WELCOME TO THE NEW ALBUM AWARDS!

Here at eatsteas HQ we take new album discoveries very seriously, which is why we're holding this little event. We're giving awards to the most notable new additions to Ale's music library from 2025.

But first, some statistics...

I listened to 63 albums this year. That is... Not as much as I wanted.
My most active month was March, having listened to 13 new albums!. Close second was September, with 12.
My least active month was December. (My earbuds broke and I bought a replacement pair on the 20th... I'm not going to be listening to new music when I have no right channel audio!)

There's 6 "album origin" categories, AKA how I became aware of this album. Let's go through them:
Blue: I had it on my "to listen" list before this year.
Yellow: I found it randomly online.
Red: I specifically found it on Tumblr, mostly through the blog "haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll"
Purple: The album was personally recommended to me by someone I know.
Green: New release from an artist I already follow.
Pink: I saw the artist live and listened to their album after.

With this in mind...

The most frequent origin was: BLUE! With 26 albums. What this means is I've done a wonderful job of going through my absolutely kilometric "ALBUMS TO LISTEN" list!
The least frequent origin was PINK, with only one album. Listen man no one ever comes to my country. They're too scared. The only bands I see live are local bands. However, it's also tied with GREEN, with again only one album. Most of my listens are old, okay? I like older music a lot more we've been through this.

Next on our itinerary, I would like to thank the people in my life who recommended me albums.

I would like to thank...

DUSTIN!! for recommending me Third Eye Blind.

I would like to thank...

MY DENTIST!! for recommending me Horno Para Calentar Los Mares.

I would like to thank...

MARKO!! for recommending me Mega Wave Orchestra.
(Check out his music, btw.)

Okay! Time for the awards!!

The first award is... The Best Band Discovery Award!



And obviously this award can only go to one band. And that is, the one and only...

JELLYFISH!

I adore this band. I'm almost sad it took me so so long to discover them. Go check out my shrine about them!

The next award is...

The Favorite Rock Album Award!



Rock encompasses many subgenres but I've condensed them all into this one award because I'm evil. And, based on my top listens, my top rock album was...

LING - Seed

A nice blend of alternative rock, grunge and power pop :)
But since it's my most listened genre, it means I found a lot of gems. So here are the runner-ups!

The next award is...

The Favorite Pop Album Award!



Pop means many things. And to be fair the pop I listen to isn't even considered pop anymore. It would fall under rock these days but still. Anyway, my favorite pop album was, of course...

BELLYBUTTON - Jellyfish

Of course it is. But, to make things fair, here's the runner-ups...

The next award is...

The Favorite Hip Hop Album Award!



90s Hip Hop is my favorite! Specifically stuff with jazzy beats. There was one album that had me entranced ever since I found it, even though it was a bit later in the year. And that is...

REACHIN' (A NEW REFUTATION OF TIME AND SPACE) - Digable Planets

A big part of the appeal to me honestly was the fact that they're a mixed gender group. Also I like that their stage names are all bug names :D I did listen to their second album as well, but I liked this one more.
And the runner-ups were...

The next award is...

The Favorite Electronic Album Award!



I'm not a big electronic music person, but I still found some epic gems. But my top one was definitely...

THE MOOG COOKBOOK - The Moog Cookbook

"Booo! It doesn't count! That's a covers album!" I hear you say. But dude, it's so good. So funny as well. Seriously it's a masterclass in music arrangement LOL!
And, the runner-ups were...

The next award is...

The Favorite Metal Album Award!



I didn't listen to a lot of metal this year, I was definitely in the soft rock/pop mindset. Maybe that'll change next year. That being said, here was my favorite...

SINISTER DANE - Sinister Dane

A very underrated album. Heavy and groovy, a bit funky too. If you like Living Colour, you're going to love this.
The runner-ups were...

That's all for the genre-specific awards. The next award is...

The Best Album Art Award!



I love album covers. A lot of the time I will listen to an album because the cover is cool. This is the case with a lot of these, honestly. And while that wasn't the case with this entry, it's still awesome. And it is...

ALMENDRA - Grupo Almendra

I think it's quite clever and cool looking! Also uh. I had to add a white border to it so it stood out from the black background.
The runner-ups here were...

Now, here at eatsteas HQ we also love to celebrate the more goofy-looking and amateur things. So that is why the next award is...

The Graphic Design Is My Passion Award!



I mean this lovingly. This is not a "worst awful album art" award. I think these are also awesome! This is in good fun and I'm not trying to say they're bad. We're embracing this. So with that being said, there was one clear and obvious winner. And that is...

PURRRR - Hollyfaith

Try to find a more "graphic design is my passion" looking cover in this lineup of albums. You can't.
Though these runner-ups come pretty close... I love the scribbles and busy collaging and wacky stretching of images here.

And last but not least...

The Viva Venezuela Award!



Celebrating music from my glorious homeland. Most of these are unknown by a lot of people even in my real life so I kinda feel proud of finding them.
I had one clear favorite which had been hyped up to me and it lived up to the hype. And that is...

ALMENDRA - Grupo Almendra

That's right, we have a repeat winner! An album that is not only great visually but also musically! Hooray!
There were other albums I really liked, such as these...

AND THAT'S A WRAP!

Here's hoping I discover and listen to more albums in 2026!! Yay!!
If you're interested on listening to any of these you can go back to the main albums page and click on the links there. Click on the turntable!