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2025 brought more than 550 new albums to NativeDSD. To help you find the very best, Senior Reviewer Bill Dodd chose the Classical nominees and Technical Advisor Brian Moura the Jazz, Vocal, Fusion, Crossover, Latin and World nominees.
2025 in numbers: 550+ new albums · 400+ classical · 100+ jazz · 41 Pure DSD · 11 new labels
Jump to
- Classical: Solo Vocal · Orchestral · Solo Instrumental · Opera / Vocal Drama · Choral · Chamber · Concertos / Orchestral with Soloist · Sonatas & Duos
- Jazz and Vocal: Jazz Duo · Jazz Trio · Jazz Ensemble · Vocals – Pop & Rock · Vocals – Jazz
- Jazz Fusion, Jazz Soloist, Crossover, Latin and World: Jazz Fusion · Jazz Soloist · Classical Crossover · Latin · World
View All Nominated Albums in the Store · See the 2025 winners
Classical
Solo Vocal
Listen and fall in love as two world-class artists make this album of French art songs by Debussy and Messiaen into something magical.
Ian Bostridge is fine in his sensitive performances of these Schumann songs. He is joined by the excellent Saskia Giorgini, whose Debussy I have enjoyed. Together, they make beautiful music.
I love Siobhan Stagg’s performance. Her voice is clear, youthfully magical, and with perfect vibrato. Jamie Martin keeps the orchestra is well balanced with her.
Orchestral
Wonderful, idiomatic performances from the Czech Philharmonic. The Rhapsodies are full of energy and color, and Legends is given a sensitive, chamber-like performance that is perfect. You don’t have to look any further!
Of all the modern recordings on Vaughan Williams’ Fifth, this is the one that has captured my heart. Pappano’s interpretation of the Ninth makes it glow as a sort of summation of Vaughan Williams’ work.
Noseda captures the battle between celebration and grief in this symphony, written just two years after the end of WWII. This is my top recommendation for the 6th these days.
Solo Instrumental
[PTC51874803]
Avdeeva brings a fresh, lighter approach that I enjoy on these pieces. She is a truly a marvel for her clarity and technical brilliance.
This young Italian pianist shows a real connection to Brahms. Some say his playing gives a narrative feeling to the “story” of these pieces.
László Borbély has virtuosity, superb technique, and the ability to show how Chopin’s works can sound improvisational. Great recording quality, too!
Opera / Vocal Drama
Sir Simon and the LSO are magnificent, and so are the soloists, particularly tenor Aleš Briscein. Rattle brings out more of the romantic qualities, but there’s still plenty of fire. A great interpretation of this Janacek opera!
Karina Canellakis brings a compelling performance of Bluebeard. It’s great drama and great music– something not always the case. The recording is excellent.
Tenor Reinoud van Mechelen is well known as a specialist in French Baroque, but he is outstanding in this program of Mozart aria. His warm, bright tenor seems perfect. He also conducts the A Nocte Temporis ensemble, which he co-founded. Excellent Mozart!
Choral
There’s much to love here: The energy of a live performance, superb singers and orchestra, and a dialing-down of sentimentality. This is a large scale work that moves from great sadness to hope.
René Jacobs, celebrated for his deep historical research and interpretations of Mozart and Handel, brings a wealth of depth to Haydn’s Missa Cellensis. If you are looking for a giant orchestra and choir, this may not be for you. But if you want clarity and a performance that is as close to Haydn’s original intentions, you should listen to this one.
Not just Mozart’s Requiem, but a major presentation that Manfred Honeck created. The results are amazing. The added texts and music make this an event to remember.
Chamber
Here are five great classical musicians, having a great time playing music they love. And you can’t beat that!
I think it could be argued that every album made by Rachel Podger over the years could easily have been nominated for Album of the Year. This one, Just Biber, has been especially praised for Podger’s virtuoso performances of Biber’s difficult to play 17th Century music. But there’s more than just virtuosity, there’s excitement and love!
Joyful! Light and joyful early Italian Baroque music. Giulia Genini and her Concerto Scirocco make this music dance! Happily recommended!
Concertos / Orchestral with Soloist
Our colleague, Rush Paul says it very well: “The Grieg and Saint-Saens Piano Concertos may be well-trod musical ground, but it is always a treat to hear them played in such lively, fresh, and dynamic readings as brought to us here by French-Hungarian pianist Suzana Bartal in collaboration with conductor Sébastien Rouland and the Saarlandische Staatsorchestra. If these don’t bring you upright in your seat and enjoying every moment, I’m not sure what might serve you better.”
While there is no loss to the romantic nature of this work, there is less of the “romantic” sweetness that some performers display. This is an “iron hand in this velvet glove!” The recording quality is excellent.
The most amazing orchestra you probably never heard of– The Ural Philharmonic as led by Dmitry Liss is excellent. Cellist Boris Andrianov makes Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme feel like the pinnacle of the composer’s works. Tchaikovsky’s Suite no.3 is the best I’ve heard. If you love Tchaikovsky, I think this will really please you.
Sonatas & Duos
Suite Italienne from Stravinsky; Sonatas from Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Schnittke, and Weinberg are beautifully performed by Hecker (cello) and Helmchen (Piano). This is an album to love!
These works all work together to express emotions that words alone simply can’t. This is haunting, beautiful music, beautifully played and recorded– and highly recommended.
From our colleague, Rush Paul: “This album is simply stunning. If you like the music of Bela Bartók, I think you will love this album. If you’re not sure you care for his music, or you’ve really not explored his music, you need to listen to these performances. I think you will become a convert.”
Jazz and Vocal
Jazz Duo
Wandering Guitarists was recorded live and then transferred from the Analog Master Tape to Stereo DSD. The album features the guitar duo of Fausto Mesolella and Michele Ascolese. It is the 10th album at NativeDSD featuring Fausto Mesolella. The music is upbeat and energetic, offering listeners a very joyful listening experience.
For their first Pure DSD 256 recording, Sound Liaison released the album In Essence. This is a Live recording that uses One Microphone, a Josephson Engineering C700S, to capture the music of the Jazz Duo of Iman Spaargaren (clarinet & saxophone) and Peter Bjørnild (double bass). The 13 songs are classics including “Willow Weep For Me”, ‘My Funny Valentine’ and ‘In a Sentimental Mood’. Played in a mellow style with the two musicians in perfect sync. It is quite a debut for the label’s entry into the Pure DSD 256 market.
Jazz Trio
NativeDSD’s first release from the new Audiophile Society label features The Music of Vince Guaraldi. Best known as the soundtrack of the Peanuts comic strip TV specials, the songs are performed here by the And So On Trio. A group of young Jazz musicians who play the music in a way that is both fresh and familiar. This one will bring back some fine memories.
This album’s title is a play on words about the Jazz Trio’s origin story. Featuring two guitarists and a double bass player it Is an unusual trio configuration. Guitarist Martien Oster’s credits include performing and recording with Monty Alexander, Red Holloway, Diana Krall (her first record), and Dr. Lonnie Smith. The trio plays Jazz classics from Wes Montgomery, Ray Brown, and other famed songwriters in a way that the Jazz just flows effortlessly. This is one of my favorite albums of the year.
Albums from the Rembrandt Trio are always worth an immediate download in my book. The trio explores and performs many types of music including Jazz and World Music. On The Blue Hour Sessions, we are treated to a Pure DSD 256 Stereo recording of the trio playing 11 songs that you will all know. This album is so popular that it not only hit the number 1 Best Selling Album spot at NativeDSD for several weeks in a row this year, but it has also never left the Top 10 Sellers list since it’s release in May! That says more than what I could add here about one of the finest releases of 2025.
I wondered a bit about this one given the title. It turns out that pianist Áron Tálas asked his musical friends Danny Ziemann (Double Bass) and Jorge Rossy (Drums) to join him for a light hearted take on a number of standards including “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To”, “Almost Like Being In Love”, “So Danco Samba” and “Here’s That Rainy Day”. The trio plays the tunes at a rapid-fire pace, so this may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But I did find the music entertaining and a change of pace from what I would expect from a Jazz Trio.
Jazz Ensemble
This album has been requested by multiple NativeDSD customers ever since DMP licensed its albums for release. It was one of the first Stereo DSD recordings made and it uses a prototype Direct Stream Digital (DSD) Analog to Digital Converter and the Sonoma DSD Workstation for a Pure DSD release. The goal of the album according to Producer Tom Jung and Drummer Steve Davis is to create a Jazz album “where the emphasis is as much on the space as the notes.” The album succeeds – both in creating a heightened sense of space and imaging – and as a fine Jazz album. Either way, it’s one to add to your DSD collection.
Lex Jasper is known as a Jazz pianist and bandleader. Here he assembles an all-star quartet of Jazz musicians from Europe in a Live recording at the MCO studios in The Netherlands. The quartet plays 12 Jazz standards in several different tempos that range from soft and delicate to quite upbeat. Lex Quisite, a play on words from the bandleader’s name, offers a variety of musical moments but it’s always a joy to listen to this album.
From the cover of Dreams Of You with a couple in the moonlight on a swing, you might be expecting an album of quiet and romantic music. Instead, what Dreams Of You brings is 10 original compositions, most of which are very much in the Swing Jazz style played by Jeremy Mohney and his Jazz Quartet. Kudos to the Quintet for playing all new and original songs in this well recorded Stereo DSD 256 album.
Guitarist Joscho Stephan and his Trio invite 5 of their favorite guitarists to join them in a Live Guitar Heroes concert. The album features a variety of music styles and guitar favorites including “Breezin'”, “In A Sentimental Mood” and “Mainstreet Breakdown”. Whether the Trio and the Legends play Swing Jazz, Chet Atkins style guitar or a Bossa Nova rhythms, the music is always entertaining, and the playing is at the highest levels. These players really are at the “legend” level. I would recommend listening to this album – but not trying to duplicate the guitar pyrotechnics displayed here. Very entertaining and at times just amazing.
Vocals – Pop & Rock
Celebrating the 55th Anniversary of the band America, In-A-Kustik brought us the album Greatest Hits In Concert in Pure DSD. It features 17 tracks including all of the group’s biggest hits in a live recording that brings more of an acoustic feel to the familiar songs. An album to sit back and enjoy.
Ben Folds Live was shrouded in mystery as it approached its release on the 4th of July this year. NativeDSD received the album tracks and assets but could not talk about it until the release date. Ben Folds Live was recorded at the Grammy Winning Pop Star’s expense as a gift to the National Symphony Orchestra and his fans as he exited his role as one of the NSO’s artistic advisors and developer of its “Unclassified” series of Pop Concerts with major pop music stars. This edition of the album has 4 bonus tracks (not found on the Stereo CD) and guest performances by Pop Star Regina Spektor and the vocal duo Tall Heights. It’s a wonderful tribute to Folds’ musical performances with the National Symphony Orchestra.
2xHD Mastering and Resonance Records teamed up this year to bring us Wow! Live in Performance with singer Al Jarreau and his trio. The live performance was recorded to Analog Tape in 1976 and has now been moved from the vaults to release on this new album. It features the singer’s take on several favorites including “Take Five,” “Fire and Rain” and Count Basie’s “Shiny Stockings.” Al Jarreau fans will not want to miss this one.
Vocals – Jazz
Split is Jazz Singer Patricia Barber’s first album. It has been newly remastered by Jim Anderson and Ulrike Anderson for Impex Records. The remastered edition is Exclusively Available at NativeDSD. Split features 10 tracks – 6 of which are favorites in the American Songbook and 4 are original compositions by Patricia Barber. The album offers listeners a unique look into the early days of Patricia Barber’s storied career. Her performance of “Two For The Road” by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse is an album highlight not to be missed.
When Peter Bjørnild and Frans de Rond at Sound Liaison began recording in Pure DSD 256 this year, the first question in my mind was when will we get an album in that format from Carmen Gomes Inc. NativeDSD listeners know that the wait was not long with the release of the album Bluesy May. Like their earlier albums, this one features standout instrumental performances, bluesy and passionate Jazz vocals from Carmen Gomes on songs including “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying.” The album was a # 1 seller at NativeDSD and one listen to the album quickly tells you why.
Thousand Shades Of Blue was one of the early releases by Carmen Gomes Inc. It features songs that really match the strengths of this band including “I’m On Fire”, “Wicked Game” and “Fever” among others. In this new “HRES” edition, the album has been remixed and remastered using less processing than the original release. The result of this “less is more” approach is a significant improvement in clarity and detail. Making an album that was already a favorite even more so.
Jazz Fusion, Jazz Soloist, Crossover, Latin and World
Jazz Fusion
Invisible Cities is a live recording with Jazz musicians André Mehmari (Piano & Bass Synthesizer) and Sérgio Reze (Drums & Gongs). They have performed together for 30 years and have a strong musical connection. On this album, the music was performed without rehearsal to ensure that the performances are fresh and completely improvised. Rather than talking about tracks on the album, instead it features a series of themes described as “cities”. It is a fresh approach and it yields an interesting musical change of pace.
Simon Phillips is a famed drummer in the worlds of Rock, Jazz, and Fusion. He is usually found in the album credits of other bands and performers. Here Phillips steps out in front with a trio of ace musicians – Andy Timmons on Guitar, Steve Weingart on Keyboards and Ernest Tibbs on Bass. Anchored by Phillips on Drums, the group delivers a powerful set pf music that mixes Jazz Fusion and Rock styles. It is a high energy ride from start to finish and one you will enjoy.
Jazz Soloist
2xHD Mastering and Resonance Jazz teamed up to bring us Cookin’ At The Queens featuring Jazz Guitarist Emily Remler. Remastered from the Original Analog Master Tape of this Live Recording, listeners are treated to a virtuoso performance of seven familiar standards by the very talented guitarist. The performances are full of swing and energy with a recording quality that enhances the set.
On Sovereign Mind, Ryan Benthall plays piano and synthesizer on 9 original tracks that he has written for his debut album on Octave Records. The music is mellow and is described as a setting a dreamy and introspective tone. Benthall adds drums played with brushes, bass and a bit of horns and sax to enhance the foundation that he sets down. It is a enjoyable set and a promising start for this new artist.
Classical Crossover
In his 11th release at NativeDSD, double bass player Enzo Pietropaoli brings us an album titled Gratia. Fone describes the album as being “designed and elaborated to give life to contemporary improvisations and reinterpretations of Marian antiphons in ‘counterpoint’ or, to use Jazz language, in ‘interplay’ with the performance of Gregorian chant.” It features Pietropaoli along with Gabriele Mirabassi on Clarinet, Michele Rabbia on Percussion & Live Electronics and the Sonus Vocum Ensemble. If you are looking for something that is very unique and unexpected, this album may be just what you are looking for.
Ponticello features Vincent Segal and Stéphane Kerecki, two French musicians who share a love of both Jazz and Classical music. Here they are joined by Airelle Besson on Trumpet for an album that features 7 original compositions plus 3 songs composed by Earl Zindars, Hampton Hawes, and Scott LaFaro. The three musicians create music that is at once intriguing and creates a special mood. It is worth listening to if you would like to venture out a bit from the standard take on Jazz and Classical music.
Latin
This is another NativeDSD customer requested album that we were able to license for release in 2025 from the DMP (Digital Music Products) music label. It is an excellent Pure DSD Stereo recording using the Ed Meitner designed Analog to Digital Converters from EMM Labs and the Sonoma DSD Workstation. Manfredo Fest was a famed Jazz and Bossa Nova pianist and bandleader from Brazil. Just Jobim was his tribute to the great Antonio Carlos Jobim, and it was his final album before his passing in 1999. Listening to the album, you can tell right away that Fest is very at home playing the Bossa Nova music of Jobim with a special energy, swing and enthusiasm, absent from other Jobim albums where the music is much more laid back in its presentation. This is easily one of my favorite albums of Bossa Nova music and I think it will soon be one of your favorites as well.
This album is an early entry in Brazilian Jazz featuring tenor saxophone player Charlie Rouse and an all-star band that includes Ron Carter and Clifford Adams. In this newly remastered edition from the Original Analog Master Tapes, Resonance Jazz and 2xHD were able to remove overdubs, synthesizers and effects added to prior editions of the album, bringing the original session intent and feel back to Jazz listeners. The new edition of Cinnamon Flower is a real treat and promises to have a whole new legion of fans discover this classic recording.
Favela is the debut album on the 2xHD Mastering-Latin music label. It features a band named Mr. Wins that is said to have 7 members, yet I count 13 on the album credits. What we have here is Brazilian music with elements of Miles Davis and Banda. Favela brings you into the festive and party atmosphere of Brazil. It is a fun listen guaranteed to lift your spirits and put a smile on your face.
World
Old Friends is a new album by The Secret Trio, an ensemble featuring Ismail Lumanovski (Clarinet), Ara Dinkjian (Oud) and Tamer Pinarbasi (Kanun). It was recorded Live to Stereo and 5.1 Channel Surround Sound by the team of Jim Anderson and Ulrike Anderson at Anderson Audio NY. The editions of the album at NativeDSD were created from the Edit Master Source and they sound great. The Music on Old Friends features the trio’s Eastern Music influences with Western Harmonies. It is fresh and very enjoyable. With standout sound to match.
Recorded in Budapest at the church of the Bartók Béla Unitarian Parish, Why The Wings? features singer Veni (Veronika Szasz) and guitarist Péter Cseh. It is her 6th album at NativeDSD. The album features 13 original songs that are sung in Veni’s native language with beautiful accompaniment by guitarist Cseh. The album appeared on the NativeDSD Top 10 Selling Albums list when it was released. Showing that the singer and her fine singing is gaining a following among our listeners.
The NativeDSD Team would like to thank Bill Dodd and Brian Moura for having spent many hours listening to all of the albums released in 2025, and for selecting the albums they believe worthy of this commendation.
View All Nominated Albums in the Store · See the 2025 winners
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