TF Best of 2025 - VOTE OPEN + Your thoughts on the year?

[Hensmon]

I am not participating this year or next year

And why not?

 

[Jetflag]

Because we all love @Progrez but he’s a bit of an attention seeking drama queen every now and again.

just like me

 

[Hoahoa]

Really hard to pick a favourite artist this year. Torn between Activa, Aeon Shift and Brandt Hoff. Chris Johnson also had an amazing year.

 

[Hensmon]

Keep the votes coming @Everyone. 5 more days before we close it. So far a good turn out, but I spy some regulars yet to drop.

 

[Z Dobrej Woli]

Ok, catch mine (you asked @NameLessYet):

@hoopoe @Jetflag @Coredata and @EnigmaState mentioned

 

[Manofearth]

Done

 

[Progrez]

And why not?

I never liked ranking tunes. @Jetflag I am not an attention seeker. In fact I hate attention or being in the spotlight. Why do you think I tried to play piano in front of people and I failed miserably as well. To me my mood changes on a daily basis and some days I want to play older faster energetic trance just like you guys.

 

[tranceissomewhatalive]

I don't know how to rank tunes sorry. I know when I hear shit, a decent one or a nice tune, that's about it. labels, albums etc, might worth it 20 years ago when there was an actual competition but not now lol

 

[TJY001]

l probably missed a ton of stuff out, sorry, and super lame voting for a cheeky bootleg I made at no 1 but It is my fav tune of the year lol

 

[Jetflag]

I never liked ranking tunes. @Jetflag I am not an attention seeker. In fact I hate attention or being in the spotlight..

Firstly:

Secondly: If you post things like: "i'm not going to do that ever again" without providing a why, you are invite questions/ attention in.

Thirdly: Fair enough, thats a perfectly fine reason.

Fourthly: concerning the concerts. Did you honestly think you would " nail" it the first time? my first preformances where horrific m8, whether that be presentations, piano concerts or singing in a band in front of a crowd. you're supposed to fail and keep at it, thats whats builds character. stick to it/ Keep trying, you can do it m8, sooner or later

 

[Spacetime]

1. Enigma State- Emotions

2. Activa - Lakota

3. Narel - Tired Mountain Syndrome
4. Enigma State - Legion
5. Aeon Shift - Nova

6. Coredata - Shimmer

7. Coredata - Kaleidescope Skies

8. Grant Towbridge - Stardust

9. Super Frog Saves Tokyo - Clarion
10. Hoopoe - Ocean Blue
11. Enigma State - Essence of Life
12. Luke Terry - Magik Epoch
13. Aerium - Undulatus Asparatus
14. Lostly ft. Kathryn Amy - Forever (Aeon Shift Dub Mix)
15. Alvar - The Mist
16. Brandt Hoff - Aurora Pulse
17. J1S - Solstice
18. Aerium - Pacasmayo
19. Enigma State - Wanting
20. Enigma State - Discover

What a top 20. There are another 30 tracks that I feel saddened to leave out, for example only one Hoopoe and no room for the great Digital Blonde tracks is a shock to me. Also only one Super Frog and Narel tracks, yet I loved their albums. This year was something special. Ultimately it's Enigma State who takes the most spots and also my artist and album of the year.

Ok, catch mine

Couldn't have built this list without all your threads sir.

 

[skyriderz]

Top 20
1. Aeon Shift - Echoes In Eternity
2. J1S - Solstice
3. Alan Morris - We Are Here Together
4. Aerium pres. Avalon 62 - Undulatus Asparatus
5. Enigma State - Legion
6. Alvar - The Mist
7. Sunda - Okinawa
8. Narel & Sunda - Refractor (Julian Del Agranda Remix)
9. Luke Terry & Chris Johnson pres. Taisaku - Fuyu
10. Close Proximity - Alive
11. PPK - ResuRection (Julian Del Agranda Remake)
12. Hoopoe - Aryaduta (Bam Jerapah Remix)
13. Christopher Ledger - Lost Skyline
14. Enigma State - Should
15. Chris Metcalfe - Running Man
16. Hoopoe - Mindfield
17. John O'Callaghan & Bryan Kearney - Restricted Motion (Lostly Remix)
18. Stella Nova - Orbital
19. SIT - Magnetized
20. Jon Mangan - Aurora

Best Artist - Enigma State / Hoopoe
Best Album - Of The Essence
Best Label - Trancefix Recordings / Borderline

 

[Electronlyman]

My vote is almost ready, will try to post it tomorrow...
This was pretty challenging!

 

[Unjungle]

Finally voted and tried to filter pre2025 trance Thanks a lot @Hensmon for all your work on the forum. TF delivers many good moments during everyday life in 2025. Happy NYE

 

[sszecret]

Not much to say about how 2025 has been, other than the fact that January lasted for what felt like half a year, and the rest went by in the equivalent of 2 business days. Plus, as this post is going to be a repeat of 2024 in terms of LotR-ness, there’s no time – by which I mean characters – to waste.

I. 2025 END OF YEAR TOP 20​

This go around, my TOTY is not one of the illegal kind (like in 2024), but two of the tracks in the top 10 (#3 and #9) are, while the others are debatable. All I’m saying is that ‘progressive’ and ‘hypnotic’ from the rule info box thingamajig are doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Even so, if any of them are considered entries so heinous they need to be exiled from the final count, feel free to chuck them into your nearest active volcano or black hole (not the label). In the meantime, here’s what my top 20 looks like:

Spoiler: (but not for cars)

2025 Track Of The Year: 01. Enigma State ft. The Jinx Brothers - Essence of Life [Transtate Records]

I’d say that for some this is perhaps a surprise, but a welcome one. Well, Palpatine would say that, but you get what I mean.

When I read the title initially, my thought for a brief moment was ‘Why is there just one Jinx brother listed? What terrible things have befallen the other one(s)?’ Considered for a second that it was another situation like The Thrillseekers, but that’s not the case.

Miscellaneous stupidity on my part aside, in the dedicated thread, I mentioned Essence of Life among the tracks that got multiple replays from me around the time the album was released. In the months since, said replays have only multiplied.

Though the rest of the album is excellent – more on that later – this is by far the highlight for me. Great melody, awesome breaks, and frankly just amazing sound design in general, in other words, all the trappings of a track worthy of the top spot.

Thus, it’s the 2025 TOTY for me. Great job @EnigmaState and Craig.

02. Peter Steele & John Dopping - Survival [Pure Trance NEON]

What an absolute belter of a track. Considered this for TOTY more than once, but regardless of its position in the top 20, it’s fantastic in every respect: from the melody, to the choice of synths and the atmosphere. Best in class.

I suppose there would be one not so fantastic aspect of it, which is the fact that it’s not on Bandcamp.

@Peter steele dj @JohnD if you haven’t already, you should do this again in the future. The collab thing, I mean.

03. Arkanna - The Unknown (Hedflux Instrumental Remix) [Luminus Music]

This one’s going to require a bit of a preamble.

It was originally released near the tail end of April on Bandcamp, as part of a six-track remix EP (3 vocal tracks + their instrumental counterparts). Not only that, it was the only DnB track of the lot, as the other two were other genres.

I added this to my wishlist and some time later, when I went back to buy it, the track was gone from both YouTube and Bandcamp. Can’t seem to find any explanation as to why.

Mind you, it shows up as greyed out on Spotify, but with a release date of February 7. A full sample is however available via Hedflux’s site (which is what I linked at the #3 spot above), so that’ll have to do in the meantime.

As for the remix itself, very big fan. It’s probably one of my most played tracks this year, in no small part due to its smooth as hell sound. It has the right number of melodic touches and just glides from beginning to end. Wish it had a longer runtime, but you can’t have everything.

04. Magnus - Revolution [Self Released]

Is this technically part of the album coming out in 2026? Yes. Was it released this year along with the title track? Also yes. Can this be included in 2025’s top 20? Don’t know, but it’s a bit late to change this now.

I know some people will gravitate towards Lighthouse – as they should, it’s a great track -, but I felt it was fair to highlight this one too.

In some ways, the beginning is reminiscent of perhaps an obscure remix in the @Magnus discography, i.e. the psybreaks one for Reactive. Though this reminiscence isn’t the only reason, it’s among those that have turned the start of the track into one of my favorite parts.

Bearing all the touches of his signature sound, Revolution has me very hyped for the upcoming album.

05. Ephedra & Ohm Mind - Acid Road to Rhum [Goa Madness]

Closing track of Liquid Pattern Theories and one of my favorite goa tracks of the year.
Has plenty of weirdness in its near 9 and a half minute runtime, and as I said in the dedicated Goa & Psytrance thread, I’m very fond of that build starting at 5:35. Could not have been released on a more appropriately-named label.

06. Astral Projection - For All Mankind [Iboga Records]

An AP track makes it to my top 10 for the first time since 2022 – though that very same track from 3 years ago is included on the album this track is part of too.

For All Mankind does its job well as a title track, and is among the stronger cuts from the album. Classic Astral Projection sound, which is why I really like it. By far my most played track, followed closely by Himalaya on the more downtempo goa / psybient end of the spectrum.

The latter reminds me a little of Unbelievable Technology, the psybient variant of AP’s very own Tryptomine Dream.

07. Enlusion & Subtara - Norscent (Exotek Remix) [Forescape Digital]

I liked the original from @Enlusion and Subtara, but this remix added just that little extra tweak to take it over the top.

Exotek steers it, in many ways in a heavier direction atmospherically, compared to the track it’s remixing. That said, it’s not to the point that it becomes, for lack of a better word coming to mind, ploddy. Very well done.

08. Henry Saiz - The Pulse [Bedrock Records]

Is this prog of some sort? Is this melodic house? Maybe techno? Is it whatever the hell Beatport decides to label it? The answer is yes or maybe to all the above.

Throwing the genre categorization into the garbage, because nobody seems to agree on what this actually is, the track is great. Yes, ‘top 10 of the year’ great for me.

Now the question remains, will it be chucked into the volcano or not?

09. ASC - Fear Of The Deep [Spatial]

Slotting in at number 9 is the second – and final – track in this top 20 that I’ve decided to pre-throw into a volcano / black hole (not the label).

This is the opening track for Next Time You Fall, the latest album from ASC, maker of my favorite album of 2023, The Depths of Space.

The entirety of the LP is worth checking out, but Fear of the Deep is the one I’ve played a concerning number of times. I tend to lean more towards atmospheric DnB, but as with trance, not everything labeled as such has the same vibe. ASC though, nails it every time for me. Highly recommended.

10. Lunar Sequence - Full Moon [OM Mantra Records]

Rounding off the top 10 is Full Moon, which as a point of comparison in overall feel, is right around MWNN’s Axis Flip. Very vibey, sort of psybient-sounding track.

Recommend checking out First Quarter from the same album Full Moon is part of, which gets into near CBL territory at points.



11. Narel & Sunda - Refractor (Façade Remix) [Landscapes Music]

It’s so nice to see @facade1984 interrupt his production of ghosts – the logistics of which elude me -,
to put together a fantastic remix for this @Narel and @Sunda collab.

Reminds me in places of the remix for The Weeping Willow from back in the before times™, and might just be one of my favorite releases from @Horizons Landscapes Music.

Narel’s Ambient Edit from the same remix package is worth a shoutout as well. Great alternate take on the original.

12. Lab 4 - The NRG (Definitions Remix) [Borderline]

Second entry in the top 20 from the Dopping man himself, though cloaked in another alias.
Very solid respray, entirely respectful of the source material. I’d go as far as to say I prefer this to the original.

13. DJ Reiz - System D [Union Trance Mission]

Although to some, this particular subgenre / style may sound very ‘upstairs neighbor renovating the apartment at 6AM’, I do like it. Lovely arp as well.

14. Grant Trowbridge - Eventide [Borderline]

Had to include this one. Lovely melody, near the beginning of the track a bit reminiscent of The Thrillseekers remix for Autumn Tactics to me. Makes sense though, as they’re both going for a lighter, somewhat floaty feel.

Big fan of the gating that’s used juust the right amount. @Grant Trowbridge

15. Astral Projection - Mahadeva (Save the Robot Remix) [Iboga Records]

This might ruffle some feathers, but what are those for if not to be ruffled?
I understand preferring the original over other takes, but as far as remixes go, it’s far from a bad one. The BPM drop suits this, if you ask me.

16. Brandt Hoff - Aurora Pulse [TF.R]

The Orison EP is my favorite TF.R release of the year, and this track in particular is my pick from the EP.
Very airy atmosphere in Aurora Pulse, making it just the right thing to contrast the cold weather outside. Artwork’s great too.

Wouldn’t mind more of this in the future @Reverb1234 .

17. David Broaders - Solace [Euphonic]

Was first exposed to David’s work around 13 years ago (when I was still following Enhanced) via The Best Is Yet To Come. As I said in the TF Radio 23/24 thread, those damn Enhanced promo jingles are basically burned into my brain.

Getting back to Solace, it’s clearly a similar sound. That said, the overall vibe is a lot more refined, though not to the point that it sounds, for lack of a better comparison, like it’s made of plastic. In short, beautiful track.

18. PROFF & Diana Miro - Momentum [Monstercat Silk]

Shock and horror, one of those damn comatose house tracks has snuck into my top 20.
Outrageous as it may be, it’s quite a nice little track. To add even more to the outrage, it has vocals too, which aren’t terrible. In some ways it reminds me of the 2AM Club Mix for Rush from last year, which I discovered when I made a big ‘ol list of everybody’s suggestions from the 2024 equivalent of this thread.

Though admittedly I was a bigger fan of Silk pre-Monstercat acquisition – stuff like Dewdrops and Moth to name but a couple tracks – Momentum is one of those recent releases I quite enjoy. Hence its presence here.

19. Kineta - Aqua Drifter [Ute.Rec]

Though to me Ute hasn’t been as strong this year, this I had to include. Love the groove.

20. Lauge & Baba Gnohm - Frozen Horizon [Lost Note Productions]

Capping off the top 20 is Frozen Horizon, which sits around the ambient / IDM / downtempo genre area. One could say it is hypnotic…or perhaps that it is progressive…in that it progresses from beginning to end. In a hypnotic way, of course.

Whether or not this track is volcanoable (yes I know, not a word) per the rules, I leave it to the TF overlords.

It’s still a great track though, either way.

II. 2025 SPECIAL MENTIONS​

As a quick reminder, in the special mentions section, side A is for tracks I feel need to be highlighted, despite their flaws. Side B is for tracks that could have made it to side A, were it not for some unfortunate production choices. Not bad tracks mind you, just ones with certain choices I couldn't get past.


II.A. Highlights

A1. Lorien Testard ft. Alice Duport-Percier & Victor Borba - Une vie à t'aimer

The first of the highlights is going to be from the original soundtrack of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Though not a genre I usually play, the art direction and soundtrack were what drew me to this game, and I’m glad they did.

The entire OST can be had for what’s frankly a steal on Bandcamp, given that it’s around 8 hours of music. Of those 8 hours, Lumière would be another track worth checking out.
Some may recognize the male vocalist (Victor) in the track above as the same one from the theme song of a certain approaching storm.

A2. Dynamedion - Pax Romana

The second highlight is also from a game, namely Anno 117, which is set at the height of the Roman Empire (hence the name).

I’ve played (and still continue to play) all of the Anno games, and though the game series has been around for longer, the OST has been handled by Dynamedion as a production company for around 20 years.

They’ve put together some absolute bangers like 1404’s When Cultures Meet, 2070’s Distant Shore and Monolith, or 2205’s The Vortex and Space Lift Engineering. Can’t forget Anno 1800’s main menu music, The Crown and the Lion.

TL;DR: Listen to some of them, or all of them. Highly recommended.

A3. Evanescence - Afterlife

No, you read that right. Even if I wasn’t that much of a fan of the Netflix DMC adaptation, this track did come out of it. Amy Lee somehow still sounds as good as she did in Bring Me to Life, however many years ago that was. Great track.

A4. DROIDGLOW - Totem [NRW Records / New Retro Wave]

Though not terribly complex in its arrangement, I do really like the industrial, sort of crunchy vibe this gives off. Worth checking out, imo.

A5. John Askew - Tooth Decay On Tuesday (Eshericks Remix) [VII]

Shame there isn’t a longer sample, but I do like the direction Eshericks has taken the track into.
Was rather fond of his remix for Hyper’s Spoiler (Recoil) too or, if you really want to go back quite a few years, his take on Serotonin Syndrome. Especially around 2:50.

A6. Unknown Reality - Snow Ballad [Self Released]

Exactly what it says that it is. Been a fan of Ralph’s psychill / downtempo / ambient stuff for over a decade, from Water – Part I to Fresh Fruits, Dream and beyond. Great artist.

A7. Chi-A.D. - Astral Warrior (Atlantis 2025 Remix) [Global Sect]

Compilation opener for VA – Reincarnation. There’s another Atlantis remix from around 5 years ago, but this updated one is so much better.

A8. Ephedra - Dialing Wrong Numbers [Goa Madness]

Ephedra did make it to the top 10 with Acid Road to Rhum, but I had to highlight this too. Part of VA – Orbiting The Void, this is another excellent goa slice, not unlike the title track of his 2024 album, Resilient Horizon.

(this recap continues in the next post)

 

[sszecret]

(continued from above)

A9. Etnica - Machine Elves [SpaceWarp Records]

This is definitely the last of the goa tracks in this list, but it was too good not to include. Comp opener for SpaceWarp’s VA – Girei.

A10. State Azure - The Light That Remains

40-track electronica album, contains some (until now) unreleased stuff too. If I had to pick one to sample, Crow would be the first. Great production.

A11. Wigs - I Know (Match Box Remix) [Goddezz]

The other tracks from this release were so-so to me, but this is rather nice. Sort of bubbly in a way, vibe-wise.

A12. P4sc4l - In The Void (The Man With The Oranges Eyes Remix) [Looptrack Records]

Have @Z Dobrej Woli to thank for discovering this one. We’re in agreement both about the Federation-ey vibe this gives off, as well as the fact that it has an unfortunate runtime of under 3 minutes. Otherwise, very nice.

A13. Data Rebel - Blue Haze [Self Released]

Couldn’t help myself, had to add another one of them IDM / ambient things to the list. This time from Data Rebel, who I’ve known about since Lost In Dam Central, a track originally given out for free in 2013, then released properly in 2018.
Not all, but some of his tracks have this cool hybrid vibe that’s not quite ambient, has stuff from chillstep and a bunch of other things. 3:15 onwards in Blue Haze is a perfect example of the vibe I mean.

A14. mes amis, DJ Holgersson - Ce Soir [Union Trance Mission]

While it didn’t make it to the main top 20, I do want to highlight another one of these ‘upstairs neighbor is renovating’ kinds of tracks, from the same label. Due to the overall vibe and the French lyrics I nearly caught myself saying Encore Une Fois until I realized I was in the wrong decade. Great tracks, the both of them.

A15. Essence Project – Rooted EP [Nutek Records]

This one I can wholeheartedly say is very much an acquired taste. To me, Roots of Bass is probably the more interesting track due to all the twists and turns, especially around 2:09. In some way reminiscent of ATYYA – Obelisk.

A16. Aeiforos - Voyager III [IONO MUSIC]

One more electronica / downtempo track to highlight wouldn't hurt at this point, right? Well, this is it, and while IONO isn’t exactly the first name that comes to mind when I think of this genre, Voyager III has quite a good grove. Surprisingly so.


II.B. Had potential

B1. Sasha Malkovich feat. Kate Barsky - Party Cats [Microcosmos Chill-out]

It has a really nice acid line, especially around 2:21 and a little later around 4:07, but in-between it just falls apart. The cover is pretty neat as far those go, it’s just a shame the track itself didn’t quite come together properly.

B2. AA Meeting - Flashback [VII]

In some ways, the exact problem as the track above. The kick is nice, that acid line too, the rest just…doesn’t go together imo.
At least this has the opposite problem of Burning Stones which for some reason had that fantastic acid in the preview absolutely nerfed in its final release. Unfortunate.

B3. Atmolifter - Night Drive [Self Released]

Pretty fond of this genre, and this track could’ve been great, especially with that electric guitar. There’s a bit of a volume issue though, so it’s nowhere near as clean as it should be. Has potential though.

B4. Ralphie B & Frank Waanders pres. Collide1 - Gravitation [In Trance We Trust]

The best way I can explain the problem here: the kick seems too…thin almost, and entirely too loud at the climax of the track. Shame about that lead melody, really liked it. At least somebody pulled it off, on the same label no less.

B5. Cass & Slide - Perception (Cass Is Broken Mix) [Our Secret Lab Sounds]

The vast majority of this track I really dig. Vibe, sound design, everything.

In the breakdown though, the chopped vocal – also present in the original – is at a kind of awkward volume. Not loud enough to be overpowering, not quiet enough to be as subtle as intended. It’s the only gripe I have with this otherwise rather excellent rendition.

B6. Darren Tate & Sam Tate - The Start And The End Of Me [Enhanced Progressive]

Rest assured, I’m just as surprised as you are to see this track here. It may sound a bit festival-y, but I do like the vibe around 2:55. Does remind me of something after the drop, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what.

Don’t much care for the vocals or the rest of the track, but that bit I mentioned above, not so bad.

III. 2025 ARTIST, ALBUM, AND LABEL OF THE YEAR​

III.A. Artist of the Year: Enigma State

III.B. Album of the Year: Enigma State - Of The Essence

As previously hinted at - with the subtlety of a major earthquake -, Enigma State is my pick for Artist of the Year, and Of The Essence takes Album of the Year.

Even if Essence of Life took the crown in the top 20, that by no means diminishes the rest of the album. Discover Way and Should are still hot on the heels of my 2025 TOTY when it comes to replays, but so are Legion and Illuminate.

From the first track to the last, the artwork to the promo blurb, it’s something to be rightfully proud of, in the past, present, and future.

Album of the Year runner up: ASC - Next Time You Fall and Astral Projection - For All Mankind

The runner up albums may not have anything in common like those of 2024, but I thought it was worth highlighting them nonetheless.

Up first is ASC’s Next Time You Fall, an absolute masterclass in atmospheric DnB. I’ve followed James’ work ever since choosing The Depths of Space as my 2023 album of the year, and I haven’t been disappointed.

Having already sung the praises of the opening track, Fear of the Deep, it’s worth pointing out another: Eons. Come to think of it, why do you even need to read all of this, when the music itself can covey it so much better? Go and listen to it. Yes, now.

While you’re on your way, might as well open a tab to take a listen to AP’s finally (and actually) real latest album. The stuff of myth for many years, I’m a bit surprised to have lived long enough to see this happen.

What I said in the top 20 entry of For All Mankind remains true here. It’s classic Astral Projection, and that’s in all honestly the draw of this album. Of course, Into the Void remains great three years since its release, but what joins it to form the 9-track LP is an equally strong lineup.


III.C. Label of the Year: Borderline

Both in terms of quality and quantity, can’t fault Rob & friends for the output in 2025. Well deserved label of the year for Borderline.

No compilation of the year for me in 2025 either. I enjoyed tracks here and there, but no compilation in its entirely.

IV. 2025 FINAL THOUGHTS​

I’m not sure there really are all that many final thoughts to be had here, as they somewhat mirror what I said last year.

2025 brought the release of Enigma State’s album, as well as (against all odds) the album from Astral Projection. Eager to see what the rest of Magnus’ Lighthouse sounds like next year, as well as maybe that Fluke album.

Worth taking a sec to thank @Hensmon @Katadunkass @Archon for keeping this place together yet another year, as well as for handling the various other TF-adjacent things like TF Radio and of course, the label.

Nothing else left to say but see you in 2026. Happy New Year!

 

[Juna]

Just In time . My album vote is BEAMS.

 

[Electronlyman]

Well, that wasn't easy!

The Digital Blonde took three spots in my top 10.
He, Brandt Hoff and Aerium pres. Avalon 62
were incredible this year.

Label: TF R.

Few releases, but of very high quality.
Well deserved vote!

Quietman took the album because of its huge variety and unique approach. It's a big journey. Also, it is the only one with proper art and description/story of the art included (physical version)!

It's clearly an album made with disregard to trends and fads, a very personal work.

Narel's and ES's albums, Solarstone's
were my highlights of the year as well.
SFST's and Alvar's are top notch too,
hovever personally for me, they require a specific setting/mood for me to be able to really enjoy them.
I rarely tap into that mood..



2025 - the year of albums.

Compilations?
______________

 

[Hensmon]

Worth taking a sec to thank @Hensmon @Katadunkass @Archon for keeping this place together yet another year, as well as for handling the various other TF-adjacent things like TF Radio and of course, the label.

Label: TF R.

Cheers to you both!

 

[Sleepy Robot]

Finally collected some tracks. A strange year because i couldn't really rate a lot of tracks properly, many felt interchangeable.

P.S. Wasn't there a copy button last year to easily post your votinglist?