End of Year Recap: My Top 10 Favorite Albums of the Year

2025 sucked, it can get out the door. But not before we review some nicer things about the year.

Up until the beginning of this month, I was constantly listening to music or podcasts or audiobooks during work because I took chats all day long. You know when you log onto a website and there’s a little chat bot that pops up in the bottom right hand corner?

I used to be the person you’d talk to after the bot. While it wasn’t my favorite role, it did give me a lot of flexibility while working from home - like listening to music. As a kid, I sang all the time, mostly in church and middle school choir, and I have a deep admiration for music in general, even for music that may not be my type.

I mostly listen to country and pop, but making this list, I realized I had a lot more pop music this year than country music. But so many pop stars put out good albums this year. And then of course, there was the Wicked: For Good soundtrack.

So, while these are numbered, they’re loosely numbered. My favorite 10 albums of 2025. Except the top three. I think those are pretty solidly my top three.

My Top 10 Albums of 2025

10. Hey, Country Queen by Mackenzie Carpenter

There are so many fun country songs on this album and there aren’t many debut, female artists in country anymore. “Dozen Red Flags” is a fun warning, while “Boots On” is a flirty little tune built on teasing your partner just a tad. There’s a murder mystery song, “Gone Fishing”, too, that alway get some extra plays when they come on my shuffle. Special mention to a single she put out before the album that didn’t make the album though - “Huntin Season".

9. Man’s Best Friend by Sabrina Carpenter

I love a good pop album and this one was that. “Manchild” was my top played song this year - I love the lyrics and the the little hint of banjo (I think) in the background. “Go Go Juice” is my “gotta cry about my life” song, because crying is better if you’re laughing, too.

8. Greetings From Your Hometown by Jonas Brothers

The Jonas Brothers are so interesting to me because I grew up a Disney Channel kid and they all have their own styles, but the music they put out is just fun pop music on this album.

7. Only Smoke by Shoshana Bean

Shoshana Bean is a Broadway vet. She’s done time as Elphaba, she was in the original cast of Hairspray, and did a stint in Waitress. She has the pipes, so when I found out she had a new album out this fall, it was on rotation for a bit. There are some great songs on this album, like “Left Over Love”, “Quite Like Me” and “Montana.” Those aren’t the only songs that stand out though, it’s a great album all around.

6. Nashville Canyon, Part One by Jessica Simpson

Yes, that Jessica Simpson. After announcing the end of her marriage, she dropped her first new musical work in a long time, Nashville Canyon. It’s really an album split into two EPs and I personally liked the first part better. The first single “Use My Heart” was in my top five listened songs of 2025. The project is more rock leaning than previous works from her and it feels grittier, too. I hope we see more from her in the future.

5. Mayhem by Lady Gaga

There are so many bangers on this album, where do I even begin? “Abracadabra” feels like such a perfect Lady Gaga song to me. “Perfect Celebrity” captures this fascination I have about fame - what is the cost of it to you as an individual? “How Bad Do U Want Me” scratches an itch in my brain I didn’t know I had.

4. It’s Not that Deep by Demi Lovato

Told y’all I was a Disney kid. While this album is a pop dance fest, don’t let the title fool you. There are a few songs that hit you in the feels, like “Sorry to Myself” - an apology to past self-loathing and accepting love that’s less than what we deserve. “Ghost” is a sweet love song about haunting your partner in the after-life. But the album has plenty of loud songs with lots of bass if you want to get lost in a beat. “Here all Night” is probably my favorite.

3. Memory Lane by Emily Ann Roberts

This is an EP, but man, I can’t wait for a full album from her. Every song on this EP is a little different, but they all showcase just how good Emily Ann is. “Jack & Jill Daniels” gives a backstory to Jack Daniels and how his heartbreak brought us a popular liquor. “Bus to Augusta” is a murder ballad that feels like it was at least partly inspired by “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia.” “Pretty in Pink” is a fun nod to being a lady but every song is worth a rotation on a playlist.

2. All Things Light by Cam

Cam is one of my favorite singers, she’s just so expressive in her voice and she’s worked with so many people. She wrote songs that were cut by Miley Cyrus, Sam Smith and the title track to her sophomore album, The Outside was a song she co-wrote with Avicii. Cam has worked with almost everyone it feels like.

So especially with her pop leanings, this album was a bit of surprise. It’s more stripped back but it’s more fun. “Hallelujah” tackles losing faith in your religion in a way that hit me really hard. I don’t talk about it, but the last few years have found me really reassessing my relationship with my religion. “Wherever You Are” is a song that immediately made me think of my sister - wherever she is, I hope she thinks of me sometimes. “Canyon” and “Kill the Guru!” have some fun grooves to them, too.

1. Wicked: For Good by the Wicked Movie Cast

Wicked as a musical and story just means so much to me. “No Good Deed” is my “scream at the top of my lungs” song - where every rule I’ve learned about singing in my year goes out the window and I just become a little unhinged. I loved the expanded sections of this album, especially “March of the Witch Hunters.” With the expanded orchestra, the songs feel bigger and hit you harder.

How could I not love it?

There was so much good music this year, but these were my favorites throughout the year. Did you love any of these albums, too?