2025 has been an unusual year for music, with a feeling that music fans are looking back more than looking forward. The Billboard Hot 100, the barometer of the most popular songs in the country, grew so stagnant with the same songs every week that Billboard changed their rules to remove them. One of the biggest feel-good stories was the reunion of ’90s band Oasis, whose return seemed unlikely but earned them a heroes’ welcome in the United Kingdom and around the world. We said goodbye to music titans like Sly Stone, Brian Wilson, Connie Francis, Ozzy Osborne, and D’Angelo.
Despite the nostalgia trip that music has seen itself in this year, there was plenty of great new records worth celebrating that have come out in the last twelve months. Never listen to anyone who says there isn’t any good music anymore; That just reveals they are not looking hard enough. Our annual music list was compiled from the personal list of our music staff, and fixtures a mix of music from all genres.
25. Conan Grey – Wishbone
You’re face down on the couch. Hands dangling off the edge. Your heart has been dragged through the mud until it no longer looks like an object. The weird lump on the floor– that’s the thing that still beats frailly with hopeless love. And in this moment, the only thing you can stand to listen to, the only thing that knows how you feel is Conan Gray’s Wishbone. Wishbone is for when you want to feel understood as you wreck yourself over and over again for the same person. If you need an album to get your emotions out one last time and leave your heartbreak behind in 2025, this is the record for you. [Neha Nandakumar]
24. Blood Orange – Essex Honey
Dev Hynes’ music as Blood Orange has maintained a sense of physical and emotional geography; be it his take on shuffling, wide-eyed New York-inspired pop on 2012’s Coastal Grooves, or the melancholy Black Diaspora-infused musings of Negro Swan, Hynes deftly navigates us through his vision of futuristic, effervescent pop. On Essex Honey, we see a different side of Blood Orange. One that’s more muted in color, natural in tone and general presentation.
Hynes spends much of Essex Honey in a state of reflection with a sometimes crushing yearning for the warmth of the home. At its core, Essex Honey is an album full of transition, both in the music itself and in Dev’s writing. The pastoral sonic palette brings forward a beautiful array of lush strings, piano, and guitar that evoke an unparalleled melancholy. With contributions from Caroline Polachek, Mustafa, and even Turnstile’s Brendan Yates, Essex Honey might be unassuming at first, but let the album work its magic. You’ll be washed in some of the most layered, dense pop music of the decade so far. [Mark Wesley]
23. Men I Trust – Equus Caballus
The Quebec group Men I Trust followed up 2021’s Untourable Album with two records this year they have been low-key touring for the last few years. While Equus Asinus was low-key, contemplative, and takes longer to reveal its strengths, its counterpart Equus Caballus is immediate and gripping, and their strongest album to date.
The album is anchored by three singles issued over the past few years: 2022’s propulsive “Billie Toppy”, 2023’s sophisticated “Ring of Past”, and 2024’s slinky “Husk”. These familiar songs provide a foundation for a mix of aching sophisti-pop like “Come Back Down” and “In My Years” and breakneck post-punk like “Where I Sit” and “Worn Down”. As always Emmanuelle Proulx is the center of the Men I Trust experience, with her cool, detached vocals laying on top of the band’s swirling dream pop and indie rock. Equus Caballus feels like the culmination of the last decade of Men I Trust, stands as the band’s greatest achievement to date. [Ryan Gibbs]
22. Rocket – R is for Rocket
Rocket don’t re-invent the wheel on their debut full length album. Instead, they tap into the depths of ’90s grunge, shoegaze, and alternative rock and create a record that could have come out in 1995 instead of 2025. The Los Angeles quartet shine on fuzzy bangers like “Another Second Chance”, “One Million”, and “Act Your Title” with hooks that sound radio ready. R is for Rocket isn’t just a nostalgia trip for a year filled with them. It makes the case that there’s still a lot new to be found in a well-trodden sound that seems fresh after so long in the wilderness. On R is for Rocket, Rocket prove themselves to be an exciting band to watch in a space that has been waiting for something new. [Ryan Gibbs]
21. Militarie Gun – God Save the Gun
If you told me at the beginning of the year that Militarie Gun would be one of my top artists for 2025, I wouldn’t have believed you. But God Save the Gun dropped at the eleventh hour and changed my mind. This album served as the perfect catalyst for them to be recognized as standouts in the alt-rock genre, not only in 2025 but also in the years to come. The hooks on God Save the Gun are some of the best lyrical writing I’ve heard in a long while. Militarie Gun explores themes in such a raw way through their lyrics that it feels like I was listening in on something private. The album as a whole is well-written, catchy, and one that sits with you long after listening to it. [Kayla Chu]
20. The Beths – Straight Line Was a Lie
The Beths have been one of the most consistent bands in indie rock, with their jangly guitars and catchy choruses positioning themselves as heirs to their native New Zealand’s storied Dunedin Sound. Naturally, their fourth album Straight Line Was a Lie continues their winning streak, with a set of ten songs that range from pure jangle bliss (“Metal”) to quiet contemplation (“Mother Pray for Me”) and shuffling early 90s Madchester dance-rock (“Best Laid Plans”). The album is a solid, fun, and rewarding entry into the Beths’ discography. Fans of chiming indie rock shouldn’t miss out on giving this one a spin. [Ryan Gibbs]
19. Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
Short n’ Sweet was just about perfect, but when Man’s Best Friend has a slight misfire, it’s because it’s trying something new. Her confidence grows and grows, and though that mostly manifests in her persona, it’s paying musical dividends, too. Getting turned on just by a guy doing the responsible minimum (doing the dishes, assembling a chair from IKEA, etc) is a bit funny, but probably not good enough for one of the big singles, but it’s a disco-lite jam so buttery smooth that it doesn’t matter.
Cuts beyond the first two singles keep worming their way into the public consciousness: “Nobody’s Son,” “When Did You Get Hot?,” and secret weapon bop “House Tour.” If this is her baseline – and I think this is the weakest of her three most recent albums – we can expect an absolute avalanche of great material from her in the years to come. It’s not like it sounds difficult or even effortful for her. [Joey Daniewicz]
18. Cloakroom – Last Leg of the Human Table
The grungy guitars, the staticky production, and the soft and sweeping vocals of lead singer Doyle Martin come together to create the distinctive sonic cues of the latest from the band Cloakroom. Last Leg of the Human Table, their fourth studio album, pulsates with their shoegaze instrumentation and meditative songwriting.
The album does an excellent job of highlighting the many ways the band operates within the genre while maintaining a steady, cohesive sound. It adopts a broad sonic palette that allows them to explore the grander themes the album touts, such as grappling with the end times, while maintaining a level of levity. Despite the melancholy they sing about, this isn’t a somber affair. Peppered with instrumental interludes, the album strikes the right balance between darker themes and vibrant production and vocals. The blending of songs “Bad Larry” and “Story of the Egg” beautifully captures this dichotomy of sound and story, with stunning cohesion and shifts in style.
“Unbelonging” is the clear standout, the north star of the album, that guides the band’s sound. As they sing about the inevitability of life and the cursory way we deal with fallout, the song finds a buzzy sonic backdrop that alleviates the content. “The sky is gonna fall if it’s gonna fall down.” Missteps and grievances find us all; whatever happens happens. Cloakroom comforts us with its beautiful atmosphere and pulsating peaks. [Quinn Parulis]
17. Great Grandpa – Patience, Moonbeam
The beauty in an album like Patience, Moonbeam lies in its versatility. The third album from Great Grandpa is not afraid to get weird and venture into new, engaging territories. Whether it’s the folksy sing-a-long storytelling of “Junior” or the buzzy synths of “Ladybug”, the Seattle band leaves it all on the table. Even with the refreshing experimentation and occasional dark subject matter, there is a dramatic flare that makes these songs incredibly engaging.
Album opener “Sleep” ushers us into the experience with a beautiful array of strings that feels like the curtains rising on a theatrical performance. The aforementioned “Junior” seemingly tells the story of group of troublemakers committing a series of crimes under the bright night sky. It’s stunning, truly stunning. This is a beguiling record full of beautiful storytelling, expertly crafted musicianship, and a deceptively simple approach to songwriting. These elements add up to a record that is an undeniable indie rock highlight. [Mark Wesley]
16. Hayley Williams – Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party
Hayley Williams’ third album was first released into the world as 20 songs that fans could place in any order they wish. A few more tracks and a proper tracklisting came later, but it was thrilling to try out different permutations. It helped that Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party is Williams’ best set of solo material yet, with raging punk rockers like “Mirtazapine”, larks like “Discovery Channel”, and meditations on Nashville like the title track. “Parachute”, one of the tracks added later, is an expansive new wave song and one of the best songs Williams has ever written in or out of Paramore. Time will tell if she ever regroups with her band, but based on the quantity and quality of tracks Williams offered this year, she’ll be one of the brightest names in alternative rock for years to come. [Ryan Gibbs]
15. Backxwash – Only Dust Remains
Only Dust Remains, the fifth album by Zambian-Canadian rapper Backxwash, is a heavy journey through some serious subject matter. Continuing to interrogate the same subject matter as on prior releases – her relationship with Christianity as a black transgender woman as well as musings on trauma, political history and mental health – here we are presented not only with some of her finest lyricism to date but also a much more varied and expressive sonic palette than ever before.
While its feet are still firmly planted in the horrorcore side of rap, the past injections of heavy metal dissonance have been tuned down for the sake of synths and a focus on melody, with choruses this time around that are as likely to get stuck in your head as they are in your heart. An remarkable album by an important musician who messages deserve to be heard by as wide an audience as possible, Only Dust Remains is Backxwash pulling back just enough of the curtain to let in a bit of light. [Quinn Parulis]
14. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island
When a band drops 27 albums in the span of 13 years, you would think that the latest one might sound a bit repetitive. Phantom Island by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard doesn’t fall victim to this, standing as a strong conceptual album despite being a follow-up to 2024’s Flight b741. Incorporating an orchestra was, in my humble opinion, a spectacular twist to the album upon first listen, especially when I questioned what the band might do to keep listeners interested. The addition of these sounds truly amped up the album and brought it to a higher place in my rankings than it would have been otherwise. The King Gizzard members must have made some wild deal with the devil to keep pumping out albums like this each year. [Kayla Chu]
13. Ninajirachi – I Love My Computer
It’s hard to feel optimistic about technology these days. Our social media feeds are flooded with an endless wall AI slop and brain rot. The biggest leaders in tech are bending the knee to fascism, thus making those said social platforms basically unusable. It’s sometimes impossible to not doom scroll for hours a day after seeing the daily news. No one would blame you if you saw no future in the world of technology. And yet, in 2025, an album by the name of I Love My Computer comes in and creates a tidal wave of nostalgia and hope.
Nina Wilson’s debut album as Ninajirachi is a love letter to, well, the computer. Yet, it’s the kind of love letter that aims not to sanitize, but embrace the nuance of the subject itself. Our computers can be used for absolute evil, but it’s almost a way for us to connect with each other across borders and language barriers, discover new forms of art and creativity, and learn more about ourselves. It allows new artists to bypass traditional means of creating and puts the power in their hands. Through 12 tracks of punchy 2010’s inspired EDM and electroclash, Ninajirachi explores the full spectrum of this wonderful technology; the good, the bad, and the inspiring. [Mark Wesley]
12. Oklou – Choke Enough
Choke Enough, the newest album by french electronic artist Oklou, is a difficult album to label. It is a record crafted with the ethos of electronic music; tracks are built around repetition of bubbling synths and glitchy Y2K era textures, but the build ups here never explode into cathartic raves. Those traditional genre indicators are pushed into the background in favor of icy dreamscapes that smother the hooks with foggy fragility. This all results in an album that is just as easy to focus on and engage with as it is to have sit in the background and let wash over you, a fusion that makes it either the world’s chillest hyperpop or most restless ambient album.
Equally cute and serious, this record functions best when taken as a whole, but that doesn’t stop Oklou from giving us a few bangers to latch onto – “Harvest Sky”’s hook is cool and infectious, and the sublime “Take Me By the Hand” features the liveliest Bladee feature in ages – but overall this album is an exercise in blending organic sounds with minimal trance soundscapes, resulting in songs like the lowkey and beautiful “Blade Bird” or “Endless”. A great album to zone out to without getting bored, Choke Enough is a must hear for fans of both pop and electronic music and one of the most exciting albums of the year so far. [Quinn Parulis]
11. Amaarae – Black Star
Listening to Black Star, the third album by the Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae, can leave you feeling like you’ve been taken on a sweaty and neon-colored carnival ride of sex, drugs and debaucheries. Structurally looser and sonically more playful than her prior releases, Amaarae has never sounded more confident7 or in control than she does here, and while each track is primed for soundtracking sweaty nights in the club, her pulling of influences from a variety of Black cultural genres and heritages has never been more on display. S.M.O., an ecstatic celebration of physical carnality, is the dance-pop song to beat this year, and the other four-on-the-floor bangers like “Fineshyte”, “Stuck Up” and “Starkilla” each offer remarkably different perspectives on what might be Black Star‘s most important thesis – even if you could find love in the club, should you? [Quinn Parulis]
10. Deafheaven – Lonely People with Power
2025 was the year for metal apparently. Deafheaven’s Lonely People With Power was banger of black metal after the band departed from the sound with their 2021 album, Infinite Granite. The album is, as a whole, blackgaze to a t. They blend the metal we know and love from them with the esoteric sounds you would expect in a science fiction movie. This return to form is exactly what fans needed from the band. It’s a punky, edgy sound with amazing, clarified vocals from George Clarke that make you want to scream along with him. There are also a handful of softer songs that fit seamlessly into the mix of things, only making it a more wellrounded album. [Kayla Chu]
9. Lily Allen – West End Girl
Listening to West End Girl is like walking through a museum, every display presenting a different facet of a marriage unwinding. In deep and painful detail, Lily Allen looks unflinchingly at the disintegration of her relationship– as the marriage grew distant and open, and grew to not be a marriage after all. “Ruminating” captures those 4am moments when a singular terrible thought keeps pounding in your head. “Dallas Major” is the song you play on the way back home after yet another miserable date, feeling hollower than ever. With this album, you confront the absolute devastation your life has turned into, and grab the reigns of the narrative. You didn’t choose the heartbreak, but you get to choose what now becomes of you. New Year, New You indeed. [Neha Nandakumar]
8. Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos
As someone who’s always appreciated but never truly flipped for Bad Bunny, probably the one big barrier for me (other than needing to appreciate his lyrics through the filter of online translations) has been that the reggaeton in his long-players can sort of bleed together after a while. So it’s great for me that, in his quest to concoct a love letter his Puerto Rico, he takes several musical left turns that keeps DeBí TiRaR MáS FOToS fresh and varied: “Estamos pa las cosas que valgan la pena/Ey, pa’l perreo, la salsa, la bomba y la plena/Chequéate la mía cómo es que suena.”
Of course, it’s not just the musical angle. There’s always something satisfying about an international pop star paying such intimate homage to their roots, and he goes a step further and confronts Puerto Rico’s relationship to an encroaching American imperialism on “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAII.” With that, Bad Bunny has concocted the perfect album to make his moment in the Super Bowl spotlight maximally confrontational. [Joey Daniewicz]
7. Wednesday – Bleeds
On their first album since their breakthrough Rat Saw God, Wednesday refine the things that made them a stand-out in the world of indie rock. Their mix of tender country and fuzzy indie rock has never sounded better on Bleeds, and Karly Hartzmann’s eye for details has never been sharper. There’s vivid lines on Bleeds about driving to the airport with the E brake on, bonfires stoked by leaf blowers, or a pitbull puppy pissing off a balcony.
Bleeds was recorded as the relationship between Hartzmann and guitarist MJ Lendermann ended, all while Lendermann’s own solo career has exploded and he has chosen to remain in the band and not tour. You can find hints of their break scattered throughout the album, but this is not a breakup record. Bleeds is a strong set of songs from one of the best bands of the 2020s, and a compelling snapshot of where rock is a quarter of the way through the 21st century. [Ryan Gibbs]
6. Rosalía – Lux
Lux, the fourth album by the Spanish genre-bending pop singer Rosalía, is a work of art that at first glance seems like it could be a situation where the context and conversation behind it overshadows its actual music. This is a fair expectation to have if you knew that leading up to its release it was being described as focusing on “feminine mystique, transformation, and spirituality” inspired by a global cornucopia of female saints and philosophers, was being sung in fourteen different languages, and contained in-depth collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra on nearly every track.
Part of the fun of Lux is seeing those expectations and contexts melt away as moments into the first track her choir-back vocals soars over an orchestral beat dropped with enough force to part the sea, a harmonizing display of unpredictability and entertainment fitting for an album with standout feature from queen of artpop herself, Björk. That unpredictability never settles over the course of the album’s runtime; the opening salvo of “Reliquia”, “Divinize”, and “Porcelana” seem nearly braggadocios in the ways they make nontraditional instrumentation and classical structuring fit so cleanly alongside modern pop/rap conventions, and later tracks like “La Perla”, “De Madrugá” or “La Rumba Del Perdón” move with purpose and liveliness, hopping genres, moods and tones without ever sacrificing the art and integrity of the Rosalia’s stratospheric vision. [Quinn Parulis]
5. Dijon – Baby
Dijon Duenas’ 2025 was full of highlights and accolades. Everything from collaborating with two high profile Justins (Beiber’s SWAG and Vernon’s SABLE, FABLE), appearing in Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterful epic One Battle After Another, and being nominated for his first ever Grammys. Dijon has always been at the bleeding edge of R&B and it seemed like this was the year that even the A-list were trying to get a piece. Like his partner-in-crime, Michael Gordon (aka Mk.gee), Dijon knows the secret to great music is authenticity, which he delivers in fits on his new album, Baby. This is an album about love and being a new parent, but to limit it to those scant descriptions would do this album a grave injustice.
Baby is about the overwhelming rush that comes with finding the love of your life after searching endlessly. It’s the feeling of finding home in another person and being able to finally recognize it even if you feel unsure whether or not it’s real. Maybe you feel like you don’t deserve it. But when you find it and it feels good, the emotions are inexplicable. Dijon was able to capture these feelings in a way that is damn near impossible to describe. And in doing so, he cements himself as the definitive R&B star of a generation.
In a feat of pure magic, the sonics underpinning this record are similarly difficult to explain. Drawing inspiration from Prince and Frank Ocean, Baby is a surreal collagist vision of what R&B could be. One that’s not bound by convention or worn out tropes. It’s some of the most forward thinking R&B you’ll ever hear. [Mark Wesley]
4. Geese – Getting Killed
People are all looking for the correct comparison point here. Cameron Winter’s voice, is that Julian Casablancas? Bob Dylan? Thom Yorke??? I do think there’s some of all of those happening here. Previous effort 3D Country was an album of schlock rock, so to me Getting Killed is more straight up rock and roll, but defined by its stone seriousness. Getting arty with perhaps too straight a face is a virtue/offense defined by Radiohead (whichever side of that you’re on), but you’ll also find songs as straightforward as the crop from Is This It or some Winter wisdom that sounds as sagely dumb as the “worst” lines from the Blonde On Blonde era.
But the real thing here is violence and beauty crashing together. Getting Killed is famous for its ending five-song run, where the gorgeous “Half Real” and “Au Pays du Cocaine” give way to a more and more feral mode of the band through the final three. By the end, Winter sounds like a biblical mouthpiece. Over the past decade, more and more of the best indie rock out there has come from solo acts, so I think the hosannahs for Geese have come because we finally have a band that’s not just great (we have Wednesday at home, after all), but that sounds confident and ambitious enough to finally make bands feel like anything other than a dying mode of musical creation. [Joey Daniewicz]
3. Japanese Breakfast – Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)
In the latest album from Japanese Breakfast, For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women), singer-songwriter Michelle Zauner grapples with the aftermath of divulging too much of one self. Consumed with the idea of melancholia, she distills this detached yet poignant energy through the album, which finds new sonic playgrounds for the artist to dabble in. There’s an immense confidence to the album that highlights the growth of a intuitive artist who understands the nature of finding oneself through music and then remaking oneself after laying themselves bare.
From ’90s-alt grunge, to clear Mazzy Star inspirations, and some folkish layers, Japanese Breakfast manages to deliver something deeply emotional even if it’s meant to be something less overly personal. Propulsive, poignant, and pulsating with whimsy teaming with haunting qualities, it’s yet another knock-out for a band that continues to delight in the unexpected. [Ally Johnson]
2. Deftones – Private Music
A new Deftones album wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card, but Private Music is my top album of the year. From the instrumentals, to the lyrics, to the connecting themes of the songs, this was a perfect album in my opinion. It’s a high energy album that, if you ask me, delivers on the very genres Deftones are known to be the standard for. My favorite part of the album is their lyric exploration throughout each song and how they connect not only with the one before it, but ones further up the songlist as well. Their resurgence into the mainstream with this album is enough to make even casual fans of the band happy. Private Music took me back to a simpler time of alternative metal, when it felt good to just jam out with our friends. [Kayla Chu]
1. PinkPantheress – Fancy That
We love to see a girl boss winning! Pinkpantheress dropped her second mixtape, Fancy That, is her best work yet and I don’t care who disagrees with me. The production on the mixtape is second to none, showing exactly how much she has grown in the last couple of years. She also shows off her ability to blend genres on the mixtape — making it flow seamlessly throughout the mixtape without it ever feeling awkward or forced. But, the best part about the whole thing is that it’s fun. Listening to Fancy That makes me want to dance around with friends, whether it’s in the car or the club. It’s a good time album that came out at the perfect time. [Kayla Chu]
