Too often in covering the music business, the discussions we have about what is worthy of a listen are steeped in whether or not something has Grammy buzz or charting potential. While there’s certainly value in discussing that aspect of music releases, there’s something to be said about discussing the music we actually listen to.
When selecting a song to add to a playlist, is the track’s Grammy potential top of mind? Likely not. But the catchy chorus, the hook you just can’t get out of your head or the outro being played on a loop likely is.
Instead of endeavoring to list out the best albums of the year — plenty of people already are — we’re going to talk about the albums that we found ourselves going back to again and again.
Music editor Ethan Millman leaned mainly alternative this year, whether that was alt-country with Carter Faith and Cherry Valley or alt-rock with Wet Leg’s Moisturizer and Turnstile’s Never Enough. And for all the talk about hip-hop’s growing chart struggles, rap is well-represented too between Earl Sweatshirt’s wildly underrated Live Laugh Love and Clipse’s groundbreaking Let God Sort Em Out, the only record on our list contending for the album of the year Grammy this February.
For assistant editor Nicole Fell, all roads led back to pop this year, whether that was Zara Larsson’s brightly colored second act, Midnight Sun, K-pop powerhouse ATEEZ’s earnest push into the U.S. market, Golden Hour : Part 3, In Your Fantasy Edition or J-pop rising stars, F5ve. While Laufey’s A Matter of Time proved to be a career defining moment for the Icelandic singer, Little Mix alum Jade finally had her big breakout moment with That’s Showbiz Baby.
Take a deeper dive into our favorite albums of 2025.
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Cherry Valley — Carter Faith
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Cherry Valley is stunning. The album is a delightful bit of whiplash as the the 25-year-old rising Nashville act weaves effortlessly between devastating, string-laden ballads and funny, cheeky tracks about doing drugs, scorning shitty friends and moving on from relationships.
Sonically, the easiest way to describe Cherry Valley is as if Kacey Musgraves made a Sabrina Carpenter-inspired Dolly Parton record. Faith’s lyrics are contemporary, but the music lends itself to a more classic country sound, and each track feels like a love letter to the music that’s influenced her. Faith evokes Elvis on the heartbreaking “Changed,” Musgraves on the clever “Sails,” and crafts a sort of modern “Jolene” on standout “Betty.” She even gets a Billy Bob Thornton co-sign as the Landman actor starred in her music video for single “Bar Star.”
Don’t be surprised by a Carter Faith breakout in 2026. She’s taking Cherry Valley on tour next year, and outside of music, she’s also set to star opposite Jessica Chastain in the Netflix film Heartland.
As far as Cherry Valley goes, If there’s a better album that’s come out in the past few years, I’m yet to hear it. — E.M. -
Midnight Sun — Zara Larsson
Image Credit: Sommer House/Epic Records
Without a doubt, 2025 has been a game changing year for Swedish pop star Zara Larsson. The 28-year-old has had several hits throughout her career but her latest album, Midnight Sun, stands in its own league.
By her own admission, the 10-track album is the most authentically Larsson album she’s ever put out. After her viral TikTok moment with “Symphony,” the singer decided to embrace the glitter and dolphins, diving head first into a bright and colorful aesthetic for Midnight Sun. It works perfectly alongside Larsson’s dance-pop tracks.
The album’s titular track is a delight — it’s endlessly catchy and downright addictive. “Blue Moon,” a dreamy dance-pop is a mellow, sleeper hit. But the track that’s most likely to play on loop in the heads of listeners is the pitch perfect summer song, “Eurosummer.” It’s likely this will be a song that carries over into next summer — given this album came out in September. — N.F.
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Moisturizer — Wet Leg
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It’s hard to recreate the moment Wet Leg had when they burst onto the scene with viral singles “Wet Dream” and “Chaise Longue” back in 2021, yet the Isle of White alt-rockers managed to come back this year with a deeper, more complete sophomore effort in Moisturizer. They’ve still got that signature cheekiness that defined their first record, but Moisturizer is much more earnest too, filled with love songs both saccharine (“Davina McCall”) and aggressively horny (“Pillow Talk”) as frontwoman Rhian Teasdale found love as she discovered her own queer identity. Moisturizer’s everything you want out of this band: Fun, hard-charging, sweet and sour. — E.M.
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Golden Hour : Part 3, In Your Fantasy Edition — ATEEZ
Image Credit: KQ Entertainment
Boy group ATEEZ continues to push boundaries in the K-pop ecosystem, and Golden Hour: Part 3 — originally released in June before being repackaged as a full-length album with 10 new tracks in July — is the group at its finest.
The first single, “Lemon Drop,” is a near-perfect K-pop summer track, but the real star of the album is the repackage single “In Your Fantasy.” It’s the first English-language single for the eight-member group, which consists of members Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho. It’s a bit more risqué than the average K-pop single — “I know what you into / Baby, got a type / Yeah, I could be gentle / But that ain’t what you like” and “Good girl, now you’re not so sure” come to mind — but that’s one of the reasons the song works. It’s also just intoxicating. — N.F.
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Never Enough — Turnstile
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It’s 2025, and rock and roll isn’t dead. If you’re looking for proof, look no further than Turnstile’s Never Enough. On tracks like “I Care” and “Light Design” The Baltimore hardcore group have proven themselves as one of the most versatile outfits in the genre, incorporating pop-punk and synth-driven pop between the more typical high-octane guitar riffs and heavy vocals. Longer-time fans have been in the know for years, but it’s nice to see the rest of the world figuring it out too. Beyond their new chart highs and Grammy noms, the biggest victory for Turnstile this year is less tangible than all that: for the first time in many years, a rock band is the coolest musical act on the planet. — E.M.
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That’s Showbiz Baby — Jade
Image Credit: RCA Records
It’s always exciting to see a well deserved breakthrough, but it feels a little extra special to see Jade’s That’s Showbiz Baby. The British former girl group member (long live Little Mix) ushered in her solo era with the album’s first single, “Angel of My Dreams,” one of the best pop songs released last year.
That’s Showbiz Baby’s second track, “IT Girl,” is where the album finds its title and just might be the thesis for this era in Jade’s career. She is certainly portraying the pop IT girl we should only be so lucky to experience.
“Before You Break My Heart,” “Midnight Cowboy” and “Self Saboteur” are also standout moments on the album. If 2025 was the year Jade finally got the recognition she deserves, here’s to hoping 2026 is the year she makes her way into the main pop girl rotation. — N.F.
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Live Laugh Love, Earl Sweatshirt
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In a streaming era that’s given way to no shortage of unnecessarily bloated albums over the past decade, Earl Sweatshirt is consistently a breath of fresh air. Like much of the rapper’s discography, his fifth album Live Laugh Love comes in quick at just 24 minutes long — “I don’t want to waste people’s time,” Earl previously told Pitchfork of his proclevity cutting to the chase — but he makes the most of every moment, dropping his most impressive project in nearly a decade. With clever bars matched to a beautiful set of eclectic beats from Theravada, Earl quietly released one of the best rap albums of 2025. — E.M.
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A Matter of Time — Laufey
Image Credit: AWAL
Laufey simply can’t be pinned down. Is she a jazz singer? Is she a pop singer? Frankly, who cares? She’s an insanely talented singer-songwriter, and she’s built a career waffling between genres.
A Matter of Time, her most ambitious release yet, is one of the most listenable albums of the year. From the melodic and heartbreaking single “Snow White,” to the quirky-meets-spunky “Lover Girl,” the 14-track album takes listeners along through the trials and tribulations of love and heartbreak, mostly the latter.
In a smart change of pace, standout track “Castle in Hollywood” explores one of the most gut-wrenching breakups a 26-year-old can experience — the loss of a friendship. Laufey at one-point refers to the song’s subject as the “best worst friend” she’s ever had, but the lyrics that stick around post-listen have to be: “My first heartbreak / Marked the end of my girlhood / We’ll never go back to our Castle In Hollywood.” — N.F.
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Let God Sort Em Out — Clipse
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It took 16 years for Clipse to follow up 2009’s Til the Casket Drops, and Malice and Pusha T didn’t lose a step with Let God Sort Em Out, weaving effortlessly between boisterous — “the only Audi here is driven by my au pair,” Push raps on “POV” — and devastating, with the brothers kicking off their album with the contemplative “The Birds Don’t Sing” about the death of their parents. “It just doesn’t go away,” Pusha T told THR earlier this year of the grief he and Malice still face. “Some days are better than others. Some mornings, it’s fine. Other mornings, it’s tears in the shower. Some shows, it’s fine performing it. Some rehearsals, it’s not. It’s just random times where it strikes you more than others. It’s kind of like a disbelief when I feel like “damn. I’m really singing this song and it’s real.”
Combine the duo’s ambition with strong production from longtime collaborator Pharrell, plus a dispute and breakup with Def Jam to even get the album out, and Let God Sort Em Out became one of the most exciting moments in music this year, bar none. — E.M.
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Sequence 01.5 — F5ve
Image Credit: Three Six Zero Recordings
Perhaps the most exciting Japanese act in the business right now, girl group F5ve is challenging the preconceived notion of what a J-pop group looks and sounds like. Hitmaker BloodPop serves as F5ve’s executive music producer, shaping the often-experimental sound of the girl group, which includes members Sayaka, Kaede, Ruri, Miyuu and Rui.
Sequence 01.5, the deluxe version of their debut studio album Sequence 01, earned a spot over its preceder thanks to the single “I Choose You.” It’s dreamy, just-right-amount of saccharine, and it’s so different from much of the music F5ve makes, showing a promising range.
However, nothing tops the A.G. Cook-produced “UFO,” released in late 2024 as a pre-release single. Charli XCX is right — I am “gon’ jump if A.G. made it” because “UFO” is, well, out of this world. It’s addictive, unique and it’s set F5ve off on a new path as a group. That future looks endlessly bright. — N.F.
