2025 brought forth a slew of tense, fraught records across all genres.
10.
NO VALIDATION / Che Noir & The Other Guys
Mesmerizing flows, jazzy beats and contemplative lyrics from the New York-based rapper and production duo.
9.
THE SUMMER PORTRAITS / Ludovico Einaudi
Before Summer broke, I planted marigolds to Einaudi's pleasing melodies and orchestrations on this disc of ekphrastic pieces.
8.
Clipse's first album in over 15 years, is plentiful with crisp, Pharrell-produced tracks. Nearly every cut kills.
7.
Terse and achingly sad, Allen's delivered what could be one of the all-time tell-all's.
6.
A continuation of Little Simz's grand talents boiled down to a more stripped-down than usual, but still potent, effort.
5.
Sunny Californian melodies and breezy idiosyncrasies shine on the sisters's wide-ranging, relentlessly appealing record.
4.
The long-awaited full LP release from JADE, whose litany of previous singles were heavyweights since 2024, delivered and then some.
3.
DON'T TAP THE GLASS / Tyler, the Creator
Another vivacious work from the talented artist (his last record, 2024's Chromakopia, was also extraordinary). This one is in a poppier, vintage R&B vein. Th album was marketed with brilliant anti-marketing marketing.
2.
EURASEXUA / EURASEXUA AFTERGLOW / FKA twigs
An elegant mishmash of pop and electronica over FKA twigs' gossamer vocals.
1.
I hadn't really listened to Nigerian, London-based Obongjayar's solo work prior to 2025 (his Little Simz duet, "Point and Kill," a 2021 jewel), his bouncy, deceptively pleasurable sophomore record quickly became a favorite.
I associate utopia with a destination. We’re constantly searching for a better “elsewhere”, because our current situation never seems good enough. But the ugliness we project onto our environment is just a mental construct, as if we had created the very obstacles we wish to overcome. On that cover, I’m trying to break through a glass ceiling – the one I created myself. -Obongjayar
Obongjayar photo by George Muncey.
A look back at my Top 10 of 2024 when the Pet Shop Boys slayed.
A massive Spotify playlist of all my 2025 favorites here!
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