Hard to believe that 2025 is on it's last legs, but here we are. Unlike the recent past, 2025 didn't have an album that clearly stood out to me. Instead of a top tier that steadily dipped, there were a lot of really great releases that could easily be at #1 and I would have felt good about it.
Is the album that I put at #1 the trendy pick this year? Yeah, I guess, but I've ranked all of their releases in my top 50 throughout the years, so I'd like to think I'm not jumping on any bandwagon. They just happened to release the best rock album of the year.
There were also a lot of albums that kept going in and out of my top 50. Releases by La Dispute, They Are Gutting a Body of Water, Petey USA, PLOSIVS, Militarie Gun, Momma, Lambrini Girls, Ben Kweller, Anxious, Case Oats, clipping, Danny Brown, to name a few, were all in my top 50 at some point during the year.
In the end, these were my 50 favorite releases of 2025, albums that I know I will continue to listen to as the years pass.
50. Little Simz - Lotus
Hip-Hop | London, England
Flood
49. Liquid Mike - Hell Is An Airport
Power Pop | Marquette, MI
'99
48. The Belair Lip Bombs - Again
Garage Rock | Melbourne, Australia
Hey You
47. Prewn - System
Indie Rock | Northampton, MA
System
46. Sprints - All That Is Over
Post-Punk | Dublin, Ireland
Post-Hardcore | Nashville, TN
Bouncing in Blue
44. Florry - Sounds Like...
Alternative Country | Philadelphia, PA
Hey Baby
43. Maruja - Pain to Power
Post-Punk | Manchester, England
Saoirse
42. Rocket - R is for Rocket
Indie Rock | Los Angeles, CA
Wide Awake
41. Pit Pony - Dead Stars
Garage Rock Revival | Newcastle upon Tyne, England
At Dawn
40. PUP - Who Will Look After the Dogs?
Punk Rock | Toronto, Canada
Hallways
39. Friendship - Caveman Wakes Up
Alternative Country | Philadelphia, PA
Resident Evil
38. McKinley Dixon - Magic, Alive!
Hip-Hop | Richmond, VA
Magic, Alive!
37. Racing Mount Pleasant - Racing Mount Pleasant
Post-Rock | Detroit, MI
Racing Mount Pleasant
36. Backxwash - Only Dust Remains
Experimental Hip-Hop | Montreal, Canada
Wake Up
35. Die Spitz - Something To Consume
Alternative Rock | Austin, TX
Riding With My Girls
34. Anna Von Hausswolff - Iconoclasts
Art Rock | Kobenhavn, Denmark
The Whole Woman (feat. Iggy Pop)
33. The Tubs - Cotton Crown
Jangle Pop | London, England
Chain Reaction
32. Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You
Slowcore | Enterprise, AL
Dust Bowl
31. FKA twigs - EUSEXUA
EDM | London, England
Childlike Things
30. The Beths - Straight Line Was A Lie
Indie Rock | Aukland, New Zealand
Metal
29. Caroline - Caroline 2
Post-Punk | London, England
Total Euphoria
28. Aesop Rock - Black Hole Superette
Hip-Hop | Syosset, NY
Send Help
27. Esther Rose - Want
Americana | New Orleans, LA
Had To
26. Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory - Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
Indie Rock | Los Angeles, CA
Afterlife
25. Water From Your Eyes - It's A Beautiful Place
Experimental Rock | Brooklyn, NY
Playing Classics
24. JID - God Does Like Ugly
Hip-Hop | Atlanta, GA
Community
23. Greg Freeman - Burnover
Alternative Country | Burlington, VT
Gallic Shrug
22. Hotline TNT - Raspberry Moon
Noise Pop | New York, NY
Julia's War
21. Saba & NO I.D. - From The Private Collection of Saba and No ID
Hip-Hop | Chicago, IL
Crash
20. Just Mustard - We Were Just Here
Post-Punk | Dundalk, Ireland
Pollyanna
19. Bon Iver - SABLE, fABLE
Art Pop | Eau Claire, WI
Day One (feat. Dijon & Flock of Dimes)
18. Fust - Big Ugly
Alternative Country | Durham, NC
Bleached
17. Billy Woods - GOLLIWOG
Hip-Hop | New York, NY
Dislocated (feat. ELUCID)
16. Greet Death - Die In Love
Shoegaze | Davisburg, MI
Country Girl
15. S.G. Goodman - Planting by the Signs
Americana | Murray, KY
Snapping Turtle
14. Jeff Tweedy - Twilight Override
Contemporary Folk | Chicago, IL
Lou Reed Was My Babysitter
13. Snocaps - Snocaps
Indie Rock | Los Angeles, CA
Cherry Hard Candy
12. Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On
Indie Rock | Chicago, IL
Switch Over
11. Jim Ghedi - Wasteland
Neo-Folk | South Yorkshire, England
Just a Note (Live from Thurgoland Railway Tunnel)
10. Viagra Boys - viagr aboys
Post-Punk | Stockholm, Sweden
Man Made of Meat
09. Turnstile - NEVER ENOUGH
Post-Hardcore | Baltimore, MD
Seein Stars / Birds
08. Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band - New Threats From The Soul
Alternative Country | Jeffersonville, IN
Better if You Make Me
07. Sudan Archives - The BPM
Alternative R&B | Los Angeles, CA
A Bug's Life
06. Deftones - private music
Alternative Metal | Sacramento, CA
infinite source
05. Wet Leg - moisturizer
Post-Punk Revival | Isle of Wight, England
mangetout
04. Alex G - Headlights
Indie Rock | Philadelphia, PA
Headlights
03. Wednesday - Bleeds
Slacker Rock | Asheville, NC
Elderberry Wine
02. Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out
Hip-Hop | Virginia Beach, VA
The Birds Don't Sing
01. Geese - Getting Killed
Indie Rock | Brooklyn, NY
Au Pays du Cocaine
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