![\"Cherry](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tToo often in covering the music business, the discussions we have about what is worthy of a listen are steeped in whether or not something has Grammy buzz or charting potential. While there\u2019s certainly value in discussing that aspect of music releases, there\u2019s something to be said about discussing the music we actually listen to. <\/p>\n
\n\tWhen selecting a song to add to a playlist, is the track\u2019s Grammy potential top of mind? Likely not. But the catchy chorus, the hook you just can\u2019t get out of your head or the outro being played on a loop likely is. <\/p>\n
\n\tInstead of endeavoring to list out the best albums of the year\u00a0\u2014 plenty of people already are \u2014 we\u2019re going to talk about the albums that we found ourselves going back to again and again.<\/p>\n
\n\tMusic editor Ethan Millman leaned mainly alternative this year, whether that was alt-country with Carter Faith and Cherry Valley or alt-rock with Wet Leg\u2019s Moisturizer and Turnstile\u2019s Never Enough. And for all the talk about hip-hop\u2019s growing chart struggles, rap is well-represented too between Earl Sweatshirt\u2019s wildly underrated Live Laugh Love and Clipse\u2019s groundbreaking Let God Sort Em Out, the only record on our list contending for the album of the year Grammy this February. <\/p>\n
\n\tFor assistant editor Nicole Fell, all roads led back to pop this year, whether that was Zara Larsson\u2019s brightly colored second act, Midnight Sun, K-pop powerhouse ATEEZ\u2019s earnest push into the U.S. market, Golden Hour : Part 3, In Your Fantasy Edition or J-pop rising stars, F5ve. While Laufey\u2019s A Matter of Time proved to be a career defining moment for the Icelandic singer, Little Mix alum Jade finally had her big breakout moment with That\u2019s Showbiz Baby. <\/p>\n
\n\tTake a deeper dive into our favorite albums of 2025. <\/p>\n
\tCherry Valley \u2014 Carter Faith<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tCherry Valley is stunning. The album is a delightful bit of whiplash as the the 25-year-old rising Nashville act weaves effortlessly between devastating, string-laden ballads and funny, cheeky diddies about doing drugs, scorning shitty friends and moving on from relationships.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tSonically, the easiest way to describe Cherry Valley is as if Kacey Musgraves made a Sabrina Carpenter-inspired Dolly Parton record. Faith\u2019s lyrics are contemporary, but the music lends itself to a more classic country sound, and each track feels like a love letter to the music that\u2019s influenced her. Faith evokes Elvis on the heartbreaking \u201cClipse,\u201d Musgraves on the clever \u201cSails,\u201d and even crafts a sort of modern \u201cJolene\u201d on standout \u201cBetty.\u201d She even gets a Billy Bob Thornton co-sign as the Landman leading man starred in her music video for single \u201cBar Star.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tDon\u2019t be surprised by a Carter Faith breakout in 2026. She\u2019s taking Cherry Valley on tour next year, and outside of music, she\u2019s also set to star opposite Jessica Chastain in the Netflix film Heartland.\u00a0
As far as Cherry Valley goes, If there\u2019s a better album that\u2019s come out in the past few years, I\u2019m yet to hear it.\u00a0 \u2014 E.M.<\/p>\n
\tMidnight Sun \u2014 Zara Larsson<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Sommer House\/Epic Records\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tWithout a doubt, 2025 has been a game changing year for Swedish pop star Zara Larsson. The 28-year-old has had several hits throughout her career but her latest album, Midnight Sun, stands in its own league.<\/p>\n
\n\tBy her own admission, the 10-track album is the most authentically Larsson album she\u2019s ever put out. After her viral TikTok moment with \u201cSymphony,\u201d the singer decided to embrace the glitter and dolphins, diving head first into a bright and colorful aesthetic for Midnight Sun. It works perfectly alongside Larsson\u2019s dance-pop tracks.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe album\u2019s titular track is a delight \u2014 it\u2019s endlessly catchy and downright addictive. \u201cBlue Moon,\u201d a dreamy dance-pop is a mellow, sleeper hit. But the track that\u2019s most likely to play on loop in the heads of listeners is the pitch perfect summer song, \u201cEurosummer.\u201d It\u2019s likely this will be a song that carries over into next summer \u2014 given this album came out in September. \u2014 N.F.<\/p>\n
\tMoisturizer \u2014 Wet Leg<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\tIt\u2019s hard to recreate the moment Wet Leg had when they burst onto the scene with viral singles \u201cWet Dream\u201d and \u201cChaise Longue\u201d back in 2021, yet the Isle of White alt-rockers managed to come back this year with a deeper, more complete sophomore effort in Moisturizer<\/a>. They\u2019ve still got that signature cheekiness that defined their first record, but Moisturizer is much more earnest too, filled with love songs both saccharine (\u201cDavina McCall\u201d) and aggressively horny (\u201cPillow Talk\u201d) as frontwoman Rhian Teasdale found love as she discovered her own queer identity. Moisturizer\u2019s everything you want out of this band: Fun, hard-charging, sweet and sour. \u2014 E.M.<\/p>\n \tGolden Hour : Part 3, In Your Fantasy Edition \u2014 ATEEZ<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tBoy group ATEEZ continues to push boundaries in the K-pop ecosystem, and Golden Hour: Part 3 \u2014\u00a0originally released in June before being repackaged as a full-length album with 10 new tracks in July \u2014 is the group at its finest.<\/p>\n \n\tThe first single, \u201cLemon Drop,\u201d is a near-perfect K-pop summer track, but the real star of the album is the repackage single \u201cIn Your Fantasy.\u201d It\u2019s the first English-language single for the eight-member group, which consists of members Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho. It\u2019s a bit more risqu\u00e9 than the average K-pop single \u2014 \u201cI know what you into \/ Baby, got a type \/ Yeah, I could be gentle \/ But that ain\u2019t what you like\u201d and \u201cGood girl, now you\u2019re not so sure\u201d come to mind \u2014 but that\u2019s one of the reasons the song works. It\u2019s also just intoxicating. \u2014 N.F. <\/p>\n \tNever Enough \u2014 Turnstile<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tIt\u2019s 2025, and rock and roll isn\u2019t dead. If you\u2019re looking for proof, look no further than Turnstile\u2019s Never Enough. On tracks like \u201cI Care\u201d and \u201cLight Design\u201d The Baltimore hardcore group have proven themselves as one of the most versatile outfits in the genre, incorporating pop-punk and synth-driven pop between the more typical high-octane guitar riffs and heavy vocals. Longer-time fans have been in the know for years, but it\u2019s nice to see the rest of the world figuring it out too. Beyond their new chart highs and Grammy noms, the biggest victory for Turnstile this year is less tangible than all that: for the first time in many years, a rock band is the coolest musical act on the planet. \u2014 E.M.<\/p>\n \tThat\u2019s Showbiz Baby \u2014 Jade<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tIt\u2019s always exciting to see a well deserved breakthrough, but it feels a little extra special to see Jade\u2019s That\u2019s Showbiz Baby. The British former girl group member (long live Little Mix) ushered in her solo era with the album\u2019s first single, \u201cAngel of My Dreams,\u201d one of the best pop songs released last year. <\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s Showbiz Baby\u2019s second track, \u201cIT Girl,\u201d is where the album finds its title and just might be the thesis for this era in Jade\u2019s career. She is certainly portraying the pop IT girl we should only be so lucky to experience.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBefore You Break My Heart,\u201d \u201cMidnight Cowboy\u201d and \u201cSelf Saboteur\u201d are also standout moments on the album. If 2025 was the year Jade finally got the recognition she deserves, here\u2019s to hoping 2026 is the year she makes her way into the main pop girl rotation. \u2014 N.F.<\/p>\n \tLive Laugh Love, Earl Sweatshirt<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tIn a streaming era that\u2019s given way to no shortage of unnecessarily bloated albums over the past decade, Earl Sweatshirt is consistently a breath of fresh air. Like much of the rapper\u2019s discography, his fifth album Live Laugh Love comes in quick at just 24 minutes long \u2014 \u201cI don\u2019t want to waste people\u2019s time,\u201d Earl previously told Pitchfork of his proclevity cutting to the chase \u2014 but he makes the most of every moment, dropping his most impressive project in nearly a decade. With clever bars matched to a beautiful set of eclectic beats from Theravada, Earl quietly released one of the best rap albums of 2025. \u2014 E.M. <\/p>\n \tA Matter of Time \u2014 Laufey<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tLaufey simply can\u2019t be pinned down. Is she a jazz singer? Is she a pop singer? Frankly, who cares? She\u2019s an insanely talented singer-songwriter, and she\u2019s built a career waffling between genres.<\/p>\n \n\tA Matter of Time, her most ambitious release yet, is one of the most listenable albums of the year. From the melodic and heartbreaking single \u201cSnow White,\u201d to the quirky-meets-spunky \u201cLover Girl,\u201d the 14-track album takes listeners along through the trials and tribulations of love and heartbreak, mostly the latter.<\/p>\n \n\tIn a smart change of pace, standout track \u201cCastle in Hollywood\u201d explores one of the most gut-wrenching breakups a 26-year-old can experience \u2014 the loss of a friendship. Laufey at one-point refers to the song\u2019s subject as the \u201cbest worst friend\u201d she\u2019s ever had, but the lyrics that stick around post-listen have to be: \u201cMy first heartbreak \/ Marked the end of my girlhood \/ We\u2019ll never go back to our Castle In Hollywood.\u201d \u2014 N.F. <\/p>\n \tLet God Sort Em Out \u2014 Clipse<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tIt took 16 years for Clipse to follow up 2009\u2019s Til the Casket Drops, and Malice and Pusha T didn\u2019t lose a step with Let God Sort Em Out, weaving effortlessly between boisterous \u2014 \u201cthe only Audi here is driven by my au pair,\u201d Push raps on \u201cPOV\u201d \u2014 and devastating, with the brothers kicking off their album with the contemplative \u201cThe Birds Don\u2019t Sing\u201d about the death of their parents. \u201cIt just doesn\u2019t go away,\u201d Pusha T told THR <\/a>earlier this year of the grief he and Malice still face. \u201cSome days are better than others. Some mornings, it\u2019s fine. Other mornings, it\u2019s tears in the shower. Some shows, it\u2019s fine performing it. Some rehearsals, it\u2019s not. It\u2019s just random times where it strikes you more than others. It\u2019s kind of like a disbelief when I feel like \u201cdamn. I\u2019m really singing this song and it\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCombine the duo\u2019s ambition with strong production from longtime collaborator Pharrell, plus a dispute and breakup with Def Jam to even get the album out, and Let God Sort Em Out became one of the most exciting moments in music this year, bar none. \u2014 E.M. <\/p>\n \tSequence 01.5 \u2014 F5ve<\/p>\n \t\t\t \n\tPerhaps the most exciting Japanese act in the business right now, girl group F5ve is challenging the preconceived notion of what a J-pop group looks and sounds like. Hitmaker BloodPop serves as F5ve\u2019s executive music producer, shaping the often-experimental sound of the girl group, which includes members Sayaka, Kaede, Ruri, Miyuu and Rui.<\/p>\n \n\tSequence 01.5, the deluxe version of their debut studio album Sequence 01, earned a spot over its preceder thanks to the single \u201cI Choose You.\u201d It\u2019s dreamy, just-right-amount of saccharine, and it\u2019s so different from much of the music F5ve makes, showing a promising range.<\/p>\n \n\tHowever, nothing tops the A.G. Cook-produced \u201cUFO,\u201d released in late 2024 as a pre-release single. Charli XCX is right \u2014 I am \u201cgon\u2019 jump if A.G. made it\u201d because \u201cUFO\u201d is, well, out of this world. It\u2019s addictive, unique and it\u2019s set F5ve off on a new path as a group. That future looks endlessly bright. \u2014 N.F.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Too often in covering the music business, the discussions we have about what is worthy of a listen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367019,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[63505,64,63,199078,8963,134,109727,136,199079,199080],"class_list":["post-367018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ateez","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-carter-faith","tag-clipse","tag-entertainment","tag-laufey","tag-music","tag-wet-leg","tag-zara-larsson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Three Six Zero Recordings\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n