The 25 Best Albums of 2025
The very best albums from the year that brought us more incredible music than we knew what to do with.
This year has seen the music industry take some truly wild turns. From that Coldplay kiss-cam incident and Katy Perry’s zero-gravity singalong, to the baffling AI-versus-human songwriter showdown, it’s been… a lot.
But even after enduring more cultural whiplash than anyone ever asked for, ranking these albums might still be one of the hardest things we’ve done all year. Don’t worry, though – we rallied, we debated, and we voted to bring you our definitive list of the top 25 albums of 2025.
25. Post Animal – Iron
Upon relocating to Chicago in 2014, Dalton Allison and Matthew Williams met Jake Hirshland and Joe Keery and formed the psychedelic rock band Post Animal. Although Joe started as their drummer, Wesley Toledo joined in 2016, and Joe moved to guitar, before Javier Reyes joined in 2017, covering for Joe while he had acting commitments, until he officially became a member of the band. By 2018, with Stranger Things shooting him to fame he hadn’t quite anticipated, Joe bowed out of the band and left them to release their first album without him, Forward Motion Godyssey, in 2020 and then the follow-up, Love Gibberish, in 2022.
After leaving the band, Joe focused on his solo career, dropping his debut album Twenty Twenty in 2019, and donning a wig and glasses whilst performing on stage. Of course, his anonymity didn’t last long. Out of the band, Joe has very famously found success as Djo, especially with breakout single End of Beginning and 2025 album The Crux (rest assured, you’ll find it further down). Despite busying himself with numerous roles in TV shows and films like Fargo and Free Guy and working on his own solo material, Joe rejoined Post Animal in 2025 and worked on their new album, Iron.
As if he hadn’t left, Post Animal are back to their very best, with tracks like Last Goodbye and Pie in the Sky and, if you’re a fan of Djo, this album has plenty to love and sink your teeth into. Released on the cusp of summer, this album is a must-listen. 2025 saw the band open for Djo on his world tour, with Joe even joining them on several dates to perform with them once again.
24. Self Esteem – A Complicated Woman
Following her critically acclaimed sophomore album, Self Esteem (aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor) returns with a 12-track manifesto that embraces growth in all its contradictions on A Complicated Woman. Throughout the album, Taylor remains an artist who speaks with conviction while being unafraid to admit that she’s still just figuring it all out, and its that honesty that drives every moment on the record. Its bold blend of club-ready beats and choir-like crescendos revels in the messy realities of modern womanhood, celebrating empowerment without pretending it’s simple. Eternally grounded in Self Esteem’s ever-relatable lyrical candour, it’s both theatrical and tender – an unfiltered portrait of a woman claiming every complicated part of herself.
Read our full review of A Complicated Woman here.
23. Brògeal – Tuesday Paper Club
Although Celtic folk music has never disappeared, bands like Brògeal seem to have finally brought the playful genre to the attention of those south of Scotland and east of the Irish Sea. Blending folk and indie soundscapes with a classic punk attitude, the Falkirk band’s debut album displays their sonic diversity, engaging delivery and natural songwriting flair with ease. Filled with the raucous live-ready bangers that have become their standard, the album also sees the Scots embrace slower, more reflective tracks, highlighting that this rising band should not be pigeonholed.
22. The Murder Capital – Blindness
Blindness, the band’s third album, is The Murder Capital at their most self-assured. Recorded in three weeks with John Congleton, it blends the raw force of their debut with the introspection of Gigi’s Recovery and sharpens both into something urgent and immediate.
Singles like Words Lost Meaning capture the album’s emotional core; grappling with identity, distance and the collapse of language, while revealing a looser, more agile band. It’s their most cohesive and confident statement yet: an album that stands firmly in the present and pushes their sound forward with a purpose.
(Words by Amelia Thompson)
21. Wednesday – Bleeds
Wednesday’s Bleeds captures heartbreak and vulnerability in its most unruly form, twisting personal confessions into something jagged, haunting and strangely beautiful. Vocalist Karly Hartzman’s storytelling feels ripped straight from real life, every scene amplified by bursts of distortion, skewed country twang and melodies that don’t bother smoothing their edges. The band barrels through sounds like they’re chasing the truth, letting chaos and tenderness collide, but it’s in the quieter corners where the album lands its hardest blows. Tracks like Elderberry Wine, The Way Love Goes, and Carolina Murder Suicide carry the record’s emotional core, stitching together life’s contradictions in flashes of tragedy and dark humour. Raw, imperfect and intensely human, Bleeds is a record that couldn’t feel more real.
20. NewDad – Altar
Mixing their signature gloomy soundscape with sharper edges, broader textures and newfound emotional clarity, NewDad grapple with homesickness, sacrifice and the tension between leaving and belonging on their latest record. Exploring what’s been lost as much as what’s been gained, Altar doesn’t shy away from the struggles of change but discovers beauty in the rubble. Characterised by the band’s lush guitar palette, bass-heavy mixes and Julie Dawson’s sweet but haunting vocals, the album is fierce, full and unmistakably their own.
Read our full review of Altar here.
19. Maruja – Pain to Power
With heavy, staccato rhythms, saxophone laments, and taut bursts of energy, Maruja’s Pain to Power distils the raw intensity of their live show into a debut record that thrives in the cracks between jazz, punk and noise-rock. Rather than relying on simple quiet-loud dynamics, the album moves instinctively between tense, rage-fuelled anthems and reflective meditations; all steered by spoken-word lyrics that champion empathy and solidarity. Moshing against exploitation one moment and compassionately urging you to open up the next, Pain to Power ignites a fire in the belly while quietly tending to the heart.
18. Spacey Jane – If That Makes Sense
Leaning into the opposing forces of forgiveness and anger, love and breakdown, If That Makes Sense doesn’t try to make sense of conflicting feelings but chooses to bloom in emotional confusion.
Full of jangly guitars and earworm choruses, the record sees the indie-rock quartet explore the previously unfamiliar fringes of their sun-speckled sound in a way that feels both musically self-assured and entirely grounded.
Read our full review of If That Makes Sense here.
17. Divorce – Drive to Goldenhammer
On their debut album, Divorce prove they’re a band bursting with confidence and curiosity. One moment they sink into tender, folk-tinged introspection, the next they surge forward with jagged riffs or grunge-leaning bite. While the interplay between Tiger Cohen-Towell’s ethereal vocals and Felix Mackenzie-Barrow’s richer tones gives the album its magnetic push-and-pull, it’s the record’s undeniable warmth that ties every stylistic leap together. Witty and heartfelt, their songwriting embraces vulnerability as easily as it skewers pretension, finding real charm in constant motion.
16. CMAT – EURO-COUNTRY
Released back in August and first announced in March with the dazzling lead single Running/Planning, CMAT’s third album sees self-proclaimed Dunboyne Diana expand her alt-country universe into something louder, stranger and even more emotionally incisive.
EURO-COUNTRY blends glittering pop drama, Nashville sway and her trademark razor-sharp storytelling. Fresh from a Mercury Prize nomination and a widely-discussed Pyramid Stage Glastonbury performance that confirmed her status as a once-in-a-generation show-woman, she and her ‘very sexy CMAT Band’ remain one of the most unmissable live acts touring right now.
(Words by Amelia Thompson)
15. Legss – Unreal
Legss’ debut album embraces sweeping movements and lush melodies, seeing them move towards a more accessible sound while still maintaining the unpredictability and bite that’s always defined them. Merging intricate guitars and disquieting monologues with a rhythm section that’s both technical and unruly, the album’s themes of miscommunication and unreality are ironically communicated with coherence, clarity and intelligence despite the record’s wholly unique sound.
14. The Amazons – 21st Century Fiction
21st Century Fiction marks The Amazons’ heaviest and strongest work to date. Pushing into alt-rock territory with some of their filthiest, most overdriven guitar tones, the album tackles dissatisfaction, fraying promises of stability and the chaotic reality of staying afloat in the modern world. The result is a sharply honed, confidently delivered collection that captures the full breadth of their sound at full force. And with so much electric energy coursing through each track, it’s the kind of record that’s practically begging to be experienced at full volume in the crowd.
13. Inhaler – Open Wide
From the driving beat of album opener Eddie in the Darkness, to the groove-ridden Concrete, Open Wide is a noticeably slick record that marks a giant leap forward for the Irish 4-piece. Thanks to its squeaky-clean production and dynamic listening experience, each track feels like an elevated version of Inhaler’s signature brand of indie soft rock. More than just another guitar record, it’s a blissed-out collection of tracks that are just as comforting as they are festival-ready.
12. Laufey – A Matter of Time
As always, Laufey’s third album is for the lovers. Bringing classic genres like jazz-pop and bossa nova to the fore, A Matter of Time goes down constantly engaging melodic paths while also challenging what we expect from Laufey as an artist. With soft, yet dramatic vocals, instrumental variety and striking lyricism, the Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter delves into the often-uncomfortable experiences of being head-over-heels in love and completely broken-hearted, seamlessly shifting between lighter and darker atmospheres to avoid romanticisation and explore some of society’s more trying themes.
11. Courting – Lust for Life, Or : ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’
Courting’s third album in three years finds the genre-defying quartet hitting their experimental sweet spot. Across eight twin-tracked songs that play out in under 30 minutes, the band blends streamlined rock and pop with more experimental elements, capturing their raucous live energy without ever losing their instinct for melody. With mirrored motifs, two-toned artwork and a clear creative vision, Lust for Life… proves there’s power in brevity and boldness.
Read our interview with Courting here.
10. shame – Cutthroat
Channelling the red-hot chaos of their live shows, the London post-punk band’s fourth album is their rawest and noisiest yet. Frontman Charlie Steen’s sharp wit and deadpan delivery cut through a series of vivid character studies that balance confrontation with unexpected empathy, all while retaining the band’s trademark onstage volatility.
9. The Last Dinner Party – From the Pyre
The Last Dinner Party’s debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy, had already set the bar at heavenly heights, but their new record is darker, bolder and more ambitious than anything they’ve done before. The album is packed with huge, dramatic alt-rock moments and sharp reflections on what it actually feels like to be thrust into the spotlight so quickly. It’s the sound of a band fully embracing their momentum, distilling their theatricality into a more defined vision and pushing their artistry to exhilarating new extremes.
Read our full review of From The Pyre here.
8. Djo – The Crux
The Crux sees Djo pay tribute to the music he loves, but in a way that still feels fresh and totally his. The sound is fuller and more instrumentally diverse than his earlier synth-heavy projects – there’s lots of pianos, intricate guitars and gorgeous 60s and 70s pop style harmonies – allowing him to balance intimate, reflective moments with bursts of pure, unfiltered joy. It’s a real showcase of how far he’s come as an artist.
Read our full review of The Crux here.
7. Viagra Boys – viagr aboys
While still taking aim at the world’s madness like they usually do, these songs see the Swedish band become slightly more introspective as they home in on the weird, stupid, everyday stuff we all get stuck in. Sebastian Murphy’s lyrics bounce between hilarious and genuinely reflective, sometimes in the same line, and the band matches that energy with some of their most eclectic compositions yet. You get everything from spacious ballads to electro-rock anthems to full-on jazz-punk chaos. It’s Viagra Boys at their most raw, unfiltered and brilliantly unpredictable.
6. Geese – Getting Killed
With its jagged, unpredictable compositions, Getting Killed is easily one of the strangest, boldest and most compelling rock albums of the year. Cameron Winter’s warped vocals slice through tense, paranoid bursts and surprisingly tender moments, as the band explore an unconventional groove-driven approach to songwriting. It’s an album that shows exactly why this band’s fiercely experimental spirit is carrying them towards cult superstardom.
Read our full review of Getting Killed here.
5. Olivia Dean – The Art of Loving
Diving into love in all its forms – self-love, friendships and romantic love – each track on The Art of Loving feels like a little reminder that love isn’t just a feeling, it’s something we learn, unlearn, and keep figuring out. Olivia Dean moves effortlessly between upbeat pop, moody ballads, and soulful grooves, all wrapped in this rich yet understated production. From her smooth, honeyed vocals to arrangements that sit somewhere between neo-soul and classic jazz, The Art of Loving is a stunning album that feels both deeply personal and completely relatable.
Read our full review of The Art of Loving here.
4. Turnstile – NEVER ENOUGH
NEVER ENOUGH sees Turnstile become more playful than ever. Chunky guitars and pit-driving rhythms collide with bright, pop-friendly melodies, making it a surprisingly accessible album without losing any of its hardcore edge. Created through effortless experimentation, the album’s explosive energy and razor-sharp rhythms serve as a reminder that Turnstile remain ahead of the curve.
3. Sam Fender – People Watching
On his third album, Sam Fender expands his sound in some really exciting ways. Big, stadium-ready rock anthems — still carrying that unmistakable Springsteen influence — sit alongside quieter, slow-burning reflections like the hauntingly beautiful Remember My Name. Fender’s lyrics remain as direct and relatable as ever, showing his skill in distilling huge topics into deeply personal, human stories. It’s his most cohesive, ambitious and emotional album yet, and a prime example of his ability to turn everyday moments into something cinematic.
2. Hayley Williams – Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
Despite being a sprawling 20-track journey through grief, heartbreak, and self-discovery, Hayley Williams’ third solo album never once feels repetitive. Jumping across subgenres, from dream pop to pop-rock, she shows off her insane vocal range while never holding back emotionally. It’s her most fearless, personal, and compelling work yet — and honestly, you’ll feel every word.
Read our full review of Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party here.
1. Wolf Alice – The Clearing
Wolf Alice have done it again, stepping into a new era with total intention on The Clearing. The band swap some of the raw, fast-paced energy of their earlier stuff for slower, more layered compositions, but the impact is just as powerful. Blending 70s rock influences with crisp, timeless production, the album manages to feel completely vintage while still brimming with fresh ideas. Plain and simply, Wolf Alice just keep getting better with every record.
Read our full review of The Clearing here.