We say it all the time (and aren’t likely to stop any time soon), but the Dallas music scene is criminally underrated. This year’s best albums only made that claim more certifiable. 

We’re still waiting for that elusive next album from Erykah Badu, though — perhaps it’ll top this list next year.

Sub-genres like the New Dallas movement further proved the city doesn’t get enough credit for influencing the future of hip-hop. The modernization of traditional country music that has dominated the music industry as a whole is reminiscent of a sound that has long felt unique to Dallas’ urban cowboy ethos. 

Of course, with a pool of talent as big as ours, there’s a banger for just about every genre and every ear. These are the albums and EPs (in no particular order) that stuck with own ears the most this year.

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Still Shinin – 4Batz

4Batz’s latest album emphasized his growth as an artist, proving that 2024’s u made me a st4r was not merely a fluke. On essential songs like “act xi: she ain’t no angel” and “act x: n da morning,” the Highland Hills native demonstrates a move beyond heartbreak, embracing a second chance at love. Mixing Southern charm with appearances from Leon Thomas, FLO, and fellow North Texan Zillionaire Doe, the album presents a distinctive story of young love, bolstered by his further-evolving blend of hip-hop and R&B. This album has signified that his greatest work is yet to unfold. – Bryson “Boom” Paul

Dollar A Day – Charley Crockett

The tracks on Dollar A Day are filled with the hard-luck wanderers that characterize the best of Charley Crockett’s work. The country crooner’s magic has always been rooted in the way he uses music to tell stories about the disenfranchised and downtrodden sons and daughters of the West, and the stories he spins on this newest album are some of his finest.

Dollar A Day is epic in the purest sense, a 15-track reminder of what we love about Crockett’s music. A testament to his skill as a songwriter and performer is how varied these tracks are in tone and composition, moving effortlessly between more light-hearted offerings like “Tennessee Quick Cash” (an ode to a payday loan institution), the openly emotional, swooning “Die With My Dreams On” and the atmospheric man-on-the-run piece, “Santa Fe Ring.” We loved it when it first came out, and time has not diminished its charms. – Austin Zook

Still Ain Nun Bigger – HeadHuncho Amir

On Still Ain Nun Bigger, HeadHuncho Amir blends crafty wordplay, a passion for hustle and fierce momentum to show why he is the third head of the three-headed monster in the New Dallas movement. Anticipation for the album was driven by the hit track “Motivate The City,” featuring a remix with Zillionaire Doe and Montana 700 that promoted unity in the streets.

Across 17 tracks, including fan favorites like “Booked Up” and “BBTN,” Amir addresses wealth security, avoiding street life pitfalls and staying focused on the money. His latest album, October’s 50 Year Run, also marks a noteworthy milestone in his career, but it’s Still Ain Nun Bigger that truly showcases his artistic brilliance in 2025. – BP

Life Behind Bars – Vandoliers

With the brassy opening notes of “Dead Canary,” Vandoliers immediately announce themselves as modern torch carriers of alt-country. Inspired by lead singer Jenni Rose’s journey to sobriety and decision to come out as a transgender woman in the period leading up to the album’s release, “Dead Canary,” opens with “I was running from my shadow / Tried to hide it, but it followed,” which feels like a deeply personal premise for what follows. 

And what follows is a high-energy cavalcade of songs that blur the line between rock and country to delightful effect. In particular, “Jim’s Barn” delivers a rollicking prelude to the band playing a party at the titular barn that they expect to end in a riot. This album is an example of how a musician’s personal experiences can be channeled into art, creating something meaningful, emotional and resonant that can not only entertain listeners but also enthrall them. – AZ

I Hope You’re Happy – BigXThaPlug

Regarded as his introduction to country music, I Hope You’re Happy is the most defining moment of BigXThaPlug’s career thus far. A shift to country might seem like an odd step for X, but the North Dallas native’s heartfelt storytelling and attention to the genre’s essence, combined with some of the biggest names in country, allowed him to shed the title of rapper and transform into an artist who can do it all.

Genre heavyweights like Beyoncé, Morgan Wallen, and Luke Combs praised X’s arrival, as tracks like “All The Way,” “Cold,” and “Hell At Night” propelled the album to No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart upon its debut. Although a Grammy nomination eluded him in 2025, the meteoric success proves he’s so far unstoppable in any genre he takes on. – BP

Tropicana – Joshua Ray Walker

For his first album of 2025, singer/songwriter Joshua Ray Walker delivered a collection of songs in the tradition of classic country music. There’s a bonhomie to the finished product, a pervasive cheerfulness that makes it impossible to listen to the work without smiling. 

“I Don’t Wanna Be Alone” especially impresses, with a peppy declaration (“I don’t wanna be alone / I don’t wanna be alone tonight”) working its way up to full-blown earworm status as it repeats. The album’s closing number, “I Hope I Have Fun Dying,” is a similarly winning moment, recounting the narrator’s experience accidentally taking edibles. This might be the most fun album to emerge from Dallas this year, because even with the raw emotion behind, it’s delivered with wit and playfulness. – AZ

A Joy So Slow At Times I Don’t Think It’s Coming – Slow Joy

Dallas-based singer Esteban Flores released his first full-length album under the name Slow Joy in May of this year. This LP is pure classic punk that’s reminiscent of the early 2000s punk/grunge bands we all know and love. Flores combines contemplative lyrics with a playful love of the genre while seamlessly blending elements of shoegaze and emo music.

This album has the ability to get you head-banging one moment and sitting in deep pensiveness the next, not just out of concern for the damage you may have done to your brain stem, but from Flores’ emotional and reflective lyrics. The Dallas music scene has never been a stranger to some good ol’ fashioned punk rock, and Slow Joy reminds us of why we so eagerly embrace the genre in all its glory on A Joy So Slow At Times I Don’t Think It’s Coming. – Libby Veatch

Dirty Laundry: Unfolded – Dezi 5

Put on your marching boots, because Dezi 5’s latest album is a parade of bangers. The music on Dirty Laundry: Unfolded is funky, soulful and dreamy. Dezi 5 has tapped into something pure with his sound, delivering tracks with the power to play you like a marionette; you can’t help but shimmy and groove to his beats when they ooze from a speaker. 

Highlights from the album include the title track, an uptempo piece built around its titular metaphor, deployed as a double entendre, and “Missin’ Myself,” a softer, more introspective tune about someone realizing their life has gone off the rails. – AZ

Magic of the Sale – Teethe

Forming what could be called a Denton-area indie supergroup of sorts, Teethe first showed up on our radars in 2020 with their self-titled debut album. In August of this year, the release of their sophomore album, Magic of the Sale, had us pressing repeat once again. The album is experimental, blending elements of southern rock and country, indie vocals, singer-songwriter storytelling — it’s an era of exploration for this young band that’s finding its voice quickly.

The result is both dreampop and slow-core, it’s synths, it’s everything you could dream of for a band that started in the magical spaces that are house shows. If you take pride in discovering gems before their big break, don’t sleep on this one, because it’s only a matter of time. – LV

Mr. 14 Months – Zillionaire Doe

Mr. 14 Months cemented Zillionaire Doe as the hottest new artist in DFW hip-hop. As the face of the New Dallas movement, he captivated listeners with his magnetic tone and hypnotic persuasion across 14 tracks, while honoring the lessons learned from his Southern hip-hop forefathers.

The album includes the “Back To The South” remix featuring Yo Gotti, their first collaboration since Doe signed with Gotti’s CMG imprint. On his second effort with the label, he blends lyrical authenticity with gripping street stories in a way that allows him to establish success on his own terms. – BP

Describe – Hannah Jadagu

The second full-length album from Mesquite’s Hannah Jadagu is a delightful continuation of the bedroom-pop singer’s critically acclaimed career. Don’t be fooled by the bright production, though. This album explores the growing pains experienced by Jadagu as her career ascended in recent years.

Following the release of 2023’s Aperture, she has spent her time touring, gaining hype from NPR and the like, and learning to embrace those changes while finding grounding touchpoints. In fact, the title track finds her homesick, as she sings “I promised myself that I’d be a lot better / Maybe it’s getting time we had back to Texas.” Describe is often a fun, easy listen and Jadagu once again delivers us a warm reason to feel hometown pride. – LV

Joel Wells Jr. & The Revelers Hall Band — Joel Wells Jr. & The Revelers Hall Band

On their self-titled 2025 album, Joel Wells Jr. & The Revelers Hall Band deliver a bracing mix of original compositions and covers that form a jazz-infused phantasmagoria. The songs captured on this album serve as a poignant reminder of what the venue’s musicians contribute to the cultural landscape of Bishop Arts. 

In particular, the group’s reinterpretation of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” works quite well, as it leans into the lyrics’ more ominous implications, resting as a moody, urgent warning. Similarly effective is “Back to Texas,” the album’s penultimate track, which uses Wells’ vocals to spine-tingling effect. The track is delightfully constructed, with the early portion carried by a piano, but slowly building to a roar with horns blasting and Wells at his full-throated best. Listening at full volume is the most spiritual experience you can have without being on holy ground. – AZ

Alex O’aiza – Alex O’aiza

It’s quite fitting that the newest release from Alex O’aiza would be a self-titled project, as the five-track EP often feels like the front-row view of an artist unlocking a pivotal moment of self-assurance.

Over the last half-decade or so, we’ve watched the Dallas indie-pop artist explore myriad soundscapes. On Alex O’aiza, though, he finds a throughline traced from vibrant, ’80s-nodding pop (“Guayaba”) to lovetorn musing (“Let You Go”) and a Spanish-language heartbreaker (“YNMA”). If your Spotify Wrapped usually spans from The 1975 to Rauw Alejandro, you’ll find yourself adding these to the queue. The title track — if you’re following, that’s “Alex O’aiza” by Alex O’aiza on Alex O’aiza — lands like an anthemic thesis for this decisive new perspective as an artist. He opens the song with, “Asi que denle la bienvenida/ El estrella, el futuro / Alex O’aiza (Please welcome the star, the future: Alex O’aiza),” in a way that feels less buried with hubris, and more like an infectious manifestation. – Alec Spicer

Lately – Paul Schalda

Making his solo debut after long heading up Paul & The Tall Trees, Paul Schalda expands his poetic, folk-rock storytelling with Lately. The songs are smooth, moving and perfectly balance jazzy-folk instrumentation with Laurel Canyon-esque lyricism and vocals. It’s an album that feels uniquely Texan, one where you roll the windows down and take yourself to nowhere on an open country road. It’s wonderfully simplistic at times and beautifully layered at others.

If you’ve spent your life pondering what a funky slap bass, jazz keys and folk guitar would sound like spun together, look no further than Lately for a beautiful answer. – LV

A Bridge to Far – Midlake

In November, the Denton favorites returned with A Bridge to Far, just in time to enjoy the woodsy take on indie-rock that they’ve mastered. The band has consistently evolved and incorporated various shades of American rock and folk-roots, and A Bridge To Far is yet another glorious blend of it. While tracks like “Lion’s Den” keep on the path to more true folk music, the majority of the album takes on a borderline psychedelic shape. With feathery vocals, shimmery guitar and whispering synths, Midlake still manages to test expectations and limits by creating something expansive and fresh for the long-term and new fans alike — an impressive feat after all these years. – LV