The best albums of the year 2025

Here are the 30 best albums released in 2025.

Skiddle Staff

Last updated: 24th Dec 2025

Just like that, 2025 has come to a close. It has been another year of brilliant music: lets be honest, it's hard to have a bad one. So many creative people across the world are pouring their energy into new music, to the point where it's impossible to keep up with absolutely everything. There have been some real gems this year, from the realms of electronic to pop music, indie and hip-hop.

Here are our picks for the best albums of 2025, some of which you might have missed and we couldn't recommend enough. Check them out below.

30. Kettama - Archangel

The Irish DJ/ producer has come a long way when it comes to fine tuning his sound, and Archangel is the perfect blend that has taken KETTAMA to a whole new level. Archangel gives a direct insight into KETTAMA’s Galway origins, a common through-line in the DJ/ producer's second album since 2023. With Archangel starting off with the unexpected yet settling title track featuring Sølv, the first half of the album takes a crack at exploring rap in an authentic way. However it’s not long before KETTAMA reaches out to his underground roots, with collaborations featuring Fred Again.., DJ HEARTSTRING, and Interplanetary Criminal. With a rich 15 track collection, this is worth the listen. (Leah Finch)

Find tickets for KETTAMA here

29. Rainy Miller - Joseph, What Have You Done?

Preston-born and Salford-based, Rainy Miller’s Joseph, What Have You Done? is part traumatic confessional, part exploration of ambient’s darker, heavier edges - all soaked in a uniquely Northern downpour.

That rain seeps into the graffiti-stained concrete of Miller’s self-described “Northern Gothic” aesthetic: from the prophetic griminess of opener ‘Mud in My Mouth (Predetermined Definitions)’ to the deeply localised spirit of ‘Then Casts Shadows, From Afar (A6 – Pendleton).’ You’d be forgiven for thinking the record exists solely in the downtrodden, but when the junglist breaks of ‘Chrome. Hallowed Be.’ erupt, they bring flashes of lift and resilience. The sound of someone clawing toward the light. Deeply personal, gritty underground poetry from one of Salford’s most incisive innovators. (Tom Hirst)

28. Lily Allen - West End Girl

What’s better than a little bit of gossip? We all love a spilling of the tea, and Lily Allen’s West End Girl is a tell all look into her relationship with Stranger Things star David Harbour. What you can take away from this album is that David Harbour is a deceitful, untrustworthy, truly dark spirited and twisted man. Detailing his affair with another woman, the album drops red flags before the mic drop moment of “And who the f*** is Madeline?” on the song ‘Tennis’.

Lyrically, it’s shocking, so rarely is the personal details of a celebrity marriage aired out. But, that isn’t to say the album solely relies on shock value, as it deals with Allen’s sense of self in the wake of such betrayal, and how she was trying to be an example to her daughters of what love could look like. Instrumentally, it was recorded over just ten days and you can tell in parts, but lyrically, this album is something you just cannot look away from. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Lily Allen here

27. Barker - Stochastic Drift

One of the preeminent electronic producers on the planet, Berlin-based Barker builds on the experimental techno of 2019’s Utility with Stochastic Drift, his second full-length that feels uniquely tailored to his boundary-pushing fashion.

On this record, the security of a fixed bass drum is nowhere to be found; instead, anarchic waves of ambient pulses and seductive synths form the foundations on which its unorthodox grooves are built. And yet, it still feels tantalisingly percussive, a testament to Barker’s ephemeral, detail-rich production style. Stochastic Drift is the sound of a producer fully in command of his vision, pushing forward with quiet confidence and thrilling precision. (Tom Hirst)

26. Wednesday - Bleeds

The lyrics of Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman bring to life a plethora of deeply interesting characters from her North Carolina surroundings. Having always been a brilliantly observational and poetic writer, her form continues on Bleeds. Although, it also contains some of her most deeply personal writing to date, especially on 'The Way Love Goes,' an ode to the fading flickers of a relationship. It’s even more devastating given it was written about her bandmate and former partner MJ Lenderman.

Bleeds sees the band flick between multiple guises of rock and adjacent genres from folk to country, alt-rock and garage rock. Their usage of pedal steel is sparing but hits with maximum effect each time it appears. Wednesday are a band going from strength to strength, with countless deeply engrossing stories to tell. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Skiddle here

25. Water From Your Eyes - It's A Beautiful Place

One of the best experimental albums you’ll hear in 2025, Water From Your Eyes, the duo of Rachel Brown and Nate Amos, have created their most confident record to date. A sci-fi odyssey which seems to float upon a wave of cosmic wavelengths, it features a wide range of sounds from indie rock, nu-metal and garage rock to house-tinged dance music. ‘Playing Classics’ is a truly inventive pop song where awkward rhythms feel irresistibly danceable.

There’s a unique alchemy here between two of indie most forward-thinking names. It's A Beautiful Place is weird and completely wonderful. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Water From Your Eyes here

24. Pulp - More

How fitting that 30 years on from Different Class, Pulp return from their hiatus with a record that still feels vital to the soul of the band. All the ingredients of classic Pulp songs are there. From Jarvis Cocker’s enigmatic lyrics and delivery to the euphoric pop music that the band creates. Having returned in 2023, their reunion turned from playing classics to a genuine creative reunion.

More is deftly self-aware of the band’s older perspective, with ‘Spike Island’ even alluding to how the band went from relatively ignored to being cultural icons. You could even say that breaking up was good for the band, as they have outlasted countless Britpop peers to become a defining band within pop culture. More is a beautiful continuation of a band who are a true one-off. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Pulp here

23. Barry Can't Swim - Loner

If you thought Barry Can’t Swim was just a producer of lush, groove‑laden house, Loner proves he’s far more than just a party‑starter. On this album, Barry (aka Joshua Mannie) turns inward, weaving jazz-inflected electronica, ambient textures, and broken-beat rhythms into a deeply personal and introspective record exploring fame, identity and individuality.

From the trip-hop‑tinged, spoken-word opener 'The Person You'd Like To Be' to the classic Barry-esque grooves of 'Kimpton' and 'Different'. Loner moves effortlessly between moods - from melancholic reflection to euphoric release - without ever losing the danceable pulse that’s defined his sound. In doing so, Loner becomes more than a collection of tracks - it’s a journey, a soundtracked snapshot of growth, memory, and identity. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for Barry Can't Swim here

22. Alex G - Headlights

While I can’t pinpoint how I came across Alex G's Headlights, boy, am I glad I did. Drawn in and hooked by the Elliott Smith-style instrumentation and vocal sound on ‘Spinning,’ the rest of the album quickly became a favourite, finding itself on loop and soundtracking hazy evening walks through the late summer.

The album is masterful in its contrast: stripped-back acoustic tracks, such as ‘Oranges’ and ‘Real Thing,’ possess a comforting, free-and-easy DIY sound. In contrast, tracks like ‘June Guitar’ and ‘Afterlife’ (the latter of which, in my opinion, evokes strong Sam Fender vibes) offer much more in terms of layering and texture, thick with harmonies and cinematic arrangements. Even as we approach the darker, more frigid winter months, it’s a record I still navigate to when in need of relief. A timeless album that will surely stand the test of the seasons for years to come. (Dale Grogan)

Find tickets for Alex G here

21. FKA Twigs - Eusexua

Known for her eccentric aesthetic and sound, FKA Twigs upped her game in 2025 with her release, Eusexua. Making this her 4th studio album, Eusexua is more than just an album it's an avant-garde genre-blend of work. With FKA Twigs describing Eusexua as "sensation of being so euphoric," that it would allow a person to "transcend human form", the album is a clear translation of just that. With songs, like ‘The Dare’, ‘Sticky’, and brain scratching ‘Got To Feel’, Eusexua is an album that creates an unspoken connection between you and the art. Allowing it to flow with ease and create high vibrational serenity by the end. (Leah Finch)

Find tickets for FKA Twigs here

20. Blood Orange - Essex Honey

Dev Hynes turned a lens to his bucolic Essex homeland for his first studio album under the Blood Orange name in seven years. Assisted by a litany of collaborators including Mustafa, Lorde, Caroline Polachek, Tirzah, and Zadie Smith, the tracks on Essex Honey fall apart and rearrange in different forms, with hi hats, plucked guitars, piano keys, and soft synthesisers making their way to the surface. Throughout its 14-track runtime, Hynes weaves a patchwork of memory, grief, pastoralia, and urban sprawls, while nostalgia and melancholy leak from the lyric sheet. (Gabriel Arnold)

Find tickets for Blood Orange here

19. Dijon - Baby

Experimental with not just his sound but vocals too, we have Djon whose magnificent album comes in at 19 on our list of Albums of the Year. Exploring the depth of his musical talents, Baby is an album that grips you from the interlude named after the album, ‘Baby!’. Following no equilibrium, the album follows through a raw and vocally strong performance, with songs such as, ‘my man’, ‘Yamaha’, HIGHER’ and ‘Kindalove’; creating synergy with a beautiful blend of R&B and indie/ folk. Praised highly by peers and fans, Baby is an explorative material of work that credits Dijon in more ways than one. (Leah)

18. For Those I Love - Carving The Stone

David Balfe, the man behind the moniker of For Those I Love, once wondered if he’d ever be able to follow up from his self-titled debut, which picked up a Choice Music Prize in 2021. That record, an intensely personal exploration of grief and a tribute to a close friend, was a tough act to follow, but Balfe was up to the task.

Pairing intense lyricism with dance beats à la Real Lies, Carving The Stone takes the centralised grief from its predecessor and widens the focus to reflections on his home country, moulding vignettes and stanzas of spitfire rage, lack of opportunity, and lives left to waste. Some of the standout tales from Carving The Stone include ‘The Ox/The Afters’ the tragic tale of a local boxer who gives into his vices, ‘No Scheme’, a disillusioned successor to the first album’s ‘Top Scheme’, and ‘Of The Sorrows’, where Balfe juggles staying in his birthplace or making the often taken leap and leaving. (Gabriel Arnold)

Find tickets for For Those I Love here

17. Men I Trust - Equus Caballus

The Canadian quartet released two LPs in 2025, but their second project of the year stands tall as one of their key achievements. The group continue to refine and perfect the dreamy indie pop that saw the band emerge from the wintry Quebec wilderness to the confines of cult status. There are moments of Equus Callabus that sound like a deep cut from 70s Fleetwood Mac that slipped down the side of the recording booth. From the warm riffs and floating synths of opener ‘To Ease You’ to the reworked grooves and bass of fan favourite ‘Billy Toppy (2025)’, Equus Callabus is 41 minutes of Men I Trust doing what they do best. (Gabriel Arnold)

Find tickets for Men I Trust here

16. Sudan Archives - The BPM

Listening to The BPM is a shock to the system. Its blend of electronic music with elements of our natural world such as birdsong creates a shimmering harmony. The record is deeply cinematic, with its high-tempo beats feeling like you're witnessing a computer chip bug out. This pace intersects phenomenally with Archives' confident, straight-faced delivery, where words leap between each other gladly.

'My Type' is one of the year's best singles, perfectly pairing this expertly-crafted aesthetic with a chorus melody worthy of dominating any dancefloor rush. You cannot help but be swept along with this record. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Sudan Archives here

15. Daniel Avery - Tremor

Is there anything Daniel Avery can’t do? Renowned for his distortion-drenched electro and ambient work, on this year’s Tremors, he dives headfirst into the equally textured waters of shoegaze and dream-pop, colliding them with his industrial techno tendencies to create an ambitious electro-rock hybrid.

At its best - in tracks where ambient warmth melts into distortion and melody - the album hits with cinematic impact and emotional breadth. It explores an expanded palette, revels in unexpected juxtapositions, and exudes genuine ambition. Sure, the sprawling mixture wobbles at times and not every experiment lands perfectly, but when it aligns, Tremor delivers a visionary, genre-defying statement. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for Daniel Avery here

14. Clipse - God Sort Em Out

Stupidly cool and decked out in LV, sunglasses on, beloved coke rappers Clipse smashed the music scene’s door off its hinges, shattering the Richter scale as they stomped through with Let God Sort Em Out, their first album since 2009.

The Grammy-nominated project sees Virginia brothers Pusha and Malice snarling through verses with devilish grins, but only after a moment of reflection on the opening track 'The Birds Don't Sing', where they process the pain brought on by their parents' deaths.

With Pharrell on production, we have sonics spanning the sinister, the romantic, and effortlessly cool bangers that feel illegal to listen to on low volume. Catchy hooks, insane sample flips, godly presences on the mic, masterfully chosen features, and bars for the hip-hop heads who flooded the internet with their interpretations, this record is a masterclass in hip-hop that saw fans, young and old, rally around this album as one of the years' best. (Holly Quinn)

13. Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquiliser

A master of electronic and ambience Oneohtrix Point Never knows how to build a record that will immerse you like few others can. The latest machinations of Daniel Loptain results in a record which feels like a treasure trove of unique twinkling textures. At times otherworldly, there’s also plenty of reality to be found in the elements of the natural world that make their way embedded into the sound. It’s apparent right from the off on the track ‘Bumpy’.

It’s a wide net of sounds and feelings, and just as it appears as though you’ve been drifting in a particular plain of sound for too long, the songs metamorphose again, branching out on a whole new path. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Oneohtrix Point Never here

12. Pinkpantheress - Fancy That

Pinkpanthetress is an artist that has given alternative pop with a mash of UK garage and DNB a whole new lease of life. Her latest project Fancy That is confirmation on why she deserves to be on this list. From start to finish the 9 - track album gives us a whole new meaning to why loving music is so important. With her unique sound blended throughout the album, Fancy That feels like the equivalent of a cultural reset, especially with trending track ‘Illegal’, and ‘Noises’, which features a sample from Nardo Wicks' ‘Who Wants Smoke’. With a funky synth focused dance album at the focus, Fancy That is a quality project that you just can’t resist head bopping to. (Leah Finch)

Find tickets for Pinkpantheress here

11. Dave - The Boy Who Played The Harp

Dave is one of British music's premier musical commentators. Whilst there's a narrative throughout here of a great personal journey, as he wrestles with fame and its connotations, as well as growing into his late 20's. There's also socially-relevant topics explored such as sexual assault, Palestine and ideas of what masculinity should be, away from a misogynistic standpoint.

There's a lot that weighs heavy on the mind of the still young British star. As ever, he is able to articulate his thoughts and feelings in such an engrossing way, sometimes having multiple revelations within seconds, it's hard to keep up. But Dave is a rapper who truly stands up for what he believes in. There's also a baton pass between two legacies on 'Chapter 16' featuring Kano which is no simple collaboration, it feels like genuine insight into their relationship. It's a high on an album of many. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Dave here

10. Turnstile - Never Enough

If you weren’t in the pits for Turnstile summer this year, you missed out. Continuing their rise as hardcore’s global flagbearers, the Baltimore band returned with Never Enough, a record that feels like the culmination of their DIY ethos, and the moment the rest of the world finally caught up.

Building on the pop-leaning sheen of T.L.C., Never Enough pushes further into new textures - electro pulses, sax flourishes, bright synth lines - and the band wears it all with impressive ease. But don’t get it twisted: this is still a hardcore record at its core. Take hit single 'I Care,' which jangles open like an ‘80s indie track before crashing inevitably into the band’s signature, crowd-levitating bar-chord drop. As Yates puts it, hardcore is “not defined by the sonics of it. It’s more grounded in community,” and Never Enough channels that belief with every ecstatic turn. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for Turnstile - here

9. Sam Fender - People Watching

The Springsteen of North Shields’ Mercury Prize-winning third record continues his tradition of telling social realist stories in his most consistent and conceptually sound release yet. People Watching sees Fender keeping a keen eye on those he grew up alongside and those left behind, with lyrics chronicling the likes of faded industrial heartlands in ‘Crumbling Empire’, grappling with agnosticism in ‘Little Bit Closer’, and paying tribute to his grandparents on closer ‘Remember My Name’, backed by a County Durham brass band. Effortless at balancing singalong indie rock with heartfelt storytelling, Fender’s recent work fits in between the pages of Walter Greenwood and Shelagh Delaney just as much as it does on the shelves of music stores. (Gabriel Arnold)

Find tickets for Sam Fender here

8. Tyler, The Creator - Don't Tap The Glass

Tyler, the Creator, the unstoppable boundary-pushing force of modern-day hip-hop, surprised us by dropping Don’t Tap The Glass in the summer, hot off the heels of his widely acclaimed and deeply personal project, Chromakopia. Such is the boundless talent of the Odd Future founder that what would have been an incredibly hard record to follow - by any normal standard - Don’t Tap The Glass took Tyler’s credibility to a whole new level, delivering a slew of retro-inspired, danceable anthems and striking visuals that blew up across media platforms worldwide.

Unlike Chromakopia, however, this latest LP follows a less conceptual narrative, instead serving up more of the customary Tyler staples we’ve heard on previous projects: playful hedonism, brazenness, and moments of aggressive, uncompromising force. ‘Sugar On My Tongue’, the second single from the record, stands out as an obvious top pick of the bunch, where crass lyrical content meets funky, experimental production. It's paired with a typically absurd video featuring Tyler’s fitting aesthetic theme for the album - a clear nod to the golden eras of hip-hop, the '80s and '90s; other must-listen tracks include ‘Stop Playing with Me’ and ‘Ring Ring Ring’. (Dale Grogan)

Find tickets for Tyler, The Creator here

7. Jim Legxacy - Black British Music

Jim Legxacy is quickly becoming one of Britain's best rappers. Earmarked by names such as Dave as an artist who is going to be hugely influential, he seems to keep outdoing his own highs. There are plenty of excellent singles here, including '06 Wayne Rooney' which takes cues from pop-punk. The album is delightfully unpredictable, cutting between flows and genres at will. It is lyrically too, as not many would have had Legxacy namedropping Mitski on one of his tracks. Black British Music is a triumph. (Matty Pywell)

6. Oklou - Choke Enough

Marylou Maniel told Crack that one of her favourite habits retained from childhood was “hearing the sounds of people partying from afar". Her work under the name Oklou has always towed the line between the intensity of a smoky club night and the serenity of a classical symphony, and Choke Enough encapsulates that distant connection in a collection of hypnotic soundscapes.

Taking cues from the likes of ambient music, hyperpop, and hypnagogic pop, Oklou’s sophomore effort flits between glitchy, synth-laden tracks like the A.G. Cook-assisted ‘thank you for recording’ and the clubby ‘Harvest Sky’, inspired by the singer’s memories of French festival La Fête de la Saint-Jean. Quiet yet captivating, Choke Enough glides through its runtime leaving small ripples in the airwaves, but its ghostly glitches and frequencies linger in the mind long after its last note. (Gabriel Arnold)

5. Ninajirachi - I Love My Computer

Jump fully into cyberspace on Ninajirachi’s debut album. If you were a fan of early 2010’s EDM then look no further than I Love My Computer which is packed full of maximalism. Everything about this album is nostalgic, a throwback to the peak of being online when a young teenager. No track exemplifies this more than ‘Ipod Touch’, which scores through Nina Wilson’s teenage years with references to high school, Pikachu phone cases and her first steps into making music.

I Love My Computer sees you become one with the digital world, it’s futuristic, packed with ear-throttling bass and glitchy, scattered textures as if you were witnessing a system reboot inside your own brain. This is one of the most exciting albums of 2025, it may have come from Wilson hanging out with her computer until late, but is has resulted in some of the most rave-ready music you’ll ever hear. (Matty Pywell)

4. Rosalia - Lux

Just the premise of Rosalia’s Lux is groundbreaking. The album sees the Spanish singer perform in 14 different languages. This makes it a globalist piece of artwork, but it also strikes an important message, that of a connected world. These languages intersect together to create a deftly beautiful piece of art, and within that, a sense of unity comes from the languages of the world.

Rosalia is classically trained and she makes a return to that sound on Lux. What is one of this record’s most important aspects is that it seamlessly blends together pop and classical music. The way the string sections amalgamate into electronic, augmented vocals on ‘Reliquia’ is a stunning mixture of styles. This is an incredibly ambitious album and one that genuinely feels like it has shifted the goalposts of what pop music can be. It is deftly dramatic, sprawlingly beautiful, and in 2025 when we’re in a moment of increasing division stoked by political leaders, Lux reminds us that different parts of the world remain stronger together. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for Rosalia here

3. CMAT - Euro-Country

CMAT has become a champion of the people in 2025. Having toured across the world, her live sets have become synonymous with joy. There’s a lot to like about Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, who has the unique sort of personality that people want to rally behind. Effortlessly funny, she’s able to translate that on record, with countless quotable lyrics throughout Euro-Country. Writing about her shifting perspective on her home of Ireland, the album also sees her touch upon societal expectations of what women “should” look like and the spirals of hatred we can go through in everyday life.

What emerges is a deeply relatable artist whose larger than life pop songs feature hooks destined to stick in people’s heads. Her activism for Palestine and the subjects of her writing make for a pop artist who is principled and has a sense of backbone. This isn’t perfectly polished pop star music, CMAT’s music is delightfully chaotic. (Matty Pywell)

Find tickets for CMAT here

2. Geese - Getting Killed

After the successes of 2023’s 3D Country and frontman Cameron Winters’ solo hit Heavy Metal, lesser bands than New York’s Geese might have clung to the hooky, melodic sound that first put them in the spotlight. On Getting Killed, Geese instead flip the script, following in the footsteps of greats and delivering a record that’s frantically funky, structurally abstract, addictively idiosyncratic, and unmistakably their own.

From the hoarse screams about bombs in cars on opener “Trinidad” to the dissonant groove of “100 Horses,” the maritime absurdity of “Au Pays Du Cocaine,” and the anthemic swagger of “Taxes,” Getting Killed feels like a statement of intent - a work crafted with curiosity and playfulness, always in motion and never content to sit still. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for Geese here

1. DJRUM - Under Tangled Silence

Under Tangled Silence is a masterwork of modern electronic music. A record that moves effortlessly between luxurious classical textures, ambient stillness, and skittering breakbeats, expanding and redefining the emotional and structural possibilities of dance music in the process.

Here, Djrum refuses any notion of conformity, of recommended BPMs, of electronic music's tendency to ignore the gentle. Instead, he crafts compositions that feel lived-in and luminous. Pieces that ache, that long, that communicate emotions electronic music rarely makes space for. It’s this ambition, attention to detail, and emotional depth that make Under Tangled Silence not just a standout, but our album of the year. (Tom Hirst)

Find tickets for DJRUM here

Why not also check out the best songs of 2025?

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