SUPER SONIC
The 10 best albums of the year, in no particular order
2025 YEAR IN REVIEW
"Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party," Hayley Williams
"Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party" is the fierce Paramore frontwoman's greatest solo work to date. It is a triumph in candor told across varied mediums: '90s alternative ("Brotherly Hate"), college radio indie rock ("Mirtazapine") and triphop-pop ("Ice In My OJ"). It sounds like freedom for a performer long subject to public expectations.
"Addison," Addison Rae
Addison Rae came from the stiff world of TikTok dance moves and then reinvented herself with the fame it provided, launching an inventive pop career in its wake. Her debut album, "Addison," is stuff ed with sequined pop songs from the pitch-shifted trip-hop "Headphones On" to the Madonna's "Ray of Light"-channeling "Aquamarine." At its core is "Fame Is a Gun," an addictive, early Grimes-ian winner about desire and desperation.
"Debà Tirar Más Fotos," Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny's "Debà Tirar Más Fotos" is not just an album, but a cultural reset. For many, it's a revolution committed to wax, a global superstar looking inward to his homeland to see the future. He wields his reggaeton and urbana skillsets — and weaves in salsa, bomba, plena, música jÃbara — to find intergenerational pleasures.
"Lux," RosalÃa
RosalÃa's fourth studio album, "Lux," is an off beat, avant-garde embrace of her classical training. But it is also so much more than that. Across myriad operatic movements — as well as 13 different languages, a phonetic miracle performed by the Catalan singer — "Lux" is an ambitious collection of songs about divinity meant to challenge its audience into active listening. It is refreshing and arduous, a timeless reminder that rules are made to be broken.
"Never Enough," Turnstile
Lo and behold, an eight-time Grammy-nominated hardcore punk band! Turnstile was an underground stalwart until 2021's "Glow On" launched it into mainstream consciousness; the group cemented its place there with "Never Enough." The band remains true to its punk spirit, but now with certain sonic deviations, like the '80s radio rock "I Care" and the fleshy reverb of the album's title track. There are ferocious moments, too: Hit play on "Sunshower," "Birds" and "Look Out For Me."
"Bleeds," Wednesday
AP named Wednesday's last album, "Rat Saw God," one of the best of 2023, dubbing the North Carolina alt-country group the most exciting band in contemporary indie rock. Two years later, it appears there are no threats to its title. "Bleeds" is a sharpening of the band's already present skillsets: folksy and jagged vocals, guitar fuzz, bright and mournful slide guitar. And in singer and songwriter Karly Hartzman, you'll be hard-pressed to find a keener lyricist.
"Let God Sort Em Out," Clipse
It's been 16 years since brothers Malice and Pusha T teamed up for a Clipse album — 2009's "Til the Casket Drops" — and a lot has changed. Their approach, too: Clipse's return is fully produced by Pharrell Williams and features Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, the Creator. But ultimately, "Let God Sort Em Out" excels because the pair's dexterous flows, sinister and motivational, are weighted and worldly. The combination of new and old makes for one of the year's best rap records.
"Baby," Dijon
For many listeners, Dijon is closely aligned with his big-name producing credits: on Bon Iver's "SABLE, fABLE," and Justin Bieber's "Swag" series, or in his work with Mk.gee. But there's a reason he is your favorite artist's favorite artist. His take on R&B-pop and soul is surrealistic and dreamy; compositions are layered and borderline absurd. "Baby" is like peering into the brain of a great dadaist, if he just really loved Prince and springy electronics.
"Snipe Hunter," Tyler Childers
Tyler Childers is an outsider in the contemporary country music industry; his idiosyncrasies are a kind of superpower. "Snipe Hunter" is a wild ride of rollicking songs, sometimes earnest and sometimes ironic, that at least one time ends with some serious consideration of the Bhagavad Gita.
"The BPM," Sudan Archives
The latest release from the violinist and songwriter born Brittney Denise Parks pulls straight from the beat worlds of 1980s Chicago house and '90s Detroit techno and evolves from there, developing something truly kinetic and unique that spans more genres than possible to list here. But at its core, this is club-pop-soul music, meant to live in the body of its listener.
