Here at Met Radio, we’re closing out 2025 with a new round of year-end favourites! To cap off the year, our volunteers and staff are sharing their personal top-ten lists, highlighting the music, media, and gems that defined the past twelve months. New lists to explore and enjoy will be dropping on the Met Radio website every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this December!
I’m Patch, a musicologist, artist manager, post-secondary educator, and music reviewer. Anyone else tired of GenAI slop and LLM-based “creativity”? How ‘bout some tuneful storytelling concocted from genuine lived experience? Find some artful (and heart-full) doses of antidote in these masterful Ontario-based human creators.
Michelle Treacy – witness the emotional heavy-lifting of the under-recognized “Love Me Till I’m Me Again” album from this genre-agnostic petite powerhouse
Grace Marr – a writer for some blessed and highly favoured U.S. acts, the ‘Holyyy’ vocalist took us to the ‘Sanctuary’ and self-cared our spirits with her debut album
Sara Kae – a fresh wind from the north, this Ojibwe/Cree artist seems poised to take her country- and pop-tinged folk and Indigenous storytelling to many new places.
Khay – alternative rock, soul and musical theatre are wrapped up in this unique local lady known for her vocal chops and electric guitar licks
Leah Holtom – with the purest of tones and a retro-rural vibe, this award-winning Brampton belle released her debut EP in 2025, but faithfully recalls the folk revival and third-generation country of several decades prior
Mars Aspen – indie rock, bedroom pop and alt-rock come together in this enchanting voice emanating from the country’s capital
Dani Saldo – this self-described “sleepy songwriter, disabled popstar” is behind some big-brand commercial placements under “milknhunni” while carving personal experiences into songs under her own moniker
Luiz Grante – a formidable yet velvety voice that effortlessly delivers introspective folk and a grunge-like moodiness, this hidden treasure from The Hammer deserves to be heard IRL
Siohban Bodrug – hailing from the rural artsy enclave that is Prince Edward County, this popping songstress is bound to prime some prominent stages
Matt Bazinet – a plucky persona and sadboi songs come together in wood-yewn forms of folk, country and pop with refreshing, reflective clarity
Piner – from Kingston’s Skeleton Park, this alt-folk old soul puts flesh and bones to feelings and heralds an upcycled future