Great post, Steven. I couldn’t agree with you more. Three vinyl albums that I bought in 2025 and listen to constantly are Porcupine Tree’s In Absentia, Deadwing and Fear of a Blank Planet. Admittedly, I do listen to a lot of Spotify, as well (incidentally, PT was my second most listened to artist and Fear of a Blank Planet was my most listened to track in 2025). However, I try to buy on vinyl the albums I like the most. I plan to add more PT and SW to my vinyl collection in 2026!
Great post Steven! This time of year my social feeds start to fill up with Spotify Unwrapped, a marketing masterstroke where we do the advertising for them.
But here’s a thought: has having infinite music made it all feel a bit… valueless?
I used to think streaming was magic. Now I’m not so sure.
When everything is available all the time, nothing feels special.
I love my records. My CDs. My shelves.
I remember where I bought them, when, and who I was at the time.
Streaming doesn’t give you that.
And while we skim through playlists, artists earn £0.003 a stream… and now tracks under 1,000 plays a year get paid nothing.
Most musicians I know don’t stand a chance.
And now there’s AI-generated “music”, designed for playlists, not people.
No stories, no craft, no humanity.
Just frictionless background noise, pushing real musicians even further down the algorithm.
Great list, Steven––only 3 or 4 that I know. I look forward to working my way through the rest. I mostly use streaming to explore before I buy, and then I use Qobuz, not Spotify. Qobuz pays its artists much better (still not well, admittedly) and serves up only uncompressed files. Sounds great and is much better organized for exploring new music!
Most of my listening is from physical formats, which still gives me much greater pleasure.
I did buy your blu-ray and attended the Montreal show. Amazing! And I also bought close to 100 albums this year… as usual! Physical albums always have a special place in my heart!
Uninstalled both Spotify and Amazon Music a few years ago and haven't missed them at all. YouTube Music is far superior as it has a much wider range due to listeners uploading things themselves! That's brilliant for records you thought you'd never hear again, obscure stuff the majors just don't carry. BANDCAMP for everything else!
Great list Steven; I'd forgotten all about Dissecting Table- used to have a different album- so thanks for the reminder!
Thank you very much for the interesting recommendations – this year I have listened almost exclusively to The Overview and otherwise explored the world of Steven Wilson, whom I unfortunately did not get to know much earlier!
I understand the argument in favor of physical album releases, but on the other hand, in my opinion, streaming also opens up access to music for many people who do not live near record stores or simply do not have the money or the time. Of course, the problem of payment remains, I see that as well.
My mate Nick Powell and his daughter Emma (young bassist - you've met her in Kidderminster studios) got me into your music and production this year. Although I couldn't joint them at symphony hall :( Man there's a lot to listen to!! And congratulations on being identified by headphonesy as the producer of the best sounding albums.
I buy all the physical product that I can by musicians I really love and collect, like your work if I can afford it and track it down. I live in a small house so I download a lot too especially from Bandcamp. My biggest music expense is gigs though, plus travel and accom.
Great post, Steven. I couldn’t agree with you more. Three vinyl albums that I bought in 2025 and listen to constantly are Porcupine Tree’s In Absentia, Deadwing and Fear of a Blank Planet. Admittedly, I do listen to a lot of Spotify, as well (incidentally, PT was my second most listened to artist and Fear of a Blank Planet was my most listened to track in 2025). However, I try to buy on vinyl the albums I like the most. I plan to add more PT and SW to my vinyl collection in 2026!
Funny really I have been buying alot of Steven Wilson in physical format!!
Great post Steven! This time of year my social feeds start to fill up with Spotify Unwrapped, a marketing masterstroke where we do the advertising for them.
But here’s a thought: has having infinite music made it all feel a bit… valueless?
I used to think streaming was magic. Now I’m not so sure.
When everything is available all the time, nothing feels special.
I love my records. My CDs. My shelves.
I remember where I bought them, when, and who I was at the time.
Streaming doesn’t give you that.
And while we skim through playlists, artists earn £0.003 a stream… and now tracks under 1,000 plays a year get paid nothing.
Most musicians I know don’t stand a chance.
And now there’s AI-generated “music”, designed for playlists, not people.
No stories, no craft, no humanity.
Just frictionless background noise, pushing real musicians even further down the algorithm.
I’m not anti-streaming. I’m anti-exploitation.
If you want exciting, innovative music?
Support the artists directly.
Bandcamp. Merch. Gigs. Downloads.
It all matters. ❤️
Great list, Steven––only 3 or 4 that I know. I look forward to working my way through the rest. I mostly use streaming to explore before I buy, and then I use Qobuz, not Spotify. Qobuz pays its artists much better (still not well, admittedly) and serves up only uncompressed files. Sounds great and is much better organized for exploring new music!
Most of my listening is from physical formats, which still gives me much greater pleasure.
De nouvelles découvertes en prévision ✨️
Can't beat a physical cd or vinyl for quality music. It is good to listen to new artist first, then buy it. Perhaps samplers are the answer.
I did buy your blu-ray and attended the Montreal show. Amazing! And I also bought close to 100 albums this year… as usual! Physical albums always have a special place in my heart!
O, cheers for the Paul Schutze pick! The Album Years introduced me to him and I bought phyisical copy of Apart.
Speaking of, we absolutely need more Album Years!
Uninstalled both Spotify and Amazon Music a few years ago and haven't missed them at all. YouTube Music is far superior as it has a much wider range due to listeners uploading things themselves! That's brilliant for records you thought you'd never hear again, obscure stuff the majors just don't carry. BANDCAMP for everything else!
Great list Steven; I'd forgotten all about Dissecting Table- used to have a different album- so thanks for the reminder!
Turntable on the Christmas list so looking forward to spending time in record stores again next year.
And similar to one of the other commenters, Fear of a Blank Planet my most listened to track and album on Spotify this year.
Thank you very much for the interesting recommendations – this year I have listened almost exclusively to The Overview and otherwise explored the world of Steven Wilson, whom I unfortunately did not get to know much earlier!
I understand the argument in favor of physical album releases, but on the other hand, in my opinion, streaming also opens up access to music for many people who do not live near record stores or simply do not have the money or the time. Of course, the problem of payment remains, I see that as well.
My mate Nick Powell and his daughter Emma (young bassist - you've met her in Kidderminster studios) got me into your music and production this year. Although I couldn't joint them at symphony hall :( Man there's a lot to listen to!! And congratulations on being identified by headphonesy as the producer of the best sounding albums.
Will there be more Album Years podcast episodes in 2026?
The Overview:
Deluxe Earbook, SHM CD,
and a Signed copy of the CD.
(&... a digital copy of the Disconnected version - I don't live in the UK.)
I buy physical copies of all of the artists I support. Always have.
Thank YOU for the music.
Keep 'em comin'.
🎶 ✌️😎 🎶
I buy all the physical product that I can by musicians I really love and collect, like your work if I can afford it and track it down. I live in a small house so I download a lot too especially from Bandcamp. My biggest music expense is gigs though, plus travel and accom.
Thanks so much for your music and for sharing what you’ve been listening to! I’m jumping in now to explore and see what I might invest in next.