The sheer volume and variety of Spanish-language music released every year is breathtaking. Even those of us with our ears to the ground are bound to miss things. So, in this episode we travel back through the year to resurface some of the remarkable albums that somehow didn't make it on the show. Catch Afro-Caribbean jazz, a history-spanning classical strings project, the return of Juana Molina and much, much more.

Artists and albums featured in this episode:

- Alex Cuba, 'Índole'
- Enyel C, 'Nuevo Caribe'
- Berta Rojas, 'La Huella de las Cuerdas'
- Cazzu, 'Latinaje'
- Conrad Herwig, Eddie Palmieri and Luques Curtis, 'Reflections-Facing South'
- Juana Molina, 'DOGA'

This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. The executive producer of NPR Music is Suraya Mohamed.

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NPR listeners share the one song that hit them the hardest this year, and tell us why they laughed, cried, or simply couldn’t stop listening to it.


Featured songs and artists:
1. Annie DiRusso: "Back In Town," from Super Pedestrian

2. Tunde Adebimpe: "Drop," from Thee Black Boltz

3. Brandi Carlile: "You Without Me," from Returning To Myself

4. Bad Bunny: "DtMF," from DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS

5. Of Monsters And Men: "The End," from All Is Love And Pain In The Mouse Parade

6. Eph See: "Malachi The Uber Driver" (unreleased single)

7. Audra McDonald: "Rose's Turn," from Gypsy

8. Big Thief: "Los Angeles," from Double Infinity

9. Flock Of Dimes: "Afraid," from The Life You Save

10. Ben Rector: "Forever (Doesn't Quite Seem Long Enough)," from The Richest Man In The World


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We go to college and get the “big D,” hit the dance floor and do what we want, then head back to the radio. Is this a life filled with every possibility, or is it all just devastatingly mediocre?


Note: This is a recurring series in celebration of All Songs Considered’s 25th anniversary. A shorter version of this episode ran earlier in the year.


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If we needed any more proof that the album isn't dead, 2025 was it. On this episode, Stephen Thompson is joined by Ann Powers and Daoud Tyler-Ameen to run through 12 dazzling albums that stuck with the NPR Music team this year. And for an even deeper exploration, check out the full lists of our critics' best albums of 2025 here.

Artists and albums featured on this episode:

- Rosalía, 'LUX'
- Wednesday, 'Bleeds'
- Nourished by Time, 'The Passionate Ones'
- Daniel Caesar, 'Son of Spergy'
- Dave, 'The Boy Who Played the Harp'
- Clarice Jensen, 'In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness'
- Gwenifer Raymond, 'Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark'
- Kal Banx, 'RHODA'
- Mary Halvorson, 'About Ghosts'
- Annie DiRusso, 'Super Pedestrian'
- Queralt Lahoz, '9:30 PM'
- Patrick Watson, 'Uh Oh'

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This year was bookended by two major statements in Latin music. In January, Bad Bunny released DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, and followed that up with a 31-show residency in Puerto Rico over the summer. Then, in November, the Spanish vocalist Rosalía released her genre-defying masterpiece LUX, which sent legions of music lovers scrambling to try to grasp the magnitude of an album performed in 13 different languages.

But they were only the tip of the iceberg of yet another year of mind-bending creativity in Spanish language music. This week on Alt.Latino, Felix and Ana look back at some of the other artists and recordings that made 2025 another year of adventurous and rewarding listening. These six artists made only a fraction of music that caught our attention. But we only have so much time on these podcasts! Use this as a starting point to explore the year that was on your own. And check out more of NPR Music's coverage of the best music of 2025 here. Enjoy!


Artists and albums featured in this episode:

- Bad Bunny, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS
- Rosalía, LUX
- Queralt Lahoz, 9:30 PM
- Roxana Amed, Todos los Fuegos
- Arath Herce, Musas en Mi
- Mon Laferte, Femme Fatal
- rusowsky, DAISY
- Lido Pimienta, La Belleza

This episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. The executive producer of NPR Music is Suraya Mohamed.

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When the dust settles on 2025, what songs will remain in heavy rotation? We look back at a dizzying amount of music and share some of our picks for the best tracks of the year.

What you'll hear in this episode is an incredibly incomplete list that obviously just scratches the surface of all the incredible music that came out this year. For a more comprehensive breakdown of what we loved in 2025, check out NPR Music’s list of the 125 best songs. 

Artists and songs featured on this episode:
1. Dijon: “Yamaha,” from ‘Baby’
2. Nourished By Time: “Max Potential,” from ‘The Passionate Ones’
3. Patrick Watson: “Peter and the Wolf,” from ‘Uh Oh’
4. FKA twigs: “Room of Fools,” from ‘EUSEXUA’
5. PinkPantheress: “Stateside,” from ‘Fancy That’
6. Asher White: “Beers with my name on them,” from ‘8 Tips for Full Catastrophe Living’
7. Wednesday: “Townies,” from ‘Bleeds’
8. Gabriel Jacoby: “the one,” from ‘gutta child’
9. Olafur Arnalds & Talos: “We Didn’t Know We Were Ready (feat. Niamh Regan & Ye Vagabonds),” from ‘A Dawning’

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We’ve got a funny feeling about the times, stay indoors (together alone), and dream about life on the other side.

Note: This is a recurring series in celebration of All Songs Considered’s 25th anniversary. A shorter version of this episode ran earlier in the year.

Enjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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Dove Ellis. Melody's Echo Chamber. Editors' Tom Smith. Erin Wolf of Radio Milwaukee joins Stephen Thompson to discuss those albums and more on our last episode of New Music Friday this year.


The Starting 5:

Dove Ellis, Blizzard

Melody's Echo Chamber, Unclouded

Tom Smith, There Is Nothing In The Dark That Isn’t There In The Light

TEED, Always With Me

Voices from the Lake, II

The Lightning Round:

HTRK, String of Hearts (Songs of HTRK)

Ben Marc, Who Cares Wins

Isobel Waller-Bridge, Objects

Mother Soki, Fantasy EP

Prins Thomas, Thomas Moen Hermansen

See our long list of albums out December 5 and sample dozens of them via our New Music Friday playlist on npr.org.

Credits:


Host: Stephen Thompson

Guest: Erin Wolf, Radio Milwaukee

Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell

Digital Producer: Elle Mannion

Editor: Otis Hart

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

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Some folks think by December all the releases for the year are complete. Not quite. This week's Alt.Latino episode features a new music show with albums that should be considered along with the year’s best.  

We've got pop and alternative from Mexico, funk from Colombia, rock and ambient from New York, and a Tejano master celebrated by his fellow Texans. Plus, Felix brings the zen. 

Artists and songs featured in this episode: 

- Diles que no me maten, 'Manos de Piedra - Revisitada'
- Dianna Lopez, 'Sun Frequencies (Renewal)'
- HUMBE, 'fantasmas'
- Rene Lopez, 'Any Chance'
- Duplat, 'Vete del País'
- Ruben Ramos. 'El Año Viejo (ft. Gaby Moreno)'

This podcast was produced by Noah Caldwell. The executive producer of NPR Music is Suraya Mohamed.

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We look back at the year’s most defining moments in music, from the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center to Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance, the Sean Combs trial, the 'Sinners' phenomenon, artists we loved and lost and more. But we begin with a question: Was it an unusually great year for music, unusually bad or par for the course?

Check back for more year-end coverage from NPR Music and All Songs Considered, including our picks for best songs, best albums and more.

Vote for your favorite albums of 2025.

Enjoy the show? Send it to a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 


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