Top Ten Albums of 2025

Following one of the most prolific and exciting years in music in recent memory, 2025 had an uphill battle from the start. The previous year saw major releases from some of pop's biggest names including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, and more, and created some of the most viral smash songs we've seen this decade so far. The musical moments were so dominating, in fact, that the Billboard Hot 100 remained stagnant with 2024 releases for the entirety of 2025 (to the point where Billboard had to change its charting rules). Because of this, it should be expected that 2025 saw much smaller releases and hidden gems from artists no less exciting, but not nearly as sought-after. However, despite a quieter year in music and in pop culture in general, 2025 managed to deliver some excellent albums that broke through and defined my listening experience. Without further ado, here are those albums.

10. Lotus - Little Simz

Little Simz, UK rapper and esteemed experimental hip-hop artist, broke through to the mainstream in 2021 with the release of her fourth studio album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, receiving universal praise from critics and earning multiple #1 spots on some of the most well-established publications' year-end lists. That release catapulted her into stardom in the States and cemented her as one of the most compelling artists to watch for in the future. This year, she released her sixth studio album titled Lotus, a quieter, more introspective piece of art that combines elements of hip-hop, jazz, punk, afrobeats, and gospel to deliver a poetic experience that is enthralling at every turn. Her flow is masterful here. Every word is delivered with such precision that it makes it impossible to ignore her stunning lyricism. The album deals with themes such as betrayal, friendship, familial relationships, and, as the lotus flower symbolizes, transformation. The record marks a departure from Simz's long-time collaborator, Inflo, following a hefty lawsuit over financial conflict (most notably detailed on album opener "Thief"), and although he's never explicitly mentioned in the recordings, his impact is felt throughout all 13 tracks. But there's so much more to dig into on Lotus. "Young" is perhaps the funniest track released this year, where Simz adopts a youthful, posh character voice and discusses social commentaries on life as a 20-something in the UK. Alternatively, "Blood" showcases a vulnerable back-and-forth phone call between siblings as they painstakingly tackle complicated family dynamics and the childhood trauma carried with them into adulthood. This album expertly manages to cover a wide variety of topics while delivering melody-forward compositions aiming to elicit a profound emotional response.

Standout Tracks: "Young", "Free", and "Blood".

9. Addison - Addison Rae

Perhaps one of the most unexpected stories in pop music this year was the full-fledged emergence of Addison Rae. The TikTok star turned pop star left audiences stunned with her innovative and unconventional album. Throughout the self-titled record, she demonstrates an unwavering dedication to her craft, solidifying her status as a true student of pop music. After distancing herself from TikTok fame, Rae had two roads she could have followed as an artist: the first, a cash grab- an easy way out that resulted in bland, formulaic pop music; the second, a true artistic statement- a pivot into slightly experimental and, at times, melancholic art pop that defied all expectations of what an internet personality could achieve. In her debut full-length LP, Addison Rae chose the latter, recruiting an all-female team to bring her vision to life. Her influences are clear as day on Addison, showcasing her love for artists such as Britney Spears, Ray of Light-era Madonna, mentor Charli xcx, Lana Del Rey, and many others. Each song has these influences expertly baked into its DNA, and the 25-year-old star never misses a moment to take these impactful sounds and turn them into something new and inventive. Lead single "Diet Pepsi" takes Lana Del Rey's signature pop melancholy and turns it into something more melodic and danceable; "Aquamarine" and "Times Like These" take ideas from the aforementioned Ray of Light album and transform them for the modern day; and "New York" and "Money Is Everything" borrow hyperpop nuances from collaborations with Charli xcx and tone them down for a broader audience. Although none of these concepts are new here, they all demonstrate Addison's unwavering love for the pop music genre, and she bends them at her will like a true master of her craft.

Standout Tracks: "High Fashion", "Diet Pepsi", and "Fame Is A Gun".

8. SABLE, fABLE - Bon Iver

Alternative singer-songwriter Bon Iver delivers a strong contender for the best album of his career, 18 years deep, with his latest installment SABLE, fABLE. A four-song EP that transitions into a nine-track story of love, heartbreak, and rebirth, SABLE, fABLE is the intersection of everything Bon Iver does so well. It’s an amalgamation of styles that work so perfectly together. The critically acclaimed artist takes his two signature sounds- soft acoustic and experimental electronica- and blends them together so effortlessly to create something much warmer but just as intimate. The beginning EP (SABLE, released at the end of 2024) stays right in the pocket of the singer-songwriter’s cabin-friendly, unplugged pop. Tracks like “S P E Y S I D E” and “Awards Season” highlight darker themes such as regret, self-blame, profound change, and the double-edged sword of fame. But then something spectacular happens- the album transforms with the track “Short Story” into something entirely different (B-side, fABLE). The sound opens up, electronic and digital elements start to seep in, and everything gets a little brighter. By the time we’re at “Everything Is Peaceful Love”, one of the best recorded moments of 2025, the listener is fully absorbed into a world of harmony, acceptance, and yes, peace and love. There are plenty of other standout moments throughout the runtime including the atmospheric Danielle Haim feature “If Only I Could Wait” and the bright and spunky “From”, but what this album does so well is create a positive and uplifting vibe that almost make the individual tracks matter less. What Bon Iver achieves above all else is the feeling of overcoming the darkness and stepping into the light. 

Standout Tracks: "Everything Is Peaceful Love", "S P E Y S I DE", and "If Only I Could Wait"

7. Something Beautiful - Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus had a lot to prove following her smash single “Flowers” and her subsequent success at the 66th Grammy Awards. Many expected her to take that victory and create something even bigger, stickier, and radio-friendly. What she did instead was Something Beautiful- the antithesis to “Flowers” and its parent album, Endless Summer Vacation. It is an artful and experimental pop record that serves as a reminder of what Miley Cyrus is to her core- a strange and unconventional pop star, one that doesn’t create for the awards, but creates for herself. The lead single of the same name came out to much confusion early in the year. Casual fans were perplexed and the critics were enthralled. It starts as a jazz ballad with smooth and lush vocals from the singer, but quickly devolves into chaos when the heavy guitars kick in and the distortion is turned up to 100. Miley is almost unrecognizable as she leans into a blend of avant-garde '90s grunge and art-pop. This soundscape is examined more on the track “Pretend Your God”, but the rest of the record offers more sonic exploration with over-the-top dance-floor tracks like “Walk of Fame”, “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” and “Reborn”; lavish power ballads “More To Lose” and “Golden Burning Sun”; and yes, some hard-hitting radio singles “Easy Lover” and the ABBA-tinged “End Of The World”. Topped off with a couple cutting-edge electronic interludes, and the stunning, yearnful ending “Give Me Love”, Something Beautiful is a daring departure from the glossy pop of her previous era, but Cyrus’ commitment to defying all expectations has continually made her one of the most exciting pop stars in the game. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this very well may be her magnum opus- the album that pushes her forward as an artist and catapults her into legend status. 

Standout Tracks: "Easy Lover", "Every Girl You've Ever Loved", and "Golden Burning Sun"

6. I'm Only F**king Myself - Lola Young

Sultry British artist Lola Young made a huge splash in the music industry with her Grammy-nominated song "Messy" in the early part of 2025, earning her a coveted nomination in the Best New Artist category. But because of the hit's popularity, many didn't realize she dropped her third full-length studio LP in the fall of this year. Titled I'm Only F**king Myself, the album delivers a similar sonic palette to its predecessor, but this time with even nastier guitars, bigger vocals, and bolder lyrical content. Right from the first track, "F**K EVERYONE", the listener can tell the filter has been taken entirely off, as Young describes her desire to "f**k guys who don't like me, and don't mind". The instrumental is brazen and distorted, and the smoky-voiced singer comes across bratty and brash. The rest of the album carries the same '90's grunge and UK grime with tracks like "CAN WE IGNORE IT? :(", "Not Like That Anymore", and "Penny Out Of Nothing", while simultaneously delivering audacious power ballads such as album highlight "SPIDERS", and the surprisingly tender "Post Sex Clarity". Don't be mistaken, however, the record still has some major pop-friendly offerings like lead single "One Thing" and the Elton John-endorsed "d£aler" that blow the roof off with sticky choruses and unbelievable powerhouse vocals. The record as a whole discusses sensitive topics such as sex, drug addiction, insecurities, and the inability to walk away from things that hurt us. It's confessional to extreme heights, but the vulnerability on display here is what makes the songs so special. Paired with producer Solomonophonic's glossy yet abrasive sound design, I'm Only F**king Myself makes for one of the most fun and carefree musical moments of the year- one you don't want to miss out on.

Standout Tracks: "SPIDERS", "Post Sex Clarity", and "d£aler"

5. Mayhem - Lady Gaga

After years of exploration in different genres and film/tv opportunities, the Mother Monster is back with her signature dark pop sound. At the end of 2024, Lady Gaga gave us the first offering from Mayhem, a spooky and sinister synth-pop smash titled "Disease". The song served as the lead single and teaser for what was to come in 2025, but the night of the 67th Annual Grammy Awards changed our perception of her upcoming seventh studio album. It was the first time we saw the pop legend deliver one of the biggest songs of her career- "Abracadabra". The song, along with its blockbuster video, debuted during a commercial break and had the internet buzzing for days. Beginning with the now iconic phrase "The category is- Dance or Die", the video depicts two sides of Gaga, a light and a dark, competing for center stage as a sea of dancers assists her in casting her spell of the night. The song is a colossal return to form for the megastar- delivering deep bass, throbbing synths, and her singular lyrical nonsense reminiscent of "Bad Romance". What follows on the rest of Mayhem is a collection of bangers, replicating the same formula, but with added homages to Michael Jackson's dance pop, David Bowie's vocal deliveries, and Prince's smooth and sexy riffs. It showcases a legacy act re-centering herself in pop, reminding us why we fell in love with her strange performance in the first place, while simultaneously giving us something new and fresh. The dark pop sound she pioneered in the late 2000s feels so good here, but tracks that sprinkle in offerings of something unique, like "Killah", "Zombieboy", and "How Bad Do You Want Me" really keep the listener on their toes. It's signature Gaga, but in a new and fully realized form. Despite her "reheating her own nachos", there's never a moment of doubt that this is EXACTLY where Lady Gaga belongs, and no matter where she decides to take her career next, Little Monsters everywhere can be grateful we got another nostalgic taste of the sound that captivated us all those years ago.

Standout Tracks: "Abracadabra", "Garden Of Eden", and "How Bad Do You Want Me"

4. Virgin - Lorde

The 2020s have been an interesting decade for New Zealand native artist Lorde. In 2021, Lorde released her most divisive album yet, an intimate, stripped-back collection of songs titled Solar Power. This album was met with polarizing reviews from both critics and fans alike, leaving listeners unsure of the artist's future. But after some time away, it appears that Lorde found her way again through a beautiful partnership with producer Jim-E Stack. Virgin, her fourth studio album, is what emerged- a gritty and industrial-sounding record that puts the peculiar star's subconscious on full, unguarded display. It takes raw, metallic, and tough sonic elements and places them underneath Lorde's distinctive voice and unfiltered lyrics. The sparseness of the production lays the groundwork for the singer's vulnerable display of emotion- a snapshot into a very specific time in her life. Virgin tackles uncomfortably exposed themes such as gender identity, sex addiction, hedonism, bodily autonomy, complicated familial relationships, and conformity at the expense of self. At times, the album feels like an invasion of privacy, but Lorde lets us all in without a shred of doubt or embarrassment. If the lyrical themes do not grab you immediately, the surprisingly lively and infectious sound of the songs will. The whole record feels like a "cry on the dance floor" kind of experience and it reminds the listener why Lorde became such a superstar in the first place. Tracks like "What Was That", "Favorite Daughter", "Broken Glass", and "If She Could See Me Now" all divulge heavy subject matter, but never feel weighed down in sound or energy- with dynamic percussive elements, buzzing synths, and bouncing vocal lines, the listener stays engaged and moving throughout the runtime. By the time you arrive at the closing track, "David", you feel exhausted yet rejuvenated, all the while vindicated, knowing the artist who made Melodrama is still in there.

Standout Tracks: "Shapeshifter", "Broken Glass", and "Hammer"

3. Eusexua - FKA Twigs

Avant-garde and art pop star FKA Twigs has been around for quite a few years, but never has she released something so captivating as Eusexua. Defined by the artist herself, Eusexua is "a kind of flow state in which one can lose track of time; the moment before I get a really good idea of pure clarity. Like, when everything moves out the way, everything in your mind is completely blank and your mind is elevated". Although a tad eccentric, nothing could better describe the sound and feeling of the album. Eusexua is a collection of danceable techno and trance inspired tracks that make the listener enter a state of ecstasy. From the beginning synths of the title track all the way to the final percussion loop of "Wanderlust", you feel as though you have spent an entire night at an underground dance club in Berlin. The opening three-track-sequence takes you right into the trance-like state of Madonna's Ray Of Light until you are quickly pulled into the hard-hitting techno of "Drums of Death" and "Room Of Fools". From there, Twigs experiments a little more and combines these dance elements with her signature art pop style on songs like "Sticky" and "Keep It, Hold It". "Childlike Things", featuring North West (yes, that North West), is a surprisingly fun and upbeat cut in the midst of a strange musical landscape, and album highlight "Striptease" delivers the culmination of the Eusexua sound and premise- with its pulsating synths, earth-rattling bass, and Twigs' uncanny vocal flipping, the listener never quite feels settled, and that's the point. Although the album could be described as a marked departure from FKA Twigs' hallmark aesthetic, one can never quite fit the cutting-edge artist into a box. Her ever-evolving sound is what keeps her exciting, and nothing in her discography has ever been quite this exhilarating.

Standout Tracks: "Striptease", "Perfect Stranger", and "Room Of Fools"

2. LUX - Rosalía

In 2022, Motomami, the third studio album by Spanish native and global superstar Rosalía, came out with a bang and broke the singer into the mainstream like never before. The album's blend of reggaeton, hip-hop, flamenco, and jazz captivated audiences and transformed expectations of what pop music can be. This year, Rosalía decided to do the impossible a second time, this time with a musical palette consisting of opera, classical, electronica, and of course, the vocalist's signature flamenco flair. 2025's Lux (meaning "light" in Latin) brings us into an orchestral landscape with sweeping strings, booming timpani and virtuosic vocals. Recorded entirely with the London Symphony Orchestra and completely composed by Rosalía herself, the album covers topics of religion, spirituality, and finding the divine in everyday life, all through the lens of the stories of the Catholic saints. On Lux, the musical savant sings in 14 different languages, aiming to connect to the world as a whole and inspire the listeners to find the same connection in each other. She takes classical music and turns it on its head, experimenting with electronic elements and modern technology to offer something new entirely. Lead single "Berghain", the haunting "Divinize", and pulsating "Porcelana" showcase this genre blend most notably, while modern-day Italian aria "Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti", the flamenco-tinged "Mundo Nuevo", and album closer "Magnolias" boast the artist's classical education and ability to keep things traditional amidst a sea of experimentation. "Reliquia" is perhaps the cornerstone of the record- a track that revels in and romanticizes how we make our mark on the world and the "relics" of inspiration we leave behind. Lux is a once-in-a-lifetime piece of art- a gorgeous body of work that will linger with you long after the tears dry and the final notes trail off to contemplative silence.

Standout Tracks: "Reliquia", "Divinize", and "Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti".

Honorable Mentions:

Before we get to the number one spot, here are four honorable mentions that just missed the list.

Fancy That - PinkPantheress

That's Showbiz Baby! - Jade

Choke Enough - Oklou

Foxes In The Snow - Jason Isbell

1. Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party - Hayley Williams

Paramore frontwoman and darling of the alternative music scene Hayley Williams came back in 2025 in full force, this time with her third solo studio album, Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party, a 20-track epic that defied all expectations and became one of the most critically acclaimed records of the year. Released originally as 17 stand-alone singles locked behind her password-protected website, Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party (often shorthanded as EDAABP) wasn't thought to be an album at all, but a data dump of Williams' innermost psyche. Fans quickly scrambled to make sense of the 17 songs and began crafting their own versions of what an album might look like, sequentially and thematically. Fast-forward a month, and the rock superstar's team developed the tracks into a full-length LP, taking inspiration from the work of the fans and cultivating an unforgettable album rollout reflective of this generation of music consumers. The songs themselves are confessional and immensely vulnerable displays of the singer's past few years. The brutally honest tracklist details themes of heartbreak, love, lust, political disdain, friendship, and a painstaking relationship lost (or so we presume), and the mix of emotions that come along with it. Hayley Williams admits that these were sentiments she "needed to get out" of her system, and it fostered a sense of freedom she's never allowed herself to create in before. Lyrically, this has to be her at her peak, but the melodic and instrumental compositions created by her and producer Daniel James are otherworldly as well. "Whim", "Hard" and "Disappearing Man" have the kinds of sticky melodies sure to please any pop music fan, while offerings such as "True Believer", "Glum", and "Negative Self-Talk" present a haunting sonic palette reflective of the depths of the lyrical content. If the brilliantly nuanced musical elements and relatability of her heartbreaking lyrics don't draw you in, surely her commentary on the world at large and the political pitfalls of the American South will pique your interest. EDAABP is a thought-provoking and multifaceted album that showcases a music industry veteran at her absolute best, and in many ways, at the precipice of a new phase of her career- one that will cement her status as a rock music legend.

Standout Tracks: "Parachute", "True Believer", and "Whim".