Our 60 Favorite Albums of 2025 (60-31)
2025 had so much great music to discover. Whether it was brilliant debuts, incredible follow-ups or bands returning from the wilderness, there was so much to enjoy that this list doesn’t even touch the number of records we’ve loved this year.
That being said, we’ve compiled our top 60 LPs from the last twelve months starting with…
On her second album as Skullcrusher, Helen Ballentine has crafted a beautiful collection of songs that explore grief, memory and change.
Top Tracks: Maelstrom, Living, Exhale
Nine albums in and We Are Scientists continue to produce great records with catchy hooks and choruses aplenty with their trademark 80s/90s sound.
Top Tracks: Please Don’t Say It, The Big One, What You Want Is Gone
The Isle of Wight quartet build on their debut Killjoy with an even better set of grungy indie-pop songs that tackle heartbreak and self-discovery.
Top Tracks: Do It For Love, Control, Do Yourself A Favour
On their latest UK #1 album, The Lottery Winners brought some much needed positivity to 2025. KOKO (Keep On Keeping On) is packed with fun, stadium-ready anthems and guest collabs.
Top Tracks: Ragdoll, You Again, Turn Around
On their third full-length project, the New Jersey band explore love and loss across eleven indie-pop bangers.
Top Tracks: Talking To Heads, I Look Alive, Red Wine
More than four years after the breakout success of Impossible Weight, Deep Sea Diver return with another quality collection of indie-rock.
Top Tracks: Shovel, Billboard Heart, Let Me Go
Manchester-based Pastel’s debut album is a bristling mix of britpop, Madchester and indie-rock anthems.
Top Tracks: Leave A Light On (Velvet Storm), Your Day, Dancing On A Pin
With recent project Piroshka no longer able to continue, the Lush frontwoman teamed up with bassist Oliver Cherer and guitarist KJ “Moose” McKillop for an LP that will delight fans of her previous work with dream-pop/shoegaze
Top Tracks: Doldrums Days, Vertigo, 8th Deadly Sin
Despite moving to a smoother, 70s pop-rock sound with Ellie Rowsell’s vocals to the fore, The Clearing is another high-quality project from Wolf Alice.
Top Tracks: Bloom Baby Bloom, White Horses, Just Two Girls
On their thunderous debut, Austin’s Die Spitz blend punk, metal, shoegaze and grunge with blistering riffs and intense vocals.
Top Tracks: Punishers, Throw Yourself to the Sword, Pop Punk Anthem (Sorry for the Delay)
With a mix of indie-rock, jangle pop and shoegaze, the Montreal band’s sophomore record Is loaded with catchy melodies.
Top Tracks: Overplayed My Hand, Holding Pattern, Fault Line
Fiercely independent since forming in 2016, the debut full-length release from the UK indie band is a triumphant mix of indie anthems about youth, love, and dreams.
Top Tracks: Nothing’s As It Seems, Weekend Millionaire, I Don’t Care
Having been releasing music since her mid-teens, Melody Caudill released her wonderful debut album while studying in Santa Cruz.
Top Tracks: Piano Song, Can You Tell Me?, Mel’s Drive In
The debut album from the Auckland quartet is a cracking coming of age record that Paramore would be proud of.
Top Tracks: Cycles, Acetone, Afterthought
The excellent sophomore album from Galway’s NewDad tackles themes of growing up and homesickness.
Top Tracks: Misery, Everything I Wanted, Pretty
The third album from the Florida math rock/emo band is their strongest collection to date with some pop sensibilities brought to the fore.
Top Tracks: Easier Said Than Done, Leona Street, Sorry Not Sorry
Scotland’s Swim School’s debut LP is a excellent set of catchy indie songs with Alice Johnson’s dreamy vocals and early Weezer/Pixies vibes.
Top Tracks: Heaven, Alone With You, On & On
While less immediate than her previous records, Harriette Pilbeam’s third album rewards repeated listens with its dreamy shoegaze evoking the sound of Cocteau Twins and Slowdive.
Top Tracks: Lose It Again, Only One Launhinged, Stuck
Nine albums in and Ash continue to produce great indie pop-punk albums with Blur’s Graham Coxon helping on a couple of tracks.
Top Tracks: Which One Do You Want?, Give Me Back My World, My Favourite Ghost
Alana Haim said of I Quit “Every single song has a theme of quitting something that isn’t working for us anymore” and it sees the band experiment with a number of different genres over 15 tracks.
Top Tracks: Down to be Wrong, Lucky Stars, Relationships
Written and recorded during the break-up of two of the band members, the new record from the North Carolina band is a compelling listen with moments of alt-country, punk and shoegaze.
Top Tracks: Wound Up Here (By Holding On), Wasp, Townies
Hailing from Singapore and now based in London, the band’s superb debut full-length release is an exploration of anxiety, grief and exhaustion.
Top Tracks: Over Your Head, Tired, I’m In Bed
The Brooklyn singer-songwriter’s debut LP is full of catchy indie-pop that document the unraveling and aftermath of a six-year relationship and a mid-twenties life in flux.
Top Tracks: Never Never, Blue Lie, Heart On The Line
Weraing their 80s-pop sensibilities on their sleeves, the debut from Bristol’s Adult Leisure is danceable anthems about heartbreak and self-discovery.
Top Tracks: Dancing Don’t Feel Right, The Rules, Kiss Me Like You Miss Her
Containing guest vocals from Boygenius bandmates Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker, the fourth album from the singer-songwriter is a beautiful queer exploration of falling in love
Top Tracks: Ankles, Best Guess, Big Deal
The second LP from the Aussie quartet is full of hooky pop melodies that earmark the band as ones to watch for the future.
Top Tracks: Hey You, Don’t Let Them Tell You (It’s Fair),
Reverting to the more recognizable sound of Melodrama after the folk-pop sound of Solar Power, Lorde’s new record is a raw and vulnerable look into her inner life as she explores her relationship with gender fluidity.
Top Tracks: What Was That, Shapeshifter, Current Affairs
The Nebraska indie band’s debut record is full of catchy, lyrically astute songs around themes of uncertainty and change.
Top Tracks: You Want My Love, It’s Only Weed, Deadly
An ambitious double album, the first section echoes the early raw-folk of For Emma, Forever Ago while the second section expands its sound with soul, gospel and pop tones.
Top Tracks: Everything Is Peaceful Love, S P E Y S I D E, If Only I Could Wait
Building on their debut from last year, the new record from the Merseyside indie four-piece is packed with stadium-ready singalong anthems.
Top Tracks: Me and Your Sister, The Bends (Here We Go Again), Breakdown In My Bedroom
