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Welcome to RARB Picks of the Year, 2025 Edition!
Reviewers who published at least seven reviews in 2025 were asked to select one Pick of the Year and one Honorable Mention from albums that they personally reviewed for RARB. Reviewers with fewer published reviews could choose only a Pick of the Year. (Albums chosen in both categories are listed as Picks only; the full listing may be found under individual reviewers.) Reviewers could submit descriptions of their picks, but were not required to.
Reviewers were also asked to select Tracks of the Year on a similar principle, again restricted to the tracks that they personally reviewed for RARB. Reviewers could also abstain from making selections in any or all categories.
Finally, our singles reviewers and editorial staff jointly chose one Single of the Year and two Honorable Mentions.
Pitch Slapped (Berklee College of Music) – Are You That Somebody
The RARB singles team picked this release unanimously as our Single of the Year, a song that made all of us sit up and listen. Reviewer TeKay notes that this punchy '90s revival from Pitch Slapped offers "strong voices, sublime harmonies, and intricate and interesting rhythmic patterns." From the captivating opening notes through the final phrase of Tyler Christian's "otherworldly voice", you'll keep Are You That Somebody close to your soul and never far from a fresh play.
We reveled in this unique jazzy offering from the Taiwanese group SURE Singers sung in Paiwan, the aboriginal language of Taiwan. The dynamic arrangement for Vavayan from Peter Huang helped land an Honorable Mention award, delivered by an ensemble showcasing "that spark, that groove, that fire that makes you want to listen".
Boston College Dynamics (Boston College) – BIGGER
BIGGER is "a confident, rowdy exercise in fresh, empowered pop". The Boston College Dynamics sharpened their creativity to ensure their rendition was different from the Beyoncé original, with a keen focus on flashy production to fill the sonic space, making this an easy choice for Honorable Mention.
Banana Boat has made the most refreshing a cappella rock album I have heard in years.
A cappella folk at the top of its game, this is a holiday album that is nice to listen to year-round.
Love this song and the way this group has performed it. A moving mix of Old World and New.
When the drums drop out, the voices get clear. It's a pleasure to hear a recording that really means something to the group who made it.
SKETY offers an unending supply of suspended chords, off-beat rhythms, scat solos and swinging beats — enough to fill the no-longer-smoky jazz club of your choice. If pop's predictability is getting you down, give these vocal jazz delights a taste. SKETY is a rich, rewarding listen!
Maybe it's not always the reviewer so much as the year itself that chooses this award. 2025 has just ended, and many of us in the United States are fearful. As autocratic powers amass, and democracy retreats; as social media algorithms fan outrage and distrust for advertising profit; as antisemitism becomes normalized by our far-left as anti-Zionism, and our far-right as Nazi-ism, Congressional space laser conspiracy theories, and flirtations with Holocaust denial; as so many of our protective norms begin to disintegrate under a presidential Thanos snap, we worry over what will happen to our neighbors and ourselves, our economy, our sciences, our constitution. Even the fantastic promise of A.I. that profitlessly upheld our stock market through sheer hope, seems overshadowed by the harmful disruptions it threatens — not the least to musicians who, just as in the rise of streaming and YouTube, have yet again seen their gifts and talents and even their voices stolen. Against such a fast-gathering maelstrom, this track feels so beautifully human, so precious, so needed. It is a veritable Patronus Charm. It has brought me to tears more than once since I first reviewed it, and I swear that I feel its arms wrapped around me, comforting me through these troubled waters. You cannot truly listen to it without leaving open that door in your heart — the door that we hardened, practical adults leave closed so that we may go about our business; the door that leads to an ocean of thankfulness for the loving friendships and shared moments that make life itself worth all its many sacrifices, battles, and scars. And so my thanks, and award, go to The Apex Singers and Ollie Lambert for their beautiful gift of Auld Lang Syne.
The statement from my recent review of The Harmonics' album continues to be true as of the time of our Picks choices: "The more I listen to Event Horizon, the more and more enamored I become." Most of the songs have burrowed deep into my psyche to become the soundtrack of my life — those snippets that appear in the background depending on your emotional or physical state. Saeed and Nude seem to be etched forever.
These peeps are amazing! They perform with all the confidence in the world to make majestic and masterful music in an instant. They are too much, wreaking havoc on each and every one of my senses. And I live for it.
There were other choices that came really close this year analytically; but emotionally and artistically, this song had me wrapped up at the first phrase. To know that this is the last Max Pinson song that I'll hear performed with Hyannis makes me a little sad, but the trio from the past two albums will have to sustain me for the rest of my life. And I'm absolutely positive they will. Both Sides Now is ebullient, emotional, evocative, and evergreen.
For some reason I got on a real spirituality and religious music kick at the end of the year. Other than Are You That Somebody (our 2025 pick for Single of the Year winner), two songs leapt to the forefront in the recognition race. In honor of the passing of Richard Smallwood, Total Praise was highly favored. But I kept coming back to this J209 song that lifted my spirit and moved my body on every listen. The radio-readiness of this song from lyrics to musicality is enchantment at its finest.
IGNITION is a statement that deserves the all-caps.
Lose Myself is a compelling twelve-minute power stance from SOS.
Jessie is absolutely ridiculous: a zippy, smoldering jazz piece with illegal amounts of swagger and fun.
A gorgeous sound explosion at the key change, a wildly fun tempo, and an undercurrent of infectious energy — you can't sit still for Poems.
A Crowded Room stands out this year because the Loreleis lean fully into their strengths, crafting a moody, mid-tempo album where subtle arrangements and restraint create lasting pull. It’s confident, cohesive, and quietly compelling from start to finish.
Remember is the standout track from The Loreleis’ A Crowded Room and a highlight of 2025: soft, lilting, and quietly hypnotic. This arrangement feels risky — every member sings a solo, with little dynamic range — but instead holds together beautifully, thanks to how Cho Nikoi adapts the song with subtle vocal variation and a gentle sway that draws listeners in like an undertow.
The Bubs are clearly having fun with Since You Been Gone, taking a ‘70s hard rock classic and attacking it with total confidence, huge energy, sing-along choruses, and (of course) a booming key change. It’s catchy, full of joy, and perfectly captures all the things the Bubs have always done so well.
Precision. Power. Production. Lose Myself by SOS has all the goods to definitively call itself one of the best vocal projects from 2025. The vocals hit with an outstanding level of precision, giving the music a texture that sounds and feels trendy. There is also real power behind SOS's sound. Perhaps it's the youthfulness that is felt; either way, it is infectious and brings added animation to arrangements. And the production bridges the entire experience together, acting as the extra member of the group and catapulting really good music into something great! SOS is a vocal freight train that does not appear to be losing steam.
The old adage of "small but mighty" feels too relevant to Cadenza's EP, Overflow. What the EP lacks in running time, it makes up for with a vocal performance that is impactful and sincere. The unity across all vocal parts (lead, backing group, percussion) is splendidly balanced. Each of the EP's three tracks functions beautifully to create the full spectrum of emotions. It is the project's closer, Light of a Clear Blue Morning, which uses an alluring pace to create an astonishing vocal fairytale that really brings the entire experience to an earnest place for me. This was truly a project to remember from 2025.
First Light takes listeners on such a surreal auditory journey. There is a steady pulse developed by Shades of Blue for the first minute of the track before incrementally adding hints of color and build, eventually erupting into a seismic full-on rock display. Addie Miller's lead delivery is special, emphasizing the importance of control — a crucial aspect of all great singers. She is patient, dropping riffs when it makes sense, before unleashing a big note to close the song. The track has undeniable staying power.
What is so captivating about Rescue is its grand nature: it's massive in sound, lead delivery, tone, and overall concept. All components of the track complement each other very well, evoking a keen sense of resilience and hope. And the emotional arc the song takes the listener on is quite stirring, leaving you in awe by the end. Abi Urton's astounding alto vocals provide a depth that elevates the moment into stunning art.
Kvällen was an absolute delight of a multilingual holiday album to end my reviewing year — and with it, The Apex Singers make an indelible mark on the a cappella community. If you don't believe in listening to holiday music before November or December, bookmark it for later this year!
The collective genius of Rob Dietz in his arranging, J.D. Frizzell's music directing, and the talented singers in OneVoice scores yet another hit in Iris. No matter how many times you've heard the song in its various forms, this is worth a listen.
This album is otherworldly. It's a perfect fusion of old and modern jazz performed by a sextet so skilled you would swear you're hearing about fifteen members. It's so good, it makes me want to plan an intercontinental trip purely to see this group live. It will give you a new love of jazz music and make you want to listen again and again.
Every year, I grow more and more fond of TAG. This album is the group's signature balance of fun and bouncy juxtaposed by heartfelt and sincere ballads. Add in some new envelope-pushing stylistic trends at the end of album to give a fun new twist to the group's discography, and you have an album that makes me want to listen again and again.
Whoa. It takes some guts to take Dolly Parton's iconic track and reimagine it. However, it takes a stroke of genius and some serious performance skills to pull off what Hyannis Sound did. This track is haunting; it will pull you in and not let go. Bailey Jackson Reese's solo scratches an itch in my brain I didn't even know I had. I will go back to this track again and again for many years to come, and you should, too.
The Goo Goo Dolls are best known for this piece and the pure raw emotion it evokes. Leave it to OneVoice to find new levels to this song. Rob Dietz's arrangement is absolutely stellar, and Tera Jane Arwood's solo will pull at your heartstrings.
What do you think? Mouth off in the RARB/CASA Forums!
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