Pop Tingz Presents: The Best Albums of 2025
Pop Tingz’ Best Albums of 2025 celebrates the projects that pushed culture forward this year; albums that weren’t just collections of songs but fully realized bodies of work. These projects excelled in production, lyricism, and thematic cohesion, demonstrating a clear artistic vision from start to finish.
What makes an album great in 2025? It’s the combination of sound, story, and intention. It’s the willingness and ability to take risks. It’s when every track feels essential, not filler. And while the year isn’t fully over, the releases I’ve highlighted have already left the kind of impact that defines an era. From experimental breakthroughs to polished pop masterpieces, these are the albums that shaped 2025 (in no particular order). And the ones we’ll still be talking about long after the year ends.
Something Beautiful — Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus’ Something Beautiful is the kind of experimental leap that reminds you why the album format still matters. Cyrus goes all in, theatrically, vocally, emotionally, crafting a project that thrives in chaos and melodrama. Tracks like “Walk of Fame” and “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” embody an 80s-tinged maximalism with pristine production and a sense of cinematic grandeur. It’s messy on purpose, big in every direction, and completely unafraid to be dramatic. Something Beautiful feels like Miley rediscovering her appetite for risk and spectacle, and it pays off.
West End Girl — Lily Allen
Lily Allen’s West End Girl is both a comeback and a confession. After seven years away, Allen returns with an album written in just ten days, yet it captures the collapse of her marriage to David Harbour with a clarity and sharpness that can only come from lived experience. The genre-hopping is deliberate and exhilarating: pop, EDM, reggae, musical-theatre flourishes, all anchored by Allen’s trademark wit and brutally precise storytelling. It’s her most vulnerable work, but also her most creatively restless. West End Girl is witty, unfiltered, and brilliantly crafted.
Mayhem — Lady Gaga
Mayhem is Lady Gaga in full command of her power: dark, theatrical, and daring, but sharpened for 2025. The album’s shadowy tone lingers across every track, from viral standouts like “Abracadabra” to the criminally underappreciated “Vanish Into You” and “ZombieBoy.” What makes Mayhem especially exciting is how modern it feels without losing the eccentricity that defines Gaga. She leans into the weird, the dramatic, the avant-garde, but with a sleek, contemporary edge. It’s a reinvention that still feels undeniably her. Gaga lets herself free, but she flies it with precision.
Princess of Power — MARINA
MARINA’s Princess of Power is an electro-fantasy world of its own, strange, sparkly, Europop-infused, and lyrically off-kilter in the best way. Every track feels like a wild sonic experiment, a little theatrical and a lot infectious. What stands out most is how intentional this album feels. After time away, MARINA sounds fully reconnected with her creative instincts, embracing weird textures, shimmering synthesizers, and whimsical storytelling. Princess of Power plays like an artist reclaiming pieces of herself, proudly, loudly, and with an irresistible sense of fun.
Man’s Best Friend — Sabrina Carpenter
After the runaway success of Short n’ Sweet, it would’ve been reasonable to expect Sabrina Carpenter to slow down (or at least catch her breath). Instead, she delivered Man’s Best Friend, a surprisingly strong follow-up just one year later. The album blends country-pop elements with Carpenter’s signature tongue-in-cheek lyricism, flirtatious humor, and cheeky storytelling. Every track is polished and hook-driven, yet the project shows a new level of confidence and creativity. It’s bold, cohesive, and proves Sabrina isn’t just having a moment; she’s building longevity.
LUX — Rosalía
Rosalía’s LUX is nothing short of a creative feat, a full orchestral album sung in 13 languages, with influences ranging from Italian opera to flamenco to spiritual lament. It’s ambitious, challenging, and unlike anything released this year (or the past decade if I’m being honest). On LUX, Rosalía explores love, faith, death, rebirth, and self-mythology through grand, sweeping compositions that feel almost otherworldly. She experiments fearlessly, pushing her voice and storytelling into entirely new dimensions. It’s a staggering achievement, not just an album, but a statement of artistic evolution.
Addison — Addison Rae
Addison Rae’s debut album Addison is one of 2025’s most unexpected triumphs. Known initially for bubblegum-pop experiments, Rae pivots into alt-pop with clear influences from Björk and Lana Del Rey, a bold and impressive shift. While “Diet Pepsi” became the viral favorite, the real standouts are “Fame Is a Gun” and “Aquamarine,” showcasing Rae’s moody, dreamlike, atmospheric approach. Addison establishes her not as a social-media figure dabbling in music, but as a genuinely compelling new alt-pop artist with vision; a stunning introduction.
