My Top 10 Favorite Albums of January

Welcome back, Ken West! With 2025 set to be absolutely STACKED with new material from artists such as Conway The Machine, Smino, Black Thought, Grimes, and many more, I’ll be making monthly lists of my favorite projects once again. 

10. Lil Baby- WHAM (6.1/10)

Trap, Southern hip hop 

15 tracks, 41 minutes

Favorite tracks: Dum, Dumb, and Dumber (with Young Thug and Future), Outfit (with 21 Savage), Stuff (feat. Travis Scott)

Least favorite track: By Myself (with Rylo Rodriguez feat. Rod Wave)

The latest project from Lil Baby, while not nearly as bad as 2022’s It’s Only Me, is still really boring and it honestly drags for much of its 41-minute run. Some of the features go incredibly hard, but others just fail miserably and drag Dominique down with them. I will say that most of the beats are pretty well produced. 

9. Franz Ferdinand- The Human Fear (6.5) 

Indie rock, post-punk revival, new wave

11 tracks, 35 minutes

Favorite tracks: Audacious, Everydaydreamer, Night or Day

Least favorite track: Black Eyelashes

Their first new album in 7 years, post-punk revival pioneers Franz Ferdinand emerge with a mostly new lineup and a lackluster set of songs that just don’t resonate the same way as some of their older albums. Parts of this feel like they were written by ChatGPT. There really are some good ideas on here, though. 

8. Logic- Aquarius III (6.8)

Boom bap, East Coast hip hop, pop rap

5 tracks, 14 minutes

Favorite track: Not a Game (ft Lucy Rose)

Aquarius III  just kinda feels like 5 leftover cuts from last year’s Ultra 85. The production is ok, but Bobby’s performances on here don’t feel as strong or impressive as they did before.

7. Bad Bunny- DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (7.9/10)

Reggaeton, salsa, Latin pop, dembow 

17 tracks, 1 hour, 2 minutes 

Favorite tracks: BAILE INoLVIDABLE, NUEVAYoL, LA MuDANZA 

Least favorite track: VeLDÁ (with Dei V, Omar Courtz)

DTMF, the newest album from Latin trap figurehead, LGBTQ ally, and part-time professional wrestler Bad Bunny is his most explosive and well-produced album yet. Featuring groovy Latin jazz rhythms, great rapping, punchy 808s, and very pronounced brass hits, it’s pretty fun, and it showcases his ability to rap over instrumentals that aren’t exactly fit for that particular style.

6. im a monster- Museum Music (8.0)

Experimental hip hop, rage, plugg 

15 tracks, 29 minutes

Favorite tracks: Demons on Twitter Won’t Follow Me Back, God, Real One, Smoke, Real Business

Least favorite track: ‘confeti 

Underground experimental rapper Edward Skeletrix‘s 2nd album, released under the pseudonym im a monster, is probably one of the most interesting, disorienting, and overall alien rage albums ever. Whether it’s the distorted and bit-crushed bass, reversed trap beats, or creepily slow piano rhythms, it’s a perfect combination of atmosphere and rhythm.

5. lua trilogy!- 新​​​​​​​世​​​​​​​紀​​​​ Sunbelt Princess (8.2)

Post-rock, neo-psychedelia, space rock

4 songs, 34 minutes

Favorite tracks: all

I had never heard of these two artists before, but they seem to have very good chemistry in terms of musical talent. The production on this album is really loud, but at the same time, it’s really atmospheric and well-textured. Every guitar note feels like it’s reaching out to you.

4. Lil Shine- Shine Forever (8.2)

PluggnB, pop rap, cloud rap

13 tracks, 28 minutes

Favorite tracks:  Worst Me, KissMeThruDaPhone, Feel Me 2, Enticing, Dork, Date Night

Least favorite tracks: Game Day, G.Y.B

PluggnB pioneer and SoundCloud titan Lil Shine’s sophomore album is finally here, and it’s wonderful. With energetic beats, buzzy and ethereal synths, deep sub-bass, and catchy vocals, it’s refreshing to hear and easy to dance to.

3. Ethel Cain- Perverts

Dark ambient, drone, electroacoustic, doomgaze, slowcore

9 tracks, 1 hour and 29 minutes 

Favorite tracks: Punish, Amber Waves, Onanist, Vacillator 

Least favorite track: Pulldrone

I’ve never really been a huge fan of Ethel Cain’s spin on slowcore, but every single song on this colossal 89-minute EP hits. This is some of the darkest, most disturbing, most desolate, and terrifying doomgaze I’ve ever heard. Instrumentally, it’s her heaviest project yet, featuring walls of effects-heavy guitars, ear-shattering bass, and pummeling, brutally slow drumming. It also dabbles into some ambient textures and bursts of synths that are very much in the vein of artists like Aphex Twin, Uboa, and Tim Hecker. The production is very clean, but it has a very clear grit to it as well. The lyrics are horrifying and very well composed, as they often deal with Ethel’s religious shame and the various allegations of abuse levied against many officials of the church. Overall amazing project.

2. Mac Miller- Balloonerism (10/10)

Jazz rap, neo-soul, abstract hip hop 

14 tracks, 58 minutes 

Favorite tracks: DJ’s Soul Organ (feat. SZA), Do You Have A Destination?, Rick’s Piano, Stoned, 5 Dollar Pony Rides, Funny Papers

Least favorite track: Transformations (feat. Delusional Thomas)

The second posthumous album following Mac Miller’s tragic 2018 passing from an accidental overdose, Balloonerism is yet another testament to Mac’s lasting impact on abstract hip hop and probably his entire hometown of Pittsburgh. This album sees him dipping his toes into the world of psychedelia, and it’s absolutely stunning in every aspect. Featuring heavily edited vocals, floaty synths, strange samples, echoing guitars, deep bass, and some of the most powerful drums I’ve probably ever heard on a rap album, it maintains his signature sound while exploring new territory in a unique and beautiful way. Lyrically, it ranges from childhood memories to drug abuse and suicidal thoughts, and Mac handles these in a very mature and meaningful fashion. In addition to producing and playing various instruments on this record, SZA and Thundercat provide great background vocals throughout the tracklist that create a wonderful atmosphere of harmony and space.

1. FKA twigs- EUSEXUA (10/10)

Art pop, EDM, trance, glitch pop, alternative R&B

11 tracks, 42 minutes

Favorite tracks: Drums of Death (with Koreless), Eusexua, Room of Fools, Perfect Stranger

Least favorite track: Childlike Things (with North West)

EUSEXUA is twigs’ most ambitious, provocative, and unique album yet, featuring NORTH WEST of all people. Every beat is extremely gritty and unique, featuring spacey pads, punchy kick drums, buzzy synth leads, and powerful bass. There are a ridiculous amount of vocal effects that create an entrancing atmosphere and amplify the lyrical content. Also, did I mention that it has Kanye’s daughter rapping on it?

Thank you for reading this month’s issue! Come back in February for more musical hot takes!