Another one done!

   

So, having got to the end of The Guardian's Top 50 albums of 2025, how have they done this year?  

Overall, I think it was a pretty decent quality level without too many absolute stunners or stinkers. I was introduced to 25 new albums (a pleasing 50%, down from 31 last year) with eight having already been written up (down from ten last year), although there were six further albums which charted at #2 or #3 but were unlucky not to get a write-up.

Best 15

I'm not 100% convinced that this year deserves a top 15, but it's what I went for last year and when I picked my initial list of definitelys and maybes, it came to 15 - so I just stopped there rather than doing any more thinking. 

#46 - The Tubs
#44 - Sabrina Carpenter
#42 - Erika de Casier
#38 - Ethel Cain
#32 - Perfume Genius
#30 - Oklou
#25 - Wednesday
#22 - Little Simz
#16 - Pulp
#13 - Suede
#11 - Jade
#7 - Lily Allen
#5 - Lady Gaga
#2 - CMAT
#1 - Rosalia

The only ones I hadn't previously heard were The Tubs (which I really liked), Erika de Casier (which I really should have known about) and Perfume Genius (much better than expected) - conversely, the only ones I'd listened to more than once (or twice now) were Oklou (because Amazon pushed it on me, but I liked it), Sabrina Carpenter (because of my daughters, but it's not bad), Ethel Cain, Pulp and Suede (all because I saw them live). 

As usual, my list is mostly female vocalists (11 this year, as opposed to 10 last year) and the full Guardian list has 26 albums with women in a prominent role (down from 29 last year) but they do take six out of the top seven places. If I had to pick a top three that I enjoyed, I'd go for Oklou, Suede and Lily Allen but Little Simz (this certainly should have been higher), CMAT and Rosalia all feel like they have a good shout to be called the best album of the year - and I'm perfectly happy that Rosalia got it because that album really is an impressive piece of work (if not immediately loveable).

I'm also going to call out Jerskin Fendrix, YHWH Nailgun, Anna von Hausswolff, aya and Clipse for their efforts. They didn't make albums I loved or even liked (particularly YHWH Nailgun and aya) but they made the albums they wanted to and they're certainly "interesting" - aya's offering really is quite the thing (just don't look at the album artwork).

Worst 2

Having said that, whilst I'm sure these people also all made the albums they wanted to, I thought they were dreadful.

#31 - Horsegirl
#9 - Geese

There were several others on the list that I felt to be surprisingly average but we don't need to dwell on them, do we?

Potential Omissions

Looking at various other end of year lists, I've come up with (and I've only included links for albums I've specifically written up - feel free to search out the blog posts that mention the ones I've heard before)

Eusexia - FKA Twigs (I really liked this and thought it was a surprising omission)
After The Pyre - The Last Dinner Party (ditto - it's very Kate Bush)
Paradise Now - Obongjayar (never even heard of this)
People Watching - Sam Fender (very Sam Fenderish)
I'm Only Fucking Myself - Lola Young (don't remember it but I said it's "certainly worth a listen")
Hopefully - Loyle Carner (nicely laid back)
Viagr Aboys - Viagra Boys (surprisingly enjoyable)
Foxes In The Snow - Jason Isbell (I really liked this)
Forever Howlong - Black Country, New Road (needed a bit more variety for me)
The Consequence Of Love - Rianne Downey (I liked this one too)
A Complicated Woman - Self Esteem (and this one)
Even In Arcadia - Sleep Token (I confidently said this would soon disappear, so it obviously managed a 13 week run in the charts)
Ego Death At The Bacholerette Party - Hayley Williams (also good)
Instant Holograms On Metal Film - Stereolab (very French)
Sad And Beautiful World - Mavis Staples (I've not heard this, but she's got a fine voice - and she's 86!)

And with that, we come to the end of another list - see you in another 11 months for the best of 2026! But, don't worry, in the meantime, I might do some other posts - and, after some thought (but not much), '01 is destination of choice.

Happy New Year - see you on the next list!

#1 - A very impressive album

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