20 Best Funk Albums of 2025

2025 seemed like it would be a brutal year with little to no funk releases, but when we cracked open the funk scene overseas, the dam came loose with some amazing bands and incredible albums.

THE ANNUAL PRE-AMBLE. While the selections below were painstakingly judged, they are just our opinion. If your favorite funk album isn’t listed here, please consider that;
A) We only pick 20 funk albums,
B) Maybe it wasn’t released in 2025,
C) It was a good album, but had very little funk on it, or (most likely),
D) We haven’t even heard of it.
If we missed it, PLEASE SHARE IT in the comments area below. Lastly, the album links below are affiliate links, but our decisions are based on quality, not kickbacks.

Lastly, these 2025 funk albums listed below are NOT listed in any numerical order and NOT a countdown. If it’s on this page, it’s worth your time! Here we go!

Lettuce – Cook
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Lettuce always consistently delivers on the funk whenever they drop a release. The trip-funk band came out of the Berklee College of Music in Boston back in 2002 and have dropped one funk classic after another since their conception and have claimed a spot on our list multiple times. It’s an onslaught of talent that includes Adam Deitch on drums, Adam “Smeaans” Smirnoff on guitar, Erick “Maverick” Coomes on bass, Ryan “Zoid” Zoidis on saxophones, Eric “Benny” Bloom on trumpet and horns, and Nigel Hall on keyboards, and vocals.

Cook continues the winning tradition with strong tracks strategically designed to zone you out with rolling funk vibes and chunky romps like Clav It Your Way and raucous Budos Band sounding tracks like 7 Tribes. They also seep out “Sesshins” segue tracks to tie vibes together and maintain flow. There are other magic songs like Keep On that was co-written by Emilio Castillo and Steve “Doc” Kupka from Tower of Power and a cover of Keni Burke‘s Rising to the Top. Worth a listen and maybe snag some vinyl.

Tha Skunk Mob – Tales From the Skunk Hole
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Tha Skunk Mob (formerly known as Tha P Union) finds their way onto the Funkatopia Best Funk list every couple of years. And in true fashion, their new album Tales From the Skunk Hole has the band landing here yet again honoring the foundation of the funk sound foundation laid bare by the Parliament Funkadelic universe.

Producer Binky Womack keeps the funk moving in true fashion with tracks like Skunk Rhonda, Guilty As Charged, and the title track Tales From The Skunk Hole. Binky has funk in his veins being the son of the iconic Curtis Womack of the Womack Brothers and his uncle Bobby Womack who has worked with stars like Usher and Snoop Dogg. Suffice to say that he does his DNA proud with this funktastic release.

Tra’Zae Clinton – Try Again
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Tra’Zae Clinton has a lot to expectations to live up to being the grandson of the legendary George Clinton. Tra’Zae has been on the Funkatopia Best Funk list multiple times seemingly due to his insane output including his 7 albums in 2025. Yes, 7. Each album he releases focuses on a different music style and this year’s funk release is Try Again.

Try Again stayed true to his grandfather’s recipe of dropping doo-doo bombs and then passing the tracks around for other masters to pee on it. Surprisingly, it avoids being another cookie cutter entry as his capabilities and sensibilities have loosened up with the tracks now being layered with soul and harmonies, which previous releases had only tinkered with. He’s been on this list so many times that we’re going to have to start charging him rent.

Bootsy Collins – Album of the Year #1 Funkateer
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

There are some artists that no matter what they release, you know what it’s going to be. Bootsy Collins is one of those artists. He is an OG in the funk world getting his funk feet wet with his brother Catfish Collins, then as a student under the tutelage of James Brown, and then polishing his craft with Parliament Funkadelic. He is undeniably funk royalty.

Album of the Year #1 Funkateer is his newest release that definitely rests heavily on hip hop throughout, which many purists may have issue. However, with the rap elements being manned by icons like Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg, it doesn’t seem forced. The album kicks off with killer funk tracks like Hundo P, Chicken & Fries, and Bubble Pop and then balances everything off with a second half that dashes in some R&B and soul to polish the edges. Another funk classic baby bubbah.

Hot Mustard – Monster Season
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Hot Mustard seemingly came out of nowhere. A vinyl sent into Funkatopia studios that sat in the “pile to play” stack and finally got a spin months later. It was the perfect storm of laid back rolling funk that oozed a homegrown feel and delivered just enough bounce to get the blood flowing.

The South Carolina collaboration of Jack Powell and Nick Carusos strikes with this new album Monster Season filled with swaying grooves and slaps and a guest list featuring Antibala‘s trumpeter Jordan McLean, TV on the Radio trombonist Dave ’Smoota’ Smith, and many other appearances from artists that have played with Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Norah Jones, Run the Jewels, Medeski Martin & Wood, and more. It’s a true labor of love and it shines on vinyl.

Polyrhythmics – Life From Below
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

It should be obvious that after putting in 15+ years of work, the traction of the behemoth that is Polyrhythmics seemed inevitable. It wasn’t just the work, but the attention to their craft that keeps leading them to our Best Funk list. Because when you put together a great album like Life From Below, good things are bound to happen.

Life From Below kicks off just as you’d expect, blending funk, Afrobeat, psychedelic jazz, tight musicianship, strong horn arrangements, and also bringing on Orgone‘s Adryon de León for an appearance to add a splash of light on Smoke and Mirrors. The album delivery sits at the tri-section where afrobeats, funk, and acid jazz converge. Not an album to miss.

Deitch, Teitel, Fribush (DTF) – Another Side of the Sound
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

The release of DTF‘s Another Side of the Sound really creates a full spectrum of where funk and jazz can converge. DTF is an acronym for the band that features Adam Deitch (Lettuce), guitarist Ari Teitel (Dumpstaphunk, The Rumble), and organist Sam Fribush (Hiss Golden Messenger). Another Side of the Sound is their first foray as a group and the result is a blend of what they all brought with them for influences and past projects.

The album sits very tightly around the New Orleans style of swampy funk, but also brings enough flavor to keep it varied and interesting such as the cover of Bel Biv Devoe‘s Poison. It blends southern rock, funk, dub, jazz fusion, and even some pieces that feel like movie scores on top of the NOLA angle. You just have to sit back and prepare yourself.

Fusion Funk Foundation – When You Feel This Funk
(Check It Out Here)

Italian Nu-Jazz artists The Lo Greco Brothers are always right there slinking around in the shadows waiting for an unsuspecting funk fan to come wandering around the corner and give them a sucker punch seemingly out of nowhere. Hence, the Fusion Funk Foundation album When You Feel This Funk delivering said sucker punch.

Admittedly, I wasn’t that familiar with The Lo Greco Brothers until recently and it seems like a major misstep. The brothers are Gianni (drums/percussion) and Enzo (bass/keys/flute) that are heavily influenced by legends like Miles Davis and Coltrane and blend those influences into a jazz/bossa/funk combo. When You Feel This Funk blends all of the styles into a flowing free for all that only adds to their mystique. Newcomers to the Best Funk list are always welcome.

Say She She – Cut & Rewind
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Say She She is a breath of fresh air in the male dominated funk arena, but the truth of funk is that if you’re going to bring it, bring it. WWBDD (What Would Betty Davis Do). Enter Say She She that not only puts it in your face like Donna Summer‘s Love to Love You Baby, but is also smart enough to pop it up to snag some commercial appeal.

There are dashes of Abba (Under the Sun), Donna Summer (Disco Life), Blondie (She Who Dares) and more of the strong influential voices of the ladies of the 70’s. And that’s warranted as the entire album seems like it was an artifact plucked out of the disco era. What’s even more surprising is that they are able to maintain that vibe front to back and are unabashedly bold in putting it out there with a brave consistency. This is who we are. This is what we do. You’re welcome.

Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown – Volume 3
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown drops its 3rd volume using the same recipe that made Volume 2 a success. For those not initiated, The Big Ol’ Nasty Getdown (aka BONG) is the brainchild of bassist John Heintz who brings in the most celebrated musicians from bands like Earth Wind and Fire, Morris Day and the Time, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Parliament Funkadelic, and many others to record their jam sessions in a centralized studio rotating them from jam session to studio and putting together the best outtakes of what ends up being many recording sessions.

I’ve witnessed the creation of Volume 2 firsthand and Volume 3 moves in for the crown. Volume 3 has guests likes Fishbone‘s Angelo Moore, Red Hot Chili Pepper‘s Jack Irons, Prince‘s NPG trumpeter Philip Lassiter, and many more. The jam-to-studio process was dizzying to watch and this is a great addition to the BONG family capturing the fun and jams of a party in the studio. The album showcases 8 songs and then a handful of instrumental versions so that you can absorb the funk in a different plane. The vinyls are always worth the snag.

Yuts and Culture – Back to Ma Funk
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Yuts and Culture is another newcomer to the Funkatopia Best Funk list and it is absolute fire from beginning to end delivering a blend of soul and funk in the style of Marin Gaye (As Jah Wants), Curtis Mayfield (Beauty), and even snippets of D’Angelo (I Hope It Was Worth It), plus those Superfly moments like Intermission. It maintains a strong flowing funk with reggae overtones and that’s what makes this album an immediate classic.

The sound and vibe is strikingly consistent without any rough edges or jarring moments. That same flawless collection of songs like Van Hunt‘s debut album or Sade‘s Stronger Than Pride. The whole album is packed full of indelible moments. It’s a true “where in the world do you go from here” moment, but sign me up, because I am all in. This would be the album that I would pick to rule this list if I was forced.

Antibalas – Hourglass
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Antibalas is Spanish for bulletproof, and that’s about right. That sounds that’s rooted in Fela Kuti with a peppering of Mexico and brooding forgotten streets. Antibalas already has a oft-celebrated horn section that has performed with Mark Ronson, The Roots, My Morning Jacket, TV on the Radio, Santigold, The Dap Kings, Arcade Fire, Alabama Shakes, The String Cheese Incident and numerous others. Antibalas is no joke.

The newest album hourglass is a full instrumental effort that continues the tradition of the sound that helped them get nominated for a Grammy for Best World Music album in 2021. The album is filled with incredible ebbs and flows that is a full sonic journey transporting you into the core of Afrobeats. And removing the constraints of lead vocals allowed the instrumentalists of Antibalas to truly cut loose and wow, what an album.

Thurtdelic – Psychedelic Therapy
(Check It Out Here)

Funk artist Thurteen also goes by the name Thurtdelic and it’s another solid offering paying homage to the funk foundation sound of Parliament Funkadelic. Thurteen also dropped the funk album Thurtdelic (Sir Nose Jr.) this year, but this selection won out of the two simply by clocking double the run time at over 47 minutes.

Psychedelic Therapy picks up where 2002’s self-titled Thurtdelic left off giving listeners more Maggot Brain per capita than Parliament with chunky guitars and trippy echoes. It is without a doubt rooted in P-Funk and rightfully so since Thurteen is an active member of third generation Parliament (3GP) and he has plenty of inspiration to pull from and Psychedelic Therapy lays out doo-doo brown version of the yellow brick road.

Venus Ship – Underground Foxes
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Yet another newcomer to the Funkatopia Best Funk list is the incomparable Venus Ship. It’s like being caught in a crosswalk and getting hit by an electric car. So quiet that you don’t even hear it coming. Venus Ship is a collective from Bologna in Italy who draw their inspirations from various movements of the 60’s and 70’s, but with their feet firmly concreted in the New Orleans sound.

The opening track Gunslinging Bird is like the audio version of a NOLA street parade while in contrast there is plenty of wah-wah to go around including tracks like Nobunaga and Lettuce-esque jams like Screw Up. There are always stories of bands in France and Italy that are truly embracing the funk movement and it’s good to hear it done so well, but with an obvious European flair. Underground Foxes is a force to be reckoned with.

Federation of the Disco Pimp – Gratuitous
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Federation of the Disco Pimp is an amazing project whose origin story is just as humorous as the band name. This new album should add more awards to their shelves maintaining that identifiable blend of funk, soul, and psychedelic flows. The band took a five year hiatus and they made sure it was worth the wait bringing in heavyweights like Billy Valentine and Fred Wesley and not to mention Kenni Holmen from Cory Wong‘s Fearless Flyers.

The big vocal attack of the opening title track is like the starting hill of a roller coaster right before the bottom drops out hurdling you downhill with tracks like Shake and raunchy rocky funk stompers like Love You Bae. It’s one heck of a ride, if your hair being on fire doesn’t bother you. So make sure your seatbelts are fastened and your tray tables are in the upright position.

Five Alarm Funk – Force Majeure
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Five Alarm Funk is a monster band from Canada that is one of the few bands that can effectively capture their energy on record. Their over the top antics are delivered both via audio and live performance. From stick ponies to boys in booty shorts to men in ape costumes, it’s all there and compulsory. That’s the very definition of Five Alarm Funk‘s newest album Force Majeure, which literally is defined as an “irresistible compulsion or greater force”.

The band delivers yet again in a funk attack filled with shouts and chants and beats that shake the earth. The energy the album delivers is fierce and relentless from the opening track of Castle Fun Park all the way through to the closing Wildfire with guest vocalist Canadian grunge and punk rocker Emily Molloy. It’s a full frontal assault that’s like standing right next to the track with a speeding train inches away from ripping off your face.

TAUK – Somewhere Between Here and There
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

The New York instrumental quartet is back with their new album Somewhere Between Here and There, and it’s notably one of their funkiest albums in their discography. While they have always delivered a trippy nu-jazz approach to funk, they typically leaned into the jam band approach, but for Somewhere Between Here and There, TAUK settled into a soulful funk layering that was broad brushed across the tracks which should please existing fans and also attract a new audience to their funk formula.

The funk jam band brotherhood serves them well as they bring on Lettuce‘s horn section (Hot Brown), and have certainly absorbed their predecessors sounds and stylings. It is easily the most accessible album that TAUK has ever released and it’s packed with truly commercially viable tracks that will find themselves on a lot of playlists. The pop sensibilities are all there, but with just enough of their signature version of funk (Hang Tuff, Gate 9, Song for Salama) to make it worthy of a spot on the 2025 list.

Sweet Motha Child (SMC) – 7
(Artist Website)

We simply can’t say enough about the mighty keyboard work of Danny Bedrosian. His work with Parliament Funkadelic is rooted in infamy and being a student of the late Bernie Worrell speaks volumes. Not to mention his obsession with all things Parliament Funkadelic including authoring multiple official Parliament Funkadelic tomes taking on the near impossible task of documenting the never ending trove of music and non-stop band member rotations. So I was thrilled to receive a copy of Danny’s brand new release with his own funk project with long time bandmates entitled Sweet Motha Child aka SMC and their 7th studio album, aptly titled 7.

It’s their first official recording in over 20 years and it’s everything that you would expect from a P-Funk connoisseur that is knee deep in not only the funk, but the Funkadelic rock pieces as well. Unfortunately, due to his passion for artist rights, it’s not available of platforms like Spotify or Bandcamp, so head to his Patreon page to get a taste of the album and order a copy for yourself as soon as possible. It will also be available on the Funkatopia store soon. You can additionally order direct by sending $25 domestic or $40 International to @DanielBedrosian on Venmo, $DannyBedrosian on Cash app, or Paypal info@dannybedrosian.com. All orders include free shipping and come with a free gift.

420 Funk Mob – The Emperor Has No Clones
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Once again, the many tentacles of Parliament Funkadelic have come to roost this year and this time Michael “Clip” Payne‘s project 420 Funk Mob dropped their super funky album The Emperor Has No Clones at the very beginning of the year and piled on yet another layer of P-Funk goodness. The guest list is fully stacked featuring George Clinton, Mike “Kidd Funkadelic” Hampton, Lige Curry, Greg Thomas, and Gregg Boyer.

The album firmly digs its heels in to the Funkadelic Maggot Brain via the Garry “Diaperman” Shider era bringing the balance of funk, rock, and enough sonic effects to accentuate your journey or at at least make you feel some sort of way. The cover of the Grateful Dead‘s 1977 song Estimated Prophet featuring French players Eric Rohner and Gilles Garin should give you a good idea as to just how far Michael is willing to go to maintain the vibe. For an album that was written around the world including Berlin, Paris, and Woodstock, it’s one damn cohesive album.

Various Artists – Mondo Groove: The New Italian Funky Scene
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Easily one the best albums on the list delivering a wide selection of artist styles to choose from across the Italian funk music scene. Mondo Groove: The New Italian Funky Scene features bands from across the region and is masterfully put together in one of the best funk collections we’ve seen. The artists all reside on IRMA Records and it showcases contemporary Italian funk, soul, and jazz, while blending Afrobeat, fusion, and world music and not a weak song in the bunch.

IRMA Records has spent 37 years crafting their sound and making sure that their library of artists stays consistent with honoring black music and the Mondo Groove collection is testament to that vision. They were a large part of the acid jazz movement in the 90’s in Italy by signing burgeoning acts like Jestofunk, Bossa Nostra, Gazzara, Man Sueto, and others. This funk filled collection has so many different flavors that it truly makes it undeniable for any funk collector. Snag the 2-LP vinyl today.

SURPRISE BONUSES!
REMASTERS AND LIVE SHOW MUST HAVES!

The Bonus area is designed for remasters and live shows. Once again, 2025 brings you FIVE bonuses that you never knew you needed. But you do.

WAR – Live in Japan 1974
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Funk band WAR are some of the originators of the funk sound. This album features the legendary band that brought us The Cisco Kid, Me and Baby Brother, and Slipping Into Darkness are all here live and in their heyday. The recording from 1974 features a band at the top of their game playing for a Japanese crowd that was so terrified that producer-manager Jerry Goldstein said, “That’s how we came up with the ‘Hey, why can’t we be friends?’ concept. In the dressing room that night, Lonnie was playing the keyboards and we started doing the song. No verses, just the ‘why can’t we be friends’ part. We wrote it there, went back to the U.S., and in January [1975], we recorded it.“

The album showcases a seven-man ensemble of Charles Miller on woodwinds, Lee Oskar on harmonica, Howard Scott on lead vocals and guitar, Lonnie Jordan on lead vocals and keyboards, B.B. Dickerson on lead vocals and bass, Harold Brown on drums, and Papa Dee Allen on percussion. All riding off of the major success of their 1972 album The World is a Ghetto. It’s a literal piece of funk artifact that was previously unreleased and is now available for your listening enjoyment over 50 years later.

Roy Ayers – Secrets of the Sun
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

In June of 2025, the music world lost another great one in the form of Roy Ayers. Roy is often considered the Godfather of neo-soul as a prominent multi-instrumentalist whose probably best known for his classic hit Everybody Loves the Sunshine, but whose fingerprints are everywhere including tracks from Mary J. Blige, Black Eyed Peas, Tyler, the Creator, and many more.

The new album features 4 previously unreleased tracks including Pathfinder, Pleasure, Intermission, and Dragon’s Nest, and also includes remixed cuts of Ayers classics like Moving, Grooving and You Came Into My Life. Having a front row seat to hear him put together music and to witness his process is a rare treat in itself. The remixes are provided by Dennis “Roc:AM” Jones which offer up revisions of great tracks dubbed ROCMIXES. It’s a fantastic posthumous collection that gives more insight into the genius that was Roy Ayers.

Cazayoux – The Continental Tapes Live (January 2025)
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Cazayoux is a relatively new band on the funk scene getting together in 2022 based out of Austin, TX. In January of 2025, the band dropped in a venue called the Continental Club in Austin to play a funk-inspired set of great jams that helped solidify themselves as a major contributor to the funk arena in the scene.

The new album The Continental Tapes Live showcases that performance that pull from their jam sessions and singles in a live format that was incredibly well received. It seamlessly blends Afrobeat, modern jazz, and what they refer to as swamp-funk to create their own unmistakable sound. It’s their first appearance on the Funkatopia Best Funk list and we’re certain it won’t be their last.

Cory Wong – Live at L’Olympia
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

Very simply, Cory Wong is a beast. His music stylings traipse the gamut from funk to jazz to soul to pop. Cory is also no stranger to Funkatopia’s Best Funk list because when he focuses on delivering an album that has an overarching funk vibe, he simply never loses. This year, his Live at L’Olympia release wins big time. Along with Cory on guitar, the band features Hornheadz Petar Janjić (St. Paul Peterson, Eric Leeds, Prince), bassist Yohannes Tona, Alex Bone and Fearless Flyer’s Ken Holmen on sax, Michael Nelson on trombone, and Jay Webb on trumpet and flugelhorn.

The album gives the live treatment to not only his own tracks but songs from other projects like Vulfpeck, Fearless Flyers and more. There is a video version of the entire performance available for viewing. Some online fans argue that his output is so overwhelming that it makes it very difficult to gravitate and properly soak it all in. But when you have such a direct connection to the source, why in the world would you shut it off or keep it bottled up. Hence, the magic that is Live at L’Olympia.

Sly and the Family Stone – Live at the Winchester Cathedral 1967
(Check It Out Here | Artist Website)

To close out the bonus section of the list this year, you almost can never go wrong with a previously unreleased live recording of the originators Sly and the Family Stone. This particular release is of the live recording from their 1967 show at the Winchester Cathedral. It features the band right before their breakout period playing with a raw and unpolished energy and even doing covers from Otis Redding, Joe Tex, and Ben E. King.

This is the band recorded in their early stage featuring Cynthia Robinson‘s powerful horn work, Greg Errico‘s energetic drumming, Larry Graham‘s iconic bass, and effortlessly dropping revisions of covers like I Can’t Turn You Loose and Funky Broadway. Notably, the vinyl versions are very beautifully done to properly pay respect to some of the foundational pieces of funk. While the audio recording is not fantastic, it’s a rare look at a band that was about to become a household name about a year out from the infamous Woodstock performance.

Extra Bonuses from YOU!

And once again, lots of music to get you through 2025. And just like every year, our readers always have some great additions that we either missed or that they feel should have been here. And most of the time, they are SO right!

But if you add to this list in the comments, REMEMBER THE RULES!