Top 50 Albums of 2025: #50-41
50. More by Pulp
Kicking off the Top 50 countdown with Sheffield Britpop heroes Pulp, who returned with their first new music in 24 years and with their creative juices sounding stirred and reinvigorated.
As someone who had mostly seen Pulp as a “singles band", I was not expecting to enjoy this record as much as I have this year. Spike Island remains one of the year’s defining singles, recapturing that vintage Pulp vigour, while elsewhere violist Richard Jones helps lift the band’s sound to new heights. From the cinematic drama of Tina to prose-like epic The Hymn of the North, Pulp gave us more and left us wanting more. A triumph of a comeback record, it’s joyful and theatrical from start to finish.
Best tracks: Spike Island, Tina, The Hymn of the North
49. Glory by Perfume Genius
American singer-songwriter Michael Alden Hadreas has set a very high bar under his guise as Perfume Genius over the years, with each new project continuing to deliver. However, even by his own lofty standards, Glory ranks amongst his finest work to date.
Bold, captivating and intimate, Hadreas explores anxiety, loss and disconnect through the eclectic funnels of stripped-back chamber folk, alt-pop, smoky blues and rustic country rock. He’s helped along the way too by talented producer and multi-instrumentalist Blake Mills, as well as New Zealand indie folk singer Aldous Harding, who lends her incredible vocals to one of the album’s standouts, No Front Teeth.
Combine these genre-fluid sonic textures with this array of talented musicians, then add in Hadreas’ unique, artistic vision, and you simply have one of the most fascinating and rewarding listening experiences of the entire year.
Best tracks: It’s A Mirror, No Front Teeth, Capezio
48. LUX by ROSALÍA
One of the most critically acclaimed projects of the entire year and rightfully so, Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía delivered her most ambitious and impressive body of work to date with her daring concept album, LUX.
Recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and featuring collaborations with Bjork, Yves Tumor, Pharrell Williams and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (Daft Punk) amongst others, LUX is an orchestral pop odyssey which sees Rosalía explore femininity and spirituality through tales of sainthood.
If that wasn’t intriguing enough, Rosalía also incredibly sings in 14 different languages on the project, with entire songs written and performed outside of Rosalía’s native Catalan & Spanish tongue. Cinematic and hugely awe-inspiring, Rosalía’s LUX is a mind-blowing, one-of-a-kind experience that deserves a spot on this and every year-end list for artistic achievement alone.
Best tracks: Reliquia, Berghain, Dios Es Un Stalker
47. West End Girl by Lily Allen
An album that needs no introduction at this point, Britpop icon Lily Allen set the internet alight with her first album in seven years, which laid brutally bare her marital troubles with Stranger Things star, David Harbour.
Much like Beyoncé’s Lemonade nearly a decade ago, Lily’s heartbreak, anger and vulnerability are fuel for this blockbuster tabloid drama, with her honest, ever-cutting lyrics out in full force with plenty of catchy pop hooks too. From the quiet devastation of songs like Ruminating and Madeline, to the defiant revenge of P***y Palace and 4chan Stan, it’s an album that will have you reaching for the tissues and popcorn in equal measure. With the album also crafted in just 10 days as well, the emotional rawness simply radiates from the project, with Lily undeniably creating one of the most affecting, entertaining and memorable pop records of 2025.
Best tracks: West End Girl, Ruminating, Relapse
46. I’M A HURRICANE, I’M A WOMAN IN LOVE by Låpsley
Deliberately placing this one next to the Lily Allen record as while this Låpsley project didn’t get the same attention and acclaim as Lily’s album, it arguably should have done.
Thematically there are some parallels, as the narrative of the record revolves around Låpsley’s real-life experience of a complex three-person relationship, written while she was in therapy and contemplating how to resolve the situation. The result is an album that is a meditation on love, guilt, human nature, femininity and patriarchy, one that shifts between tender ballads, catchy synth-pop and even some spoken word. At the heart of it all is Låpsley’s affecting vocal performances and delicately written songs, helping the album to play out like an intimate diary confessional. Heartfelt and stirring, this is an album that deserved a lot more recognition than it received this year – which is why I’m happy to include it on this list.
Best tracks: HURRICANE, WOMAN LIKE THAT, NORTH FACE
45. Headlights by Alex G
This major label debut from Alex G ten albums into his career was incredibly my first taste of the American singer-songwriter’s music, and when we reviewed it back on the July Album of the Month podcast, I was extremely pleased with what I found.
With a stellar opening five track run including highlights June Guitar, Afterlife and Spinning, Alex G blends together rustic Americana and dizzying neo-psychedelia for great impact, filling the speakers with plucky guitars, folky accordions and mandolins, as well as some sweeping strings. Working with Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait on production duties, it’s a finely tuned, nicely polished album, filled rich, multi-layered instrumentation that sounds as sonically triumphant as the album art would suggest.
Best tracks: June Guitar, Afterlife, Spinning
44. A Sober Conversation by BC Camplight
Manchester-based, American multi-instrumentalist Brian James Christinzio, AKA BC Camplight, has always been an artist that’s been easy to admire but hard to love for me. However in 2025, he changed that perception with his latest opus, A Sober Conversation.
At the heart of the record, Christinzio opens up on some disturbing childhood trauma, navigating the delicacy of the subject in the most remarkable way, ensuring that the project is never a burden or too overwhelming for the listener. Instead, he turns the trauma into a captivating piece of audio theatre, one which is elegantly and wittily written. Heartbreaking, vulnerable and darkly comic, he manages to strike the perfect balance between intimate confessional and theatrical indie rock.
With Abigail Morris from The Last Dinner Party turning up on standout single Two Legged Dog, the bouncy piano keys contrasting the darkly dramatic Bubbles In The Gasoline and the monochromatic musical-like nature of climax Drunk Talk, BC Camplight delivered a brave and admirable record that demands repeat listens.
Best tracks: Two Legged Dog, Bubbles In The Gasoline, Rock Gently In Disorder
43. HUMANiSE by HAAi
Stepping out from behind the DJ decks and into the recording booth, this project from Australian DJ and electronic musician HAAi saw her take a bold step on her artistic journey by bringing her vocals to the forefront for the first time.
Driven by the desire to write and speak directly about her own experiences, this album was not only HAAi’s most ambitious to date but also one of her best too. Collaborating with genre legends Jon Hopkins and Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip), singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Obi Frankly, as well as poet and activist Kaiden Ford and the Trans Voices Choir, HUMANiSE explores loss, transformation, community and the thing at the heart of it all – humanity.
Ambient, immersive and introspective, HAAi’s addition of human voices and personal tales to her head-spinning electronic soundscapes was a surprising yet welcome one, delivering a record filled with artistic growth that also stood-out as one of the best from the genre all year.
Best tracks: Stitches, Can’t Stand To Lose, New Euphoria
42. SABLE, fABLE by Bon Iver
When we reviewed the latest project from Justin Vernon back in April on the 5-9 podcast, I’ll be honest I wasn’t completely sold on it. But like a lot of great records, sometimes they just take a little time for you to warm up to them – and that was certainly the case with this one.
The more time I’ve spent with it over the last few months, be it the songs coming on shuffle on my playlist or even just revisiting the project as intended, I’ve found more things to love about it. Whether that’s the not-quite-double-album nature of the project, with an intimate, stripped-back EP in the form of SABLE preceding the experimental electro-folk and R&B of the fABLE side. Perhaps it’s the host of great collaborations, including Danielle Haim, Mk.gee, Jacob Collier, Kacy Hill and Dijon. Ultimately though, it is the fact this is another fascinating and stirring collection of songs from Justin Vernon, with the ultra-raw S P E Y S I D E and gospel-influenced Everything Is Peaceful Love just two of the highlights here that are right up there with his very best work. A master at the top of his game – I’m just ashamed I didn’t spot it sooner.
Best tracks: S P E Y S I D E, Everything Is Peaceful Love, Day One
41. Life, Death And Dennis Hopper by The Waterboys
And finally headlining this first batch of 10 on my Top 50 Album of the Year list, we have the wildly ambitious 16th studio album from folk rock legends, The Waterboys.
Now you may think, who in their right mind would take inspiration from the life of actor, director and philanthropist Dennis Hopper, and attempt to turn it into a 25-track, genre-bending odyssey? Mike Scott that’s who!
Aided by some A-List guest features including Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen and Fiona Apple, Scott takes you on a journey through 70 years of American history, with Hopper’s life as his muse and lens. The result is an intoxicating, kaleidoscopic listening experience, one that is admittedly a little bit messy and all over the place at times, but that only seems fitting in the context of Dennis Hopper’s whirlwind, fast-paced life. From the superstardom of Easy Rider and cult success of Blue Velvet to tales of burning Warhol paintings and short-lived marriages, the songs play out like a series of fascinating anecdotes.
To see Mike Scott and The Waterboys deliver a project this ambitious and this creative some 40+ years into their career is truly admirable, and has been one of the real joys of the past 12 months. Here, The Waterboys shoot for The Whole of the Moon and end up, quite literally, among the stars.
Best tracks: Live In The Moment Baby, Hopper’s On Top (Genius), Letter From An Unknown Girlfriend
Stay tuned for the countdown continuing with #40-31 early next week!
