Top Five Favorite Albums of 2025

Various artists

For some people, the Erie Reader's album review section is the first page they flip to when a new issue drops. Our group of regular album reviewers represent a diverse range of tastes, genres, styles, and preferences and it's always fun to get their take on the best albums of the year. In 2025, their picks range from indie darlings, singer-songwriters, metal lords, super-hip hip-hop, and everything in between. There's something for everyone on this list and maybe you'll find your new favorite among them. Be sure to check the online version of this article for a custom-made playlist featuring our reviewers' favorite tracks from each of their selected albums. Happy listening, Erie!

Julia Carden

1. Lorde // Virgin

Four years after her fourth release, Lorde dives into introspective themes of gender, relationships, and finding one's place in the world. With glimmering synths, intimate melodies, and zero features, it's unapologetically Lorde –"a grown woman in a baby tee."

2. Hayley Williams // Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party

This independent project cements Williams' artistry beyond Paramore. Across 18 tracks, she delivers personal stories that feel both nostalgic and modern, resonating with fans who have grown up alongside her. She also jabs at Morgan Wallen with the line: "I'll be the biggest star in the racist country singers' bar."

3. Bad Bunny // DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS

Released on Jan. 5, on the eve of Día de los Reyes, this is a no-skip album packed with historical nods and irresistibly catchy beats. Bad Bunny continues to showcase his ability to blend culture, history, and rhythm in a way that feels universal.

4. Mac Miller // Balloonerism

This album is a beautiful piece of musical storytelling. The second half leans into Miller's earlier, reflective style, a contrast to the more polished sound of his late career. It's reminiscent of Watching Movies With The Sound Off, blending smooth, jazzy beats with layered, textured production. It's especially raw, with lyrics confronting loss and addiction, highlighted by the standout line: "If I die young, promise you'll smile at my funeral." This album stands as a true gift to fans; a posthumous release handled with care and intention.

5. $uicideboy$ // THY KINGDOM COME

One of $uicideboy$'s strongest releases yet (impressive given their 400+ song discography). The boys embrace newfound themes of sobriety, religion, and transformation. Lines like "Rusted hope can be cleaned and made into gold" resonate, and stand out in the darkness of the horrorcore genre.

EXTRA: End of You // Poppy, Amy Lee, Courtney LePlante

Nathaniel Clark

1. Jane Remover // Revengeseekerz

After multiple failed attempts to get their third solo album off the ground, Jane Remover decided their best course of action would be to combine the scraps into one project. The result is Revengeseekerz: a dizzying array of pedal-laden guitars, reverberated drum machines, and an arcade's worth of video game samples that form one of the most singularly impressive projects of the decade.

2. Quadeca // Vanisher, Horizon Scraper

Following up his afterlife-inspired sophomore effort, musical polymath Quadeca crafts his own odyssey on Vanisher, Horizon Scraper. The exciting mixture of orchestral flourishes and sparse instrumentation shines like the sun over the waves ahead as the world opens up to you.

3. Clipse // Let God Sort Em Out

After a 16-year hiatus, sibling duo Clipse return to the rap game with Let God Sort Em Out. With frequent collaborator Pharell Williams on production, the rappers craft not just the most biting hip-hop project of the year, but also the best comeback record of the 2020s thus far.

4. Geese // Getting Killed

Geese are the undeniable success story in rock music in 2025. Further refining their craft on Getting Killed, the Brooklynites sound in peak form for their christening as modern rock royalty. Now bow down accordingly.

5. Black Country, New Road // Forever Howlong

After a substantial lineup change in 2022, the Cambridge art rock collective returned to the studio with Forever Howlong. Sounding as baroque as ever, the band reintroduces itself with vigor and promise for more narrative excellence to come.

EXTRAS: Weatherday // Hornet Disaster, McKinley Dixon // Magic, Alive!, venturing // Ghostholding, Ninajirachi //  I Love My Computer, Turnstile // NEVER ENOUGH

Aaron Mook

1. Deafheaven // Lonely People With Power

Modern blackgaze titans Deafheaven bounce back from 2021's divisive Infinite Granite with their most accomplished and kaleidoscopic effort yet – thrashy, melodic, and as genre-defying as ever.

2. Deftones // Private Music

Y2K is back, and thanks to a new generation of '90s-loving listeners, so are Deftones. Their first album in five years, Private Music also proves their most essential in over a decade, breathing new life into the nu-metal pioneers' beloved catalog.

3. Alex G // Headlights

As the once-DIY savant evolves into an indie superstar, Alex G continues to mesh folk, shoegaze, hyperpop, and more, all while reflecting on life as a new father.

4. Chat Pile and Hayden Pedigo // In the Earth Again

Semi-experimental Oklahoma sludge-metal mavericks Chat Pile continue to expand their ominous sound, this time into a beautiful, Americana-adjacent hybrid featuring avant-garde guitarist Hayden Pedigo.

5. Mac DeMarco // Guitar

Mac DeMarco's first traditional, non-instrumental LP since 2019's Here Comes the Cowboy strips nearly all of the bells and whistles to reveal a subdued and shockingly introspective collection from the veteran singer-songwriter.

EXTRAS: Brian the Fly // Messengers, They Are Gutting a Body of Water // LOTTO, Youth Lagoon // Rarely Do I Dream, Greet Death // Die in Love, Wednesday // Bleeds

Melissa Sullivan Shimek

1. Wet Leg // Moisturizer

It's a Friday in 1984. I'm at a slumber party with Dale Bozzio and Su Tissue. They tell me boys are intimidated by me while plucking my eyebrows.

2. Dean Wareham // That's the Price of Loving Me

Feels and sounds as gentle and warm as walking into Mr. Rogers' familiar living room from the front porch to hear the fish tank bubbling softly in the corner.

3. Damon Locks // List of Demands

The spirit of Gil Scott Heron flowing and weaving through CoFlow beats and Psychic TV samples. You'll never lose yourself enough to miss the message.

4. Todd Snider // High, Lonesome, and Then Some

Your cool older brother made some really bad choices along the way but his easy insight was always deep and wise. RIP Todd.

5. Nation of Language // Dance Called Memory

If there are wrinkles in time and the multiverse is a potential – this is the album OMD, Human League, and Depeche Mode would have released if they hadn't ended up so mainstream.

EXTRAS: Watchhouse // Rituals, Matt Berry // Heard Noises, Jeff Tweedy // Twilight Override, Black Country, New Road // Forever Howlong, Greentea Peng // Tell Dem It's Sunny

Nick Warren

1. Ryan Davis and the Roadhouse Band //  New Threats From The Soul

This slack-jawed, overly literate record is simply the greatest synthesis of star-gazing alt-country and navel-gazing indie rock there has ever been. An anthemic testament for Rust Belt weirdos.

2. The Beths // Straight Line Was a Lie

There's a rare shortage of artful sweetness in the world, and this album is bursting with it. For this heartwarming Kiwi quartet, I gleefully celebrate their entire catalogue, with this as the pinnacle.

3. Mei Semones // Animaru

A singular and undeniable talent, Semones makes intricate jazz guitar runs seem almost effortless. Blending a throwback bossa nova bop with dream pop sensibilities, she switches between Japanese and English for an unforgettable sound.

4. Wednesday // Bleeds

Sometimes, the vibes are just right. This idiosyncratic melange from bandleader Karly Hartzman is luxury-built for angsty notebooks, channeling '90s alt in a way that makes sense in our awful modern world.

5. Ezra Furman // Goodbye Small Head

One of the best songwriters of her generation, Liz Furman harnesses the same spirited vitality she's always had, reframed in a retro toy box of warbly melodies that will stay in your head for weeks.

EXTRAS: Stereolab // Instant Holograms on Magnetic Film, Geese // Getting Killed, Mike Polizze // Around Sound, McKinley Dixon // Magic, Alive!, Yazz Ahmed // A Paradise In The Hold

Larry Wheaton

1. Viagra Boys // Viagr Aboys

There's nothing soft about the Viagra Boys. On their "sort of" self-titled album, they go hard with a touch of punk and a sprinkle of indie rock, all wrapped up in wry lyrics that you will find yourself singing for the next week.

2. WITCH // Soglo

The pioneering 1970s Zambian psych-rock band are back with an album full of frenzied dance songs. With traditional Zambian rhythms, psychedelic guitar sounds, and catchy hooks, it's hard not to get your body moving while listening to it.

3. Osees // Abomination Revealed At Last

The Osees have released at least one album every year since 2003 – they continue to bring their unique brand of psych-punk for which their energetic live shows are known. This album should be listened to at full volume so your neighbors can also enjoy it.

4. El Michels Affair // 24 Hr Sports

The latest solo release from producer Leon Michels continues the soul jazz groove that's gotten him work with the likes of Norah Jones and the Wu Tang Clan. This funky yet laid-back masterpiece is equally as perfect for a night in with your loved one as it is as a soundtrack to a raucous evening with friends.

5. Fishbone // Stockholm Syndrome

Ska, punk, funk, soul, and metal are all genres that Fishbone have been known to weave between. On their first full-length album in 17 years, they don't miss a beat. Sounds as wonderful and weird as ever, all while holding a mirror to modern America.

EXTRAS: Cardiacs // LSD, Blueprint // Vessel, Garbage // Let All That We Imagine Be The Light, Holly Golightly // Look Like Trouble, De La Soul // Cabin In The Sky