The Best 20 Albums of 2025
The records that stuck with me this year, in one convenient list.
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There’s no other way to put it: I listened to an unreasonable amount of music this year.
More than any other 12-month stretch this decade, that music kept me going. On long subway rides, throughout meal prep sessions, and on nights where it may or may not have been the only thing keeping my brain from spinning out like lousy tires on a rain-soaked two-lane highway. Music was, to put it mildly, my purist form of escapism.
Somewhere in there, a small set of records kept rising to the top of my replay list. This year’s “best of” list attempts to capture how I felt about that inner circle in 2025.
I’ve also decided to change up how this list is presented. I’ve done away with a strict ranking because, if I’m honest, splitting hairs over which great album is slightly better than another is besides the point. At the time of this writing, I’d also completed north of 11,000 words of ranking write-ups, and my brain needed a break from that structure.
Honestly, I prefer it this way. There’s a ton of variety on display, from newly minted rock and alternative classics to electronic, hip-hop, and R&B records that soothed, thrilled, and made me want to get up and dance. I hope they do the same for you.
Finally, and I know I say this every year, this list should remind anyone who needs it that the “music is boring now” take, however you phrase it, is as lazy as it’s ever been. So much incredible music was released in 2025. Every record on this list more than earned its place.
So here it is. 20 of the best albums I heard in 2025, plus a handful of honorable mentions that nearly made the cut but are still worth your time.
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Let’s get into it:
1. “Baby” by Dijon
The real trick of Baby is that Dijon keeps the intimacy that made Absolutely such a compelling listen, all while widening the frame enough to reveal new, intriguing shades. This album feels warm and close, full of these tiny production touches that make all the difference. Short, surprising loops, gentle vocal modulation, and even room noise. There are moments where he sounds like he’s connecting with you from only a few feet away.
The sequencing (and, yes, even in a world of permanently-on-shuffle playlists, it still matters in this context) helps tell a more effective story. “Higher!” is a hazy uplift and “Yamaha” washes over you with an irresistibly warm groove. “Kindalove” is Dijon at his tenderest, tying everything together with a soft glow that was a much-needed balm after the year the world had in 2025.
2. “Cabin in the Sky” by De La Soul
I wasn’t expecting the album that made me cry to be the latest from De La Soul, but here we are. It’s the Long Island outfit’s first album since 2016’s And the Anonymous Nobody… and, more importantly, their first since the passing of David Jolicoeur, aka Trugoy the Dove, in 2023. With the blessing of Jolicoeur’s family, surviving members Posdnuos and Maseo turn up with an all-star supporting cast to process their grief and ponder their place in hip-hop history.
Miraculously, the album is far from a downer. There’s plenty of entertainment value in the sprightly production. Tracks like “Sunny Storms” and “The Package” benefit from the presence of DJ Premier and Pete Rock, respectively. “Run It Back!!” does precisely what it says on the tin, complete with a cameo from Mass Appeal head honcho Nas. Somehow, they also turn 80s pop standby “Cruel Summer” into one of my favorite sample moments of the year.
The now-duo paints this portrait of aging, friendship, and loss that pushed my emotional buttons as few releases did in 2025.
3. “Dance Music 4 Bad People” by Hieroglyphic Being
Chicago house veteran Jamal Moss came through with one of the year’s most exciting and, thematically, challenging dance music records. The grooves on Dance Music 4 Bad People have a ton of bite, driven by 80s-era drum machine and acidy synth interplay. Rhythmically, it’s both familiar and alien, uniting and full of friction. As a result, these club tracks can also throw you for a bit of a loop (no pun intended). Is the dancefloor really the safe space it’s made out to be in idyllic pronunciations of nostalgia?
“I have yet to walk into a club and see everybody hug and say: Let’s forgive each other, let’s move forward and make the world a better place,” he said of the nature of club culture. “With all these conversations about sexuality, ethnicity, politics, whatever, when you walk into an environment with the music, you are supposed to celebrate all of that. Let it be and come together.” This record ultimately exemplifies that mentality, finding bliss and even freedom in the friction created by the rough edges in these compositions. It’s one of the most refreshing electronic albums of 2025.
4. “Debí tirar más fotos” by Bad Bunny
It’s not often you start the calendar year with an Album of the Year contender, but, then again, few artists had a more explosive 2025 than Bad Bunny. Instead of a U.S. tour in support of Debí tirar más fotos, he staged an unprecedented multi-week residency in Puerto Rico that funneled an estimated $200 million into the local economy. To add insult to injury to his right-wing detractors, the 31-year-old will headline the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show in Santa Clara. Amid all the hoopla, it’s easy to forget how daring this latest studio effort was in the context of his discography.
Unexpectedly, Benito mostly diverged from the Latin hip-hop that characterized 2023’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, an album that, for its occasional brilliance, was thuddingly uneven. Here, sleek reggaetón like “Voy a llevarte pa PR” sit side by side with bolder throwbacks to salsa and plena, such as the wonderful “Baile inolvidable.” Even more surprising are the gentler, more supple moments of “Turista” and “La mudanza.” Suddenly, the Bad Bunny feels far more grounded than it had previously. I imagine it’s because he’s creating from a place of introspection and inspiration, not from expectations from the pop music industrial complex.
5. “Don’t Tap the Glass” by Tyler, the Creator
After dropping the urgent, hedonistic burst of energy that is Don’t Tap the Glass, Tyler, the Creator proved that hip-hop doesn’t have to be a self-serious, moody epic to be considered an outstanding achievement. Full of swish-pan jumps between characters and proclamations, the Odd Future poster child ditches the meticulous narrative control (arguably too meticulous for much of its running time) of Chromakopia for a much wilder listening experience.
The sharpness of these tracks stems primarily from the IDGAF zeal with which Tyler writes and raps. “Big Poe” is a hilarious bit of sass set to a Neptunes sample (Pharrell also makes an appearance on the song), “Sugar on My Tongue” is as abrasive a sex anthem as you’re likely to hear this decade, and “Sucka Free” acts as an 80s MIDI-fied mission statement, one that takes aim at the posers and players over one of the glossier instrumentals in the rapper’s canon. You’re not getting some deep character study here, but that’s the point.
As he points out on the opening track, you’re not supposed to sit still while playing this one.
6. “Eusexua” by FKA Twigs
Though it leans pretty hard into a human, 90s-era techno and dance-pop aesthetic, FKA Twigs’ much-anticipated third album is far more than a commercially-minded period piece. It’s a sublime, sex-drenched, and more than a little supernatural exploration of the flow state where self-discovery happens. She’s described “eusexua” as “for kissing without love and loving without fear,” and “for the girls who find their true selves under a hard metal silver stiletto on the damp rave floor.” She also touted it as “the pinnacle of human experience,” a statement this record very nearly lives up to.
This album has the same focus and intensity as Twigs’ previous records, ones replete with avant-pop and somber, glitchy ballads. The main difference is that this tracklist contains her warmest, airiest material yet, proving she’s got far more range than even her most prominent supporters may have realized. There’s also a real sex-positive physicality to this LP, from the openness of “Drums of Death” to the quieter, more vulnerable side of intimacy of “Sticky.” As she glides through trance, UK garage, and even a little drum and bass, nothing clashes or feels forced.
In reality, it may be the more prescient, mature sequel to BRAT we didn’t know we needed.
7. “F*CK U SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3” by Skrillex
More than any other album I heard this year, this Skrillex joint blew away my expectations.
The veteran producer/DJ has always had a flair for showmanship, but he seriously takes it to another level here, serving up a listening experience that’s equal parts loose, controlled, funny, and chaotic. The sequencing, where he strings together one flash of brilliance after another, plays like a sweaty house party where the aux cord got hijacked by that friend with exceptional musical taste, questionable judgment, and perfect timing. To hear it unfold for the first (or 101st) time is nothing short of thrilling.
I could cite a dozen or so highlights, but that would almost be to this record’s detriment. If you can, I highly recommend enjoying it in one unbroken sitting to get the full heft of what he’s pulling off here. Voiceovers crash into rage rap. Samples ricochet off walls and transform into meme punk. It moves too fast to settle into any lane for too long, arguably more interested in operating as a meta text that pokes as much fun at itself as anyone or anything else.
8. “Getting Killed” by Geese
Don’t you love it when a band really goes for it and it pushes all the buttons it needs to become a hit?
Geese have been around for a while, but not since Turnstile, and maybe not since the Arctic Monkeys, has a bandwagon filled up as quickly as theirs has during this release cycle. Maybe it’s because we’re starved for a rock album that’s this comfortable in its own skin, this confident in its approach to crafting hook-filled, guitar-driven tracks, but it manages to shrug off the sky-high expectations that followed 2023’s 3D Country with a “watch this” kind of attitude. It’s sublime to hear.
It’s not like they don’t wear their influences on their sleeves, either. There are can’t-miss nods to Led Zeppelin and Neil Young, among several others, honing in on the soulful aspects of those and other early-to-mid-1970s acts. Songs including “Half Real” and “Au Pays du Cocaine” are, at their core, about the bonds that forge the deepest loves and friendships, encouraging folks to hold each other close and stay together for the long haul.
It’s a welcome oasis in a genre that’s waist-deep in nostalgia grifting.
9. “Hexed!” by Aya
A carefully crafted brain-breaker, Aya Sinclair’s Hexed! never shies away from disorder. It twists “club music” (in Dr. Evil quotes because that label is as high-level as it gets) into a fever dream that, like a Christopher Nolan film, repeatedly collapses in on itself. It gets to the point where you’re not exactly sure what you’re listening to or where everything is going sonically. But if you’re willing to meet the album where it is, it’s an exhilarating ride.
At every turn, the production is exacting in a disorienting way. Beats wrap and vocal glitch into shapes that will test the limits of your sound system at least a couple of times. The entire record feels like a subconscious trying to drag its way to the surface, but in tiny fragments that may or may not hold together. There’s no safety net here, clearly, but the primary appeal is in this album’s daring. It’s bold, strange, and impossible to ignore.
10. “Infinity Club II” by Bambii
Toronto DJ/producer Bambii returns with a direct sequel to her 2023 debut EP. That release mainly trafficked in jungle and dancehall, with a splash of R&B thrown in for good measure, all rooted in her Jamaican heritage. This full-length follow-up brings her sonic extremities into much sharper focus, oscillating between icy remove (“Mirror”) and sweat-soaked grindfests (“NSYNC,” among others). It’s a more expansive, well-rounded coming-out party.
There’s something to be said for how familiar and lived-in this tracklist feels, playing on our sense of shared space, both physical and mental. “I produce with DJ brain,” she told CBC. “As a DJ, you have about 2,000 favourite songs. You’re very familiar with large amounts of music, and you’re very familiar with patterns in music, [and] genres and sub-genres … It’s taking you a bunch of different places [and] it’s making unlikely connections.”
That ability to connect stylistic dots is one of many reasons why this is a standout album from 2025.
11. “Loner” by Barry Can’t Swim
What sets Loner apart from Josh Mainnie’s previous releases as Barry Can’t Swim is how deeply personal this work is. A meditation on his rapid rise to fame on the DJ and festival circuits, as well as a look back at formative childhood experiences that made him who he is, these tracks add much more depth to his arc as a creator. “Once I started, it all came together quickly,” he said of creating this album. “It’s an authentic side of me that needed to come out for everyone to hear.”
The thick beats and staccato vocal sampling that’s become part of his hallmark are here in spades, too. Bangers like “Different” and “About to Begin” bring more than enough thump to get you moving, but the difference between then and now for Mainnie is that they play as snapshots of a life transformed. That maturation comes across even more in his softer, more soulful cuts like “Cars Pass By Like Childhood Sweethearts” and the gorgeous “Childhood,” the latter buoyed by instantly recognizable Willie Hutch vocal and brass samples.
12. “Let God Sort ‘Em Out” by Clipse
If you’re a younger Gen X or older Millennial hip-hop head, you were almost certainly swept up in the Clipse release hype machine in 2025. It was hard not to be. For a good part of the summer, they were everywhere, publishing cryptic teasers and working the press circuit like few in mainstream rap do anymore. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that their first album in 16 years, Let God Sort ‘Em Out, instantly became their biggest commercial release and one of the best records of the year.
The coke-rap duo of Pusha T and No Malice quickly proved they could still drop cold-blooded bars with the best of them. “All of you imposter, simply just Ferrari window shoppers,” Malice spits on “Ace Trumpets.” “The one that I just ordered look like it was built by NASA.” The supporting cast rises to that level, too, with Kendrick Lamar turning in an inspired verse on “Chains & Whips” that Universal tried to get removed from the tracklist. As the sole credited producer and co-writer alongside Puhsa and Malice, Pharrell Williams also turns in some of his most inspired work in years.
Is it in the same league as Clipse classics like Hell Hath No Fury? Listen and judge for yourself.
13. “Like a Ribbon” by John Glacier
Every year, I hear an album that stops me mid-scroll and reminds me that music is still full of surprises. Like a Ribbon is that record.
British rapper John Glacier pulls together elements of jazz fusion, hip-hop, R&B, and psychedelic electronica, then scrapes away anything you’d call familiar from an aesthetic point of view. The resulting songs feel like transmissions from a place, physical and emotional, that’s fresh and exciting. The production doesn’t go out of its way to shimmer with polish, content to coil around your brain, tightening its grip with each passing note.
And yet, Glacier creates this strange calm with her vocal performance. There are spurts of braggadocio where she proclaims that, among other things, that she’s the “hottest in the game,” but her intonation is anything but antagonistic. More often, she opts for a stream-of-consciousness style, spilling her words out onto the soundstage as if she’s trying to make sense of them in real time. That approach makes tracks like “Emotions” and “Nevasure” crackle with this unorthodox electricity that completely won me over.
Cameos from Sampha and Flume don’t hurt matters, either.
14. “Sinister Grift” by Panda Bear
I don’t think Noah Lennox gets the credit he deserves as one of his generation’s most accomplished songwriters. More than his (admittedly outstanding) work with Animal Collective, his releases as Panda Bear have consistently impressed in the same way a Brian Wilson or Everly Brothers song blows you away in its deceptive simplicity. On Sinister Grift, Lennox goes into darker, more warped directions than he ever has, walking a tightrope between sweetness and dread.
From the Beach Boys-adjacent opener, “Praise,” to the psychedelic whimsy of “Defense,” on which Cindy Lee turns up with a searing guitar solo, his penchant for vintage pop charm is utterly disarming. But it’s not a straight-up nostalgia play, either. “It still feels very contemporary, very plug-in, very digital audio workstation to me,” Lennox told Apple Music. “There’s echoes of older music that I love in there, but there’s no retro-ness to it, I hope. I’m not a big fan of that kind of thing.”
15. “Tether” by Annahstasia
Annahstasia has one of those voices that freezes you in your tracks. Her husky contralto, reminiscent of pop luminaries like Toni Braxton, Sade, and Tracy Chapman, has this uncanny ability to pull melt-in-your-ears melodies out of thin air. After signing to a label at 17 and spending the next few years under the thumbs of producers and coaches who wanted to morph her voice into something else entirely, this debut LP announces her arrival as an outstanding natural talent.
The opening one-two punch of “Be Kind” and “Villain” set the tone nicely. Her vocals are front and center, framed by minimalist instrumentation, primarily on acoustic guitar. “Slow” may be the record’s best moment, featuring ethereal harmonies with Obongjayar. All that said, Annahstasia proves she’s not without pop instincts, either, as tracks like “Overflow” hint at more populist singer/songwriter potential she’s likely to realize in the coming years.
If there’s one name I’m most excited to hear from again in the next year or two, it’s Annahstasia.
16. “The Passionate Ones” by Nourished by Time
After years of hard work, it feels like it’s finally Marcus Brown’s moment. He adopted the Nourished By Time moniker in 2019 and turned heads with Erotic Probiotic 2, which dropped in 2023. With The Passionate Ones, he’s made the album that, if all is just in the universe, should make him a household name in R&B circles. The songwriting is tighter, the storytelling is more pointed, and the emotional heft of his art hits that much harder.
Highlights include “Max Potential,” which twists corporate speak into a grim dystopia (well, more grim than it already is for most of us), “Baby Baby,” which infuses a strong new wave groove with a Gil-Scott Heron-esque sermon, and “9 2 5,” which ends up being the heartbeat of the entire project. In it, Brown searches for something more fulfilling than the capitalist grind. “You won’t always be here to be tricked and lied to,” he croons at one point. “May you always have a fight, be it wrong or be it right.”
Amen to that.
17. “Thee Black Boltz” by Tunde Adebimpe
If, like me, you heard “Magnetic,” the lead single off Tunde Adebimpe’s Thee Black Boltz and expected more of the DIY maximalism he was known for as part of Brooklyn’s TV on the Radio, I wouldn’t have blamed you. The electro-punk energy coursing through its veins is undeniable. But the record is far from a retread. For many listeners, it was the first time they’d gotten to know Adebimpe in all his artistic shades.
In terms of influences, the album owes a considerable debt to mid-80s dance music. “The Most” is a catchy combo of synth-pop, hip-hop, and dancehall, as if Yaz or Human League rolled the dice with a Run-D.M.C. cover. Meanwhile, “Somebody New” is straight out of the New Order playbook, with an irresistable beat and chorus, and “ILY” is a touching acoustic send-off for his sister, Jumoke, who tragically passed away before the album was recorded.
Together, these songs serve as dispatches from someone trying to figure it all out. They may not have all the answers, but at least they add color to the soul-searching process.
18. “Tranquilizer” by Oneohtrix Point Never
I’m a big fan of Daniel Lopatin’s brand of ambient electronic anxiety machine. His best work can be propulsive and even frantic, like in his exceptional film scores for *Good Time* and Uncut Gems, or they can be slower and more deliberate, as in earlier albums like 2010’s Returnal. His latest full-length, Tranquilizer, straddles the line between the two, building a world that’s cinematic in its scope yet has a certain tension humming under every note.
Like the best ambient albums, it takes its time. The layered synths will not be rushed, nor are the melodies in any hurry to bowl you over. As a result, the creeping sense of dread grows and grows until it becomes unshakeable. In its final moments, Lopatin cuts through that fog of apprehension and ends with moments of transcendent wonder, as if the natural and mechanical worlds are agreeing, even rejoicing, in the possibility of new beginnings.
It’s a stunning finale for a legitimately excellent record.
19. “Weirdo” by Emma-Jean Thackray
“I think we need to talk about the dark s*** in our heads, and finding the humour in it only makes that easier.” That’s how Emma-Jean Tachkray describes the conceptual impetus behind Weirdo, her sophomore album that’s a study in stark, seductive contrasts. The raw, confessional songwriting is set against lush jazz grooves, sparkling synths, and arrangements straight out of a 70s P-funk or Fela Kuti tribute. Like, what? How is that possible?
The fact that she recorded nearly all of what you hear by herself makes this achievement all the more impressive. To listen to her tell it, the creation process was as much about survival and salvation as anything else, helping her cope with the tragic, sudden loss of her partner in 2023. “If I hadn’t made this record, I would not be here,” she said. That emotional clarity is front and center on an album that represents a remarkable leap for an important U.K. voice.
20. “Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You” by Ethel Cain
I was oh-so-close to giving Ethel Cain two slots on this list. Her January release, Perverts, was a direct pushback against the hype machine that had been swirling around her since her 2022 LP, Preacher’s Daughter. It’s an experimental, deeply haunting 90 minutes that, while an incredible example of pure craftsmanship, didn’t go down smoothly with her fan base, to say the least. It was one of the last records I knocked off my longlist.
By contrast, Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You packages much of the same pain and angst into a much more accessible and darkly beautiful panorama. Gothic folk textures mix with shoegaze and slowcore, flickering through memories that are in danger of fading too quickly. The pacing is patient. Nothing explodes off the page or spirals out of control. But, especially in its final 20 minutes, she builds the tension into an unforgettable climax that dares you to turn away.
Of the hundreds of records I heard in 2025, Willoughby stuck in my mind’s eye more vividly than any other.
Honorable Mentions
“Addison” by Addison Rae
Yes, it is bubblegum pop. Yes, you have heard this kind of debut before, with the obvious comparisons being Lana and Britney. But she earns her spot with confidence. The Jersey club bangers are on point, and the spacier R&B manages to levitate enough to bring the whole listening experience together. The record moves with more polish than anyone expected.
“Black Star” by Amaarae
Glossy. Playful. Full of sharp turns. Amaarae pulls from multiple genres, including Afrobeat, R&B, and pop, all without settling into one lane. The darker edges in her writing since her previous studio effort also give the album its pleasantly surprising bite. She sounds like she knows exactly who she is and isn’t making sonic compromises for anyone.
“Hurry Up Tomorrow” by the Weeknd
Nothing makes you appreciate an epic, synth-drenched ego trip more than seeing its protagonist live, along with 45,000 other people. After seeing Abel Tesfaye, also known as the Weeknd (but not for much longer, apparently), on tour, I can say that these songs reward multiple listens to fully absorb their scope and ambition. If it is indeed his persona’s swan song, it’s quite a curtain call.
“If You Asked For A Picture” by Blondshell
I was a huge fan of Sabrina Teitelbaum’s first record as Blondshell, and, on several occasions, she digs even deeper on her sophomore record. The writing gets heavier. The emotional clash between growth and confusion is even sharper and higher-stakes. It’s another promising step toward a bigger artistic legacy.
“Something Beautiful” by Miley Cyrus
Fresh off winning two Grammys for one of her most boring songs, Miley Cyrus reaches for rock opera grandeur and absolutely pulls it off. It’s her most confident work to date, with vocals that hit harder than you might expect, especially on “More to Lose.” It’s the kind of song people will attach memories to for years.
Lists like this never feel final.
A few months from now, something here might land differently, or a late discovery might elbow its way into the mix. That’s part of the fun, though. Music keeps shifting, and your memory bends and twists along with it.
What these albums share is simple: They made the year feel less disposable and gave me emotional footholds to rely on. If even one of them ends up doing that for you, that should mean a lot.
As usual, tell me what you loved. Tell me what I missed.
And thanks, truly, for listening with me this year.