The best music of 2025
These were some of the finest releases of the past year
The year is coming to an end, and it has seen some big-name artists drop new albums. From one of the biggest pop superstars of the 21st century to a familiar Beatles face, here are some of 2025’s best LPs.
Counting Crows, ‘Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!’
San Francisco rock band Counting Crows released its eighth studio album, “Butter Miracle, the Complete Sweets!,” marking the band’s first LP in more than ten years. The album is not totally new but an extension of the band’s 2021 EP, “Butter Miracle Suite One.” Four of that recording’s songs are included on the new album. One of the notable singles from the LP, “Spaceman in Tulsa,” is “about metamorphosis — the way music breaks down who we were and spins us into something new,” said frontman Adam Duritz in a statement.
Ed Sheeran, ‘Play’
Ed Sheeran took a break from his mathematical album titles with his latest LP, “Play,” marking his eighth studio album. Unlike his prior few LPs, in which the superstar took on a softer acoustic feel, “Play” represented a moment in which he was “getting back into big pop for the first time in a long time,” Sheeran told Variety. Sheeran isn’t slowing down with accompanying features either, as he also shot several music videos for various tracks on the album. The LP comes as Sheeran was also named one of Pollstar’s 25 most popular touring artists of the millennium.
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FKA Twigs, ‘Eusexua’ and ’Eusexua Afterglow’
FKA Twigs has seen a stratospheric rise since her first album was released 11 years ago, and the British singer-dancer has kept her name on the map by releasing both her third and fourth studio albums this year: “Eusexua” and “Eusexua Afterglow,” the pair dropping ten months apart. The latter album was developed as a sequel to “Eusexua,” and like most of her other work, was critically acclaimed. Both LPs feature “glimmering moments of this carefree abandon and commitment to the bit” that has helped make FKA Twigs a household name, said Pitchfork.
Lady Gaga, ‘Mayhem’
Pop music fans have been going gaga for Lady Gaga for years, and the acclaimed artist released “Mayhem” as her sixth studio album. The LP is Gaga’s first solo studio album since 2020, and it also includes her award-winning duet with Bruno Mars, “Die with a Smile.” The album is a “return to those Gothic dreams” and allowed the singer to find her “peak confidence” in its production, Gaga said to Rolling Stone, which called the record “more than just a return to her pop roots” in its review.
The Lemonheads, ‘Love Chant’
After a six-year hiatus, the Lemonheads returned in 2025 with new music and dropped their 11th studio album, “Love Chant.” This is the band’s first LP since 2019 and only the third since 2009. But the last album of all-original material was in 2006, meaning “Love Chant” will be the band’s “first album of all-new original material in almost two decades,’ said Variety. Frontman Evan Dando, an on-and-off member of the band, is also featured here; the LP is a mash-up of “whip-smart, tongue-in-cheek, rollicking rock ‘n’ roll songs that were worth the long wait,” said The Indy Review.
Lorde, ‘Virgin’
In her smash-hit 2013 single “Royals,” Lorde calls herself Queen Bee, and many of her fans feel she has earned that title. The New Zealand pop star stayed in the limelight this year by releasing her fourth studio album, “Virgin.” The album is “like bathwater, windows, ice, spit. Full transparency. The language is plain,” Lorde said in the LP’s announcement, while also revealing that it was partially inspired by singer Charli XCX. The album received mass acclaim, and fans were outraged this year when the LP seemed to be snubbed for major awards by the Recording Academy.
Mac Miller, ‘Balloonerism’
Mac Miller died in 2018, but the celebrated rapper is still providing fans with new gifts. “Balloonerism,” the artist’s second posthumous LP, was recorded in 2014 but wasn’t released after he died. Now, with a number of unofficial versions circulating online, his family decided to release the LP in full. The album is a “project that was of great importance” to Miller, and it “showcases both the breadth of his musical talents and fearlessness as an artist,” Miller’s estate said on Instagram.
Mavis Staples, ‘Sad and Beautiful World’
Legendary singer and activist Mavis Staples is back with a new album, marking the latest entry in a historic career that has spanned seven decades. “Sad and Beautiful World” marked a blend of old and new songs, and “combines original material with covers of songs by Tom Waits, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Frank Ocean, Curtis Mayfield and Leonard Cohen, among others,” said Pitchfork. The album proved that the icon was “still setting the world to rights,” and her voice “continues to stir the soul with one of the best albums of her triumphant second act,” said Mojo magazine.
Ringo Starr, ‘Look Up’
Ringo Starr, the legendary drummer for the Beatles, is continuing to pump out music even at age 85 and released his 21st studio album, “Look Up,” in 2025. However, this album is a bit different than the Scouser’s normal rock classics, as “Look Up” is a country LP — with album art showing Starr dressed as a cowboy. While not normally associated with the genre, Starr is a longtime fan and has “always loved country music,” the drummer said in a press release. And for the avid listener, country influences can be heard in many of his prior songs.
Taylor Swift, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’
You can’t have a list of this year’s most notable albums without including the biggest one: Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” was released to a flurry of anticipation. Swift is at the height of her popularity and showing no signs of diminishing, as “The Life of a Showgirl” marked the singer’s fifth LP in five years (in addition to several rerecorded releases). However, despite Swift’s popularity, some felt that the album didn’t live up to her prior work; Business Insider ranked it her worst LP and said it was “more concerned with gloss than substance.”
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