Welcome to the year-end edition of the Paradise Found Records blog, It was our best year yet, and we greatly appreciate the support of our customers in the Front Range and Northern California. We love sharing good music with you, and there is nothing better than seeing your smiling faces! Record Store Day 2026 is on April 18 and we’re looking forward to more events and listening parties in the coming year. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support and for making our jobs so much fun.

2025 was another great year for new music. The big story last year was Chappell Roan, whose late 2023 release The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess continues to sell well at both locations. The big music story this year was KPop Demon Hunters, an American-made Netflix movie that greatly expanded K-pop’s popularity across the globe. The film starred fictional K-pop girl group Huntr/x and became the most-watched film on Netflix and some of the most-streamed music on Spotify. If you’re unfamiliar with the music or movie, just ask someone born this century and they’ll bring you up to speed. There is a KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack album out on vinyl, but our biggest sellers in 2025 included Hayley Williams’ excellent Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party and, as always, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, a perennial favorite.

My two favorite albums of the year, by Jeff Tweedy and Geese, both came out on the same late September Friday. I’m tempted to crown the Geese album number one for its sheer brilliance and originality, but I think Jeff Tweedy’s ambition deserves to win out. Twilight Override is his best solo work, and its thirty songs are a salve for trying times.

Here are my top twenty records of the year (the top ten are listed in alpha order), including the five best archival releases.

Big Thief – Double Infinity

What do you do when an original member (bassist Max Oleartchik) departs after nine years? If you’re Big Thief you lean into the jammier style of songs like “Time Escaping” and “Love Love Love” from 2022’s superb Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You.  Much of the credit for the appeal of Double Infinity goes to multi-instrumentalist Laraaji, whose zither, piano and percussion appear throughout along with distinctive vocals on “Words” and “Grandmother.” This may be a transitional phase for Big Thief, but even when not up to their high standards it’s still consistently satisfying. (Favorite track: “Words”)

 

 

Alex G – Headlights

The tenth record from Alex Giannascoli aka (Sandy) Alex G aka Alex G’s is his first major-label release. The good news is he doesn’t stray from the formula of 2022’s excellent God Save The Animals other than dialing back on instrumental numbers. A true one-man-band, Giannascoli plays nearly every instrument here and varies between folk-rock and indie-rock with weird Auto-Tune and other vocal effects and found sounds mixed in to keep things interesting. He closes the record with its most rocking song, the rollicking “Logan Hotel,” recorded live with his touring band at the eponymous Philadelphia location. (Favorite track: “Afterlife”)

 

 

Geese – Getting Killed

The Brooklyn group’s fourth album is overstuffed, manic and wholly original. Lead singer Cameron Winter’s December 2024 solo effort was subdued, but here the group moves in the opposite direction, creating a hybrid of Talking Heads, Captain Beefheart and Radiohead that explodes off the turntable. Winter’s expressive voice soars above it all while guitarist Emily Green’s chiming guitars lead the songs towards powerful finishes. This is that rare album that sounds bizarre and off-putting at first–opening track “Trinidad” literally features Winter screaming “There’s a bomb in my car!”–but quickly worms its way into the brain and rewards repeated listening. (Favorite track: “Islands of Men”)

 

S.G. Goodman – Planting By The Signs

The title of S.G. Goodman’s third album refers to following nature’s cues. In Goodman’s case, those cues were learned in the hollers of southeast Kentucky where she grew up “living like the sun don’t shine on the same dog’s ass every day.” The record leads off with driving Americana before settling into pretty, sparse folk duets with Bonnie Prince Billy and Matthew Rowan. “Heaven Song” is my favorite closer of the year, a nine-minute, slow-building shaggy dog story that finds Goodman meandering through a life of love and loss in an old Chevy Malibu, ultimately concluding that a philosophy of “Maybe if I see it then I’ll want it” may be the closest she’s going to get to finding meaning. (Favorite track: “Heaven Song”)

 

Haim – I Quit

Haim’s follow-up to 2020’s superb Women in Music Part III might not quite reach that album’s heights, but it still showcases the sisters’ ability to cover a lot of musical ground. First single and song-of-the-summer candidate “Relationships” features beat-heavy Queen Bey style while “Down to be Wrong” is an unabashed Tom Petty tribute. Whether she’s shredding on her electric guitar or singing confessional Americana, middle sister Danielle adds R&B to the sunny SoCal sentiments of her Laurel Canyon ancestors to create sumptuous sounds for the streaming generation. (Favorite track: “Down To Be Wrong”)

 

 

My Morning Jacket – Is

The tenth studio record from Jim James and company is their best since 2011’s Circuital, and the secret is the songs. Bringing in famed Pearl Jam/Bruce Springsteen producer Brendan O’Brien also works wonders. “Time Waited” and “Squid Ink” throwback respectively to their more soulful and anthemic aspirations, while “I Can Hear Your Love” and “Beginning at the Ending”  take the sound in a more concise pop direction. “Half a Lifetime” starts with a staccato structure before delivering a chorus for the ages. It’s always refreshing when a band finds a new gear this far into its career. (Favorite track: “Half a Lifetime”)

 

Margo Price – Hard Headed Woman

After the psychedelics-fueled rock of 2023’s Strays, Margo Price returns to her alt-country roots on an excellent fifth record. Whether she’s quoting Kris Kristofferson in “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down” or spinning Paul Simon’s “Still Crazy After All These Years” into the Nashville pop of “Love Me Like You Used to Do” with vocal help from Tyler Childers, Price has a knack for memorable melodies and wears her Nashville outlaw country badge like a pair of comfy slippers. Price’s powerful live shows have helped her build a steady fan base; she’s way overdue to break through in 2026. (Favorite track: “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down.”)

 

Snocaps – Snocaps

In late October this infectious debut from an Americana supergroup dropped with no advance notice. Snocaps members include Katie Crutchfield (aka Waxahatchee) and MJ Lenderman (the Wednesday guitarist member who’s solo Manning Fireworks was one of 2024’s best albums) along with Crutchfield’s twin sister Alison and Brad Cook. The songs are more indie-rock than what you might expect–imagine the Breeders with a bit of a country disposition–and bring the Crutchfield sisters together for the first time since they played together as P.S. Eliot last decade. Lenderman’s contributions recall the Byrds more than the Neil Young vibe of his other work. The end result is a wonderful, unexpected treat. (Favorite track: “Heathcliff”)

 

Jeff Tweedy – Twilight Override

The Wilco front man’s latest is an impressive 3-LP, thirty-song attempt to raise spirits through art. Whether he’s encouraging listeners in “Feel Free,” joking about a miserable prom in “Forever Never Ends,” embracing small joys in “One Tiny Flower” or paying tribute to the Velvet Underground in “Lou Reed Was My Babysitter,” his passion, humor and dedication shine throughout. Simultaneously ambitious and simple, the record is a heartwarming gift. “Amar Bharati” may be a tribute to the Indian ascetic who has kept his arm raised in devotion for fifty-plus years, but it’s just as easily a metaphor for Tweedy’s unceasing determination to make creating art his raison d’etre. Deeply personal, Twilight Override goes places Wilco hasn’t gone, no small feat. (Favorite track: “Amar Bharati”)

Wet Leg – Moisturizer

The Isle of Wight’s Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers burst on the scene in 2021 with two slices of indie-rock heaven, “Chaise Lounge” and “Wet Dream.” Their ensuing debut album maintained that energy and confirmed them as legit. Moisturizer impressively takes things up a notch. Now fully embracing music as a career, they’ve also declared themselves a band and not a duo, boosting the fellow musicians who contributed to the debut. Together they craft unique earworms that showcase their sense of humor and skill at creating irresistible hooks. (Favorite track: “Davina McCall”) 

 

 

(Next 5: Matt Berninger — Get Sunk; Car Seat Headrest — The Scholars; Lucy Dacus — Forever is a Feeling; Mavis Staples — Sad and Beautiful World; Wednesday — Bleeds)

Five Best Archival Releases

Buckingham Nicks – Buckingham Nicks

In 1973 Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks worked with producer Keith Olsen on an impressive debut of Southern California folk-rock. Olsen famously played the album for Mick Fleetwood, who was in LA shopping for a new front man, and the rest is history. The LP has been out-of-print since its original release and has become a grail over the following decades. In September the pair finally put their acrimony aside long enough to coordinate on a repressing so that it’s finally reasonably priced and easily found. It’s required listening for Rumours and Fleetwood Mac fans; you can hear the seeds of “The Chain” in “Lola (My Love)” and of “Second Hand News” in “Don’t Let Me Down Again.” The LP also includes an early version of “Crystal,” later reworked on Fleetwood Mac. (Favorite track: “Don’t Let Me Down Again”)

Nick Drake – The Making of Five Leaves Left

Nick Drake died in 1974 after only three records of highly distinctive folk. It wasn’t until twenty-five years later, after “Pink Moon” was used in an Apple ad, that his music found the audience it deserved. Notoriously shy, Drake only played a handful of shows and fans have since grabbed onto any available archival material. This box contains a treasure trove of recordings from his 1969 debut, including reels discovered in the collection of folk peer Beverly Martyn. Not everything here is a revelation, but it’s still powerful and stirring to hear Drake develop songs including “Time Has Told Me,” “Man in a Shed” and “River Man” into the shape that would make them folk standards. (Favorite track: “River Man” Take 1, 4th January 1969)

 

Grateful Dead – Enjoying The Ride

How does a group that’s released more archival material than any other musical act in history celebrate its sixtieth anniversary? If you’re the Grateful Dead it’s with a 60-CD (and one cassette) behemoth that includes all or parts of twenty-nine shows spanning 1969-1994 from twenty-one of their favorite venues (including Red Rocks, of course). With a $600 price tag and a limited run of 6,000–which sold out within weeks–this one was only for the most hardcore heads, but props to the Dead for finding a way to top their many prior boxes. Start saving now for 2035’s 70th anniversary release. (Favorite track: “Hard to Handle” Live at Fillmore East, New York, NY 4/25/71)

 

 

Patti Smith – Horses (50th anniversary edition)

Patti Smith and Debbie Harry were the only female bandleaders to emerge from the mid-seventies New York scene; Smith incorporated poetry from the beginning and has more recently become an excellent author, as evidenced by the three books she’s released in the past decade and a fourth, Bread of Angels, that came out in November. The 50th anniversary edition of her beloved debut comes with many previously unreleased delights including her original demo tape and a great take of Smokey Robinson’s classic “When The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game.” (Favorite track: “When The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game”)

 

Talking Heads – More Songs About Buildings and Food

The sophomore Talking Heads effort was their first with Brian Eno as producer. Together they went on to produce some of the best and most influential music to come out of the New Wave movement born at CBGB in Manhattan’s East Village. The deluxe box includes a number of interesting outtakes and a live 1978 New York show, but the real treat is a DVD of 1978 concert footage from New York and Berkeley (only available in the CD edition). Stop Making Sense may have shown the group at their peak, but the trademark nervous energy on display herein is a slice of heaven for anyone looking to witness the roots of one of the most important American acts ever. Be advised, the Berkeley footage is not high quality but still very much worth checking out. (Favorite track: “Found a Job” Live at the Entermedia Theatre, New York, NY 8/10/78)