7 Albums YOU Should Be Listening To This Fall (In No Particular Order)

Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend

Genre: INDIE POP 

Year of Release: 2008

Length: 11 songs, 34:18 

Why YOU should listen: This album perfectly encapsulates the feeling of going back to school. It feels like the perfect transition between summer and fall, with its upbeat, pop vocals from Ezra Koenig blended seamlessly with incredibly interesting and unique instrumentation and arrangement, all with an intense feeling of academia threading through every song. This album feels like the Back-To-School season in a way nothing else does. Close your eyes while listening, I guarantee you’ll feel it too. 

Favorite Song(s): “A-Punk,” “M79,” “Walcott”

Least Favorite Song(s): This is a no-skips album for me; if I had to choose, “One (Blake’s Got a New Face)” can get a little repetitive.

Sound of Silver- LCD Soundsystem

Genre: ELECTRONIC

Year of Release: 2007

Length: 9 songs, 56:12

Why YOU Should Listen: I love everything about this album. When I say I can’t imagine my life without it, I mean it. As far as Electronic music goes, this is my favorite album, and it's not even close. LCD Soundsystem blends fun, danceable, interesting beats with a level of emotion that hits you directly in your core. This album feels like wind blowing through the leaves, a poignant realization that summer is gone and winter is drawing closer every day. 

Favorite Song(s):  “All My Friends,” “Someone Great,” “Get Innocuous!”

Least Favorite Song(s): None! This album is perfect!!

Towns Van Zandt- Towns Van Zandt 

Genre: FOLK/COUNTRY 

Year of Release: 1969

Length: 10 songs, 34:54

Why YOU should listen: Despite the majority of this list, when I think of fall, I think of folk music. The chill in the air and the leaves falling in the breeze beg for the comfort of a nice, warm acoustic guitar. While making this list, choosing my folk/country pick was probably the hardest decision (TVZ vs. The Return of The Grievous Angel vs. Blonde on Blonde, etc.); clearly, Townes Van Zandt won. Townes brings a level of warmth to his music that the other options don’t, or don’t to the same extent, and a deep, true comfort. This is a perfect fall folk album, and an absolute masterpiece that never gets old.

Favorite song(s): “Fare Thee Well,” “Miss Carousel,” “I’ll Be Here In The Morning”

Least Favorite Song(s): “Lungs”

Double Infinity- Big Thief

Genre: INDIE FOLK 

Year of Release: 2025

Length: 9 songs, 42:53

Why YOU should Listen: This is the youngest album on this list, released in early September, and it has quickly become one of my favorite releases of the past couple of years. Adrianne Lenker is an incredible songwriter, and this album showcases her talent wonderfully. Additionally, the production of this album is stunning. It really ushered in the sound of this particular fall, so I felt that it had to be included, although any Big Thief album would have easily worked. They have a very fall sound about them; if the first chill in the air were audible, it would sound like Big Thief.

Favorite Song(s): “Los Angeles,” “Grandmother,” “How Could I Have Known”

Least Favorite Song(s): “Happy With You”

Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant- Belle and Sebastian 

Genre: INDIE POP/ TWEE POP

Year of Release: 2000

Length: 11 songs, 40:51

Why YOU Should Listen: If I were to pick one band to be the most fall-sounding ever, it would probably be Belle and Sebastian. The melodic softness, broken every once in a while with an upbeat pop rhythm, all coated with a heavy layer of melancholia, it’s everything fall should sound like. Choosing which Belle and Sebastian Album to put on this list was extremely difficult; in the end, I chose this one because it is such a beautiful listening experience. Every time I listen to it, I am amazed by how perfectly they were able to capture the feeling of fall, the sadness that comes with leaving summer behind, the return to sweaters, riding your bike through fallen leaves, all conveyed with gorgeous songs. 

Favorite Song(s): “Waiting for the Moon to Rise,” “Don’t Leave the Light on,” “Baby”

Least Favorite Song(s): Absolutely None!

The Velvet Underground and Nico- The Velvet Underground and Nico

Genre: ART ROCK

Year of Release: 1967

Length: 11 songs, 48:57

Why YOU Should Listen: The Velvet Underground was such an incredibly influential band to so much alternative music today, it is truly astounding. This album, along with their other work, remains incredibly timeless and brilliant, even in the modern day. This album brings out the soft sides of fall, the slowness. This is a great contrast to a lot of works on this list, which have a very melancholic feel about them; this album welcomes fall with open arms and encourages you to enjoy every moment of it. It's truly an essential album for all music lovers, and something everyone should listen to at least once a year.

Favorite songs: “Venus In Furs,” “Femme Fatale,” “Heroin”

Least Favorite Song(s): “European Son”