It’s the end of the year, and it’s time for my Album of the Year list. First, let me say that this has been an amazing year for new music. The ska scene was incredibly generous to me this year, giving me countless hours of music to listen to. And as I prepared to write this article, I listened to hours and hours of albums I missed during the year, and found several new albums to add to my personal playlists.
This year, I decided to only release a top ten, but before I get into those albums, let me mention several albums that I really enjoy, but didn’t make the list. One album that could have easily been in the top five was Doom Garden by Catbite. This was some of the best music to grace the airwaves and features several of my most-streamed songs this year. However, it was an EP, and I decided to only consider full-length LPs. Honestly, I generally only count LPs, but I seriously considered making an exception. If you haven’t listened to Catbite, definitely go stream that EP. 6 of the best songs released this year.
A few honorable mentions for my list- Brunt Of It put out “It’s a Mad, Bad, Sad, Rad, World” that I loved, which was a ska- rock/ ska core album that was full of really great songs. The Kilograms’ “Beliefs and Thieves” is probably on a lot of people’s lists for damn good reason- Joe Gittleman is a treasure, and the reggae vibes on this album are amazing. Los Ocupados’ debut album came out early in the year and was one of my favorite albums of the year for much of the year. Western Standard Time Ska Orchestra had a really solid album that just couldn’t crack my top 10 this year, but I definitely recommend it. Some long-running ska bands like Buck-O-Nine and The Planet Smashers put out albums that are solid additions to their discography, especially. And finally, Pack Your Bags by Abraskadabra is one of the better ska punk albums that didn’t make my list. There are many other incredible ska albums that came out this year that missed out on my list, and you should definitely explore the start-track blog to find more incredible music.
But for my top 10 albums of 2025:
10. “New Dead Ends” by the best of the worst
I am not the biggest ska-core fan, and my taste in ska-core is fairly narrow; this album doesn’t quite fit my niche, but it is still an amazing album. I think it is pretty clearly the best ska-core album this year, and most people would probably rank it much higher on their list than number 10. This is easily a top 5 album for ska-core fans.
9. “OPERATiON iDOL” by NO♡AF
This album absolutely blew me away. I missed it when it first released, and I only found it when I started looking back at lists of music that came out this year to make this list. I cannot get enough. It’s poppy, it’s ska, it’s punk as fuck, and it’s rock… also, it’s in Japanese. I haven’t translated the lyrics, I don’t need to. I just need to put it on and bop. This album has made me want to seek out as much Japanese ska as possible in 2026. Put it on, and you will definitely understand.
8. “Eat This” by Bite Me Bambi
Bite Me Bambi’s is the pinnacle of California pop ska punk- and they’ve evolved the sound more than any other band, and they regularly weave a wide range of external influences into their songs while keeping amazing rhythms and punchy horns. As one of the first major ska albums of 2025, I feel like this album suffers from a lack of recency bias. While most of this album had been released as singles over the last two years, to have them all in one album full of tracks you want to sing along with is exciting. These are some of the catchiest, most danceable songs of the year.
7. “Disco Lunch” by The Boy Detective
The Boy Detective is a favorite band for nearly everyone who’s ever had the pleasure of seeing them live, and with their newest album, they really let the world know why. This collection of ska punk and ska core tracks is mostly about life as an adult in the modern American hellscape, but also learning from your mistakes, raising a family, being a spouse, and being an artist. Incredible music and very relatable lyrics carried this album to being one of the best albums of the year and beyond.
6. “Stockholm Syndrome” by Fishbone
I admit that I prefer listening to and promoting newer bands and smaller artists. When a band has existed for more than 10-15 years, I generally think their music sounds more stale, less inspired, and feels too familiar for me to enjoy. It takes something really special for me to want to promote “legacy bands”. This is that something special. Fishbone has been around for over 40 years, and Stockholm Syndrome is still every bit as fresh, inspired, creative, and energetic as a debut album, but as refined, polished, and skilled as their experience would indicate. Most importantly, it’s chock full of important messages and political statements. It isn’t music for the sake of putting out another album; it’s music to make a point.
5. “Vending Machine” by Sad Snack
This album was just released on December 5th, as I was already working on this list. Fortunately, I received it early and had the pleasure of listening to this album repeatedly over the last few weeks. The music on this album is incredible, having 4 different members on vocals, with at least 3 different lead vocalists, makes the album feel constantly fresh and diverse. I was shocked at how incredible this album was, and at only 9 songs, it leaves you hungry for more instead of tired of the album at the end.
4. “Partial Eclipse of” by The Pomps
This is where my list becomes impossible. The final 4 albums all feel like they could easily be the album of the year. The Pomps’ unique sound, mixing new wave and two-tone, reggae, and modern ska sounds into their own special sound, is absolutely special. A couple of years ago, I fell in love with their last album, and they’ve improved in every way with this album. Do not skip out on this album.
3. “The Hand You’ve Been Dealt” by Joker’s Republic
Nobody has ever proven that ska works perfectly without horns or keys better than New Jersey’s three-piece powerhouse- Joker’s Republic! There are some incredibly great lyrics through this song, very catchy melodies, amazing guitar solos and bass work, and a fairly diverse range of sounds. Many ska fans got the opportunity to see Joker’s Republic for the first time when they were a last-minute addition to Supernova Ska Fest, and they absolutely tore up the festival and were one of the biggest highlights of the whole weekend. This is a must-see/ hear band.
2. “Death of the Heart” by JER
I don’t know what to say about this album. The songwriting is incredible. I don’t know that many albums throughout history have ever been written as intentionally as this album. Every song maintains the themes of the album. The first track specifically answers the themes of Jer’s previous album, and then the rest of the album continues the themes in three parts. This album does more to expand ska in new directions than almost any album. Incredible guest appearances, a blend of ska punk, two tone, emo, hard core, and ska core, hip hop, indie, and so much more, all laid within a meaningful and important thesis with some of the catchiest hooks of the year. In my opinion, Jer is the single most important artist in the modern ska scene.
1. “Death of the Party” by Space Monkey Mafia
With all that said about Jer, you might be wondering how I ranked another album even higher. Well, that’s because Space Monkey Mafia put out an album that just dominated my streaming this year. They started late last year when they released the singles “Death of the Party” and “Linear Time”- easily two of my favorite songs of all of 2024, and they were the first two singles of this album. “Death of the Party” was a scathing anti-capitalism track with swing revival influences and has some of my favorite lyrics of any song. “Linear Time” is a beautiful and powerful tribute to the death of a loved one that still gets me emotional. Now that the full album is out, there are at least 4 more tracks that are at least as powerful and well-written. This album moved Space Monkey Mafia from a band that I thought had a handful of really good songs and some catchy rhythms to arguably my favorite band making music right now. I don’t think they are as influential an artist as Jer, but holy shit do they get me hyped every damn time I hear their music. Their talent in every single aspect of their performance is off the charts. If you listen to one album this year, I want it to be this (and then I want to ask what the fuck is wrong with you for only listening to one album this year).
Thank you for letting me talk about my passion with you,
Gimp Leg
I fully agree. what an album? and a great year of other great albums.