As the end of 2025 rapidly approaches, we’ve been asking artists about their favorite albums of the year, and Mac McCaughan from Superchunk and Merge Records made us a list that also includes books and movies he loved. Find it below.
Superchunk released their new album Songs in the Key of Yikes this year, and you can stream it below, and pick up our exclusive green smoke vinyl variant with alternate cover art in the BV shop.
MAC MCCAUGHAN’S 2025 FAVORITES
as usual, my list does not include any of the amazing artists we work with at Merge bc obviously THEY ARE THE BEST! also as usual, so much great music and movies and books this year, i can’t keep up… here goes nothing!
SOME MUSIC
Mekons – Horror
Swami John Reis – Time To Let You Down
Lorde – Virgin
Stereolab – Instant Holograms On Metal Film
Jeanines – How Long Can It Last
Bon Iver – Sable, fAble
Linda May Han Oh, Tysawn Sorey, Ambrose Akinmusire – Strange Heavens
Florist – Jellywish
The Bats – Corner Coming Up
Natural Information Society – Persevere
Wadada Leo Smith – Masukase
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – Gift Songs
Joe Chambers, Kevin Diehl, Chad Taylor – Onilu
Demi Lovato – It’s Not That Deep
Private Lives – Salt of the Earth
Matt Berninger – Get Sunk
Nels Cline – Concentrik Quartet
The Tubs – Cotton Crown
Dumbells – Up Late With Dumbells
Vera Ellen – Ideal Home Noise
Hayley Williams – Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
Tortoise – Touch
Mint Mile – andwhichstray
Gang of Four – live
TeeVee Repairmann – live
Wadada Leo Smith & Vijay Iyer – live
The Damned – live
Sharon Van Etten – live
Built To Spill – live
SOME BOOKS
Liz Moore – God of the Woods
Emma Donoghue – The Paris Express
Laurie Woolever – Care And Feeding
Ben Shewry – Uses for Obsession: A Chef’s Memoir
Timothy Egan – Fever In the Heartland
SOME MOVIES
The Mastermind
One Battle After Another
Companion
Bring Her Back
Secret Agent
Sinners
Weapons
28 Years Later
Kara Walker / Monuments – MOCA & The Brick
Find more 2025 year end lists here.