The Albums That Defined 2025

Another year has gone by, and that means that another year for music has come to an end. Many people thought 2024 was the biggest year for music in the 2020’s, but 2025 has been just as packed with albums that changed the music scene for the better. 

Here are some standout albums that really shined in 2025: 

Mayhem by Lady Gaga 

The legend, Lady Gaga, put out her sixth solo studio album, Mayhem on March 7th, and has begun touring it across the world. This album became a massive cultural phenomenon this year, with not only the music itself being everywhere, but the message of the album as well. 

This album touches on the chaos side of Gaga’s life; the craziness that surrounds the life of such a prominent figure in pop culture. 

This album embraced chaos and confusion, all while expressing so much love and creativity, which is something that many grabbed hold of. 

This album really brought back the more gothic side of Gaga that was everywhere in her early works. Hits like “Abracadabra” and “Disease” were the epitome of this album, creating an all around gothic but liberating album for the enjoyment of everyone. 

DON’T TAP THE GLASS by Tyler, The Creator 

As if Tyler, The Creator had not just had one of the craziest years ever in 2024 and 2025 with dropping and touring his eighth studio album, CHROMAKOPIA, he decided to drop number nine while doing it all. 

DON’T TAP THE GLASS was dropped on July 21st, while Tyler was touring CHROMAKOPIA, which had everyone absolutely starstruck by his dedication to the craft. 

This album was not as prominent in general spaces as a lot of his previous work, but the music was still appreciated by the masses. This album was a brief, honest, and raw look into the extraordinary work that Tyler is capable of. Tyler had an extraordinary year, with over 25 Billion streams and was even chosen as Apple Music’s Artist of the Year for 2025, rightfully so. 

This album was a perfect look into the mind of a prominent rap artist, one who is known to explore not only different sounds within the rap genre, but other music genres as well. 

Virgin by Lorde 

This is the fourth studio album by Lorde, one that came four years after her previous album Solar Power. Lorde has notoriously taken her time in between her albums, with an average four

year album cycle. But, that just means that she takes her time with her art, which can always be seen in the end product. 

Virgin came in hot, touching on the multiple obstacles and feelings that Lorde had been going through while producing the album like body-image issues, self doubt, and heartbreak. This album is the most emotionally stripped down that we have seen of the singer, with a lot of imagery being used to promote the album as well as while performing. 

Lorde has been in the public eye for so long, and we began to see how she’s been feeling in regards to the fame that she has. She also broke down what it feels like to battle with emotions, and a lot of people related to that. 

Debí Tirar Mas Fotos by Bad Bunny 

Bad Bunny was Spotify's No. 1 streamed artist in the world this year, and that can be attributed to his massively successful album Debí Tirar Mas Fotos. 

Debí Tirar Más Fotos came out on January 5th and was an instant success for the Latin and global music scene. This album was an expression of culture, and a love letter to his home and his history in Puerto Rico. 

He tackled love and grief, and what it feels like to exist and find joy in between and during those two things. He used traditional and new versions of reggaeton and traditional Puerto Rican sounds like bomba and salsa to make this his most personal album to date. 

Bad Bunny decided not to include the United State’s on the list of places he would tour because of rising ICE concerns. Bunny has been very vocal about this choice, and even in the wake of much backlash, he continues to stand firm in his decision. 

Bunny will also be the Super Bowl LX Apple Halftime Show headliner, putting him on one of the biggest stages in the United States. 

The Art of Loving by Olivia Dean 

Olivia Dean took the world by storm with her sophomore album The Art of Loving which was released on September 26th. This album is another exploration of Dean's ability to express emotions, like love and its many forms, in the most beautiful ways. 

So many of the songs on this album like “Man I Need”, “Lady Lady”, and “Nice To Each Other” were massive hits that everyone seemed to be listening to and were in every aspect of the media.

The London born singer was considered a breakout this year, really beginning to gain a lot of traction after her first album Messy (2023) had songs like “Dive” and “Messy” go viral all over TikTok in 2024. 

Olivia Dean is a generational talent, even being compared to the likes of Adele and the late Amy Winehouse, all while bringing in her own neo-soul and jazz sounds into her work. Dean has announced her 2026 ‘Art Of Loving Tour’, and has been nominated for her first Grammy in the Best New Artist category at the 2026 Grammy Awards. 

Man’s Best Friend by Sabrina Carpenter 

Sabrina Carpenter, much like Tyler, The Creator, has had an extremely busy year. Carpenter has spent her 2025 winning 2 Grammy Awards, touring her album Short n’ Sweet, and promoting and releasing her seventh studio album, Man’s Best Friend which was released on August 29th. 

The Pennsylvania born singer has been creating music and touring for over the past year, and her success is there to show for it. The singer is the creator behind so many viral TikTok sounds like “House Tour”, “Go Go Juice”, and “Manchild”. She has also been nominated six times for the 2026 Grammy Awards. 

This album is a perfect example of the quintessential pop sound that we are all familiar with. Carpenter produced the album alongside Jack Antonoff and John Ryan. Antonoff has worked with artists like Taylor Swift, Lorde, and Lana Del Rey, while Ryan has worked with the likes of One Direction and Maroon 5. 

Sabrina Carpenter is only at the beginning of a legendary career, and Man’s Best Friend is proof of the insane talent she has and hard work that she has been putting in for years and years. 

2025 has been such a wonderful example of what happens when you mix passion and talent and make it into an album. This year has seen so many up’s and down’s, leaving a lot of people feeling down-and-out. But, like with everything else that we go through, music will be there to carry us along. Here’s to 2026, and may it be full of creativity, passion, joy, and a lot of good music.