Slim's Corner: 2025 Round-Up

Howdy Y'all, and Happy Holidays! It's that time of year again, where you forget your job, what day it is, what time zone you are in, and maybe even forget your name. Filled to the brim on seemingly endless meals of Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Mac and Cheese, rolls and cookies. But, alas, we are here and reflecting on the past year. 

2025 was a year filled with some great music. Both from established acts, and new acts alike. As I seem to feel at the conclusion of subsequent years, I do feel my musical tastes and tapestry has changed slightly. Call it growth. My musical knowledge has expanded, yet again. Also like past years, my favorite albums are again DOMINATED by female artists. My personal 2025 playlist has 250 songs from the year, which is right-on-par with most years. Some songs are still on repeat, and some I forgot about until re-listened to. Be sure to check out my end-of-year- playlist later this week. 

Without further adieu, below are my favorite albums and songs of the year. NOT a ranking, as I find ranking too cumbersome and difficult. 

FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2025

* Brennen Leigh "Don't You Ever Give Up On Love" : Ok, so maybe this IS my #1 album of the year. A stunning performance from the songs, the compositions, the musicianship (aka Kevin Skrla) and the overall output. I even loved the imagery and the press photos from the album promotion. Everything about the album, to me, harkens back to mid-60's Ernest Tubb. 

* James Steinle "Heat of Morning" : James harnessed Guy Clark on this set of tunes. Top-notch storytelling and songwriting. This album is made for headphones, and a full immersive listening experience where you are paying attention to each line, of each song. No distractions, please. 

* Emily Love "Heart of a Fool": 10 killer tracks, with absolutely ZERO filler. This is pure, unadulterated, fun Honky Tonk. I had the pleasure of interviewing Emily earlier this year (check it out!), and she explained the desire for a fun collection of dance-floor-ready songs. This album was a bright spot of my year, and one that I keep coming back to.

* Garrett T. Capps "Life is Strange": Garrett and his band, NASA Country, are on full Space Mode on this album. There are some fantastic songs here, with even better playing by the band. Garrett is always one to keep you guessing, and just when you think you have him figured out...BAM! 

*Sunny Sweeney "Rhinestone Requiem": Sunny is one of those established acts that keeps churning out quality record after quality record. She has built herself quite the discography, and this newest record of hers might be my favorite. She does a fantastic job of combining traditional country music and lyrics with modern country sounds and production. Very few can pull this off successfully, and stay true to their roots. 

*Luke Bell "The King is Back": This posthumous release showcases the songwriting chops that Luke was gifted with, and bears the ultimate "What If?" in recent memory. The release was plagued by doubters as possibly being "AI generated" before it's release, but that was quickly squashed by Authenticity statements by the Bell family. 

* Ramona & the Holy Smokes "Ramona & the Holy Smokes": The debut LP from this Virginia-based Honky Tonk group did not disappoint. The album is simple, yet exquisite at the same time. I have had the delight of seeing the band twice this year, and the live-show is exactly what you want from a country performance. Bonus: The best album cover art of the year!

*Turnpike Troubadors "Price of Admission" : The bands 2nd LP since their hiatus is again another pure, solid-gold country album. No frills, no gimmicks, no boasting. Just thoughtful songwriting, with traditional takes and instrumentation. The band seems to be on a roll with another album for early 2026 already teased to fans. 

*Colter Wall "Memories and Empties" : This is probably Colter's most straight-forward "country" release, both in style and substance. Gone are Western tunes (for time being), and in comes more introspective songwriting, with a few middle fingers to Nashville. Colter has yet to miss on any release. 

*Kelsey Waldon "Every Ghost" : The Appalachian queen herself returns with another album of full of expertly-crafted songs. Kelsey has very quietly made her way into the quasi-"Mainstream" with recognition from Rolling Stone magazine and other publications. It's about time. 

*Olivia Ellen Lloyd "Do It Myself" - This WV-bred songwriter returns with her 2nd full length LP, and as one can expect, the release is chock-full of the raw lyrics Olivia is known for. You know the songs are good when they are even better when sung acoustically, and solo. I had the privilege of seeing Olivia not once, not twice, but THREE times this year as a solo act, and each time she carried the audience in the palm of her hand with each note. 

*Rebecca Porter "Roll With the Punches"  The much-anticipated debut LP from the powerful vocalist from Harrisonburg, VA. The set of songs was presented as a concept record, full of noir-Western imagery and sounds. Rebecca's vocals punch through the sound with every verse. Exciting debut collection of songs, has me awaiting what comes next!

FAVORITE SONGS OF 2025

* Brennan Leigh "Thank God You're Gone" : A masterclass in Honky Tonk

* Carter Felker "Losing Hand" : Lyrics that can hit close to home. Go listen

* James Steinle "Gathering Crowd" : I love a good recitation, even if this was not meant to be. A very cool song about family lineage. 

* S.G. Goodman "Solitaire": Notice a theme here? I like sad, slow songs. 

* Weldon Henson "The Past Ten Years": A true barroom weeper. Love it

* Benjamin Dakota Rogers "Better Man Than Me": Soulful delivery, with again, lyrics that can hit close to home. 

* Kathryn Legendre "Best Western Breakdown" : A great use of word play here, and done in swaying Urban Cowboy fashion. 

* Turnpike Troubadors "On the Red River " Magical song about the memory of a father. The song includes my favorite line of the year, "We learned that pain was the price of admission, and we're never done paying it down". 

* Ramona & the Holy Smokes "Someday, Sometimes" : Maybe I am biased because I heard this song twice live, which it's even better. Still, a great song. 

* Olivia Ellen Lloyd "Live With It" : Again, this song is absolutely STELLAR when Olivia performs live, acoustic. 

That's it folks. I enjoyed the ride this year, and I am looking forward to a jam-packed 2026! Let me know which albums and songs were YOUR favorite...