2025 in Music: The Year’s Best Albums According to Our Team and You
As the year winds down, we continue our dive into the best of 2025! Be sure to read up on your picks for best movies of the year, and now it's time to look back at the albums that defined 2025! We asked our team here at Rarewaves and you across social media for your picks, and these are what you chose as the standout records that shaped your year in music!
Staff Pick: Wolf Alice - The Clearing
Wolf Alice’s fourth studio album, The Clearing, marks a bold and mature turn for the band and was recorded in Los Angeles with Grammy-winner Greg Kurstin. The album draws from ’70s-inspired rock and classic melodic influences while remaining unmistakably Wolf Alice, and unmistakably modern as frontwoman Ellie Rowsell reflects on identity, aging, and finding moments of quiet clarity.
Staff Pick: Chevelle - Bright as Blasphemy
After a four-year gap, Chevelle returned in 2025 with Bright as Blasphemy- an intense and loud addition to their discography. Produced by the band’s guitarist Pete Loeffler, it's their first album on new label Alchemy Recordings. It was described by Lamar Ramos of New Noise Magazine as “not a reinvention so much as a refinement”, with Chevelle proving why they have been responsible for so many rock anthems over their 30 years.
Audience Pick: Lacuna Coil - Sleepless Empire
Goth metal mainstays Lacuna Coil made their 2025 entry with Sleepless Empire, a haunting journey that balances Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro’s joined vocals with melodies and the band’s fierce energy. Their tenth studio album leans into a more experimental, heavy sound while staying deeply rooted in their signature style.
Lacuna Coil’s ever-present willingness to push boundaries both sonically and thematically makes Sleepless Empire one of their most compelling records yet.
Staff and Audience Pick: Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl
Taylor Swift’s twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, dropped on October 3rd, announcing a new era of glamour. What better time to record an album for her new era than during the tour of Eras? Swift recorded The Life of a Showgirl whilst in Sweden, working with longtime collaborators Max Martin and Shellback and it’s 12 tracks channel Swift’s signature pop and soft rock sound framed through a vintage showgirl-inspired aesthetic. The album’s title track also features Sabrina Carpenter
Lorde’s fourth album, Virgin, which she co-produced with Jim‑E Stack, is possibly her most personal yet, inspired by various changes in Lorde's personal life, including a breakup, moving to New York City, and a battle with an eating disorder. It also marks a return to synthesised, electronic pop after her more indie folk, psychedelic effort in Solar Power.
Staff Pick: Tyler, The Creator - Don’t Tap the Glass
Tyler, The Creator’s 2025 drop Don’t Tap the Glass is a confident return to danceable, feel-good production. Produced entirely by Tyler himself, the album blends hip-hop with elements of house, funk, techno, and early 80s groove. Although there are still moments of lyrical bite as we’ve come to expect, this isn’t the deep, confessional style of Tyler’s more recent (and older) works. Instead, it’s an album that just wants you to tap your feet, feel the groove and let go.
Staff Pick: Self Esteem - A Complicated Woman
Self Esteem’s third studio album, A Complicated Woman was produced alongside multi-award-winning producer Jennifer Decilveo, and sees Rebecca Lucy Taylor exploring themes of identity, self-worth, and the messy contradictions of modern womanhood. From epic anthems to quieter, reflective moments, A Complicated Woman is both playful and profound, cementing Self Esteem as one of the most inventive and fearless voices in UK pop today.
Audience Pick: Nine Inch Nails - The Tron Ares Soundtrack
In comparison to their musical compadres, Nine Inch Nails returned rather unconventionally in 2025- not with a new album under their own banner but with the movie soundtrack for Tron: Ares. Following soundtracks for movies like Gone Girl, The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, they created a pulsating, cinematic score that fuses Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ signature industrial textures with futuristic electronic landscapes fitting of the Tron banner. Created alongside the film’s production, the soundtrack captures the high-octane tension of the Tron universe while exploring darker moods that transcend the screen. Described both as a thrilling accompaniment to the film and a standalone listening experience, this album solidifies Reznor and Ross as masters of modern sound design.
Djo’s sophomore album, The Crux is a journey through psych-rock, funk, and experimental pop. Known for his dynamic vocals and intricate arrangements, Djo pushes his sound further on his latest release, creating tracks that are quirky, infectious, and also deeply personal. Themes of love, mental health, and creative liberation run throughout the album, making The Crux a standout example of Djo’s fearless approach to genre-blurring music.
What’s your favourite album of 2025?
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