2025 was an insane year in album releases. I was obsessed with albums by Mac Miller, Lil Simz, the Dog Park Dissidents, the Clipse, the Mexican Institute of Sound, Bad Bunny, Karol G, Esther Rose, and more, but alas, there’s only 10 spots on this end-of-year list. Late contenders like Rosalia and Snow Tha Product didn’t make the cut for my list this year, but I’ll see how they play out in 2026. Here are my top 10 albums of year.
Jessie Reyez - Paid in Memories
Favorite Lyric: “Got holy books on my wall / The Quran says I'm Haram / And swears that there’ll be a trial to see / if my soul’s worth shit”
No album rejuvenates my sense of youth, fun, and love like Paid in Memories. At 33, the feelings in the album can feel forever away as we respond to crises and care for children, but with a kiss and a barb, Reyez gives me butterflies again. This album makes me feel like I’m high on the beach when I’m running in Chicago winter slush with my dog.
Mercedes Sosa - 30 Años
Favorite Lyric: “Gracias a la vida que me ha dado tanto / Me ha dado el sonido y el abecedario / Con él, las palabras que pienso y declaro”
Mercedes Sosa is a must-listen to anyone in solidarity with the Latin American left. I’m embarrassed I didn’t discover her in my twenties. 30 Años is a greatest hits album, but having dug through more of her discography, I can guarantee Mercedes doesn’t miss. Songs like “Gracias a la vida” is a rare sad song about gratitude that doesn’t stick its head in the sand, a song that grows more important as we fight to weave a semblance of wellness amid so much grief. Songs like La Maza could only be performed by a singer with the ethos and gravitas to lead the people along their difficult work and makes me long for another artist that can enrapture the masses like Sosa. Songs like “Maria, Maria” and “Solo le pido a dios” make the struggles etched in the bones of my people feel seen in ways I’ve never experienced before.
Carsie Blanton - The Red Album + Entire Discography
Favorite Lyric: “Ford the river, cross the sea / a slave, a rat, a refugee / strap the child to your side / keep the little flame alive.”
Blanton is the commie folk singer I’ve always dreamed of. She has sexy, swoony songs like “Swimming in the Pool,” hot, bold songs like “Vim and Vigor,” sentimental love songs like “Two Sleepy People,” sharp wry political songs like “The Democrats” and sentimental, comforting songs like “Little Flame” and “Fishing with You.” Blanton took the charge to make the revolution sexy dead seriously and I hold her as high up as Mercedes Sosa above in my greatest finds this year.
Jessie Welles - Patchwork
Favorite Lyric: “Some folks go to school / Others have to learn that most of life is wishing / Tryin' to get back to a memory of a memory / You never might've had”
Jessie Welles was my gateway drug into a broad range of protest folk. Songs like “Fear is a Mind Killer” helped me breathe through the opening salvos of the Trump administration. “That can’t be right” and others helped me hold onto a flame of nostalgia and love long enough to make it through tough days. While I don't love all his songs, the ones that hit fucking hit.
Lella Fadda - MAGNÜN
Favorite Song: Tarat Tarat Tat
Delivered with an incredibly seductive and fierce swagger over electronic hiphop with slick bass, Lella Fadda is my favorite rapper of the year. Hailing from Italy and Egypt, all her bars are in Arabic, which has a special kind of river and curve you can't get anywhere else. Turns out the lyrics are pretty feminist and snappy, and her music videos reflect this humor and tenacity.
Kali Uchis - Sincerely
Favorite Lyric: “Stay away from my baby, / stay away from my home. / That’s all I ask of the world.”
These songs made me feel like I was floating in a cloud on the beach eating strawberries. Mostly, I would let this album wash over me like a warm wave.
Yo.Soy.Rey - Rap Protesta, Vol II + Discography
Favorite Lyric: “Lo que hay sobre la tierra algun dia fue de todos.”
The opening track marks Venezuelan rapper Yo.Soy.Rey off as a reformed murderer and conscientious rapper, who believes in the hard work of building a better world. He raps like a mix of Immortal Technique and J. Cole with tracks about getting high with Martians, disses to Maduro, and more. Despite occasional homophobia, this was a gem of a find this year.
CMAT - Eurocountry
Favorite Lyric: “I don't miss you because I can't / If I think too much about you, I’d go mad.”
I imagine Lucy Dacus listens to CMAT with a knife in her hand. Her lyricism just hits when you least expect. The first time Let That Tesla Crash hits you'll be on the floor thinking about your dead friends. It's crazy. It’s hard being that hot, queer, smart, and bothered.
Emerson Woolf and the Wishbones - Too Easy to Kill + discography
Favorite Lyric: “My pussy is a gun / and it’s pointed at your head. / And I can kiss you so good / you’ll wish that you were dead.”
I feel like I grew up with white girls like Emerson in Utah. A hook like “Jesus doesn’t love me” made me laugh, then weep with young grief. Songs like “Not a Good Woman” and “Wouldn't it be funny?” hooked me, because goddam Emerson isn't afraid to go rabid raccoon lyrically. I’m grateful for songs like Sixth Sense that process death in such mundane ways. I go to her when I need to sink into my sad little corner with my bag of Skittles and just try to get through the day.
María José Llergo - Ultra Belleza
Favorite Lyric: “Aprendí a llorar cantando / Aprendí a cantar llorando”
If you love Rosalia’s album, you will love this one as well, especially the Tiny Desk concert. Hailing from Spain, Llergo has a voice that can make angels weep. These sentimental songs are young in their vibrancy and hope. “Superpoder” is the song I kept returning to over and over. This album is kindling to keep your fire going.