The 20th Annual
Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll:
2025

Ballots 2025 [6]

Paul Medrano (Best of Jazz)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Also see Best Jazz Albums of 2025

Allen Michie (The Arts Fuse)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Milo Miles (The Arts Fuse, Miles to Go)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Bill Milkowski (DownBeat, Absolute Sound)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Roz Milner (Dusted, Milner on Music)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Ralph A. Miriello (Notes on Jazz)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Rick Mitchell (Jazz in the New Millennium [book/radio program])

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Chris Monsen (Musikkmagasinet [Klassekampen], Jazznytt, Chris Monsen's Listening Booth)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Also see Year end picks: the best albums of 2025.

John Frederick Moore (Jazziz)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Allen Morrison (DownBeat, JazzTimes)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Greg Morton (Substack, GMort On Record)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Stuart Nicholson (Jazzwise)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Fotis Nikolakopoulos (Free Jazz Collective)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Ivana Ng (DownBeat)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Tim Niland (Bluesky)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Also see: 2025 Reset.

Piotr Orlov (Dada Strain, ArtForum, Pitchfork)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL) (unranked)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Dan Ouellette (DownBeat, Stereophile, QWEST.TV, Jazz & Beyond Intel, The Landfill Chronicles)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: Ballot says "top 10 albums in no order," but not alphabetized so counted as ranked.

Phil Overeem (Living to Listen)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Note: See also It Will Not End Here: My 25 Favorite Records of 2025 (if you don't give me any more time to think about it)

Ted Panken (DownBeat, Jazziz, JazzTimes)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS (unranked)

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT

Annie Parnell (Nashville Scene, FLOOD)

NEW JAZZ ALBUMS

RARA AVIS (REISSUES/ARCHIVAL)

VOCAL

LATIN

DEBUT