Our Albums of the Year artists on their cultural highlights of 2025

Between Addison Rae’s big pop star launch and Lily Allen’s crime drama of an album, it’s been an exceptionally thrilling year for music. Artists like Rosalía and Bad Bunny broke through, proving that Brits can champion non-English-speaking music in a way they never have before. Before the death of Black Sabbath icon Ozzy Osbourne, we shared the band’s emotional farewell show; Olivia Rodrigo showed future Pyramid Stage headliners how to do it at Glastonbury before a fallow year; and Jade Thirlwall (who we spoke to below) took us on the ride of her life post-Little Mix.

Outside of music, we shared some unforgettable collective cultural moments too. Stephen Graham had us biting our fingernails with Adolescence, our mouths and hearts dropped at the scandal surrounding The Salt Path, and the Wicked: For Good press tour sprouted strange offshoots of discourse yet again.

After fiercely debating our albums of the year, The Independent’s culture team eventually arrived at our Top 20, which includes Pink Pantheress, Brandi Carlile and Perfume Genius. We wanted to know what some of these artists thought of 2025, what their favourite records were, and what they’re most excited about in the year ahead. Here’s what they said…

JADE

Looking back on your album now, what are you most proud of? What has it meant to you?

I’m most proud of believing in my own ability to create a daring album. I’m proud of even having my own album. I think that the start of the project I obviously didn’t know what was to come. It’s been three to four years in the making, and it’s been really hard at times and creatively challenging. I did feel a lot of pressure coming out of a huge girl band, what that means and everything that comes with that. So I’m proud of myself for sticking to my guns creatively and creating a body of work that I am genuinely so proud of and that has been received so well. I think part of the reason for that is because I just went for it. It’s a maximalist pop record and it means everything to me because it’s me – in an album. It’s what I genuinely love. I love pop music. I love music. So for that to be praised, it means a lot and it means that I’m on the right track, and people believe in my authentic self.

What have been some of your cultural highlights in 2025?

Cultural highlights have been Glastonbury, which was huge for me. It was such a big moment in my career. It’s the first time I’ve ever done it and that offer came in earlier than I expected. It was honestly just one of the best moments of my life. Also working with Jools Holland was on the bucket list and was very cool.

In terms of other cultural moments, obviously, Lily Allen’s album West End Girl created such a wave. I just love it. I think everyone’s been reminded of just how incredibly talented a lyricist and writer Lily is. We didn’t realise we missed her until she came back. Do you know what I mean? She’s been so supportive of me as an artist as well. There’s been some amazing moments for me where I’ve kind of made friends with people I hugely respect in the industry, and Lily Allen is one of them.

I think everyone’s been reminded of just how incredibly talented a lyricist and writer Lily Allen is

JADE

I loved The Substance. I love horror movies in general, and I think this year’s been really great for horror. Books wise I have to say Jordan’s book Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs. Obviously I’m biased in that I’m his partner and really supportive, but I really do feel like it was a very necessary book, especially for men and young men. I’ve seen Jordan grow and the reaction to that book and what that’s meant to so many people. So I’m incredibly proud of that and it actually genuinely has been one of my favorite books to come out this year.

Jordan and I have watched a lot of Wayward this year which we thought was amazing. I think Mae Martin is an incredible writer and creator. As you can tell from my “Church” video, I do love a witchy, culty moment, so that was kind of inspired by that.

What is your personal Album of the Year and why? What do you admire about the artist / band?

West End Girl by Lily Allen. Every year there’s a huge pop culture moment and I feel like Lily Allen filled that space this year. Giving us something so brutally honest and vulnerable. And I find that really inspiring as a songwriter and artist.

Besides releasing your amazing album, what are you most proud of achieving this year?

I’m most proud of the Brit award. To get my first Brit as a solo artist so early on in my solo career was amazing. Glastonbury is up there. Doing my own sell out tour and taking it to the USA and Europe next year is something I’m incredibly proud of because I know just how hard I’ve worked for all those things.

What are your hopes for 2026?

To write another record, push myself even more, travel more, do more gigs and work with some new exciting people.

Perfume Genius

How do you view your album ‘Glory’, in terms of the themes it explores?

I feel like a lot of the record is about anxiety, about living I guess – living and dying. A lot of it is about the push-and-pull of my life, being a very internal person, being a homebody and kind of getting stuck there and afraid to engage, and then the polar opposite of touring and playing shows and being very extroverted. And I think what has happened is that I feel more free, more alive, more myself there.

I think part of it is that the album feels very much like me as I am right now, including a lot of things that I probably have included [in my work] the whole time. But I consciously try not to police myself as much even in the visuals – I wasn’t trying to be hotter than I actually was, I just showed up as I am in a way that really feels like it relieved a lot of anxiety and made me a lot more present.

I think it’s better, which is strange. You always think you need to present a better version of yourself to believe it’s good, especially in superficial ways. ‘I need to not look how I actually do… I need to sound better on everything than I actually do…’ I haven’t worried about that stuff as much. And then I actually like how I look and sound better. It’s very bizarre.

Do you have a favourite album of 2025?

I was thinking about that… I mean, I love 1010Benja who just put a few songs out, and [Ten Total] was my favourite record of last year. Addison Rae, I’ve been listening to that record. It just makes me happy. She has a lot of life force, and I love when people’s eccentricities or their singular-ness shines through; even when things are artificial, they’re plotted out. There’s something kind of unhinged about her: she doesn’t seem to be afraid of dying, which I am very [afraid of] – that’s what I’m projecting onto her. And there’s this nostalgia for when I felt more ‘ready to go’, everything looked sparkly and I thought I was sparkling. There’s a lot of love in it.

What about films and books?

I liked One Battle After Another, that was just fun. I went to see Die My Love – I really liked it! I was the only one. I love both Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. You had to buy into the pacing and the weird energetic throughline of it. I was in the right mood to go there. I liked this book Flesh by David Szalay… It was not set up to be a book that I’d enjoy, but it ended up being very interesting to me. There wasn’t a lot of internal reflection, it was hard for me to figure out a sense of his internal monologue, everything was external. And then God of the Woods by Liz Moore, I read, which is a mystery. I always want a page-turner because I fall off if it’s just plot and not good writing, it just dies for me. But I thought that book was both.

What are your hopes for 2026?

I was thinking about things I liked this year and how I wished more things went for it. I want to do that. I had an idea for promo for Glory that I was going to make out with everyone at [my record label] Matador, and that’s an amazing idea, I should have done that. But I was like, ‘Well no, that’s too much.’ But I want to do all of the ideas for the next thing I make.

All the things I’ve loved this year have taken risks

Perfume Genius

I’m sure I might make another bare-bones piano record, but I don’t want to limit myself or worry about if it’s cool or if people will like it. Which is hard to do when my whole job is this, and if people don’t like it then I won’t make any money. But I think I’ve learnt from all the things that I have loved – the riskier things, the weirder things… It’s weird, this job. You have so many people in your ear, imagined or real. For me it’s a lot more imagined because I actually get to do what I want – but you think you need to sand and round edges for it to be able to reach people. And I think the opposite is actually true.

More widely, I just hope that me and my friends are safe for another year, and that we can take care of each other and be around each other as much as possible, and my family too, and do what we can to make that possible for other people.

Brandi Carlile

What have been some of your cultural highlights in 2025?

Gosh, where do I start?! I think there were four standout albums for me: LUX by Rosalía, Lily Allen’s West End Girl, Euro-Country by CMAT and Sable, Fable by Bon Iver. Justin Vernon is a f***ing genius (and I don’t use either of those words lightly!)

I had such a busy year, I didn’t have much time to read, but I compel everyone to read Andrea Gibson’s poetry book You’d Better Be Lightning. And Dead and Alive – and anything else by Zadie Smith!

No matter how busy I am, I do however always have time for TV! My recommendations would be Adolescence, which absolutely floored me. I’m about four episodes into Pluribus, which has me on the edge of my seat right now! I’m also an executive producer on Come See Me in the Good Light about Poet Laureate Andrea Gibson (see book recommendation above) and their wife Megan Falley as they come to terms with a terminal cancer diagnosis. It’s incredibly life-affirming despite the subject matter, and it completely changed the way I walk through the world and look at myself in the mirror.

As far as shows go, I have to say that Glastonbury was a total pilgrimage for me! Not only was I lucky enough to play it for the first time, but I got to walk right up to the top of that hill and take in that sacred ground! It was actually really hard to comprehend that I was just a tiny dot on the famous Pyramid Stage! There’s no other festival like it in the world.

Glastonbury was a total pilgrimage for me!

Brandi Carlile

What is your personal Album of the Year and why? What do you admire in general about the artist / band?

Arrrrgggghhh, I can’t possibly choose, but if I absolutely had to it would beWest End Girl by Lily Allen. The thing I admire about Lily the most is her bravery and willingness to write without a filter. The best songwriters of all time have absolutely no filter, including Joni Mitchell, and I really strive to have the guts to write in that unselfconscious and unpretentious way. West End Girl captures that strength and vulnerability in equal measure.

Aside from releasing your album ‘Returning to Myself’, what are you most proud of achieving this year?

I’m really, really proud of Returning to Myself and allowing myself the freedom to really do what the title implies. As an extremely codependent person, it was not easy and ironically it took a village. I’m also really proud of what led me to that moment, which was the album I made with Elton John – Who Believes in Angels?It’s funny how album titles can become prophecies. Elton will forever be my hero, my adversary and my angel all at the same time. To get to make an album with my best friend wasn’t just my proudest moment of the year, it’s one of the greatest achievements of my life.

What are your hopes for 2026?

That I can adequately protect and guide my daughters through this increasingly mad world.

Brendan Yates, Turnstile frontman

Looking back on your album now, what are you most proud of about it? What has it meant to you?

Making an album can be a paralysing process. Working on the album and the film at the same time, we often felt like we were in too deep. But the film ended up giving life to the songs in ways that we needed. Bringing it all to fruition and the team work involved is something I’m very proud of.

What have been some of your cultural highlights in 2025?

Alex G’s Headlights, seeing The Prodigy at Glastonbury, Richard Siken’s I Do Know Some Things, The Chair Company, Angel Du$t’s “Cold 2 the Touch” music video, Mustafa’s Tiny Desk.

Making an album can be a paralysing process

Brendan Yates

What is your personal Album of the Year and why? What do you admire in general about the artist?

Blood Orange – Essex Honey. This album continues to peel back its layers for me. Being a Blood Orange fan for so many years, this album has become my favorite. It’s comforting like a warm, nostalgic hug while also feeling brand new.

Aside from releasing your fantastic album, what are you most proud of achieving this year?

We played a show in our home of Baltimore raising money for Healthcare for the Homeless. I think we collectively are still processing how special this show was. Seeing the community come together and being surrounded by all of our friends and family in the park was something I’ll never forget.

What are your hopes for 2026?

More music, more empathy.

PinkPantheress

Looking back on your album now, what are you most proud of? What has it meant to you?

I’ve always built worlds around the projects I’ve released, this year I really wanted to push myself and do things I had never done before so I think that’s what I’m the proudest of… I think it’s paid off!

What have been some of your cultural highlights in 2025?

Watching Raye perform at the BFA awards and watching Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro.

What is your personal Album of the Year and why? What do you admire in general about the artist / band?

Through the Wall by Rochelle Jordan, she did her biggest one. I love her eagerness to always sound like herself, and how much she is impacting her musical scope one release at a time.

I wanted to create a show that people could just lose themselves in

PinkPantheress

What are you most proud of achieving this year?

My live shows! We sold out every date which is crazy, I hadn’t toured in so long so I wanted to come back with a bang! I wanted to create a show that people could just lose themselves in and have a great time, that’s what the mixtape is all about, so it was important I was having fun on stage.

What are your hopes for 2026?

I want to be an actress!

McKinley Dixon

Looking back on your album ‘Magic, Alive!’, what are you most proud of about it? What has it meant to you?

A lot of my records revolve around a story that also involves my life and draws a lot from that, while being recorded by the people that I know and love. I always go back home to Virginia to record. So with this one, I feel like it’s important to change things up or your discography is going to get pretty stale.

My goal was to limit the amount of… what’s the term, I guess, parasocial interactions I have from creating the record that is [about] my life. So For My Mama and Anyone Who Look Like Her (2021) was how I approached young adolescence and finding out that women are the backbone of everything; Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!? (2023) was the teachings of my life through the lens of Toni Morrison. Magic, Alive! is the first one where it’s like, ‘Well if I want to stop having people put the weight of [the songs] on me, I should probably anchor it in fiction.’ So it was a way of creating a boundary for myself and also the fanbase.

Soundwise, I feel like a lot of jazz rap nowadays sits within the realm of bright trumpet notes, you know what I mean? But for my records, I made the demos with my friends, we sort of massage them and flesh them out, and then I go back home to Virginia and get the band to add their own personal touch, along with the humour and the intimacy. To me, my music is very vulnerable and conversational, so what genres mimic that? I think it’s jazz: it can be vulnerable, conversational, agitated… all of these things existing with one moment, so I wanted to duplicate the sonics of it.

Jazz can be vulnerable, conversational, agitated… all of these things existing with one moment

McKinley Dixon

What are some of your favourite albums of the year?

I really love the Maruja album, Pain to Power… I really enjoyed Quedeca’s album Vanisher, Horizon Scraper. Danny Brown’s record Stardust. Also Jane Remover’s EP, that was really cool.

What about books and films?

I read Monster by Cody Scott, which is a book about one of the original Crips – he talks about gangs pre and post-Ronald Reagan, it’s a really beautiful book. I’m teaching a course on lyricism in the next few months, and one of the books from that was the Gucci Mane autobiography. I read a lot of manga as well; I like that.

I love going to the theatre, and just recently watched Chainsaw Man, that was a fun one. I saw Good Boy, the indie film, and I rewatched Tekkonkinkreet, which is a Japanese movie about orphans. I really like Satoshi Kon’s work, like Perfect Blue, Paprika… I watch a lot of movies, and a lot of them aren’t that good, but those are the ones that have stuck out to me recently.

You can find our Albums of the Year 2025 here.