Ultimate Top 10 albums of 2025: A compilation of critics’ year-end lists
After comparing year-end album lists from major music publications including Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Billboard, and others, rankings were scored and combined to produce a Top 10 that reflects broad critical consensus rather than a single opinion, Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
10. Euro Country by CMAT
The songs at Euro Country balance humor with vulnerability, moving easily between jokes and real emotional weight. Beneath the playful surface, she reflects on identity, relationships, and insecurity in a direct, relatable way.
Must-listen tracks: Euro Country, Take A Sexy Picture Of Me, The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station
9. Essex Honey by Blood Orange
Essex Honey is Blood Orange’s first full album in six years. Dev Hynes reflects on his childhood in Essex and the loss of his mother, creating a soft, dreamy mix of pop, R&B, and indie sounds. Collaborators like Caroline Polachek, Lorde, and Mustafa appear subtly, adding texture without stealing focus.
Must-listen tracks: Countryside, Vivid Light, Mind Loaded
8. Addison by Addison Rae
Addison is not just a release from a TikTok star. Addison Rae delivers a confident, cohesive pop album that blends experimental electronics, sensual energy, and intimate storytelling.
Once dismissed after her 2021 debut Obsessed, Rae has since earned critical recognition, with Diet Pepsi appearing on year end lists of 2024 from Billboard, Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork. In 2025, her track Headphones On appeared on nearly all major critics’ rankings.
Must-listen tracks: Headphones On, Fame is a Gun, Diet Pepsi
7. EUSEXUA by FKA twigs
Trained as a dancer from a young age, FKA twigs puts movement at the center of EUSEXUA, with songs that feel shaped by physical motion. Her first studio album since Magdalene (2019) explores EUSEXUA, a state of transcendence sparked by art, sex, music, and the dancefloor. Often compared to Madonna’s Ray of Light and Erotica, the album reframes bodily freedom and spiritual rebirth in a distinctly modern way.
Must-listen tracks: Girls Feels Good, Room Of Fools, Childish Things
6. Baby by Dijon
Dijon’s Baby is a bold, restless follow-up to his 2021 debut, Absolutely, blending R&B, neo-soul, and experimental pop into a vivid, chaotic tapestry. Written largely during his first year of fatherhood, the album mirrors the emotional highs and lows of domestic life, with glitchy production, layered vocals, and sudden shifts in tempo and style.
Must-listen tracks: Another Baby!, Baby!, Yamaha
5. Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party by Hayley Williams
Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party finds Hayley Williams reflecting on freedom, loss, and identity after finally leaving her long label contract behind. Instead of a victory lap, she delivers a raw, emotionally restless album that moves through indie pop, pop rock, and dream pop with ease.
Must-listen tracks: Love Me Different, Negative Self Talk, Ice In My OJ
4. New Threats From the Soul by Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band
New Threats From the Soul is a dense, warm, and darkly funny record built around Ryan Davis’ gift for storytelling. Across long, winding songs, he sketches flawed, drifting characters caught between regret, faith, love, and everyday survival, using sharp, unexpected imagery without judgment or sentimentality.
Must-listen tracks: The Simple Joy, Mutilation Springs, New Threats From the Soul
3. Debí Tirar Más Fotos by Bad Bunny
Instead of chasing bigger hits, he roots the album firmly in Puerto Rico, blending reggaeton with salsa, plena, bolero, and dembow. The songs move between nostalgia, love, and political unease, reflecting on memory, loss, and what it means to protect culture before it fades.
Must-listen tracks: VeLDÁ, EoO, KLOuFRENS
2. LUX by Rosalía
LUX marks Rosalía’s most ambitious turn yet. After reshaping flamenco on Los Ángeles and El Mal Querer, then diving into experimental pop on Motomami, she moves toward orchestral and classical forms. The album is arranged in movements, sung in multiple languages, and built around themes of love, faith, desire, and transcendence.
Must-listen tracks: Divinize, Reliquia, Berghain
1. Getting Killed by Geese
Getting Killed captures Geese at their most restless and alive. Drawing together the raw sprawl of 3D Country and the emotional openness of Cameron Winter’s solo work, the album thrives on tension, noise, and sudden beauty. Songs feel loose and improvised, driven by nervous grooves, fractured melodies, and Winter’s expressive, unsteady voice.
Must-listen tracks: Taxes, Trinidad, Getting Killed
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported on the ultimate top 10 songs of 2025.