The year is coming to a close and i feel like a proper wrap-up is in order. Not only because streaming services do a sub-par job at adding context but also because my year was filled with the odd zeitgeisty-observations and changes in my listening and consumption behaviour.
The Basics
Most listened albums Top 5:
Siriusmo – Buletten & Blumen
Sieren – Emergence
Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE
C418 – Wanderstop
Purity Ring – Purity Ring
Most played song:
Bon Iver – AWARDS SEASON
Concerts visited:
Justice – December 2024 (I know… still counts)
Mind Enterprises – March 2025
Daði Freyr – September 2025
Bulgarian Car Trader – Oktober 2025
Wet Leg – November 2025
Note: These are rookie numbers. 2026 must be better.
The not so basics
Here’s where the fun begins. In the past 2 years I kind of fell back in love with acutally buying music as directly from the artist as possible. Before that I already bought some Vinyl Records to collect but that practice is somewhat unsustainable if you want to have money left for other hobbies. A CD is around 15 € – 20 €, a digital copy is around 10 € – 15 € per album. Building a personal collection this way is much more feaseable then spending three times as much on degrading media.
Mark my words: The age of the CD (or something better) is coming back. (Lets see how this ages)
Albums bought in 2025:
Bandcamp
Lambrini Girls – Who Let The Dogs Out
Sieren – Emergence
Bon Iver – Bon Iver (10th Anniversary Edition)
Panda Bear – Sinister Grift
Makeup and Vanity Set – 88:88
SOFY – Another Day In Paradise
Glass Beams – Mahal
Pale Blue Eyes – New Place
Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE
Scowl – Are We All Angels
Steve Bug – 20 Years of Poker Flat Remixes
PISTASHIO – SPIRAL
Dam Swindle – Open
Eugnosis – HYPER DEMO & HYPER DEMO -1
The Armed – THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED
Bulgarian Cartrader – Motor Songs
Bulgarian Cartrader – Greetings from Soulgaria
PERTURBATOR – Age of Aquarius
Purity Ring – Purity Ring
Caroline Polachek – Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Japanese Breakfast – Jubilee
MUNA – MUNA
Robert Babicz – Sin EP
Siriusmo – Buletten & Blumen
Danny Brown – Stardust
Qobuz
Tame Impala – Deadbeat
VINYL
No new records were added, but I inherited a bunch of vintage stuff from my father in law.
Total money spent on recorded music in 2025:
Around 289 € plus about 84 € for Apple Music (included in Apple One Premium)
This begs the question if I would cancel Apple Music in favor of going all-in on Digital Downloads and Physical media and the answer remains: maybe. It’s nice to have a service to give some albums a quick listen but I also have YouTube Premium and can preview music on other services as well. If you care to tell me how you handle this conundrum, you can do so over on mastodon.
Other than that I can’t really add anything but to wish you a happy new year and many more hours of great new music in 2026!