Top 10 Needle-Drop Discoveries of 2025

Hi, I’m Dan. For my inaugural Record Lung post, I thought I’d introduce myself by sharing my top 10 needle-drop discoveries of 2025.

Unlike Spotify Wrapped, there are no data visualizations here. No graphs, genre wheels, or top-played artists. What I do have is a year’s worth of real-life listening sessions and a list of songs that stopped me in my tracks.

Each of these tracks was played at one of our biweekly-ish record-listening ceremonies. These are vinyl-only, phone-less, sound baths. You can hear more about them in this wonderfully written—and mostly accurate—New York Times essay by our Record Lung colleague Tim Davis (in which I appear as “The Proctor”), and in Record Lung founder Joe Hagan’s introductory post. This year has been chock full of discoveries, thanks to my Record Lung compadres, not to mention a semester off of teaching that has left me with a little more time on my hands—time that I used to dig for, listen to, and talk about records.

Some of these cuts are familiar, some are obscure. With one or two exceptions I had never heard any before Joe, Tim, Joel, or David played them for us; I hope at least a few are new to you too.

1. “Kyoto Bells,” Jim Hall, from Jazz Impressions of Japan, 1976
A shimmering, meditative soundscape from a record Tim Davis brought back from his Kissa tour of Japan. A Japanese garden in outer space. It’s quiet, curious, and totally spellbinding. Oh, and give it up for the rhythm section, who add a critical layer of toe‑tapping hypnosis.

2. “Rainy Days and Mondays,” Sarah Vaughan, from Live in Japan Vol. 2, 1973
Vaughan’s phrasing here is orchestral, her voice control approaches freak-of-nature territory. A weird song choice for her but man does she make it hers. And this is live!

3. “Symphonic Blues Suite,” Yusef Lateef, from Suite 16, 1970
An epic, genre-agnostic journey. Equal parts spiritual jazz, impressionism, and blues. Lateef’s playing is as visionary as ever.

4. “Caravan,” Gábor Szabó, from Jazz Raga, 1966
A psychedelic sandstorm. Maybe actually what this song is supposed to sound like. Listen with the lights on though: it’s a tad terrifying.

5. “Bacon and Eggs,” Walt Dickerson, from Impressions of a Patch of Blue, 1966
A deeply strange and spiritual tune introduced to us by David Garland. But somehow simultaneously goofy and lots of fun!

6. “Suite for ’69,” Lou Volpe, from Morning Madness, 1973
A surprise discovery and, for me at least, an instant obsession. Mellow, mystical, and slightly psychedelic. A tough record to find, but they’re out there: Tim allegedly found this in a dollar bin!

7. “’Round Midnight,” Johnny Smith, from The Sound of the Johnny Smith Guitar, 1961
Elegant, bittersweet, and endlessly replayable version of this song I thought I was sick of. As good as Smith is though, the supremely elegant Hank Jones might be the track’s MVP. Introduced to us by Joe Hagan, who I’m pretty sure will include this track on his top ten.

8. “Mickey’s Theme,” Stan Getz, from Mickey One, 1965
Film Noir in a saxophone, with lush orchestration from Eddie Sauter that rivals his earlier work on the much better-known Focus. Smoky, stylish, and brimming with under-the-surface tension.

9. “Slipping Into Darkness,” Ramsey Lewis Trio, from Upendo Ni Pamoja, 1972
A slow-motion funk sermon with a kick-ass free-jazz intro that builds into a simmering groove that manages to never quite boil. Hip!

10. “Down So Low,” Mother Earth, from Living with Animals, 1968
Would have halted any conversation we might have been having, were we to allow conversations when records are playing. Tracy Nelson’s voice, man. Weary, defiant, and totally exposed. Thanks to Joel Smith for first spinning this one!