My 20 Top Albums of 2025
Welcome to another year end list! I may not blog much anymore, but it would feel incomplete for me to end a year without compiling the music that made it. Thanks for coming along for the ride - my hope is that you find something you like here! I do want to say that this has been my busiest year DJing by a lot, so my time for listening to albums has been somewhat restricted. Still, these are records that have been my calm before and after storms, and my top 5 in particular are ones that have been on repeat. Without further ado, here we go (Uh Oh)!
20: It's Not That Deep - Demi Lovato
I definitely surprised myself by including Demi’s dance-heavy album from the fall, even in my final spot of this year end list. Look, I do have a soft spot for this non-binary queen, and I mostly gave it a listen to find some high-energy dance floor bops. Guys, I found like 10 songs that are exactly what I want from Demi Lovato, and the album has a total of 11. But if you’re not a fan, you can stick with my top 3.
Top Tracks: Little Bit, Let You Go, Fast
19: Some Days I'm Good, Some Days I'm Not - Fridayy
This album was my introduction to Fridayy via Tidal’s recommendation on the weekend of its release, and I think it took exactly three songs before I was texting several people about it. Then I put it away for months, only really remembering my highlight track, “Wait”. I’m so glad I returned to it just in time for this list - it’s a really great infusion of warmth into the season of cold. But yes, I do skip the CB track at the end of the first volume.
Top Tracks: Wait, Saving My Love, Proud of Me
18: HEARTS SOLD SEPARATELY - Mariah the Scientist
I wasn’t expecting Mariah the Scientist to climb so high to the top of my fave R&B vocalists, but there’s something so deeply late-90s / early 00s about this record that it’s almost nostalgic - it’s hard to believe I’m including it on a 2025 list. If you loved Aaliyah and Ashanti, then you probably love Mariah already. Even if you don’t know you know her. (Like my wife, Beth, who says, “This is great - who’s this?” every time I play Hearts Sold Separately.)
Top Tracks: Is It A Crime, Sacrifice, Eternal Flame
17: Close to the Sun - Ariel J
I’m not sure what made me stumble into the poetics of Ariel J, but I’m so glad that I did. If Erykah Badu were no longer with us, I might think of Ariel as her reincarnation. I highly recommend Close to the Sun for an afternoon porch hang, with a friend, a blunt, and maybe a tarot reading. If that’s an afternoon you’d be into.
Top Tracks: 60 Feet Tall, Flight 1082, Almost Joking
16: Star Line - Chance the Rapper
Chance the Rapper’s latest release makes the list for the sheer number of tracks and collaborations that could have easily made my songs list. It’s not without issues … it’s a bit long and definitely sags in the middle, but it starts strong and ends with some absolute bangers.
Top Tracks: Ride, No More Old Men, Speed of Light, Speed of Love
15: Paradise Now - Obongjayar
I was introduced to this talented Nigerian artist via Little Simz on their collaboration on “Point and Kill,” and I’ve been fascinated with his breathy falsetto ever since. While Paradise Now is not his first release, it is his first since I’ve called myself a fan, and I appreciate the breadth of his style and energy. Also, Little Simz returns the favour here by showing up on “Talk Olympics”.
Top Tracks: Just My Luck, It’s Time, Not In Surrender
14: Pretty Idea - Amber Mark
I’ll admit that Amber Mark’s latest album was my most anticipated of 2025, and it didn’t quite meet my very high expectations. That being said, it’s the sophomore record of one of my favourite current pop-n-b (is that a genre? I don’t care - genre is a construct anyway) singer/songwriters and most of these songs slap. It’s just hard to follow up the immaculate debut that was 2022’s Three Dimensions Deep.
Top Tracks: Too Much, Don’t Remind Me, Let Me Love You
13: Promised Land - Wafia
I was thrilled to see a new release from Wafia in 2025- her first release in 5 years. This album is probably not going to make a ton of lists, but she continues to make warm and vulnerable pop songs that are perfect for calming me down at the end of a long day.
Top Tracks: Background, Vision of Love, Say It To The Moon
12: Start Anew - Shad
While Shad might be “starting anew” with his 7th studio album, this sounds as much like a return to his earliest albums. Although Shad literally always has something to say in some of the most clever and creative flow out here, these ones are also paired with particularly good productions that make me want to turn the volume up.
Top Tracks: Rain, K.I.S.S., Bars and BBQs
11: Love is a Kingdom - Tems
This is my most recent release on this list, and no one should be surprised that it’s my most played artist of the last 2 years, Tems. The only reason it’s down here at number 10 is that Love is a Kingdom is SHORT! Like, this should be labeled an EP, but I guess I make up for it by regularly playing it at least twice back-to-back.
Top Tracks: Lagos Love, First, What You Need
10: Flowers - Durand Jones & The Indications
Flowers is a jazzy mellow vibe all the way through, making it a common background soundtrack at home, and providing me with plenty of cocktail-hour selections as well.
Top Tracks: Paradise, Flower Moon, Really Wanna Be With You
9: Paid in Memories
I might be biased, but I adore Jessie Reyez, and Paid In Memories is an excellent example of a great artist who is continuing to mature and grow with every collection. I also really appreciate the depth and length of this album - I can’t help but remember when all I had was her two 7-song EPs back in 2018, and I’m grateful for this triple-sized, full LP.
Top Tracks: **PALO SANTO**, **GOLIATH**, **JUST LIKE THAT**
8: How to be Human - Cat Burns
Cat Burns has been having a year with the release of this fantastic album as well as her run on Celebrity Traitors UK. How To Be Human is a grief project inspired by two big losses in Cat’s life: the death of her grandfather and her breakup with longtime girlfriend, Jodie. Yet while there is sadness, there is also a lot of hope, and reframing, and attempts at composting the hard shit into life lessons in humanity.
Top Tracks: GIRLS!, All This Love, Come Home
7: SABLE, fABLE - Bon Iver
“S P E Y S I D E” was one of my top songs last year after it was pre-released as a single, and it’s still the standout from this record, but both volumes of Bon Iver’s 6th studio album are full of raw, emotional and thoughtful tracks like it. Justin Vernon continues to be one of my favourite white-man songwriters. Please don’t disappoint me, Justin.
Top Tracks: SPEYSIDE, Everything is Peaceful Love, If Only I Could Wait
6: Baby - Dijon
Dijon has really broken through with this sophomore release, along with his collaborations with some of Bon Iver and Justin Bieber’s best projects in ages, and even an appearance in the movie One Battle After Another earlier this year. Dijon’s raw emotion paired with his experimental R&B/Rock vibe has drawn multiple comparisons with the likes of Prince and Frank Ocean, and his references go back to the golden age of hip hop, with samples from Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, and DJ Quik.
Top Tracks: Yamaha, Kindalove, HIGHER!
5: Lotus - Little Simz
I am always excited when Little Simz releases an album, because with 7 records in 10 years, the versatile rapper and storyteller has missed exactly zero times. She returns here with some major personnel changes after cutting ties with producer Inflo and regular collaborator Cleo Sol, but there is plenty of consistency with other colleagues like Obongjayar and Miles Clinton James. Not to mention the beef with Inflo has inspired plenty of content.
Top Tracks: Free, Young, Only
4: The Breeze Grew A Fire - Mereba
Mereba dropped this record at the very start of 2025 and it was my most listened to new album this year, if only partially because it was available to me for so much of it. But even with much anticipated album drops since, The Breeze Grew a Fire remained on rotation through every season. It’s a rare gem that gives me both comfort and confidence.
Top Tracks: Sanctuary, Ever Need, Counterfeit, Hawk
3: Forever Is A Feeling - Lucy Dacus
Lucy’s tour is one that I continue to anticipate, since the nights she was scheduled to be in Vancouver had to be postponed until next June due to illness. This hopeful album is just so sweet as it chronicles her newfound love with bandmate and friend Julien Baker.
Top Tracks: Ankles, Best Guess, Come Out, Big Deal
2: DeBí TiRAR Más FOToS - Bad Bunny
Translating to “I Should have taken more photos”, DeBí TiRAR Más FOToS is a reminder to be present and appreciate the beauty around us, but this bunch of bangers is also a reminder to keep dancing.
Top Tracks: NUEVAYoL, DTMF, BAILA INoLVIDABLE
1: The Art of Loving - Olivia Dean
I wish I had kept track of all the people who have told me that “Man I Need” is their song of the year - including my very own wife, who does not in fact need a man at all. It’s a fantastic song, but it comes from an even better album that is full of soft and sexy vulnerability. This is a no-skip record, and it’s perfect for nearly any context. It was the easiest choice I had to make for this list.
Top Tracks: Lady Lady, Man I Need, Nice to Each Other, A Couple Minutes.
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Stay tuned for my favourite songs and full playlists of my favourite music from 2025, although don’t expect it until later January as I’ll be travelling and leaving my laptop at home! Cheers, and a very happy new year to you!