: Listening to glitch on vinyl seems like the ultimate hipster thing to do. Need to get into that.
Anyhow, I like the idea of the genre as a whole being based on “mistakes” and unintended sounds. Really fascinating. This album was really cozy, like getting a hug from an interesting aunt with strange dresses on a warm summer day. It’s easy for experimental things to sound bad in the name of sounding different - this does not. I can see myself having this on while working or doing breathwork. Nice.
★★★★ stars.
Geek Rock Link to heading
Emphasizes a nerdy aesthetic, incorporating synthesizers and other instrumentation less common in Alternative Rock alongside quirky Pop-oriented songwriting and dense, witty lyricism on unconventional topics.
Logan Whitehurst & The Junior Science Club - Goodbye, My 4-Track
This is really cool. Well, at least cool if you are a geek like me. The musical equivalent to Kevin Smiths Clerks.
★★★★ stars.
The rating system Link to heading
This is the rating system I use when evaluating albums.
| Star Rating | Description |
|---|---|
| ★★★★★ | Essential, Spectacular |
| ★★★★½ | Amazing, maybe a few very tiny flaws. Exceptional; will likely rank among my top ten albums of the year, Very good |
| ★★★★ | Very good |
| ★★★½ | Above average; enjoyable |
| ★★★ | Not brilliant, but nice enough |
| ★★½ | Has its moments, but isn’t strong |
| ★★ | Mediocre; not good, but not awful, Just below average; bad outweighs good by just a little bit |
| ★½ | Definitely below average, but a few redeeming qualities |
| ★ | Heard worse, but still pretty bad; Awful; not a single pleasant track |
| ½ | Breaks new ground for terrible |
Thats all folks Link to heading
Alright, there we have it. I’ll try to post a roundup like this from time to time for record keeping. To see more what I listen to check out my profile on RYM.