This is the year that almost wasn’t. It started pretty bad, with some life-threatening condition that I managed to overcome with the help of a great doctor.
So let’s see what this year brought, in a very long recap of the year. I know this dropped a bit earlier than expected, so consider it my Christmas present.
Best Movie Seen in 2025
This was a brilliant animation which shows us that you don’t need words to transmit emotion.
Notable Mentions:
- Whose Life Is it Anyway? — Great drama about one of the most important questions of life.
- The Incident — Spanish time loop movie that mixes a lot of sci-fi and thriller elements.
- High and Low — Probably one of the best Japanese movie I’ve seen, it’s wonderfully made and it’s a marvel of writing.
- Johnny Belinda — A hidden gem directed by Jean Negulesco, probably his best movie
- The Harry Potter Series – Not talking too much about these, we already know how nice these are.
Best Movie Released in 2025
Mickey 17 — This reminds me a bit of “Moon” with Sam Rockwell, but with a different vibe. Robert Pattinson does a good job and the movie is good. It’s not great, but then again, the list of good movies released this year is very small, and I tried to keep out the franchises and superhero stuff.
Best TV Series Seen in 2025
Battlestar Galactica – One of the best science fiction / space travel series of all time. That’s pretty much it.
Notable Mentions:
Rome – Great history-based TV show, made by HBO, so it’s basically Game of Thrones, but based on real places, people and events. This would have definitely been the best watched series if I didn’t rewatch BSG.
Best TV Series Released in 2025
Severance Season 2 — Great continuation of the mystery of the first season, can’t wait to see what’s up next. Loved the cinematography and the attention to detail.
Notable Mentions:
- Andor Season 2 – Diego Luna is good and the production value is insane. The people behind Star Wars media know how to create beautiful worlds.
- Black Mirror Season 7 — The anthology is back for its seventh season and brings some strong episodes
- The Last of Us: Season 2 — The second season is absolutely brilliant, and comes with some great visuals and good writing, especially if you didn’t play the games.
- The Studio — A fresh new TV series with an original concept? Sign me up! This is funny and very well made.
- Murderbot — Another original sci-fi TV show that’s quirky, yet funny.
Best Game played in 2025
South Park: The Fractured but Whole — Raunchy and funny, this is another good game set in the South Park universe, as a solid and true continuation of “South Park: The Stick of Truth”.
Notable Mentions:
- Minecraft — As someone who heard a lot about this, but never played it, I was happy and excited to spend a couple of weeks digging and building stuff on a private server.
- AC: Valhalla — After I finished AC: Odyssey, I started to play World of Warcraft, which meant not touching any new AC title for a while. Out of the newest 3 titles released since then, I played Valhalla (with its expansions) which was a really nice continuation of the mood set by its two predecessors.
Best Game released in 2025
All games I played this year were released prior to 2025, so there’s literally nothing to put here.
Best live performance of 2025
I think I’ve said it a billion times: if the 1990s had Nirvana, and the 2000s had Linkin Park, the 2010s and 2020s are the decades of Twenty One Pilots. Their songs somehow managed to touch the angsty hearts of teens of today and I can surely understand why. Listening to them sends me back to a time when life was easier and the only problem in the life was that the cute chick from the other class didn’t like us. Mix this with what’s arguably the best song released in the last 25 years, “Seven Nation Army”, and you get one of the best live performance of 2025.
Sure, The White Stripes deserve fully their spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and it’s only a matter of time until TØP get this distinction, but until then, this is in my opinion the best live performance of 2025.
Twenty One Pilots Cover The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army”
Best song discovered in 2025
Killian Scott - Eurydice
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, it’s a certified banger written and produced by Dan Smith of Bastille and performed by Orpheus himself.
Notable mentions
Shawn James - “Through the Valley”
Discovered this in The Last of Us Season 2, and it’s absolutely lovely.
But I can’t walk on the path of the right because I’m wrong.
Historias de una lagartija - “Elemento Divergente”
Discovered this in a Spanish time loop movie and it’s absolutely lovely.
Tame Impala - “The Less I Know The Better”
This is not just a pop song, this is a banger. Love the bass line and it’s so punchy, I just want to replay it over and over.
Kosheen - “Recovery”
I’ve listened to Kosheen for over 20 years, but somehow this song just slipped under my radar. Or just forgot about it. Be sure to never do this again.
Tania Turtureanu - Ce frumos
It seems that music coming from our sisters and brothers over the Prut river is here to stay. Tania Turtureanu has an absolutely beautiful voice, and this song is so fresh it can turn a foggy day into spring.
Best song released in 2025
Nicholas Britell - NIAMOS! (Chandrilian Club Mix)
“There’s a whole galaxy out there dancing to this beat” sums up pretty much this song, which grants it the best “foreign” song released this year. Bonkers.
Alternosfera - Clopote
Another anti-war song by Alternosfera, picked up from their latest album, which has yet to reach the streaming platforms. A strong song, with a strong message, probably one of their best songs altogether, which gives them the “best song in Romanian” title.
Partizan - Ziua în care am părăsit planeta
A few weeks ago, frontman Artan went to the stars, and makes this song have a deeper meaning. While it’s also in Romanian, it still gets tied for the best song, because it feels coming from outer space, sending “Space Oddity” vibes.
Notable mentions:
Goodbye to Gravity - The Day We Die / The Cage (The Memento Project Version)
Ten years after the Colectiv Club Tragedy, Andrei Găluț, frontman and sole survivor of the band, released two of the band’s best songs in an acoustic instrumentation, accompanied by other musicians, survivors of the tragedy that night. The songs are beautiful and haunting, and they are a reminder that the music is meant to be played and the people are meant to be remembered.
We’re not numbers we’re free, we’re so alive ‘Cause the day we give in is the day we die
Coma - Alarme
Great song released by Coma this year, in their already-classic style: they hit you with the feather, then with the bat, and then they leave you contemplating the meaning of existence. Beautiful.
Satoshi - Soarele A Apus
Satoshi is a young guy singing about everything, making him one of the best new hip-hop artists. And to re-inforce what I was saying earlier about Tania Turtureanu, Moldovan artists are great!
E.M.I.L. - Gânduri Vii (Strălucitor și Roșu Chin)
Celebrating 25 years of existence, their songs are still strong, and this catchy banger is definitely ont one to miss.
Kneecap - The Recap
Proof that the truth can never be silenced, Kneecap raised the middle finger against the BBC and Bri*ish authorities once more.
Twenty One Pilots - City Walls
Moving to foreign music, this year marked the end (or did it?) of the Clancy story that spans over 5 albums and 15 years of videos, completing the cycle and letting us know that what is to come has been carefully planned and executed since day one.
Pendulum - Cartagena
Go!
Ending their latest album, this song is not only haunting, but also a solid piece of liquid drum and bass, something we can all agree the world never gets enough of. Rob Swire’s writing and vocals deliver perfectly an excellent set-ender.
Modestep x @Cassyette - Limerence
Drum and bass is not dead and neither Modestep is. This banger somehow manages to incorporate three motherfucking drops in it, each one heavier than the previous one. I think my speakers made structural damage to my house and this song is to blame.
Cœur de pirate - Château de sable [Piano edit]
From her latest album, this piano rendition is absolutely beautiful, and is a reminder of why I absolutely love Beatrice Martin.
Best album released in 2025
om la lună — Solaar
This album is what you’d expect an album from “om la lună” to be. Sounds flawlessly, the vibe is absolutely excellent and the lyrics are emotional and struck a good chord. Top it off with Doru’s unmistakable voice, and you get a solid album start-to-finish. I even made a minidisc bootleg of it!
Best song: “Libelule dansează”, but you can listen to the album entirely on their Youtube channel.
Notable mentions
Pendulum - Inertia
Consisting of a few previously-released tracks, but also containing some new ones, the album is the essence of what Pendulum means to drum and bass. Youtube Playlist.
Best song: “Archangel”
Cœur de pirate - Cavale
I’m loving Beatrice with every album more and more, this is a bit more pop, but lands some seriously good songs. Youtube Playlist.
Best song: “Cavale”
Morcheeba - Escape The Chaos
Fresh, goes absolutely great with a couple of cocktails on the poolside. Yes, Morcheeba are still out there and making good music. Find the albume in this Youtube Playlist.
Best song: “Call For Love”
Marius Matache - ACID
Moving on to Romanian music, I want to send a shout out to my friend, Marius Matache, and the good album he released this year, which is a great and fun trip in folk music, as we’re used from him. You can listen to it in this Youtube Playlist. This is another album I’ve made a Cassette Bootleg this year.
Best song: “Hai să” as the love song, “Țara momentană” as a protest song.
Deliric X Silent Strike III
Depressing lyrics, ominous music, the third collaboration between Deliric and Silent Strike resulted in a great album, with some great hitting songs. The collaborations with other artists are great, and the decision of featuring only artists from outside the hip-hop genre speaks volumes. You can find the album on a Youtube Playlist.
Best song: “Dum Dum”
Partizan - Nori peste Sălăjan
The latest (and sadly the last) album by Partizan was released in 2025, mixing industrial, rock, electronic, dance, pop elements into a fusion blend that spans almost every musical genre. Youtube Playlist.
Best song: “Ziua în care am părăsit planeta”
Alternosfera - Steaguri fără culori
This is a notable mention without being an album at all. Meant to be released in the spring of 2025, it’s released officially, but no where to be found (yet), except for the three or four songs they’ve already released as singles. Maybe they’re not happy with the final result, or they’re still working on it, who knows? However, they still sing all the songs in concerts and luckily, someone recorded an entire concert and uploaded it to Youtube.
Best song: “Steaguri fără culori”
For Spotify users
For people that are using Spotify, here’s also a playlist of the songs I liked in 2025. It’s got 178 songs, 12 hours and 43 minutes in total. Put it on shuffle and enjoy!