Another year, another bucketload of fantastic albums to enjoy. 2025 was certainly an eventful one for the Jaily Review: it saw the end of the daily review series back in March, and just so happened to be the first full year of this website’s operation as well. Whatever changes, good or bad, came your way across the year, one thing’s for sure— 2025, like all years, had some phenomenal music to enjoy. Below are my picks for the top ten albums of the last twelve months, as well as three honourable mentions: each and every one is well-worth checking out.

HM3: clipping.— Dead Channel Sky

If you’d asked me about ‘Dead Channel Sky’s’ chances of making the end-of-the-year list when I first reviewed it back in March, I probably would’ve told you that it seemed pretty unlikely. Despite that, the record’s done nothing but draw me back time and time again across the year. This ended up being one of my most listened-to albums of 2025, and looking back, it’s pretty easy to see how: I’ve had cuts like ‘Run It,’ ‘Code’ and ‘Mirrorshades pt. 2’ on repeat for a while now. The newest clipping. release is far less abrasive than its predecessors— thank goodness— but carries just enough distortion to sell its futuristic, dystopian set-pieces. I probably don’t need to tell you that William Hutson and Jonathon Snipes bring some striking production to the table here, and you certainly don’t need reminding that Daveed Diggs is a one-of-a-kind frontman for the trio: just suffice it to say, then, that ‘Dead Channel Sky’ takes abstract hip-hop, smashes it together with dance music, and becomes an album as disturbing as it is mesmerising. Welcome home clipping.: everyone is proud of you.

HM2: Natalia Lafourcade— Cancionera

‘Cancionera’ isn’t an album I’ve returned to that often since giving my thoughts on it in May, but that might just be because the record was a gateway into Spanish folk music for me. Even among her peers though, Lafourcade is a truly generational talent— who else would dare to record their latest album, in its entirety, in a single take? ‘Cancionera’ really does live up to its title of ‘songbook,’ as the entire record has an ebb-and-flow to it much like a winding narrative: I may not be overly inclined to return to every single track across this expansive double-album, but you can bet I won’t be skipping a single one once the album’s begun. What’s earned Natalia Lafourcade the honourable mention isn’t necessarily the vibrant performances of her latest album, charming as they may be. Rather, it’s the remarkable diversity she demonstrates that lends ‘Cancionera’ its delightful mixture of intimacy and wonder. The softer passages of ‘Mascaritas de Cristal’ and ‘Luna Creciente’ fit snugly against an energetic inclusion like ‘Cocos en la Playa,’ earning a smile from me each time I’ve returned to this marvellous collection of tracks.

HM1: The Weeknd— Hurry Up Tomorrow

Anyone who’s read my article on the final Weeknd album may be shocked to see it just barely missing out on a spot in the top 10: that ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ review may be one of the most glowing pieces I’ve ever put out. I must admit that, in hindsight, the record’s ambitious scope does weigh it down in a manner I’d failed to fully recognise back in January— there’s a disconcerting number of awkward transitions and loose ends scattered across ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ that add up to, just barely, knock it down to an honourable mention. Don’t take those comments as anything more than nitpicks though: when push comes to shove, my first listen-through of this album probably still ranks as one of the most immersive of the entire year. Everything from The Weeknd’s serene vocals to the meaningful introspective themes the record juggles works in ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’s’ favour, and the Mike Dean-led production continues to stand as some of the smoothest and strongest that 2025 had to offer: simply put, modern popular music just doesn’t get much better than this.

#10: Florence + The Machine— Everybody Scream

Kicking off the list proper is Florence + The Machine: honestly, it feels great to be able to write that. Florence Welch and company have always been a band deserving of immense amounts of respect, but I’ve never been head-over-heels for a specific project of theirs, unfocused as they could often be. Thank the heavens for ‘Everybody Scream,’ then, which now sits firmly as my favourite album from the band. This really feels like the culmination of everything they’ve ever done, combining the visceral emotional qualities of 2018’s ‘High As Hope’ with sweeping arrangements to rival 2022’s ‘Dance Fever:’ in its execution, I’d say this is the record that puts all previous to shame. It also doesn’t hurt that the vast majority of songs on ‘Everybody Scream’ are immaculately written, even diverse and exploratory as they are. I can vividly remember my delight at first hearing the booming synths on ‘Sympathy Magic’ and the vast climax of ‘You Can Have It All’— that’s the kind of response that gets an album into my top 10, and I’m beyond thrilled to finally have a Florence + The Machine release that I unequivocally love in its entirety.

#9: Coroner— Dissonance Theory

From the most high-profile release on my list to one of the more obscure: truly, I’m as shocked as you that a comeback record from a 90s thrash metal outfit has earned its place here. Coroner’s newest album comes a whopping thirty-two years after their last release ‘Grin,’ yet sounds more daring and exciting than the vast majority of output in the modern metal space. In a year with its fair share of strong thrash— Testament’s ‘Para Bellum’ springs to mind— it’s ‘Dissonance Theory’ that, in my eyes, really pushes the envelope. As you might be expecting, the furious performances and wicked sound design that make this such an electrifying listen are certainly great assets at the album’s disposal, but they alone would not have secured Coroner a spot on this list. Rather, it’s the band’s adaptation that strikes me as their most remarkable trait, as ‘Dissonance Theory’ incorporates influences ranging from industrial slams to metalcore-esque lead work to progressive flourishes. Tracks like ‘Transparent Eye’ and ‘Renewal’ don’t sound like a 90s band looking for a new lease on life, but like modern metal utterly perfected: I’ll be headbanging to this into 2026 and beyond.

#8: Imperial Triumphant— Goldstar

If ‘Dissonance Theory’ captures the essence of excellent metal, ‘Goldstar’ is something else entirely. Imperial Triumphant are a band I was entirely unaware of going into 2025, and it’s been a great pleasure to discover such phenomenal releases as 2018’s ‘Vile Luxury’ and 2022’s ‘Spirit Of Ecstasy:’ even among those, though, there’s a strong argument to be made that the group’s newest material is their best yet. This is a record I first heard about through several highly positive reviews, even if it’s the album’s incredible artwork that finally convinced me to give it a go— I’m certainly glad I did, seeing as I’ve been hooked ever since. A fusion of dissonant black metal and New York jazz was only ever going to be either amazing or disastrous, and ‘Goldstar’ earns its name. Songs as abstract and creative as ‘Hotel Sphinx’ and ‘Pleasuredome’ are the kind of pure artistry I myself aspire to, though the members of Imperial Triumphant are a cut above in terms of performance. Tacking on an anti-capitalist message was the finishing touch that turned ‘Goldstar’ into an album I’ve been positively obsessed with all year— I just can’t decide if I think it’s beautiful or horrifying, or both in equal measure.

#7: Perturbator— Age of Aquarius

This is one that should be entirely unsurprising if you’ve read my review: I took 1000 words to gush about ‘Age of Aquarius,’ and I stand by every single one. I first gave this album a try after a particularly long day of work, and the synth swells that kick off ‘Apocalypse Now’ came as a genuine relief to me— that’s just a testament to how phenomenal of a producer James Kent is, and boy does he pull out all the stops across the rest of the record. Synthwave is a genre I’ve always had a passing interest in, but 2025 was the year I finally opened myself up to artists like Carpenter Brut and Gunship… and Perturbator, much to my own enjoyment. ‘Age of Aquarius’ executes on all the best tenants of that style flawlessly, using tracks like ‘Lunacy’ and ‘The Art of War’ to demonstrate just how effortlessly Kent can put together pounding rhythms and powerful instrumental displays. Even more memorable, though, are the record’s more restrained moments: songs like ‘Venus’ and ‘Lady Moon’ have been playing in my head over and over since I first heard them, all but guaranteeing Perturbator’s latest masterpiece its place here.

#6: John michel & Anthony James— Egotrip

In a year where mainstream hip-hop appeared to be floundering, it was the underground scene that gave us our landmark releases. 2025 saw a number of fantastic rapper/producer albums, whether that be the oft-praised ‘Alfredo 2’ or the under-appreciated ‘Sortilège,’ but none were instant classics in quite the same way as ‘Egotrip.’ It feels like rapper John michel and producer Anthony James came out of nowhere, taking over every hip-hop discussion when their collaborative project dropped back in May: listening to it, you’d think the duo would have decades of experience under their belts. ‘Egotrip’ is pretty much the perfect hip-hop album, with michel combining aggressive flows on the mic with a range of thoughtful lyrical topics and clever moments of wordplay. For my money though, I’ll take James’ show-stopping production, which had me spellbound the first time I heard it (and hasn’t grown any less stunning with time)— to this day, the melodic chorus on ‘NOBODY’ and soaring electric guitars on ‘world’s end’ floor me. I’d go so far as to say that any hip-hop enjoyers who haven’t taken ‘Egotrip’ for a spin are shooting themselves in the foot: this is the definition of a must-listen.

#5: Messa— The Spin

I hardly know what genre to classify this next entry under— where Messa’s previous work has fallen pretty comfortably into the realm of doom metal, their newest release is both a radical departure and a momentous improvement. ‘The Spin’ is an album I enjoyed when I first heard it back in April, but it took some time for its devilish hooks to really sink into me: now that we’ve made it all the way to December, every second is burned permanently into my brain. If I were giving out awards, Messa would take home ‘best melodies of the year’ in a heartbeat for the truly spellbinding lines Sara weaves together on tracks like ‘Fire on the Roof’ and ‘Void Meridian.’ It may also earn the ‘all-killer, no-filler’ award, given that ‘The Spin’ sports arguably the single most consistent tracklist I’ve stumbled across all year— these seven tracks don’t just sit together well, but continually work to one-up each other. The slide-guitar and piano sections that creep in toward the record’s end have not yet failed to put a goofy smile on my face, and I’d say that Messa’s recent reinvention is nothing short of miraculous.

#4: Igorrr— Amen

To say that Igorrr’s newest album didn’t just meet my expectations, but utterly obliterated them, should be praise enough to justify its high placement on this list. ‘Amen’ was my most-anticipated record of the entire year (no doubt spurred on by the agonising six-month wait between announcement and release), and yet Serre and company still managed to blow me away time and time again with this absolute monster. For the longest time, Igorrr’s output was full of charming concepts, but rarely came together into cohesive albums for me— ‘Amen’ is no less experimental or frenetic than its predecessors, yet carries a far more unified vision that ties its various ideas together expertly. If you’re looking to bang your head to some incredible metal music, let me point you in the direction of ‘Daemoni’ or ‘Infestis;’ for intricate soundscapes, look no further than ‘Limbo’ and ‘Ancient Sun;’ for progressive epics, ‘Blastbeat Falafel’ and ‘Silence’ have you covered. Igorrr’s latest work feels completely devoid of restrictions or limits, and somehow manages to nail each idea it explores: it’s an album that absolutely lived up to the hype, and will surely go down in history as this band’s magnum opus.

#3: Maruja— Pain to Power

Like a lot of people, I heard about Maruja’s debut full-length project non-stop when it released in September: though the critical reception of the album seems to have soured somewhat since that initial rush, this remains one of the most powerful and thought-provoking albums of the year for me. In times riddled with political upsets and disheartening news stories, ‘Pain to Power’ has continued to be the perfect source of catharsis. You can really feel the band’s venomous anger at the world spilling out of every moment, whether that be ripping opener ‘Bloodsport’ or the furious anthem ‘Trenches’— these, combined with the softer offerings of ‘Saoirse' and ‘Zaytoun,’ have soundtracked a number of difficult patches for me in the past few months. Maruja’s unique status as a saxophone-wielding post-punk act is interesting and all, but it feels almost irrelevant when considering the sheer weight of desperation and hope that course through ‘Pain to Power:’ that is the aspect that has me so enamoured with it, and it’s for that reason that the album has quickly become one of my favourites of the entire year.

#2: Deftones— private music

I wouldn’t even describe myself as a particularly big Deftones fan: this is just an album that cannot be denied. ‘private music’ is the perfect example of a record that needed some time to really sink in, with the two singles that failed to impress me in the build-up to release now becoming year-defining tracks for me. Every subsequent relisten has only uncovered more and more alt metal goodness tucked beneath the surface of this fairly unassuming release: what first appeared to be ‘just another Deftones album’ has quickly skyrocketed in my estimation to be not just the band’s strongest collection of songs, but one of the most essential records of the year. ‘private music’ is absolutely stuffed with mind-blowing moments— the bass groove on ‘ecdysis,’ harmonics on ‘infinite source’ and pulverising breakdown on ‘cut hands’ all come to mind— but highlighting any particular passages would feel like a disservice to the wider package. This is the album that perfects the Deftones formula and finally fulls transcends its genre, becoming both impossibly heavy and completely weightless at the same time. ‘private music’ is, put simply, stunningly beautiful: I think about it all the time.

#1: Backxwash— Only Dust Remains

I chose my album of the year for 2025 all the way back in March: even with nine months’ worth of releases ahead, I knew that nothing could evoke the same depth of emotion from me as this one did (and continues to do). ‘Only Dust Remains’ may be the single bleakest record I’ve fallen into in a while, with Mutinta exploring themes of mental health and impending catastrophe in a manner not just visceral, but chillingly human— at times, it feels like Backxwash is a project designed to look into your own thoughts and voice your deepest insecurities. Tracks like ‘Wake Up’ and ‘History Of Violence’ bring a despair over me that nothing else from 2025 has managed to touch, which only makes the sheer relief present in the album’s closing tracks even more powerful. Looking past the bold production choices, passionate rapping and immaculate pacing, it’s the album’s ability to speak to the soul that’s earned it this spot as my album of the year. ’Only Dust Remains’ is, I have decided, a 10/10— a project that can make me tear up must be special, and Backxwash’s latest work is special indeed.