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23 December 2025

Here's how it works: The Recent Releases chart brings together critical reaction to new albums from more than 50 sources worldwide. It's updated daily. Albums qualify with 5 reviews, and drop out after 6 weeks into the longer timespan charts.

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Poll of Polls 2025

Highest Recent Ratings

10.0

Dove Ellis

The Irish Times

Albums to watch

SnocapsSnocaps

"They are back playing pop that is pretty darn unmatched" (8.6/10 - Northern Transmissions). "A hailstorm of warm, exceptionally-written country-rock bangers backed by MJ Lenderman and Brad Cook" (8.5/10 - Paste)

Florence + The MachineEverybody Scream

"Florence Welch enlists horror and magic to harness hope" (10/10 - NME). "An urgent and vital testimony to survival and rebirth, Florence Welch’s sixth album is a defiant middle finger to doubters" (9/10 - musicOMH)

Lily AllenWest End Girl

"Her best album in 16 years, an incisive diary of a marriage in freefall" (10/10 - The Independent). "A hard-hitting pop exposition, while also providing an endless supply of hooks" (8/10 - Clash)

The Last Dinner PartyFrom The Pyre

"Insanely rich with ideas, hooks, smart artifice and real emotion, From The Pyre is a feast of giddy raptures" (10/10 - Record Collector). "Both thematically and sonically richer" (10/10 - DIY)

BrògealTuesday Paper Club

"2026 is there for Brogeal’s taking, they’re gonna be a lot of people’s new favourite band" (8/10 - God Is In The TV). "This is what it sounds like when a band get it right the first time" (10/10 - Dork)

Geese - Poll of Polls 2025

The ultimate, definitive Best Albums Of 2025

It's the annual ADM Poll of Polls, our roundup of the critics' end-of-year best albums lists - the ultimate, definitive Best Of The Best Ofs, 2025.

We've compiled the rankings from all those magazines, newspapers and websites among our sources which publish their albums of the year. The end result is a comprehensive reflection of the critical favourites of the year. It's the ultimate, definitive "Best of the Best Albums of 2025" chart

(50pts are awarded to the album named No.1, 49pts to the No.2 and so on).

So here is the final list along with the points each album earned.

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1144 Geese - Getting Killed - Reviews
1141 ROSALÍA - LUX- Reviews
739 Hayley Williams - Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party- Reviews
727 CMAT - EURO-COUNTRY- Reviews
705 FKA twigs - EUSEXUA- Reviews
643 Wednesday - Bleeds- Reviews
590 Turnstile - NEVER ENOUGH- Reviews
576 Bad Bunny - DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS- Reviews
572 PinkPantheress - Fancy That- Reviews
549 billy woods - GOLLIWOG - Reviews
538 Blood Orange - Essex Honey
520 Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out
516 Lily Allen - West End Girl
499 Little Simz - Lotus
480 Oklou - choke enough
459 Wet Leg - moisturizer
451 Addison Rae - Addison
437 Big Thief - Double Infinity
437 Dijon - Baby
427 Jim Legxacy - black british music (2025)
402 Nourished By Time - The Passionate Ones
384 caroline - caroline 2
384 Perfume Genius - Glory
364 Deftones - private music
338 Pulp - More
330 YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds
305 Olivia Dean - The Art of Loving
294 Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You
280 Alex G - Headlights
272 Sudan Archives - THE BPM
264 Lady Gaga - MAYHEM
261 JADE - THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY!
258 Suede - Antidepressants
253 Wolf Alice - The Clearing
251 Anna von Hausswolff - ICONOCLASTS
248 Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band - New Threats From...
243 Bon Iver - SABLE, fABLE
236 Stereolab - Instant Holograms On Metal Film
214 Lambrini Girls - Who Let the Dogs Out
214 McKinley Dixon - Magic, Alive!
212 Rich Dawson - End of the Middle
210 Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power
209 aya - hexed!
207 Lorde - Virgin
203 Rochelle Jordan - Through The Wall
201 Model/Actriz - Pirouette
193 Cameron Winter - Heavy Metal
192 Viagra Boys - viagr aboys
192 Water From Your Eyes - It's A Beautiful Place
183 Earl Sweatshirt - Live Laugh Love

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SEE 2009 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2010 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2011 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2012 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2013 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2014 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2015 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2016 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2017 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2018 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2019 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2020 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2021 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2022 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2023 RESULTS HERE

SEE 2024 RESULTS HERE

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Latest Reviews

Dove Ellis Blizzard

Enigmatic Galway songwriter sounds like a storm-tossed mix of Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Jeff Buckley The Irish Times

This is Lorelei Holo Boy

Amos has been an expert popsmith for years; the world is finally catching up, and not a moment too soon All Music

This is Lorelei Holo Boy

One half of Water From Your Eyes re-records songs from the back catalogue of his other band, resulting in acoustic fare touched with regret and darkness The Guardian

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Fresh stuff

Fresh stuff

Blizzard by Dove Ellis

"With shades of Jeff and Tim Buckley, the Galway-born artist writes tunes so strong they seem as familiar as old friends" (10/10 - The Guardian). "The sound is entirely his" (8/10 - DIY)

Oneohtrix Point NeverTranquilizer
"An impossibly dense and transportive electronic album that takes impermanence as its inspiration" (8.6/10 - Pitchfork). "A demonstration of Daniel Lopatin’s mastery of structural tension" (9/10 - Slant)

Melody’s Echo ChamberUnclouded
"The music is immaculate and interesting throughout" (8/10 - Northern Transmissions). "A record that is just as impressively crafted as anything she has done" (9/10 - All Music)

Keaton HensonParader
"An increase in volume paired with a new immediacy and confidence make this his most accessible album to date" (8/10 - musicOMH). "A huge step forwards" (8/10 - Mojo)

Mavis StaplesSad And Beautiful World
Sad and Beautiful World is much more than a mere collection of Staples’ incredible gospel and soul-soaked mastery; it is a reminder of what has been before and what the future could be (8/10 - Far Out)

Anna Von HausswolffICONOCLASTS
"All of the different influences on Iconoclasts just blend so well and it never sounds messy" (9.4/10 - Sputnik). "A marriage of opposites: automaton-like discipline and total abandon" (8/10 - Slant)

The Belair Lip BombsAgain
"Establishes them as a new great hope" (8/10 - NME). "For a band whose influences range from Queen to hardcore, it’s impressive how coherent it all sounds" (8/10 - Dork)

All-time top 10

Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past twelve years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.