Are you a music lover who enjoys discovering music you’ve never heard before?
If so, do you listen to a lot of albums?
Do you like participating in fun and entertaining challenges?
If you answered “yes” to the above questions, you may be interested in trying out The 100 New-To-You Albums Challenge in 2025. The goal of it is to listen to 100 new-to-you albums between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025.
It doesn’t matter if the albums are brand new or if they’re very old. They just need to be albums that you’ve never heard before.
This is the fourth year in a row I’ve done the challenge. In each year, I’ve exceeded the goal of 100 albums. In 2022, I listened to 101 of them. In 2023, I reached 112.
The 2024 Challenge was my biggest year yet. Below are my results.
Albums I Listened to for the First Time in 2024
- Camouflage (1984) — Rod Stewart
- Nuclear Furniture (1984) — Jefferson Starship
- Pyramid (1960) — The Modern Jazz Quartet
- Keyboard Virtuoso (2022) — Tommy Flanagan
- Hey You (2022) — Liv Slingerland
- Under Rug Swept (2002) — Alanis Morissette
- Thanks For The Dance (2019) — Leonard Cohen
- Alanis (1991) — Alanis Morissette
- David Bowie (1967) — David Bowie
- Love Will Keep Us Together (1975) — The Captain & Tennille
- Flowing Rivers (1977) — Andy Gibb
- Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998) — Alanis Morissette
- A Night On The Town (1976) — Rod Stewart
- All The Roadrunning (2006) — Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris
- Traces Of The Old Road (2003) — James Lee Stanley
- Angel Of Retribution (2005) — Judas Priest
- Anomaly (2009) — Ace Frehley
- Magic (2007) — Bruce Springsteen
- Modern Times (2006) — Bob Dylan
- 19 (2008) — Adele
- Live at HMV Forum, London, UK, 14 December 2010 (2024) — Asia
- So-Called Chaos (2004) — Alanis Morissette
- Flavors Of Entanglement (2008) — Alanis Morissette
- Havoc And Bright Lights (2012) — Alanis Morissette
- Just A Stone’s Throw Away (1977) — Valerie Carter
- Harder…Faster (1979) — April Wine
- Now Is The Time (1992) — Alanis Morissette
- Such Pretty Forks in The Road (2020) — Alanis Morissette
- This Is Me…Now (2024) — Jennifer Lopez
- Laid (1993) — James
- Stand Back (1975) — April Wine
- The Whole World’s Gone Crazy (1976) — April Wine
- 10,000 Volts (2024) — Ace Frehley
- Forever For Now (1977) — April Wine
- Expectation (2003) — Prince
- Contagious (1987) — Y & T
- Point of Entry (1980) — Judas Priest
- Bleachers (2024) — Bleachers
- Invincible Shield (2024) — Judas Priest
- Visions (2024) — Norah Jones
- Deeper Well (2024) — Kacey Musgraves
- Stained Class (1978) — Judas Priest
- Evolution (2024) — Sheryl Crow
- Live Laugh Love (2024) — Chastity Belt
- Older (2024) — Lizzy McAlpine
- Emotion (2015) — Carly Rae Jepsen
- Agents of Fortune (1975) — Blue Oyster Cult
- Don’t Forget Me (2024) — Maggie Rogers
- Killing Machine (1978) — Judas Priest
- The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (2024) — Taylor Swift
- Environments (2018) — Gentry Bronson
- Yummy (2024) — James
- Bewitched: The Goddess Edition (2024) — Laufey
- I’ll Play For You (1975) — Seals and Crofts
- Radical Optimism (2024) — Dua Lipa
- Rabbits On The Run (2011) — Vanessa Carlton
- Fu##in’ Up (2024) — Neil Young and Crazy Horse
- Here In The Pitch (2024) — Jessica Pratt
- The Pegasus Project: Pegasus & The Swan (2024) — Sananda Maitreya
- Defenders Of The Faith (1983) — Judas Priest
- Hit Me Hard And Soft (2024) — Billie Eilish
- Reunion (2024) — John Oates
- Timeless (2024) — Meghan Trainor
- Honeymind (2024) — Ben Platt
- Sing To Me Instead (2019) — Ben Platt
- Renegades & Juke Box Heroes (Live) (2024) — Foreigner & Styx
- Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (2017) — Various Artists
- Reverie (2021) — Ben Platt
- One Hand Clapping (2024) — Paul McCartney & Wings
- D (2024) — Daryl Hall
- The Complete Budokan 1978 (2023) — Bob Dylan
- Midnight Butterflies (2024) — Sea Girls
- Last Birthday (2021) — Valley
- Duality (2024) — Lindsey Stirling
- Tempest (2012) — Bob Dylan
- Lindsey Stirling (2011) — Lindsey Stirling
- Submarine (2024) — The Marias
- The Border (2024) — Willie Nelson
- Blue Electric Light (2024) — Lenny Kravitz
- 9 Sad Symphonies (2024) — Kate Nash
- Black Holes Don’t Choke (2024) — Charles Moothart
- Harm’s Way (2024) — Ducks Ltd.
- Blackout (1982) — Scorpions
- Run For Your Life (1985) — The Producers
- The Babys (1976) — The Babys
- Artemis (2019) — Lindsey Stirling
- 20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection: Best of Robert Cray (2002) — Robert Cray
- Mask Of Smiles (1984) — John Waite
- Revolutions: The Very Best of Steve Winwood (2009) — Steve Winwood
- Animal Magnetism (1980) — Scorpions
- Love At First Sting (1984) — Scorpions
- What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits (1973) — The Doobie Brothers
- Beautifully Ordinary (2024) — Tones And I
- Confessions of The Fallen (2023) — Staind
- Elements (2024) — Siamese
- Origins Vol. 1 (2016) — Ace Frehley
- Meet You There (2021) — Walk Off The Earth
- Crazy Nights (1987) — KISS
- Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden (2024) — Valley
- Luck and Strange (2024) — David Gilmour
- American Weekend (2012) — Waxahatchee
- Now What?! (2013) — Deep Purple
- Le Noise (2010) — Neil Young
- Unvarnished (2013) — Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
- Shadows in the Night (2015) — Bob Dylan
- 57th & 9th (2016) — Sting
- Piano Portraits (2017) — Rick Wakeman
- Radios & Rainbows (2024) — Kate Pierson
- Before This World (2015) — James Taylor
- Mixed Reality (2018) — Gin Blossoms
- Infinite (2017) — Deep Purple
- Harlequin (2024) — Lady Gaga
- As Long As I Have You (2018) — Roger Daltrey
- McVicar — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1980) — Roger Daltrey
- Turbo (1986) — Judas Priest
- The Lost Record (2014) — Susanna Hoffs
- Ram It Down (1988) — Judas Priest
- Alvvays (2014) — Alvvays
- Songs For A Nervous Planet (2024) — Tears For Fears
- BRAT (2024) — Charli xcx
- Space Invader (2014) — Ace Frehley
- Hypnotic Eye (2014) — Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
- Robby Krieger & The Soul Savages (2024) — Robby Krieger & The Soul Savages
- Tension II (2024) — Kylie Minogue
- Eternal Sunshine (2024) — Ariana Grande
- Short n’ Sweet (2024) — Sabrina Carpenter
- Creedence Clearwater Revival (1968) — Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Heaven Tonight (1978) — Cheap Trick
- The Motels (1979) — The Motels
- In Rock (1970) — Deep Purple
- Careful (1980) — The Motels
- Keep On Rollin’ (2024) — The Bay City Rollers
- Afterglow (2024) — The Wild Things
- HITNRUN Phase One (2015) — Prince
- HITNRUN Phase Two (2015) — Prince
- The Little Poet (2024) — Lark Morrigan
- Cowboy Carter (2024) — Beyonce
- Some Dreams (2024) — A Flock Of Seagulls
- A Complete Unknown (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2024) — Various Artists
- Brighter Days (2024) — Dwight Yoakam
I don’t expect to come close to reaching 140 albums again in 2025, but who knows, right? Seriously, I’ll be happy as long as I reach 100 albums.
Today is January 17th and I’ve already listened to five albums that were brand new to me, so I think I’m off to a pretty good start for the year!
But what if I don’t get to 100 albums?
Well, I’ll still be happy! After all, it’s just a fun self-imposed music challenge. Even if I end up listening to just a couple of dozen new-to-me albums, I’ll still be doing one of my favorite things — listening to a lot of music!
One of the things I like doing with this challenge is to use it as a way to explore artists and genres I don’t normally listen to. Sometimes I like to do ‘deep dives’ and listen to all of the albums by a particular artist.
I plan on doing that this year with The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Prince, and Joan Baez. Even though I know and like a lot of music by each of them, I’ve never heard the majority of their respective albums. I bet I’ll have a fantastic time exploring them!
One of the fun things about this challenge is that there are no real ‘rules’ for it. You don’t even have to share your results with anyone else, if you don’t want to.
Just do the challenge however you choose to. Listen to a lot of music and enjoy yourself!
Although the goal of reaching 100 new-to-you albums may seem daunting or unachievable, it may actually be easier to reach than you think — especially if you’re a music lover.
If you have a job in which you’re able to listen to music while you work, explore new music while you’re working.
Do the same while driving.
Seek out new music from places like Spotify or Apple Music — or from your local library.
If you’re especially interested in checking out new and upcoming album releases for 2025, I recommend to you these two great resources:
Wikipedia’s List of 2025 Albums
Both places are updated very regularly with new and upcoming albums releases. I use each one of them a lot.
Also, if you feel like 100 albums is too much but still want to do the challenge, that’s fine too! Go for a lower number instead. Like I said earlier, there are no rules.
Just listen to as much music as you want to and have fun with it all!
Note: A slightly different version of the above post was originally published on Medium.
Image Credit: The image at the top of this piece is by kalhh from Pixabay.
Buddy Gott 