Known to house more recording studios and record stores than a lot of cities twice its size, the Twin Cities metro area is also a place where artists are still churning out a high volume of great new albums — including many newcomers.
There are a lot of those on this year’s annual midyear roundup of the best new Minnesota recordings, a Star Tribune tradition for over two decades. Even a lot of devoted local music lovers aren’t going to recognize some of the names on this list; not like the homegrown acts with records still yet to come in 2025, including Poliça, the Honeydogs, Durry and Motion City Soundtrack.
In the meantime, get to know the best LPs and EPs from the first half of the year.