Carlos Collazo

My Favorite Albums From 2025

I'd like to start writing about and ranking albums here on the blog—like I've been doing with books—but didn't quite get around it in 2025.

That will be something to get started in earnest in 2026, along with movies and TV shows.

I still wanted to write a piece about my favorite albums from this past year. Since 2015 I've made yearly Spotify playlists that house a lot of my favorite songs and albums each year. The bulk of these playlists are made up of music that came out during the year, but I'll also add anything that is new to me that year.

So this isn't a list of my favorite 2025 albums, but a list of my favorite albums I listened to in 2025.

1. God Does Like Ugly, JID (hip-hop)

This is the fourth studio album from Atlanta-based rapper JID, and was one of my most anticipate projects of the year. In terms of production and versatility I think it's the most impressive project he's released. I think his third studio album, The Forever Story, has more impactful writing overall but this album is a massive accomplishment in sound, creativity and just feels so Atlanta.

I don't know of another rapper who's capable of the sort of intricate flows that JID routinely pulls off. His technical rapping ability is second to none. The first third of the album is heavy on lyrical rapping, wordplay and intensity. The energy he brings on "Community" is tremendous and his storytelling shines on both "Glory" and "Gz." JID flips into more of an R&B style in the middle third with bops like "SK8" and some of the best singing we've heard from him in "Wholeheartedly" and "No Boo."

The final third of the album has some of the best production of the project with an epic, beat-switch filled "Of Blue" and the extremely cinematic and haunting "K-Word." The closer, "For Keeps," wraps up the album nicely with a thank you note to fans over a smooth soul sample.

I love this album. It's one of my favorites of all time.

2. Let God Sort Em Out, Clipse (hip-hop)

This is the album of the year for many rap fans, and justifiably so. The beats and production on this album are awesome, which is probably unsurprising given the presence of Pharrell. In particular I like the opener "The Birds Don't Sing" and the closer "By The Grace Of God" as well as "M.T.B.T.T.F.," "P.O.V." and "Inglorious Bastards."

3. Sage Motel, Monophonics (R&B/soul)

Not one, but two non-rap/R&B albums land on my top five list this year. Sage Motel actually came out back in 2022, but I first heard it this year after a recommendation from a friend. Monophonics describes themselves as a psychadelic soul band and Sage Motel is their fifth studio album. I loved it the entire way through. It's smooth and vibey and hypnotizing at times. The eponymous single "Sage Motel" is probably my favorite track on the album but I also really like "The Shape Of My Teardrops" and "Love You Better."

4. SOS Deluxe: LANA, SZA (R&B)

I originally made fun of this album because of the continued trend of Deluxe albums. Turns out it was one of the projects I listened to most frequently in 2025. Part of that is because I added this album to my playlist on Jan. 1 and the first few months of the year were pretty quiet on the new music front, but it's also because basically every song here is good—high praise for a 38-song project. I called "Scorsese Baby Daddy" the song of the year after a week of listening to it and it was my most played track in 2025. Other highlights are "BMF," "30 for 30," "Chill Baby," "Snooze," and "Far."

SZA is the current queen of R&B for me.

5. Even in Arcadia, Sleep Token (metal)

My brother is a big fan of the English band Sleep Token, and this is the first album that I actually was intrigued by enough to listen to a few times over. It's more of a pop-rock-oriented project than their earlier work—which seems heavier and more metal inspired—but I found it super catchy and listenable. "Damocles" and "Caramel" were my favorite songs from this one, and those two were among my most listened to songs of the year.

Honorable Mentions

Playlists

#blogs #music