Well, since I am currently not using any kind of streaming service providing some type of yearly recap like Spotify or YouTube, I have decided to just do my own little summary of that!
This is inspired by a post by Axxuy, although I went ahead and added a bit more than he did, just because.
All the music with a little spark emoji (✨) are completely new for me this year, and the rest are just regulars that keep showing up, I include the emojis for electronic music (🤖), videogame soundtracks (🕹️) or with singers as well (🎙️). I hope you enjoy some of them!
Most of the stuff I listened to this year is from the same genres I’ve listened to for a few years now. 70s and 80s J-Pop (or City Pop as is known today), Videogame Soundtracks, and Electronic Dance music. I mostly enjoy the chill, jazzy and funky vibes of these over other genres.
Some Random
Some random musical things I’d like to mention that aren’t as formal, I guess. Songs I saw from movies, or only once, or some random sound or jingle that got stuck, and the like!
- I really enjoyed the songs from K-Pop Demon Hunters (and the movie itself!) more than I expected. Haven’t relistened though.
- The soundtrack for the TRON: Uprising show is pretty much on the same level as the TRON: Legacy movie.
- The Godzilla theme in Godzilla Minus One absolutely got me tearing up recently.
- I started listening to a few songs from The Manhatan Transfer, a band recommended by Amin, I like the vibe!
- The random dad rock at the end of each Alien: Earth episode is the most jarring musical decision of the year.
- Gotta say, I love the soundtrack of The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy and I don’t know why I haven’t listened to it outside the game.
Some Albums
I listened to a lot of albums from start to finish this year! Here are some of them I’d like to highlight. I may have selected others if I thought more about it, but decided to just share as they came to my memory.
- 🎙️ TOKYO SNIPER by Ryusenkei - This album is simply awesome, it’s one of my all time favorites, it has so many slow moments and long-ish songs that completely immerse me into it, I just can’t help but cheer all the time.
- 🤖 Alive 2007 by Daft Punk - I listened to this one quite a few times this year, and it has never ceased to amaze me. Listening and watching the Live concert on YouTube from start to finish was a highlight of the year.
- ✨🕹️ Hollow Knight: Silksong Soundtrack by Christopher Larkin - Do I really need to say why this album is in my top of the year? It’s Christopher Larkin after all! The atmosphere and the instruments of this are simply iconic, absolutely love it.
- ✨🎙️ Orange Airmail by Natsu Summer - As I was looking for more stuff by Ryusenkei, I stumbled upon this album, which was produced by them, lucky for me, it has the save vibes and charm as Tokyo Sniper, and I absolutely loved it!
- 🎙️ Love Trip by Takako Mamiya - This is one of those albums that have stayed with me for a couple years now, I just love the story behind it and to think about how sad it is that this didn’t get popular until many decades later.
- ✨🕹 1000xRESIST - by Drew Redman (and many others) - The soundtrack of one of my favorite games this year, and it’s over 4 hours long! It is incredible for study sessions and to just let the time pass by, and there’s some real bangers on it.
- ✨🤖 atmo by SeaFury - This was a new discovery brought to my attention by the fediverse! SeaFury is on there and I gave a try to her music, it’s very relaxing and great for sleep or study.
- ✨🎙️ timeabout, by YUKIKA - Ever since I listened to NEON, Yukika has been on my radar, but even so, this album slipped by for a while until I checked it out this year, and it was great!
- 🤖 TRON Legacy Soundtrack by Daft Punk - I really enjoyed the soundtrack for TRON: Ares by Nine Inch Nails, but I hadn’t really listened to Daft Punk’s in ages and I gotta say I still prefer it a lot.
- ✨🕹 Ridge Racer PSP Official Soundtrack by Bandai Namco (many artists)- Look, Ridge Racer has a lot of fantastic music, and the soundtrack for the PSP is quite simply, glorious. It is the kind of music that will get you hyped up at the gym like nothing else.
Some Songs
Reminder that these are not based on stats or scrobbling or anything (even though I have the actual stats on my Listenbrainz, although incomplete).
- 🎙️ I’m In Love by Tomoko Aran - The slow tempo here is just the best, it feels so intimate and genuine, everything around me matters not when I listen to it. This is my most played song.
- 🎙️ Dancing into Fantasy by Ryusenkei - This one builds up in a very chill way, it’s inviting and hopeful and even thought-provoking, and then the electronics and the singing kick in, and I can’t help it, I must vibe.
- ✨🕹 Disco Ball by Hiroshi Okubo - This is definitely my favorite of the Ridge Racer soundtrack, it starts with a punch, building up over time, but as soon as it starts to feel a little samey, things are taken to the next level, and adrenaline boosts to the max.
- ✨ 2025 by Natsu Summer - There’s just something about this song that gets me so nostalgic, even though it’s rather new since the album came out last year. This year has definitely been quite something…
- 🎙️ Nagisa de Dance by Takako Mamiya - It’s hard to pick a favorite from Love Trip, as the whole album just bops, but in this moment in time, this is it. Gotta love that solo by the end!
- 🕹 Out of Phase by Yoko Shimomura - This is a masterpiece from the Parasite Eve soundtrack, a great piece that you can loop forever to focus through whatever. Perfect for sleep, work and study!
- 🎙️ I Wanna Be With You by Yurie Kokubu - This is just so fun to listen to, definitely the one that gets me bopping for the whole day, I just love the singing here, it’s so powerful, while still being a little melancholic.
- 🕹 The Orchard -In Motion- by Drew Redman - This song from 1000xRESIST is just a whole vibe. Put it on loop and work away, write some blogposts, do some excercise, get stuff done, get in motion.
- ✨🎙 TIME by Mondo Grosso - This song does a change in tempo in such a wonderful way I can’t help but move in slow motion when it gets to it, one of my favorite discoveries for sure.
- 🕹 Panacea by Disasterpiece - Probably the most iconic piece of Hyper Light Drifter, I ended up listening to it so much this year, just as the ones before. It just makes me want to keep going and not give up.
Some Artists
Some of the names were mentioned already but hey, they may have a lot more great music besides whatever I mentioned.
- Bronze - A korean producer who makes a bunch of city pop style songs! He has worked with tons of singers, including Yukika!
- Mondo Grosso - This guy is everywhere, from videogame soundtracks to movies and just music in general, Labyrinth is another song I absolutely loved and is how I discovered his work, and later with Lumines.
- Junko Ohashi - I didn’t pick a song or album of hers but her voice is among my favorites in the city pop genre. Just listen to Telephone Number, come on.
- Daft Punk - Do I really need to explain any further than this? It’s Daft Punk, they are just the best.
- Yasunori Mitsuda - I’ll never get tired of recommending the Chrono Trigger soundtrack! But this man has worked on many other games since then as well so, yeah, check his work.
Wrapping Up
There you go, that’s a decent summary of the stuff I listened to throughout the year! Some of it is definitely among my favorites, some of it I just consider to be worth sharing, and even if I only played it a few times, they were in my memory for a reason, I’d say.
Either way, this is plenty already! I hope you find something that fits your taste, or at least fulfills the curiosity you may have had regarding my musical taste.
