Self explanatory intro. If this year had a theme it was “pop music and easy listening.” This was the hardest year for me to narrow down yet. I hope you enjoy exploring the below list.

-Tuned Up Head Honcho Ryan Getz

40. Super Sport – Scioto Surf Club Vol. 2

An instrumental surf rock album named after my local river? What isn’t there to love about that? You bet I’m going to be using this a lot to beat the winter blues in 2025.

39. Make Sure – June

This album is consistently pleasant sunny indie rock. Play this at your next grill out. Fans of Real Estate and Local Natives will like this. The youth group-core elder emos will like this too.

38. Young Medicine – Cold Blooded

Synthwave, metal, and endless hooks. What’s not to love? This band is setting the gold standard for this intersection of genres and we’re here for it.

37. Tycho – Infinite Health

Another Tycho album. Another year end list. There really isn’t anything new here, but that’s ok. The same old thing in a fresh package is sometimes just what the doctor ordered.

36. Egypt Speaks – Orphan, the Choir

Egypt Speaks! When are people going to wake up and realize what a prodigy this spoken word artist and composer is? She performed at Audiofeed festival on our stage last summer. She would tell us afterward that she forgot her lyrics halfway through her set and improvised the rest of it. And people were none the wiser. Her pieces are witty and will also make you cry. 

35. Dan Stirling – Friends Like These

This UK faith oriented alt artist put forth a sleeper hit of a moody, airy indie record this past year. It has a myriad of sounds based on how it’s functionally a collaboration record as well, with several friends of the composer. 

34. Ghost Work – Light a Candle For the Lonely

Ghost Work is a post punk band who received little fanfare this past year, but released an absolutely massive album. It’s the sort of record meant for gloomy weather days. It will keep you awake if the doldrums are getting to you. It might not necessarily cheer you up – but it will keep you awake!

33. Bloomer – Butterfly World

I discovered this artist on TikTok this past year (maybe this will never happen again with the impending ban?!). Bloomer’s 6 octave vocal range, and pop sensibility is making shoegaze music possibly the most accessible it has ever been. There are some fun experimental elements in here as well to discover.

32. Dawes – Oh Brother

This band has been on my radar for over a decade. Something about them finally clicked for me hearing their latest. Solid, consistent Americana infused rock music. Listen to this by the fireplace. 

31. Juice – Nothing Like a Dream (EP)

Juice channels 80s hair bands, soul, funk, and hip hop in this very fun EP. What a combo, huh?

30. Ghost Soul – Cartoon Nightmare

One of my favorite acts in Columbus returns with a short, yet fun record of groovy alternative music that leans a bit more into their Radiohead influences than their Mutemath influences. But, no complaints here.

29. Abby Holliday – CRACK A SMILE COME ON STAY A WHILE

Abby’s turning into quite a prolific indie songwriter. She’s still flying a bit under the radar when it comes to journalism. This quirky album is one that is chock full of tongue-in-cheek earworms and honesty. 

28. In the Valley Below – The Black Moon

I’m a sucker for dreamy synth pop. I’ve said it probably a thousand times on this blog and I’ll continue to say it forever. Albums like this one will make sure of this.

27. iskwē – nīna

Indie pop with hammered dulcimer? Be still, my heart. That was my introduction to this artist. The record as a whole is an ethereal journey with catchy tunes expressed in unexpected ways.

26. Nailah Hunter – Lovegaze

You’ve never heard ambient folk like this. I can all but guarantee it. Dreamy and mysterious.

25. John Van Deusen – Anthem Sprinter

John Van Deusen has been quietly making some of the best indie rock in the country since the early 2010s. Anthem Sprinter is the latest in his track of consistent, smart, faith inclined rock music.

24. Zane Vickery – Interloper

Time to get emotional. Zane Vickery’s been one to watch in the Christian underground for a couple of years now. Interloper ought to be the record that places him firmly on the industry circuit. 

23. Mount Eerie – Night Palace

Mount Eerie just dropped my favorite release of his since Clear Moon. While the tragic A Crow Looked At Me… is what truly placed this Pacific Northwest songwriter on the map (following his Microphones fame), I’ve always been partial to his darker, more experimental stuff. Night Palace is an opus of meandering thoughts that might as well take place on any given night. 

22. Ducks Ltd. – Harms Way

Ducks Ltd are an incredibly consistent and fun jangle pop band. Some might say they’re a one trick pony. But I don’t view this as a bad thing. I would love to experience this in a basement show environment.

21. Casey – How to Disappear

This album has gotten shout outs in fan groups of post hardcore and Furnace Fest, amongst others, for most of this year. And for good reason. It’s a very consistent, enjoyable listen for post-hardcore veterans and noobs alike.

20. Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk

Magdalena Bay puts the “art” in “art pop” without compromising accessibility. Their record Imaginal Disk hearkens in some ways back to 2010 era of alt-pop when MGMT, Phantogram, et al first rose to prominence. There’s an eerie quality to parts of the record and its aesthetic that makes the listening experience that much more fun.

19. Chris Renzema – Manna

This record slowly grew on me as the year went on. I went from being unsure about the hype to understanding it. Manna is an album that is a good gateway album for fans of “basic” CCM into a more indie genre. And it gets you into the same reverent mindset you probably are seeking without foregoing any authenticity.

18. Eric Hilton – Sound Vagabond

This past year I listened to more chill electronic music than I probably ever have before. And, Eric Hilton, a downtempo veteran, released one of my personal dark horses for the year. This album was the soundtrack to many angst ridden afternoons of working and car rides. It helped keep me grounded.

17. glass beach – plastic death

Glass Beach is another act who released an album I struggle to define. It’s sprawling. It’s contemplative. It’s whimsical. It’s layered. It’s something that’s worth a deep dive whether you’re a casual pop listener or the most hardened indie snob.

16. communitypool – communitypool

This album was one of my favorite discoveries of the year. Communitypool brings forth a contemplative pop rock sound that is suitable for a multitude of environments. 

15. Andrew Bird – Sunday Morning Put-On

This album is old-school vocal driven jazz from a bygone era at its finest. Put this on when you’re trying to schmooze a special someone.

14. Lo Moon – I Wish You Way More Than Luck

Lo Moon had a moment a few years back when they toured with Phoenix and then seemed to fade back into obscurity. This record shows continued growth in their track record of sensual nighttime power ballads perfect for night drives. 

13. Charli XCX – Brat

What is there to say about Brat that a jillion other blogs haven’t already said? 

12. Safari Room – Time Devours All Things

This Nashville based indie outfit has quietly come into their own over the past few albums. This one is where they’ve really hit their stride. This record is a good one for road trips. They know how to make walls of sound that are aggressive without being punishing, and existing in the quiet well, too.

11. Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us

Every Vampire Weekend album has been pretty distinct. What this album lacks is a punchy, short ditty in the vein of “Diane Young,” “Cousins” or “A-Punk” but this is supplemented with some of the most interesting songs of the band’s career. Most songs have a standout element or two that make you stop and think. But nothing overstays its welcome. It’s still a fairly straightforward listen.

10. The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy

This album has been called theatrical by many and you know what? I agree. It’s dramatic and carries an over the top flair. But this is perfectly acceptable. I can’t wait to see how this band explores this sound further. This is a very strong debut record. 

9. Still Corners – Dream Talk

Still Corners really crept up on me this year. A SXSW discovery led to me diving in a little, than a little more, then a little more… and suddenly, I was like “where have I been?” Still Corners makes Americana infused dream pop that has a sense of longing and forlorn feeling. If you’re sad, this music will probably make you bask in your feels. But it’s oddly comforting. 

8. Everything Everything – Mountainhead

To just call this an indie pop record is to be very limiting in definition. I struggle with how to articulate this album in words. All I know is that it’s catchy and I like it. They should be a mainstay on every alt-festival circuit.

7. Conan Gray – Found Heaven

Conan Gray is an artist I want to call a guilty pleasure simply based on the fact that as a 36 year old man I feel I’m hardly his target audience. But his 80s infused pop record is really, really addicting. None of the songs overstay their welcome. 

6. Deep AL Brindle – Are You Nervous?

Imagine if Tycho and M83 had an oceanic lovechild. Are You Nervous? is a record that ought to make you feel anything but nervous. A core memory this past year for me involved driving along Lake Michigan with my wife at dusk, with this playing in my car.

5. Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To

This is the most crushing, punishing thing I heard all year. It’s so dark. And at times it’s challenging to listen to given my Christian beliefs. But it’s also one of the most cathartic things I’ve heard in a very long time. Believe the hype.

4. My Epic – Loriella

This is My Epic at their most accessible. It doesn’t hit me as hard in the feels as some of their previous records, but it’s an introspective, gorgeous journey that fans of the fan probably did not realize they were seeking.

3. Teddy at Night – Good in the End

This is the album that I was probably most consistently craving this year (other than that of a certain Columbus based duo). Teddy at Night’s “sleaze pop,” as it were, is just so effortlessly fun and catchy. These songs were made for arenas with several lasers and endless disco balls and glitter. OK, the glitter part sounds like a bit of a nightmare. But you know what isn’t a nightmare? This album. It will stir a longing in you you didn’t know you had. Even if you’re were born 20 years after the 80s.

2. Future Islands – People Who Aren’t There Anymore

This is the most I’ve been into a Future Islands record since their breakout record Singles. If Singles established their identity, this record will be the one people come back to decades from now and view as the archetype of what the band’s strengths are. 

1. Twenty One Pilots – Clancy

You knew this was coming. Clancy is a lot more straightforward of an album than I was expecting. But there are no skips on this album. None. Even Trench, whose overall feeling is my favorite of the band’s, only has a handful of tracks I’ll return to return regularly. My big question is whether the DEMA lore is truly over. My money is on “no.”