The Daily – Sunday Special: The Best Music of 2025

Date: December 14, 2025
Hosts: Gilbert Cruz (B), Karen Ganz (C), Lindsey Zoledz (D)
Topic: The Best Music of 2025

Overview

In this vibrant Sunday Special, Gilbert Cruz engages with New York Times pop music editor Karen Ganz and music critic Lindsey Zoledz to take stock of 2025’s musical landscape. With few runaway stars or definitive “albums of the year,” the trio dissect major releases, fresh breakout moments, shifts in the pop conversation, microtrends, and the artists who made waves—from old favorites like Lady Gaga and Bad Bunny to buzzy newcomers. They also share favorite under-the-radar acts and close with a spirited music-themed quiz.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Was 2025 a Disappointing Year? (01:13–03:16)

• Karen Ganz: Calls it “a bummer year for me, Gilbert. Honestly, it really was… I have had the hardest time this year. I think the hardest time ever” at compiling a best-of list (01:24).
• Why? Anticipated “big” records underwhelmed; Notable prior years had clear standouts (Billie Eilish, Beyoncé, Olivia Rodrigo, 100 GECS).
• Lindsey Zoledz: Offers an optimistic counterpoint; “...there was not a big consensus pick or even a few consensus picks of the album of the year. So...there can also be a bright side” (02:32). The void allowed discovery of exciting, personal favorites and lesser-known acts.

2. Major Album Highlights

a. Bad Bunny – Debi Tirarmas (03:56–06:39)

• Zoledz praises the album as “in the league of what Beyonce has been doing recently,” deeply informed by Puerto Rican musical history but “never feels like homework to listen” (03:56).
• The record is praised for its “intergenerational” spirit, with young musicians enlivening “songs of their past.”
• Cruz admits this is the first Bad Bunny album that truly “sold” him.

“It’s really mining the past in this way that feels very personal but also very contemporary. It never feels like homework to listen.” – Lindsey Zoledz (04:00)

b. Lady Gaga – Mayhem (07:16–10:16)

• Ganz describes a personal turnaround after seeing the tour: “all of the strands of Gaga's entire career suddenly connected for me and it made me love the album in a way that I really didn’t expect to.”
• Celebrates Gaga’s embrace of “core, interesting, grindy dance music” and the callback to her nonsense lyrics: “The song Shysa where she says, I don’t speak German, but I can if you’d like, and then speaks fictional German” (08:56).
• Zoledz frames “Abracadabra” as prime “fan service...the best kind,” as Gaga finally commits to her signature sound but with new maturity (09:11–10:16).

“That sort of meaning you’re pandering to your fans...I find the best parts of Mayhem to be the best kind of fan service.” – Lindsey Zoledz (09:10)

c. Justin Bieber – Swag 1 & Swag 2 (10:33–12:37)

• Bieber’s return after four years, now collaborating with more experimental producers (Dijon, McGee), yielded surprising results.
• The track “Daisies” highlighted for its “unfinished and demo-like...really interesting swerve.”
• Ganz notes Bieber “just sounds extremely loose and like himself,” a refresh after years as a “tabloid fixture” (12:37).

3. Navigating Breakout and Sophomore Years: Chapel Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Dochi (13:15–17:27)

• The tension post-breakout: chase more hits vs. carefully crafting the next move.
• Chapel Roan chose selectivity, releasing just two precisely crafted songs.
• Sabrina Carpenter capitalized on “Short and Sweet” with a quick follow-up, which felt “a little like, okay, but now I need the next iteration” (14:24).
• Dochi leverages Grammy exposure to focus on touring existing work rather than flooding the market—“I’m gonna give you the next thing when I’m ready. Not I’m just gonna throw everything out there and see what sticks.” (16:24)
• Live performance venues reflect rising status but also different ambitions (mid-sized for Dochi & Chapel, arenas for Carpenter).

4. Taylor Swift's “The Life of a Showgirl” and Superstar Saturation (17:46–22:39)

• Massive sales and chart presence, but public discourse has shifted: “Conversation around Taylor shifted so hard on this album ... people felt really free to start taking shots at her” (18:32).
• Expectations vs. outcome: “Taylor promised us 12 concise pop bangers ... and I think people’s initial response was like, hey, it’s not exactly what you promised” (20:21–20:33).
• Criticism over sexual content and over-commercialization (charging fans for AMC lyric video events): “Paying $20 to see this in a theater felt a little just gross to me, honestly.” (21:41)
• “Not about the album,” but the phenomenon.
• Billboard chart dominance: only Taylor and Morgan Wallen regularly topped the albums chart.

5. Noteworthy Chart Moments & Under-the-Radar Stars (23:14–26:08)

• Brief number-one slots achieved by Lady Gaga, Tyler, the Creator, Cardi B, and the Swedish metal band Ghost, who put on a memorable, phones-locked tour (“Guys in skeleton masks...amazing pyro,” 23:36–23:49).
• The music year dominated by recurring pop megastars, with few new acts breaking into the chart elite.

6. Trends & Microtrends in 2025’s Sound (26:08–30:10)

• Rise of the Producer-as-Artist: Dijon is highlighted both for his own album (Baby) and production work for others like Bieber. “...really fragmented, kind of almost like shattered glass version of pop songs” (26:08–27:03).
• Albums that reward full-listens over singles; electronic experimentation meets lived-in lyricism.
• However, some producers struggle translating “studio rat” energy to the live stage.

7. Next-Gen New York City Rock Bands: Geese & Water from Your Eyes (29:54–37:53)

• Geese – Getting Killed is divisive. Zoledz adores it; Ganz is resistant: “I feel like I am being tortured right now, actually. Tortured.” (32:17)
• Cruz likens the vocalist to a Muppet: “It’s like Kermit cilantro is what it is.” (33:47)
• Band’s boldness in channeling NYC rock history is celebrated by some, painful to others.
• Water from Your Eyes earns mutual approval: “Deadpan...almost kind of spoken word poetry. They’re funny, they’re dark, they’re about these apocalyptic times that we live in.” (36:37)

8. UK Pop and Hidden Gems (37:53–42:03)

• British women making distinctive pop waves: PinkPantheress and Lily Allen (“...the zeitgeist has swung back to Lily Allen.” 41:24).
• PinkPantheress’s “Fancy that” praised for brevity, lightweight humor, and stylistic expansion.
• Lindsey shares anecdote about going on roller coasters with PinkPantheress and nearly vomiting (40:33–41:11).
• Lily Allen’s comeback album draws attention for bold, autobiographical songwriting.

9. Country, Nostalgia, and Super-Quick Recommendations (42:03–44:57)

• Ella Langley’s “Choose in Texas” singled out as “a great country heartbreak song” (42:24).
• Ganz’s rapid-fire top 3:
  • Sleigh Bells – Bunky Becky Birthday Boy: “an alliterative amalgam...amazing reminder of how they were predecessors to all the things that we love in the sort of experimental hyper pop realm.” (43:24–43:35)
  • Hayley Williams – Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party: Singer-songwriter with punk edge (44:00).
  • Turnstile: “A hardcore band that’s like exceptionally poppy and gauzy and shoe gazy… as gansy as it possibly gets.” (44:57)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “It never feels like homework to listen.” – Lindsey on Bad Bunny (04:00)
• “This song has something that Lindsay and I both really appreciate about Lady Gaga, which is like made up nonsense.” – Karen on Gaga, "Abracadabra" (08:30)
• “I’m not the biggest bleeber. Is that what they call them?...But it is really refreshing to hear him in this new context with these new producers and voices.” – Karen Ganz on Justin Bieber (12:37)
• “...it was a year light on breakout stars, especially in comparison to last year.” – Lindsey Zoledz (14:48)
• “...for a lot of people, Gen Z and younger, this is their first interfacing with these sounds and they’re finding them thrilling. And I think that is awesome. So I don't wanna be like a crazy old ageist.” – Karen on Geese and old vs. new rock (34:12)
• “Crowd surfing to ballads. I’ve never seen that before.” – Lindsey (35:32)
• “Water from your Eyes is essentially a duo of Nate Amos and Rachel Brown...big crunchy guitar sounds, which I know is something Karen and I both enjoy.” – Lindsey (36:37)
• “I almost threw up on PinkPantheress on a roller coaster.” – Lindsey (40:32)
• “It’s a loaf story, baby. Just say yeast.” – Lindsey quoting Taylor Swift on New Heights podcast (48:54)
• Gilbert’s “Kermit cilantro” descriptor for Geese’s lead singer (33:47)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Disappointment vs. Discovery: 01:13–03:16
• Bad Bunny discussion: 03:56–06:39
• Lady Gaga’s Mayhem: 07:16–10:16
• Justin Bieber’s albums: 10:33–12:37
• Chapel Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Dochi: 13:15–17:27
• Taylor Swift’s Showgirl era, album conversation: 17:46–22:39
• Under-the-radar chart toppers/Ghost: 23:14–26:08
• Producer-as-artist & Dijon: 26:08–30:10
• NYC bands: Geese, Water from Your Eyes: 29:54–37:53
• British pop: PinkPantheress, Lily Allen: 37:53–42:03
• Country pick, rapid-fire album recs: 42:03–44:57
• Music quiz/game segment: 47:01–57:10

Tone & Style

• Conversational, fun, occasionally irreverent, peppered with music samples, friendly teasing, and deep-cut references (they joke about “Gans Core,” roller coasters, and Gilbert’s lack of a “Gilby” trophy).
• The hosts strike a balance between pop-crit nostalgia and excitement for new trends, never shying from fan discourse or bolder criticism.

Conclusion

2025 didn’t deliver a universally agreed-upon album of the year, but the hosts found joy in exploration, rediscovery, and debate. The conversation showcases both the shifting sands of superstardom (Taylor, Bieber, Gaga) and the creative vibrancy in lesser-known circles. Their lists, stories, and playful sparring make this episode a guide to what mattered musically in 2025—even for those who only wish to put “Mayhem” or “Fancy That” on after hearing the show.

For more recommendations, check out Lindsey Zoledz’s full best-of lists linked in the show notes!