The Best Miami Albums of 2025

&NDRW + STV.OK?Y – Electric Glue

Released on September 26

“We’re living in an age of digital smoke and mirrors,” the versatile producer/III Points veteran Bryan Andrew Medina (&NDRW) told New Times earlier this fall. “Of art that is seen increasingly as just more content. To me, as a musician, I’m either wasting people’s time or I’m creating something that could potentially inspire them to feel and think on a deeper level. There’s really no middle ground anymore.” Electric Glue — the rousing, humanity-centering record Medina made with powerhouse rock vocalist and longtime collaborator Steven Delgado (STV.OK?Y) — falls firmly in the latter substantive, value-added camp, deftly bridging Pretty Hate Machine-era Nine Inch Nails, darkwave, Playing the Angel-ish Depeche Mode, French electro, and classic rock (Delgado’s baritone bullseyes those Jim Morrison, David Gahan, Leonard Cohen vibes) on its way to reminding us technology should be a tool not a master. By Shawn MAcomber 

Alexa & The Old-Fashioneds – Witches, Wolves and Murder

Released on October 24

The new three-song EP Witches, Wolves & Murder came out around Halloween. Fittingly, even beyond the title, it has a bit of a spooky aura to it. But each of the three rock tunes is an earworm that will stay with you all the way through the less eerie times of the year. The highlight is probably the opener “Witch in Disguise,” where the four-piece band sounds undeniably tight, but the secret weapon is frontwoman Alexa Lash’s voice. She channels all kinds of emotion in a manner reminiscent of Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine.  If you dig it, the band is delving into other holidays with the Americana-tinged Florida-themed Christmas song, A Miami Holiday, out December 19. It will be interesting to see if 2026 brings new Alexa & the Old Fashioned songs inspired by St. Patrick’s Day or the Fourth of July. By David Rolland 

Jeff Stones –  Rather Be Distant 3

Released on April 3

Born and bred in North Miami Beach and boasting a dynamic approach to hip-hop that calls to mind both old school legends (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony; Notorious B.I.G.) and new school leaders (Travis Scott, Future), Jeff “Hitman” Stones has been honing his melodic, soulful-yet-unabashedly-real-keeping flows since 2013 — and the harrowing and uplifting Rather Be Distant 3 feels like a transcendent culmination of that work. Whether he’s finding the strength to speak his truth (“At My Ends”), giving it up to his higher power (“Say Yo Grace”), or paying tribute to a fallen friend (“At the Crossroads”), Stones is using his remarkable voice to not only explore and navigate his own life and experiences, but also to comfort, elevate, and inspire those who encounter his music. By Shawn Macomber

Major Lazer – Gyalgebra

Released on November 21

Major Lazer came out in full force in 2025, rolling out multiple pop-ups that helped tease Gyalgebra, the group’s newest mixtape. Once known as a trio, the group has now evolved into a quartet with the addition of America Foster. Across its 20-plus-minute runtime, the quartet goes back and forth sonically, reviving the original dancehall-meets-big-house EDM energy that made them famous, while also reintroducing elements of dubstep, house, rock, and glitchy cyberpunk textures throughout.

The group and their sound is still embedded in the South Florida vibes that leader Diplo grew up with adding 305 OG DJ Chipman to mix for Jump & Twist for what is one of the best mixes of Miami Bass and Baile funk we’ve ever heard. The project is high energy from start to finish and shows why Major Lazer is still one of the biggest groups in dance music still. 

While Gyalgebra isn’t quite their next official album, it represents a major step forward for the group as they continue their comeback ahead of a return to major festivals like Coachella and Ultra Music Festival. By Osvaldo Espino 

Mold! – III

Released on July 17

The indie rock quartet might have seemingly mellowed out with their third and newest record III being more melodic than their previous two albums. But III still carries Mold!‘s  rock and roll enthusiasm as evidenced by each of the new LP’s dozen song titles ending with their trademarked exclamation point. The record seems slightly influenced by the Jacuzzi Boys, Miami’s longtime torchbearers of garage rock, but III has its own thing going with bilingual lyrics in Spanish and English accompanied by walls of sound that traverse into realms of distortion and sequencers. Opener “Elevator!” takes you into the upper levels of a sonic highrise structure. Make sure to stop on the high energy floor song six “Solo Hoy Dia!” and the more relaxed ten for “It Goes On and On!”. But you can push the button for all the songs on this record and find yourself fulfilled throughout. By David Rolland

Rachel Goodrich  – Once Before

Released on April 4

With Once Before, Rachel Goodrich opens a fresh chapter, shedding the tongue-in-cheek bounce of her earlier “shake-a-billy” days and embracing a deeper, more reflective sound. Set against the rich cultural backdrop of South Beach, the record threads jazz inflections, subtle Latin rhythms and her now-signature sultry voice into an indie-pop tapestry that effortlessly shifts between playful and profound. She trades in ukulele and kazoo for electric guitar and leaner arrangements, allowing each note and lyric to breathe. At times her vocals soar like melodic laughter, at others they dip into hushed confession, transforming imperfections into charm, and scene-vibes into emotional territory. The result is a joyful yet honest celebration of where she’s been and where she’s headed, a record of self-discovery that still invites you into the party she’s been throwing from day one. By Yuval Ofir 

Snowbros – Swing Spell

Released on September 18

Swing Spell is a beautiful and jarring throwback to a bygone, more anarchic era in industrial rock — that moment roughly between the Wax Trax! Records heyday and the post-Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste and Pretty Hate Machine gold rush when genre boundaries were smashed rather than blurred, mischievousness reached ecstatic heights, and everything, to slightly paraphrase Henry Miller, was raised to apotheosis. You’ll heard welcome shades of Lard, Skinny Puppy, Prick, Front Line Assembly, and others across these six songs as well. Led by Danny Ae and Howard Melnick of alt-darkwavers Astari Nite, Snowbros promised New Times earlier this year they would be “unleashing the true sourness of our existential dread, leaning on painful screaming guitars, modular synths, vocals and plenty of noise.” Mission accomplished! By Shawn Macomber

Teá Mox – Sailors

Released on November 7

Apologies to Greek mythologists, but even sirens performing on rocky shores likely never pulled off performances as beguiling and alluring as the indie dream pop you’ll discover on Sailors. Is it bedroom pop? Well, in the sense that it was written, recorded and mixed by Miami-based Mexican painter and singer-songwriter Teá Mox in her bedroom, yes. (“This is a one-woman show!” she writes on Spotify.) And the affecting, uninhibited lyrics — at turns poetic, biting, defiant, and soul-baring — delivered in a uniquely ethereal and versatile voice certainly provide more ballast for that categorization. Yet, the lush, expansive compositions here are near-symphonic at times. The term cinematic feels apropos because, again, Mox shoots and directs her own music videos for the tracks. The record really is a holistic triumph not to be missed. By Shawn Macomber

Timothy LaRoque – The Florida Effect

Released on October 24

From last year’s well-received Yacht Rock: A Documentary to Michael McDonald’s instant New York Times bestselling memoir What a Fool Believes to sold out Christopher Cross tours, the people want that AM Gold — but, weirdly, we get so little of it from up-and-coming artists. Or we did until Timothy LaRoque dropped The Florida Effect, an easy, breezy melding of folk, jazz, pop, and rock that firmly establishes the singer-songwriter as an old school troubadour with a new school twist. Love Seals & Crofts, Ambrosia, or the more simmering offerings from the aforementioned Cross? Get in the dinghy, listener, we’re getting in the metaphorical yacht with LaRoque to visit some brand new soft rock islands. By Shawn Macomber