2025 has been a successful year for music overall, with new musicians rising to fame and some of my favorite albums of all time being released. As 2025 nears its end, I thought it would be appropriate to curate a list of my personal favorite albums of this year, in no particular order.
“EUSEXUA” by FKA Twigs
Twigs released the third album of her career, “EUSEXUA”, on Jan. 24 of this year, later releasing the deluxe version entitled “EUSEXUA Afterglow” just a few weeks ago. “EUSEXUA” is some of Twigs’ strongest work to date. With genre-bending tracks such as its title track “EUSEXUA,” as well as “STRIPTEASE,” the album creates songs that make you feel like you’re practically floating. Brimming with themes of to its listener in only 42 minutes across 11 tracks.
“Perverts” by Ethel Cain
Next, we have Ethel Cain, a character created by the singer and songwriter Hayden Anhedönia, who appears twice on this list with her sophomore album “Perverts.” Released on Jan. 8, “Perverts” is more of an experience than a traditional album. While the songs are long and may drone on, the meanings behind not only the songs, but also the album itself make it worth the listen with themes of religious struggles, suffering, love, lust and dissociation all tied into one.
Featuring tracks such as “Vacillator” and my personal favorite, “Punish,” Ahnedonia shows just how versatile she truly can be. While the long, sometimes even annoying songs can be an acquired taste and even disturbing to some, they all carry the pure weight and beauty Anhedonia truly wanted portrayed.
“LUX” by Rosalia
Rosalia is already known as a powerful vocalist, songwriter and musician, and “LUX” really enhanced these characterizing features. Unlike the playful sound of her previous album “MOTOMAMI,” which featured songs such as “BIZCOCHITO” and “CHICKEN TERIYAKI,” “LUX” showed us a rawer, unfiltered version of the Spanish singer.
Released on Nov. 7, songs like “BERGHAIN” and “Divinize,” helps Rosalia to give listeners an extremely powerful and instrumental album. Features from names like Björk, Yves Tumor, Dougie F and others further enhance this album’s quality. The raw and emotional sound and lyrics solidifies it as one of my favorites of this year. “LUX” reminded us just who Rosalia was, earning its rightful spot on this list.
“Willoughby Tucker, I Will Always Love You” by Ethel Cain
As promised, Ethel Cain is making her second appearance on this list with “Willoughby Tucker, I Will Always Love You.” Released on Aug. 8, this album returns to her slow, sad and gothic sound. This whole project just rips your heart out of your chest, from love songs like “Dust Bowl” to absolutely devastating tracks like “Tempest” and “Waco, Texas.”
Ahnedonia makes you feel all the emotion and dedication she put into the songs, and portrays a story throughout the album so well that even people who have no prior background on the artist can easily decipher the themes and story.
“MAYHEM” by Lady Gaga
Finishing off strong, we have “MAYHEM” by Lady Gaga. This album, released on March 7, revisited Gaga’s old sound and style, which I found very satisfying and nostalgic. I grew up listening to Gaga, so hearing her go back to the same style as her very first album “The Fame” definitely healed a little bit of my inner child. With tracks such as “Abracadabra,” “Disease” and “Garden of Eden,” this piece evokes nostalgia in all of the right ways.
Honorable Mentions:
“Smoochies” by Ashnikko: An energetic electronic album that throws listeners for a loop while maintaining a catchy rhythm throughout.
“PRODUCT” by SOPHIE: A postmortem album from the late experimental artist featuring some unreleased songs as well as some of her old work.
“Man’s Best Friend” by Sabrina Carpenter: A pop record with many catchy hits that will get you up and moving.
“Tsunami Sea” by Spiritbox: A heavy rock/metal album that delivers great instrumentals, vocals and screams, but also presents listeners with a lot of emotion.
“Virgin” by Lorde: The long-awaited album after years that didn’t disappoint, with heavy emotions and sounds similar to her very first release, “Pure Heroin,” with bits of the artist experimenting scattered throughout.
“So Close to What?” by Tate McRae: An extremely catchy album with tracks ranging from being reminiscent of early 2000s music to absolutely gut-wrenching.
“choke enough” by Oklou: An experimental and ethereal album, reminiscent of the aforementioned “EUSEXUA,” with quirky instrumentals that will put you in an extremely relaxed state.
2025 was an all-around great year for music, and I am extremely excited to see what 2026 has in store. With that said, same time next year?