NPR Music - Listener Poll: Your Favorite Albums of 2025

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

We asked and you answered. Earlier this month, we opened the polls and invited All Songs Considered's listeners to tell us their top 5 records of the year. We tabulated all of the ballots, determined the top 10, and gave the results a proper countdown in this episode of All Songs. And while we usually include the albums we discuss in our episode notes, this time you'll have to listen to find out what made the list. (OK, fine, you can click here to see the top 50 vote-getters.)NPR Music critic Sheldon Pearce joins host Robin Hilton.Enjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [e-mail] pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Sheldon Pierce, how are you holding up? I'm doing all right, Robin. We're almost done. Yeah. We're almost done. We're getting near the end of Imperial Music's month-long celebration of the songs and albums and artists of 2025. That's what I was talking about. Is that what you were thinking of when I said, are you?

I think the stress level and year-end workload kind of overlap for the both of us. It's like a mad dash to the end. But, you know, one of the benefits is we get to listen to a lot of great music. I just love show business, man. Man, it's just the best. It is really the best. It's all songs considered. I'm Robin Hilton.

I'm here with NPR Music Editor Sheldon Pierce. If you haven't checked them out yet, we've got a whole bunch of lists online, and we've talked a good bit about them on the show. With all of our picks for the best songs and albums, the most defining moments of the past year. But on this episode, we're going to share the albums that listeners picked. As the year's best, we put up a poll a few weeks ago for people to vote for their favorite albums, and the results are in.

Yes, drum roll, please. We're going to count down the top 10 most mentioned albums, but if you look online, you'll find a longer list of the top 50 albums that listeners picked. Sheldon, were you surprised at all when you saw these results? There were some surprises to me, and also the order was interesting. I think once you get to the top three,

I figured the top three was going to be what it was. but outside of that, there was an interesting sort of mix-up of things. Yeah, I'm kind of with you. I would say, though, even with the top three, I think it could still have gone any number of ways. There was at least one surprise there, and we'll get to it. But let's talk about the album that came in at number 10, Bonivere and the album, Sable Fable.

I could wait, but perform his ways out. So, can I live inside this state? Well, the summer's oscillate now. Can I incurred the way? Am I really least afraid now? Ah. I would set... So this is an example of one that I was kind of surprised by.

Maybe only because, I don't know, I've kind of lost the threat of Boni Bear and whether or not, you know, how much he's connecting with listeners. anymore. I mean, like 10 years ago, not a surprise at all, maybe even in the top five or number one, but it was good to see this at number 10. Yeah, I think I also have no sense of the Boniever cultural footprint in this moment, who the listeners are, like, where they are, right, why they are still invested. But I do think this record is kind of a cool place to be with him. Like, obviously, Sable, we featured some music on the show from that last year. Fable is very different.

Like, Sable is, like, classic Boniever, and then Fable is more in the, like, pop R&B, like, soul realm. Yeah. So it's, like, maybe there's, like, BoniVeer pivot that is drawing people to this record. But it is nice to see there's still people really invested in it. Yeah, I think this record straddles the two different worlds that he has inhabited.

Well, I mean, he's kind of moved through a lot of different worlds. But, you know, one of the first things singles was Spaceide, which is, oh, okay, it's a return to his root sound, but then he didn't stay there for very long. There's a very clear departure from this on the second half. Yeah. Well, this year we asked listeners to tell us why they love the albums that they picked. Overall, people just talked about how much hope and beauty and serenity they found in this album.

Molly and Seattle wrote, and I'm quoting her here, she said, this album brought me a load of joy and happiness when I needed it most this year. This album's overall tone is just such a good vibe and perfect to be played on a sunny day. So that one came in at number 10 from Bonifere, Sable Fable. In at number nine, another surprise for me, Taylor Swift, the life of a showgirl. I heard you calling on the megaphone. You want to see me all. As legend has it you are quite the pyro. You like the match to wash.

I don't know. I mean, I think any other year I would have expected this one to be much higher, if not even number one. Oh, interesting. I don't know. What do you think? I was surprised to see it, to be honest. You mean at all? At all. Oh, wow. I was not expecting to see it on this list.

I do think maybe there's a way to look at it where, like, the cross section of the Taylor fandom is just larger than any other. A lot of other fandoms put together. Too big to fail. I mean, it just doesn't matter maybe. Yeah, I think given the reception of this record once it first dropped, I would have not felt people like really sat with it and allowed it to become one of their favorite records of the year. But I do think that there are so many people so deeply invested in the Taylor Machine that it shouldn't be too surprising to see her just jump the list. Reviews certainly mixed. but for fans who did love it

and picked it in our poll, most people just noted they like the bangers on it. Okay. I mean, I kind of, I liked it. Yeah, you have a hot take here that I would love to hear. Well, if it's a hot take,

it's just like, I actually like this more than a lot of her stuff. Definitely a hot take, Rob. You know, we were talking before the show. I remember when I was a late fan to the music of Weezer, I think I started listening to them around the Red album, interesting,

the Red album. Yeah, yeah, interesting. A little bit overlap there. But by then the old-time Weezer fans, you know, who were there for the band in the beginning, hated it. I was like, I don't know, I think this kind of rocks. And I had none of the baggage. And I wasn't listening to Taylor Swift when I was at Tween.

And I've seen her music kind of grow up and mature over the last several records. And I feel like she has aged into a really great sound. And I like it. It works for me. Can I ask what your favorite Taylor's? record was before this? Maybe 1989? Okay.

I don't know. Yeah, that tracks for me. Yeah. This does sort of track as, I mean, they were selling it as a big return to pop proper in the 1989 vein. So if that is your bag, then this makes sense. And I think to that point, there is something about this record where Taylor is inhabiting a version of herself that we haven't heard on any other records. And if you're an artist who's been in it as long as she has, that can be a refreshing place for people to land with your music. So I guess it makes a lot of sense that it is here.

Well, one listener, Lauren and St. Louis wrote in saying, while not without its problems, the life of a showgirl is pure pop at its best. There you go. Perfect, perfect encapsulation of this record. The record came at a time when we all needed a distraction from the reality of our country. Each song shines brighter than a rhinestone on a showgirl's costume. Good job. This album is like candy for the brain and it just feels good to listen to it. So Taylor Swift, inner number nine, the life of a showgirl. Let's go to the record that came in at number eight. It's Haley Williams and the album Ego Death at the Bachelorette Party. Yes, I saw her. Her spiraled here. see it, their senses.

Rain's gonna fall. Wash away the life I'm leaving. I think kind of what we heard from the listener talking about the Taylor Swift album, what I heard in listener comments across a lot of these records is people just wanted to feel good in 2025. And, you know, a lot of people talking about needing an escape. And I feel like this, this album offered both those things.

Yeah. I think there's really, I mean, there's, 20 songs on this record. There's something for any kind of listener on this record. It goes a lot of different directions. It is sort of interesting. It's a very existential record to the point of the title, but also it is very light. It's very warm. She uses her voices in a lot of interesting ways on these tracks. I was not surprised to see it because people really love Haley Williams. I think she's grown as a sort of cult star, like even outside. side of Paramore proper, she has become like a kind of voice of a generation.

And this record to me was like her breakout record in terms of like star power. Yeah. So it totally makes sense to me that she's here. Maybe a bit of a surprise that she pops up over Taylor. We were talking about there's probably a bit of a cross section between those fandoms. I mean, Paramore was the opener for the first night of the Ares tour. So I mean, there is some overlap there. So it's surprising to see her ahead of Taylor, but I mean, this record is just such a fun listen.

Well, a lot of listeners also talked about needing catharsis and needing, like, in the age of AI, a real deep and human connection with the art and the music and everything that they engaged with. And they found that in the Haley Williams album, Joey and Utah said, this album covers the full range of emotions from heartache from a breakup to horror from the current. political landscape, Haley makes us feel less alone. And that was sort of what you were saying. There's a lot in here for people to connect with. Yeah, a full range of the human experience, a true cross-section, and also very personal,

which is, I think, what people are looking for out of their stars in this moment, somebody who they can see themselves reflected in, and she did a great job of that across this record. If I'm going just by what I see online, and I'm not terribly online, but if I just go by what I see online and just clips and everything. Haley Williams was everywhere. Yeah. I mean, so many cool clips of her performing live and showing up at other people's shows and surprise appearances, not to mention a show.

So, like, I could feel it in the air. There's a, I mean, in this age of, like, wanting to see stars be sort of, like, more casual, like, crossover into, like, regular human life. she represents that sort of like oh I think there's a you could create a paris social relationship with Haley Williams like she just seems like a fun hang and I think a lot of that comes through in her music too

well let's talk about the album that came in at number seven this was another one I was happy to see on the list it's from the band Clips and it's the album Let God Sort Him out When I was born grandmama could see it I be Bentley driven and very strategic RMS sleeve no diamonds and needs to floors are heated so be it so be it

with pee get something to meet you your soul don't like your body we help you free it then we wait for TMZ to leak it it ain't on secrets so be it so be it smoke so be it so be it smoke so be it

CLIPE SEPB A ball LV I can show you how to bus I'm on a gram like confetti, switch is ready. She leaning on Celine because she's stepping in Giuseppe. Catch a buck 50 like each Pirelli. I got eight of them called me Andretti. If I'm not in a telly selling a Yeti, then I'm twirling your f*** like she and spaghetti. Heavy.

Circle back and come and get this Kelly. And your ears too if you want a blue like belly. I think this is probably the consensus rap record of the year if there was one. The Return of Clips after 16 years, the brothers Pusha T and Malice, finally joining together after, you know, separating to pursue solo careers. So having them reunite, having them sort of bring that old feeling back. I'm a Virginia boy, so Clips is obviously very near and dear to my heart. So it was really refreshing to see this record pop up here.

It's a bit of a throwback, I think, and it's also one of the really interesting. things about it is it's sort of invested in its own mythology in a really interesting way. But I think that is paid off by the performances across this record, which sort of push to the side, the idea that you can't be a middle-aged, accomplished rapper still in your prime. Past, they used to like want to send rappers out to pasture after like 29. And now you have a record like this. It's so great to see. Yeah, I mean, people marveled at them making this level of music so late in their career and after such a long break, but people also

talked a lot about really making a deep emotional connection with this record and how moving it was. We did another call out, separate from this one, asking people to tell us about a song that hit them hard. That episode was ran earlier this week, and the all songs considered feed. And a number

of people mentioned different tracks from the clips album, so be it was one of them. The Birds Don't Sing was another one. Just people talking about how not just how beautifully produced it was, but the balance it strikes between hitting really hard and having real emotion. One listener, Ivan in Tucson, Arizona wrote, The Gravity of the Moment where everyone's waiting with bated breath,

spinning clips's first album in so long, only to be hit with the beautiful gut punch that is these two men making art out of the loss of their parents. It speaks to those who've lost, to those whose friends have lost, and puts into perspective the time you have left for the lucky remainder of us. Yeah, I mean, Push's solo music, which really made him sort of a critical darling over the last 10 years, has always been so larger than life. So Tony Montana, in his exchanges with his brother, he is always far more grounded. His brother was always the one with a bit more pathos. And you can sort of hear, like, the resignation in these verses.

Like, they are not necessarily regretful about their past, but they are weighed down by the trauma that has come with everything they've experienced. And they move into the future, but it's like, we know what it costs them. And I think this record is really great about balancing the tragedy and the triumph of all that has come with their history. So Clips, their first new album in 16 years, the album, Let God Sort Them Out, coming in at number seven in, in our listener poll. Let's do the album that came in at number six. It's from the band Wet Leg

and the album is Moistrarizer. This is an example I think of how wild this year was, at least for me, with albums, because, like, there was a time when this could have been an album of the year for me easily. And then along came Rosalia

or along came geese or, in my case, I'd really love the Patrick Watson album. So many others that could have come in at number one for me, But that guy, I love this album so much. Yeah, I mean, we played a song for contenders from this record. I don't think there's an album that I spent more time listening to this year than this record. And it wasn't on my top 10, because to your point, that's just the kind of year this was for records.

But man, I love this band. I love the energy. I love the sort of corkiness that they bring to all of their songs. There's a sort of rise sense of humor. I mean, but it also rips. There's just so much to like about it. Yeah. This song is M-A-N-G-T, which is spelled M-A-N-G-E-T.

It looks like Man Get Out. Yeah. I actually thought it was Man Get Out because I'd never heard the word Mung-Too before, and the band was in for their tiny desk, and I kept referring to the song in front of them as Man Get Out There. What are you talking about? And then they said, oh, you mean M-E-T-2? Do you not have M-E-N-E-E-R?

And I was like, I don't even know what that is. It's apparently like P's or split-P-P's or something like that. but Kate in New Jersey said, no skips. Great energy, something unique in every song, and this raging undercurrent that is just really satisfying when you need to release some anxiety or frustration. Couldn't agree more. Well, egg, the album, Moisturizer, in at number six.

All right, we're down to the final five, Sheldon. Yeah. The top five albums in our listener pool. In at number five from the band Wednesday, the album bleeds. We played at Elderberry Wine and Town. from the album on the show already. So I thought we'd do this something different. This is the opening cut.

Reality TV argument bleeds. Rock record of the year for a lot of people. Yeah, I think probably for me too. Oh, really? Yeah. Over Wetleg or Annie DeRuso? Yeah. I mean, it's tough.

It's tough. I think, you know, I try to make a distinction between things that are my favorites and things that I think are groundbreaking. And it just really felt like this was a Wednesday. Yeah. In a lot of ways. I mean, Carly Hartsman probably emerged as like one of the great rock songwriters of her generation on this record.

Yeah. And I think everything about the Wednesday sound was pushed to just a greater magnitude on bleeds. And that's why I would say that it is the rock record. I mean, there's another rock record that we'll get into that. We'll get to it. We'll get to it. That has sort of also taken the world by storm, but to me, this is the one that defines 2025. Well, it seemed to be a lot of things to a lot of different people, because there's a real country thread through this record, too.

Especially, like I said, if you just listen to Elder Berry Wine, and that was the only thing you'd heard, you would not know that this album rocks as hard as it does. A listener named Peter in New York said specifically about the song Elderberry Wine, and I'm reading what he wrote, he said, the song is a beautiful encapsulation. of the roots that bind to meaningful rural communities and the culture that exists in them while acknowledging the pull of more glamorous lifestyles. No better feeling than canoeing down the Shenandoah River with this song on repeat. So would you, if you think of the rock record of the year,

do you think of the pastoral setting of canoeing down the Shenandoah River? Maybe not the most rock and roll thing of all time, but I do think, you know... I mean, it's what I'm saying. It's like, I think this was a lot of things. There's a, there's a, this band, I mean, since Ratsaw God, this band has sort of navigated the line between like the slowness of not just like Roots music, but also like Shugays, with like the thrash. I mean, we, we just heard some of it.

Like there's a very clear like push and pull, a very obvious tension that is occurring through a lot of their music. But I think at, at its heart of hearts, it is a rock band. It's a southern rock band. And so there's obviously going to be like threads of the American South and whatever they do. But we just listen to something that is just full of life and thrash and energy. And I think that is what propels their music through everything that they do. So Wednesday the album bleeds. That's the record that listeners picked as number five in our online poll.

Let's go to number four, Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga's Mayhem in at number four. What do you think of seeing this one at number four? I could not believe it was so high for a lot of different reasons. I think part of that is because it was released so early in the year, this record came out in March. You don't often see records sort of like make their way all the way through the year and just like really stick to the public consciousness

in the way that this record apparently has for a lot of people. but I think maybe, I mean, you listen to a song like Abra-Kadabra, you listen to like Garden of Eden or Zombie Boy. It's like those records are like in your face pure, like undiluted pop records that you just feel and they kind of stick to you. I'm not shocked that it resonated with people, but I am shocked to see it this high up on this list. I agree completely.

Her first album in five years, you know, maybe people were just ready for a Lady Gaga record. And it was sort of pitched as a return to form, like, the classic, like, meat dress, Gaga. Yeah. Well, I'd die with a smile, I think, probably the biggest cut from the album. I went with Abercadabra because, as one listener wrote, a listener named Scott in Indianapolis, he said, in a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year, this song wants you to dance, even if the floor is on fire. Yeah.

And, yeah, I just across the board, listeners said this was the album they needed this year, something just to make the rest of the world go away for a while. So we're down to the top three albums and our listener poll. And honestly, Sheldon, it was basically these three albums and then everybody else. I'm not shocked by this. Yeah. I mean, these three were all pretty close, but after the number three spot, then there's just a huge drop-off in votes. And I'll be very curious to hear what you think of some of these.

In at number three is Bad Bunny, Bad Bunny's Davitara Most Photos. We just played hard We just go with this one This is new viol I mean this album If it had come in at number one Wouldn't have been surprised Yeah, yeah

I think I mean this was on my list Clearly one of the story of the year Records for this year For sure Just a perfect marriage of like the reggaeton and Urbano that Bad Bunny has cut his teeth on with like classic Puerto Rican forms. Bomba Plena. Just to like paint a picture of a place and how it can disappear from your memory and like trying to preserve that.

I mean, there's just so many sounds on this record. The way they warp in and out of the past and the present and into. the future is just so captivating. I would not have been surprised if this was number one. Well, one listener in our poll had basically a one-word review of the album. They called it seismic. Yeah. Which I thought that is spot on.

If you had to sum this album up in one word, seismic is it. I think it's the record that sort of took him to the next level, reached a broader audience, not just to mention him being part of the conversational year long and then getting picked for the Super Bowl next year. Another listener, John in Michigan, says, I never thought I'd be a Bad Bunny fan, but after hearing DTMF, I thought, I should give him a try.

From the first track, I was hooked. Bad Bunny is already a superstar. He did not have to go this hard. It's eclectic, emotional, and inspired. Each track has changes that keep the listener engaged. I love how he's not afraid to lean into his influences, and he's not afraid to be funny, sad, angry, fun. It's really impressive.

When that whole debate about the Super Bowl came out, I was embarrassed for the, Why Bad Bunny crowd? Have you heard this album? I don't even speak Spanish. That's what John in Michigan says of this record. Yeah, I mean, it's major crossover appeal. I mean, to that point, it's just like, it's always refreshing.

I mean, Bad Bunny is the superstar of superstars around the world. He's one of the biggest artists anywhere. And for him to still be as ambitious as he is on a record like this, we're lucky to have an artist with that kind of. of seismic, outsized interest to take the stage on the biggest stage at the Super Bowl. So Bad Bunny in at number three, let's go to the number two album. Could it be Addison Ray? Or could it be Lord or Heim or Sabrina Carpenter maybe? FCA Twigs, right?

I would... Maybe the K-pop Demon Hunter's soundtrack? Maybe. No. In it number two. The band, Geese and the album, Getting Killed. This is my number two album of the year, and I want to know what you think,

because even with all the buzz around this record, I was kind of surprised to see it at number two for a number of reasons we can talk about, but what do you think? Yeah, no, I was expecting geese to be high up. on this list. I think if there's one sort of like outsider or maybe previously outsider property

that has reached a fever pitch in this moment in 2025, I think it's geese. There was just something about their rise this year that really resonated with people. I am a bit surprised because the music can be so

out there. That's the thing. It's a very polarizing album, which is one of the reasons why I was surprised to But the people who do like it really, really like it. So that's why I'm like, and you're wonderful. I mean, I love it. I bet I mean, I like my music a little weird and a little unpredictable. But if you can have in that weirdness real great grooves and it's still hooky and grabby, which this album is, then I'm even more into the music.

I don't know. The other reason I'm surprised to see it so high up is because it is, it's a rock album. And they're the band that you were referencing earlier. It's a rock album and not only a rock album, but a rock album by a band. And rock bands have just not dominated the conversation that much in recent years. To be fair, I don't think there have been any that have really gone as viral as geese went this year. I mean, there were talks of geese tickets going for like thousands of dollars on the reseller market. Like they really resonated with people.

I think some of that is like coming off the back of the Cameron Winter solo album that was released at 2024 that people sort of grew into at the top of the year. And then there was interest to see what would happen next with him. And Geese sort of launching their biggest record played into that already sort of steamrolling momentum. Yeah. And I think it's a testament to like word of mouth still mattering. People on the ground being like, I'm really into this band. You should be into this band too. I think that was a lot of the appeal as well.

But, you know, the weirdness of it helps. I mean, I think when there's a lot of artists sort of painting by numbers, when like the algorithms are dictating a lot of what people hear, you benefit from being a band as out there as art rock. as sort of crazed as geese is. I mean, the record is called Getting Killed. And that's emblematic of kind of what they're after here. It's chaos.

But it's controlled chaos. It's groove focus to your point. And it's just a lot of fun to listen to this band to hear them play. I wouldn't be surprised to see them continue on to like a stadium rock trajectory, honestly. Yeah. Well, everyone seems to have a different favorite song from at Mines Islands of Men. the song that we've been listening to. But here are just some of the comments from listeners.

Love the calculated cacophony of the songs, to your point. Unique without being pretentious or difficult to listen to. But to the point of rock performing so well in this poll, Dan in New Jersey says, I felt like the past few years the state of rock music and the cultural zeitgeist has stagnated, but it finally feels like we're getting a new wave of artists who are expanding the sound, taking risks,

and bringing back the energy of the genre has been missing. Geese is right at the center of that shift. I had high expectations going into the release of getting killed, and when it finally dropped in September, I was floored. I mean, rock is well represented on this last Wednesday, wet leg. There's a bunch more when you look beyond the top 10 or the top 50 or even top 20. But Geese, again, coming in at number two with the album, getting killed.

All right, Sheldon, the album, picked by listeners in our poll as the number one album for 2025 is I usually get a drum roll here just a little okay there we go can I get a spot just a little single spot all right the number one album for

2025 is Rosalia Luxe Frida roger and rudona who land divina and is the that's the prohibit

presence of music You know, when we did our best songs episode and when NPR Music posted its best songs of 2025 list, Rosalia wasn't on there anywhere, wasn't on the show. And some listeners weren't having it. They're like, where is Rosalia? And I mean, I think part of our thinking, and I'm not sure I personally agree with this, but I think the collective thinking was that this was the quintessential album album. Yeah.

You know, like not a collection of one-off singles or whatever. This was an album meant to be heard in its entirety, and it was overwhelmingly the number one album of the year for the NPR music team in the complete list that we did. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think I am in that camp where I'm very much like part of the reason that this is the top of this list as well is that it is an album that clearly makes a statement for the album as an artifact. It's wanting you to pay your whole attention for the. entire runtime, dedicate yourself to this and only this. And I think that is a statement that is only made by it as a whole body of work and not by the songs. There are obviously great songs on it.

You can't have a great album without that. Yeah, I mean, this song, like this song that we're hearing, Devinize, to me, I don't know. It's a single. It's, to me, it's maybe not a top 40 dance floor single, but. I mean, Bergheim is Titanic. That's an incredible song. Yeah. But the reason why it's number one here, the reason why it's on your list and on my list is because it is such a grand gesture to like put this thing in the world, this complete whole vision of a brand new sound.

Like it is reimagining what pop music can be and like pushing back against the idea of it as a sort of like middle brow experience. It's saying like what if pop were as sort of theatrical and stage ready as opera. I don't think it is opera. It's operatic. But it is sort of trying to envision something else. And it takes the whole record to do that. But I think the fact that it is here is reflective of the success of that mission. Here are just some listener comments.

I'm just going to run down a bunch of random ones here. Nothing else like it out there. Yeah. Grand, sweeping, cohesive work of art, a staggering achievement, a masterpiece, a tour to force, unlike anything I've heard before. And then it makes me cry. It changed my life. I heard real reactions like that, very strong emotional, deep emotional reactions from listeners. Jamie in Washington says, I had never listened to Rosalia before this album, and on paper, none of it should have interested me. But one song in and I was hooked. Very transformative. that it opened up my mind to new sounds. Every song is an immediate favorite, and I've told

all my friends to check it out. Rosalia, Lux, number one in our listener poll. This was just the top 10. If you go online, you'll find the top 50 albums picked by listeners. It's a ranked list. Lots of other stuff to check out and catch up with in our year-in coverage, if you haven't already. Best songs, best albums, our year-in review. We did that at the top of the month. Sheldon Pierce, you will be back at the top of James. January to talk about our 2026 preview. We get going all over again, man. Round and round it goes, if you can believe it.

All right, thanks so much, Sheldon. Thanks so much for having me, Robin. And for NPR music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's all songs considered.