Best Albums of 2025

You can't talk about 2025 musically without mentioning two of this year's breakout names, Geese and their frontman, Cameron Winter. Getting Killed could be simplistically described as a rock album, but it has so many references that it would be a mistake to settle for such a basic definition. Without a doubt, one of its strengths is the insight of its frontman and his lyrics, which are full of personality and so well suited to the times.

The Puerto Rican artist has dominated the charts yet another year. This time, it was the politically charged Debí tirar más fotos record that put him in the spotlight. Celebrating his identity, highlighting lesser known genres from the island, and singing about everything from nostalgia to colonialism to love, Bad Bunny’s album is clearly a standout for its quality, joy, and message.

Oklou is undoubtedly one of the most influential artists of her time. Her mixtape, Galore, marked a turning point with its wobbly synths and atmospheric sound, and although her official debut album, choke enough, continues along those lines to a certain extent, it also marks a new phase for the producer. With more introspective lyrics about motherhood and isolation, it is one of the best LPs of the year, and its deluxe version only confirms this.

The very first seconds of Look at You already set the mood. The haunting yet heavenly vocals appear, and with a subtle bass base followed by a sax, we get some hints to understand the type of album this will be, yet are allowed to keep discovering it track by track. The classical meets the electronical, and the analogue the digital, with Dev Hynes's voice as the bridge that narrows the gap between both worlds. A testament to an artist's quality is the names that decide to appear next to them, and to have Daniel Caesar, Caroline Polachek, Tariq Al-Sabir, and Durutti Column in the same song, for example, should suffice for us to understand the reputation of Blood Orange not only within the audience but also within the industry, cemented by an album that in its ethereality feels as grounded as the human experience.

Lady Gaga’s celebrated ‘comeback’ to mainstream is one to be studied: released in February, Mayhem has been one of the most culturally significant records of the year, with publications like Rolling Stone naming hit single Abracadabra as the song of the year, and also earning nine Grammy nominations. The multifaceted artist is back to what made her change the pop landscape years ago: theatricality, darkness, camp, deep storytelling, and bangers ranging from radio hits to powerful ballads like Vanish into You.

Addison is a star. 'Star' not understood as an adjective used loosely in a tabloid headline but as its true definition, “a natural luminous body visible in the sky, especially at night”. The light that comes out of her has managed to cover the whole world in a matter of months, the result of years of conviction, confidence and a contagious energy that infiltrates every track of the album in the form of manifestation, self-affirming statements and anthems of independence, of female power and of desire. Surrounded by a team that has carefully helped her curate the right aesthetic of the pop diva we were in need of and her inimitable compromise with the performance, the drama and the stage, her self-titled album, composed of what could easily be twelve title tracks, has become, in less than six months, a timeless classic and a standard of the right mindset to have.

Once again, the Catalan artist proves that she’s fearless when it comes to thinking, producing, and releasing a record. After the minimalism of Motomami, Rosalía is back with a maximalist album that isn’t afraid to expand the limits of what pop music might be: Portuguese fado, operatic elements, rumba, lots of strings, collabs with Björk and Yves Tumor… Lux has it all. And even though it was release quite late, its influence has been huge.

Life in the city is chaotic, but also fun, albeit only at times, but then a new plan comes along and... All of this is reflected in Smerz's new album, Big City Life, one of those albums that suddenly appears and revolutionizes the music scene with its freshness. Although the duo has been releasing music for years, You got time and I got money is the song that has put them on the map and on the playlists of pop lovers around the world.

We knew it when we interviewed her for our METAL 53 cover story: Amaarae had released one of the best albums of the year. Celebrating Black diasporic music, pleasure, and her identity as a woman and as an artist, the Ghanian American singer shows a new side to her artistry — more mature, more realised, more polished.

The second studio album of the British rock band is so indie. So post-punk, new wave, powerful and personal as we wanted it to be. While all five members wrote the songs together, many lyrics are inspired by frontwoman Rhian Teasdale’s relationship to her partner, beautifully exploring the feeling of queer love. The song Catch These Fists on the other hand came together after Teasdale was out with her friends and was annoyed by the unwanted male attention (we get it). And Jennifer’s Body, as the title already kind of reveals, was created because the band was watching a lot of horror movies at the time.

The American singer-songwriter, record producer, actor and multi-instrumentalist has accomplished a lot of things in his life. There are collaborations with Charli xcx, Justin Bieber and Bon Iver. He was nominated for two Grammys, and he counts as one of the most visionary R&B artists to follow right now. But the greatest accomplishment Dijon can be proud of is the birth of his son. So, Baby, is all about that. With soul and pop elements, electronic mood swings, stacked or deconstructed vocals and audio recordings of his newborn, he addresses the title from different perspectives.

james K's third album marks a new phase for the artist, where a cloudy universe of dream pop, trip hop, and shoegaze intertwines with gorgeous vocal melodies that will thrill fans of Caroline Polachek or Weyes Blood. Songs such as Doom Bikini and Blinkmoth (July Mix) will be some of the most interesting contemporary pop tracks you'll hear in 2025.

A compilation of narrations told with an angsty voice that is expected to sing about something very different from what it does. The contrast between sound and meaning results in an attractive tool used with dexterity by the American band to paint personal stories with the right colours and the right words to understand them, relate to them, and, of course, jam. The jam part, more the how to jam to it, creates a unique and pleasant confusion that describes well what this album does. Should we move our heads front and back like we do in a metalcore concert, from one side to the other like we do on a dance floor, or just stay still taking in all that's being said? Pirouette allows it all.

Hayley Williams’ badass third studio album is all about emancipation. With songs like Parachute, Glum and Good Ol’ Days, the American singer-songwriter beautifully tells a story about rage and loneliness, about the frustration of being stuck in a contract she signed at the age of 15. A contract that suppressed her creatively and made her feel stuck in a system that wasn’t paying attention to her. Through a blend of alternative elements and indie rock, of folk and synth pop, she finally emotionally breaks free from her past – marking the beginning of a new, liberated, inspiring era. Good for her, we say!

It is not rare that an album of these characteristics and of this genre can be considered one of the best albums of the year—outside the most mainstream genres, great things are always cooking—what is rare is it finding the level of success and recognition Turnstile has managed to collect. The explanation may be in various factors, aside from the unbiased good quality of Never Enough. It may be in Brendan Yates’ voice, born and shaped by hardcore yet melodic influences, with a range that can be comfortably enjoyed by metalheads and casual listeners alike; it may be the experimental and enjoyable rhythms and genres explored, from the grooviness of Seein’ Stars and the mosh-worthy Sole to I Care's nostalgic indie rock vibe or even the celebratory fun energy of Dreaming. “Finally I can see it; these birds not meant to fly alone” may be one of the most famous lines of the album, but Turnstile are clearly meant for that and more.

A fusion of seemingly unrelated styles comes together in The Passionate Ones. If Nourished by Time had already pleasantly surprised us with his previous releases, with this one he makes his mark with a mix of jazz, indie, hip-hop, electronic and R&B that sometimes sounds as if lost classics from the 90s had been remixed today.

Always known for her sharp humour and biting lyrics, Lily Allen delivers vulnerability and poisoned barbs in equal measure on her fifth album (and first in seven years), West End Girl, an irresistible concept album. Few artists can recount a failed relationship in such detail as she does in Tennis or Madeline, and if we're talking about those who can call one of their songs Pussy Palace, the list is reduced to zero.

Some people might think that a band like Pulp would thrive on nostalgia and the music that made them famous decades ago. Yet, once you listen to Spike Island, the first song in More, you quickly understand that they’ve still got a lot more to show. Experience plays an important role in the British band’s new album, which puts together incredible vocals and lyrics, instrumentation, and production.

PinkPantheress is often known for sampling music from the 90s and 00s. And her second mixtape, Fancy That, is certainly no exception. It features subtle nods to classic pop dance songs by Panic! At the Disco, Sugababes and Jessica Simpson. The outcome: a controlled but somehow also romantic chaos of UK garage, electronic, kitsch and messy girl-energy. With singles like Tonight and Romeo, the mixtape definitely marks a huge growth in the career of the British singer-songwriter and record producer. A growth that makes us curious what we will see next.

2025 has felt particularly raw. It's been a year less about the glamour and the glitter and more about feeling a little too much and struggling to find comfort in our very unpolished reality. Noah Dillon and Chandler Lucy made the record to be the soundtrack of these feelings, of course, in a more polished, careful and stylish way; Riviera offers the perfect balance between the gritty and the tasteful. With their 2000s-reminiscent vocals, dirty synths and lyrics like “Country road, take me home, but this ain't West Virginia, this is LA, I'm on Sunset, driving home and I'm all alone,” they have managed to create nostalgia for the present times and portray reality in a much cooler, exciting and worth living way.

Can you imagine waking up one day and deciding to write a song about the time you peed in a glass jar? Well, welcome to the world of Gelli Haha. Fun pop, bouncy beats, and melodies and lyrics that could be found on Kesha or Uffie's debut albums if they were teleported to 2025. If you like this description, you'll definitely want to listen to Switcheroo.

The Spanish artist is known for delivering brilliant records. His music bridges incredibly sensitive lyrics with impeccable production, as well as unexpected collabs. And Daisy is no exception. A song with Las Ketchup (yes, the ones who made Aserejé), lots of piano, a voice that goes from soothing to disturbing, and an overall concept that permeates it all. Rusowsky is one of Spain’s biggest gems, and his latest album is just a testament to that.

A steady growing path we have all witnessed finally exploding as colourful fireworks that blend sounds, styles, hard work and talent all in the same boom. The power of her vocals has never been a novelty for those who have followed her journey in Little Mix, but with her debut solo album, Jade Thirlwall manages to not only take her vocals to unexpected places that even her followers will be surprised by but also burst the girl group bubble to find worldwide recognition and the well-deserved praise as a powerhouse on her own. That’s Showbiz Baby! has everything: indisputable bangers like Fantasy, pop references like “I’m the editor; call me Mr Enninful” in Midnight Cowboy, incredibly satisfying transitions like the one between Self Saboteur and Lip Service, tasteful switch-ups of genres in the same track, like in Headache, and overall an arsenal of tracks that showcase her in all her glory.

The album opens with "How can I leave you when you're screaming my name?" and in fact, when we needed her the most, she returned. Florence Music has always had an antique element to it, like it belongs to ancient fairy tales that have been told generation after generation, yet her sound never feels dated; Lungs fits 2009 as much as Everybody Scream fits 2025. We met again with the timelessness of a voice that doesn't need to adapt to whatever the world has become but that always manages to comfortably and confidently find her chair, or throne, empty, awaiting patiently for when she decides to sit on it again and continue preaching her word right where she left it.

“Eusexua”, that’s not a Latin word, in case you were wondering. No, it’s a word FKA Twigs created to capture the “sensation of being so euphoric” that one could “transcend human form”. Inspired by Techno, but not really featuring Techno, the third studio album by the Cheltenham-born singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, and model is deep, but not in a sad way. It’s personal, yet in a collective, human way. It’s visionary and still very FKA Twigs. One highlight: The track Childlike Things, in which you can hear North West perform in English as well as in Japanese. Yeah, we also didn’t know she could do that.