The Album Era’s Top 25 Albums of 2025
2025 has been another fab year in the world of music! As it come to a close, here are The Album Era’s Top 25 releases from this last year…
Every decade has a voice. Amy Winehouse filled the 2000s. Adele the 2010s. Olivia Dean could quite possibly take the 2020s. The Art of Loving is a stunning record that mixes jazz, pop and soul to create the most catchy and brilliant chart-toppers. “Man I Need” and “So Easy (To Fall in Love)” will stay on playlists for a long time to come.
For Fans Of: Ezra Collective / Joy Crookes / Raye / Amy Winehouse
24. Sam Fender | People Watching (Polydor)
Who said guitar pop was dead? This Mercury Prize winning record filled with Springsteenian anthems has now filled stadiums bringing Sam Fender to the forefront of the music industry. Stand out tracks like “Rein Me In” and the album’s title track “People Watching” are unavoidable bops that dominate the radio. Watch out for this future Glasto headliner!
For Fans Of: Bruce Spingsteen / The 1975 / Catfish and the Bottlemen / Inhaler
Six years after i,i, Justin Vernon’s latest record is a soulful and ethereal beauty. Filled with romance - an unexpected step for Bon Iver - SABLE, fABLE is a deeply personal record about self-growth and dealing with life’s lessons in love.
For Fans Of: Sufjan Stevens / Phoebe Bridgers / Fleet Foxes / Ben Howard
22. Anna B Savage | You & i are Earth (City Slang)
The gentle whisper of Savage’s voice paired with glistening acoustic guitar is an enchanting aural experience. Much like the late January in which the album was released, You & i are Earth supports the hurdle of bleak mid winter into a new period of hope and progression.
For Fans Of: Weyes Blood / Kathryn Joseph / John Martyn / The Weather Station
Since their debut in 2022, Wet Leg have developed to grandeur over a three year period. The speed of success can sometimes be the death of an act but the band’s sophomore is a triumph through catchy singles like ‘CPR’ and ‘davina mccall’ which only Wet Leg can produce!
For Fans Of: The Last Dinner Party / Courtney Barnett / Panic Shack / CMAT
20. Baxter Dury | Allbarone (Heavenly Recordings)
The electronic pulse throughout this album supports Dury’s unapologetically explicit storytelling. Allbarone sounds like Yazoo on a bad night out on the lash and yet there is no way you can get Alison off the dancefloor!
For Fans Of: Sleaford Mods / Dry Cleaning / Yard Act / Ian Dury and the Blockheads
19. BC Camplight | A Sober Conversation (Bella Union)
Twenty years after his debut, Brian Christinzio’s seventh record triumphs not only a musical milestone but also a personal one. In this revealing record, BC tackles his childhood trauma and recent sobriety head-on and in glory.
For Fans Of: Randy Newman / Harry Nilsson / Father John Misty / Elton John
18. Cubzoa | Unfold In The Sky (Bella Union)
The debut album from Penelope Isles frontman Jack Wolter has the unmistakable twinkle of the records he and his sister make together. Unfold In The Sky is a dreamy, folky whirlpool of material filled with shimmering guitars and Neil Young-esque falsetto.
For Fans Of: Radiohead / Penelope Isles / Elliot Smith / Neil Young
17. Turnstile | NEVER ENOUGH (Roadrunner)
Exploding with high-gain electric guitar riffs and licks and drenched in reverb and delay, NEVER ENOUGH is a genre-bending wild ride. Anthemic in sound, Turnstile have outdone themselves in a spectacle that goes way beyond their punk rock roots.
For Fans Of: Linkin Park / IDLES / High Vis / Foo Fighters
16. Sabrina Carpenter | Man’s Best Friend (Island)
Filled to the brim with pop perfection that continues on the trajectory of 2024’s Short N’ Sweet, Man’s Best Friend is dripping with eighties-esque synths and country wit. The Carpenter/Antanoff combo is one for the win!
For Fans Of: Chappell Roan / Olivia Rodrigo / Harry Styles / CMAT
15. Sorry | COSPLAY (Domino)
Dark and jangling with gothic guitar, Sorry’s third record is like being captured in a spider web of sound which not even Robert Smith could escape from. Gloomy, atmospheric indie tunes are perfectly coupled with Asha Lorenz’s vocals which flip from delicate to dangerous in a flash.
For Fans Of: The Cure / Wet Leg / Just Mustard / English Teacher
14. The Weather Station | Humanhood (Next Door)
A hypnotic whirlwind of quiet, Joni Mitchell-esque tunes yet exploding with psychedelic sax and flute passages. The Toronto artist’s latest record is a perfect companion to the grim winter months from when it was released.
For Fans Of: Cassandra Jenkins / Joni Mitchell / Alabaster DePlume / Sharon Van Etten
13. Pulp | More (Rough Trade)
The twenty-four year wait is no disappointment! Pulp have brought their unmistakable sound back for More in the 2020s alongside incredible live shows including their phenomenal Glastonbury set this year. Jarvis’ voice and wit has not aged a day since the 90’s.
For Fans Of: Blur / Suede / Self Esteem / Richard Hawley
12. Big Thief | Double Infinity (4AD)
A lively installment in the Big Thief catalogue, Double Infinity explodes with upbeat indie-folk tunes. Crystal clear acoustic guitars sit amongst punchy drums and percussion supported by Adrianne Lenker’s one-of-a-kind vocals. BT’s sixth record is quite possibly up there as one of their best!
For Fans Of: Katy J Pearson / Mazzy Star / Vampire Weekend / Leonard Cohen
11. Just Mustard | We Were Just Here (Partisan)
The Dundalk band’s latest record is a black hole of profound shoegazey rock. We Were Just Here is a triumphant clang of ambient, fuzzy guitars, mighty synth drones and dominating drum tracks. Each album Just Mustard releases is like having a gate opened into a new dark realm.
For Fans Of: Sorry / The Cure / My Bloody Valentine / The Murder Capital
10. Geese | Getting Killed (Partisan)
Getting Killed has taken the alternative music seen by storm. It is a culmination of the greatest elements of indie music over the last fifty years or more. Angular and abrasive rhythms of bands like Talking Heads and Television to a Kid A type wildness carry through this record on a non-stop polyrhythmic wildride.
For Fans Of: Radiohead / Parquet Courts / The Strokes / Television
9. Joy Crookes | Juniper (Insanity)
Joy Crookes’ sophomore album is stacked with epic, soulful tracks all of which could have been singles. “Pass The Salt” and “Perfect Crime” have dominated social feeds. Fantastic lyrics and superb arrangements, Juniper is the perfect follow up to 2021’s Skin.
For Fans Of: Olivia Dean / Amy Winehouse / Lauryn Hill / Little Simz
8. Titanic | HAGEN (Unheard of Hope)
HAGEN is a haunting folk-rock epic from the Mexican duo, Titanic. Flitting between the wild and gentle, this album is filled with drama and ethereal instrumentation that engages the listener in an instant.
For Fans Of: The New Eves / Goat / Richard Dawson / Gwenno
7. Anna von Hausswolff | ICONOCLASTS (YEAR0001)
Another haunting record, Anna von Hausswolf’s latest record is a dark hypnosis of synthesisers and angelic saxophones. Her voice fills each song in an almost anthemic way not to mention the superb collaborations with Iggy Pop and Ethel Cain on the album.
For Fans Of: Just Mustard / John Cale / Lingua Ignota / Florence + The Machine
6. Lorde | Virgin (Universal)
An artist back on form? I totally disagree with what the press say. Virgin is the fourth installment in a musician's journey of self discovery. Lorde harks back to the Depeche Mode synthesis of Pure Heroine and Melodrama for her latest record. “Man Of The Year” and “What Was That” are by far two of 2025’s greatest singles as well.
For Fans Of: Charli XCX / Clairo / Florence + The Machine / Depeche Mode
5. Wednesday | Bleeds (Dead Oceans)
Jangling with raw electric guitars, Bleeds is a crazy blend of southern rock and rough alternative rock. The North Carolina band have produced something really special for album six. Stand out track "Elderberry Wine” is an alt-american smash.
For Fans Of: Waxahatchee / The Beths / Courtney Barnett / Wet Leg
4. Natalie Bergman | My Home Is Not In This World (Third Man)
A high class record filled with old school, soulful tunes. Following on from 2021's Mercy, Bergman’s sophomore album is just as psychedelic in its production. My Home Is Not In This World is like being transported to 1967 California.
For Fans Of: Nancy Sinatra / Dusty Springfield / Lana Del Rey / Bobbie Gentry
3. The New Eves | The New Eve Is Rising (Transgressive)
Brighton band The New Eves have produced a record as mystical and terrifying as the folklore imagery they embody. Amongst haunting string passages and ominous vocal harmonies, The New Eve Is Rising brings the folk-horror of films like The Wicker Man and Midsommar into musical form.
For Fans Of: Poor Creature / Richard Dawson / Magnet / Patti Smith
2. Viagra Boys | Viagr Aboys (Shrimptech Enterprises)
Another bonkers installment in the Viagra Boys catalogue! Packed with abstract lyrics and high energy tunes, Viagr Aboys stands high amongst the band’s previous three records. “Man Made of Meat” and “Uno II” will the tingle the spine of many a 6 Music listener!
For Fans Of: Wet Leg / Amyl and the Sniffers / Nick Cave / Sleaford Mods
CMAT has taken the concept of ‘tricky third album’ and put it in a pipe for us all to smoke! This is pop music with class, wit and substance which is brought to new levels by the Dunboyne Diana’s unbeatable live shows. It is wall-to-wall all-killer-no-filler with epic singles like “Running/Planning”, “Take A Sexy Picture of Me” and “The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station”.
For Fans Of: Katy J Pearson / The Last Dinner Party / Harry Nilsson / Kate Bush
