Well, another year is in the bag here at The Paper. (Our sixth, don’t you know!!) Thanks to our talented staff of writers, photographers, editors and designers, we spent 2025 giving you, our readers, the lowdown on as much Albuquerque-centric news, art, food, community and culture as we could cram into our weekly page count. And we (plus our sister publications) are committed to delivering you even more in 2026!
Rather than start off the new year with a traditional Year In Review, recounting and reprinting top stories and events of 2025, we’ve asked our staff to get personal and tick off the 25 things that they love about Albuquerque – the people, places and things that make living in the Duke City fun, flavorful and unique. They’re the reasons we’re here, the reasons we do what we do. Hopefully you’ll get nostalgic over some old faves (or discover some new obsessions) among our annual, editorial shout-outs.
Vince Gilligan
Lots of cities have movies and TV shows shot in them. But few of those have been as distinctively “of a place” as the works of writer/director/creator Vince Gilligan. His three groundbreaking, award-winning television series have served to define Albuquerque in the popular consciousness as much as anything in our city’s history. It all started with “Breaking Bad,” a crime drama that wasn’t even supposed to be set in Albuquerque. But the Duke City quickly became Gilligan’s muse. (And vice-versa with blue meth candy in Old Town, Breaking Bad RV tours around the city and bronze statues in the ACC.) That led to a prequel/sequel in “Better Call Saul,” cementing such imaginary/real-world crossovers as Mike Ehrmantraut’s coffee klatches at Loyola’s and Saul Goodman’s late-night hang sessions at The Dog House. Now Gilligan’s sci-fi mystery “Pluribus,” also set in Albuquerque, has become the most-watched show in the history of Apple TV, ensuring the world another weekly glimpse at a (fictionalized, but not far off) version of our beloved city. Thanks for loving us, Vince – warts and all! (Devin O’Leary)…