The 30 Best Rock Albums of 2025

20. The Lathums – Matter Does Not Define (Modern Sky)

While firmly operating within the guitar-pop-rock realm, the Lathums have proven adept at crafting tunes with a variety of distinct moods. This year, the group proved this by treating fans to four teaser singles from Matter Does Not Define, showcasing a different side of their musical personality. “Stellar Cast” is a jittery, ska-influenced tune with lyrics hinting at romantic confusion, while “No Direction” is a driving rocker. “Long Shadows is a brooding, twangy guitar ballad that now serves as the haunting closing track of Matter Does Not Define, and “Heartbreaker” is an instant pop sing-along with upbeat and life-affirming lyrics. These four tracks gave fans a sense of what to expect, but the whole album offers even more variety. – Rich Wilhelm

19. Pulp – More (Rough Trade)

In the 1990s, Pulp could be sentimental: “Something Changed” is a succinct account of coup de foudre, or love at first sight. Thirty years later, Jarvis Cocker spells the word L-O-V-E during the Northern soul-inspired anthem “Got to Have Love”. It not only echoes Them’s “Gloria” but finds Cocker reprimanding and exhorting himself in a self-referential monologue. Upon first listen, it could be Pulp in their 1990s heyday, but, in 2025, it hits differently: more urgent, more sincere, more poignant. Yes, More is about the supremacy of love. Cocker, the rakish and rangy 61-year-old frontman of Pulp, is, in effect, saying on More, Pulp’s eighth studio album, that without love, we cease to exist. – Jack Walters

18. Tortoise – Touch (International Anthem)

Tortoise‘s Touch feels like the space between places; it is an alien, nighttime world. The record, like a Tolkien novel, conjures a universe and makes you feel like you’ve been there. It is, in a word, miraculous. Humble in its concepts, minimalist in its execution, and pristinely recorded by drummer and producer John McEntire, Touch eschews the ambition and grandiosity of many post-rock LPs and focuses on simple structures.

Each song tries to do only one thing; the result is ten fully coherent ideas that urge you to listen closely for each small detail. Each track is immediately distinct from the one that came before, creating a sense of unfamiliarity in the first few bars. The sounds are otherworldly but become comfortable quickly, so the slow changes feel monumental. – Jeremy Levine

17. The Ophelias – Spring Grove (Get Better)

Spring Grove is the defining statement the Ophelias have been steadily working toward, a convergence of the best songwriting and production in their impressive discography. Everything is just a little better this time out. Peppet’s hooks have never been stronger, and her voice has a new confidence in it, even in the most delicate moments.

Her lyrics are full of vivid images of clouds hanging around as the things that went unsaid, unsettling images of eating organs, and out-of-body experiences. These more propulsive songs give Mic Adams opportunities to shine, and together with bassist Jo Shaffer, they ground the songs and deliver some of the record’s most rewarding new wrinkles in the Ophelias’ sound. – Brian Stout

16. Goose – Everything Must Go (No Coincidence)

While Goose‘s previous releases (aside from the Ted Tapes) are curtailed in one way or another, Everything Must Go features 14 tracks at an hour and a half, which feels significant. All of it is fully formed, and nothing feels excessive. The jams are tight but intricate, something that will avoid the ridicule of diehards without alienating newcomers. The LP will appeal to a variety of tastes yet reinforces the band’s lofty ambitions. By celebrating the past, Goose can move forward to unlock new possibilities. That is not to mention how Everything Must Go works surprisingly well as a cohesive whole. Considering the limitations of the form, it’s the best possible outcome anyone could have hoped for. – Patrick Gill

15. Racing Mount Pleasant – Racing Mount Pleasant (R&R Digital)

Racing Mount Pleasant (formerly Kingfisher) hail from Ann Arbor, Michigan, but they don’t sound like your typical college band. Their ambitions are broader in scope, no less grand in scale than the distant cityscape featured on the cover of their self-titled record. Imagine if the Antlers contributed to San Fermin’s debut, while harnessing the intensity of Gang of Youths. Racing Mount Pleasant sounds something like that, even if their exceptional qualities should be considered on their own terms. 

The horns and free jazz elements will draw comparisons to Black Country, New Road, but the intensity sounds more measured. The vision the band employs on this first proper release cannot be understated. They bookend the album with complementary tracks (“Your New Place” and “Your Old Place”) and position “You” and “You Pt. 2” in the middle as one sentimental centerpiece. For a band just starting their journey, they show a ton of promise and offer a masterclass on how to calm our universal disquiet. – Patrick Gill

14. Car Seat Headrest – The Scholars (Matador)

Over the past decade, Will Toledo has done the opposite of what helped him build a solid fanbase early in his career. After Teens of Denial (2016), his first set of original recordings on Matador, the music became overindulgent. Toledo developed a full backing band and played his instruments less, not to mention he began wearing a gas mask and hazmat suit while on stage, which “allowed him to share with the audience more freely”. If fans were pleading for a return to form, it certainly wasn’t a rock opera, but Toledo and company somehow pulled it off. 

The main reason Car Seat Headrest sound more grounded is that they have become more egalitarian as a band. In terms of performance, The Scholars finds the group firing on all cylinders, offering nods to some rock and roll heavyweights (the Beach Boys, the Ramones, and David Bowie) along the way. Even if the tale itself is somewhat involved, Car Seat Headrest simplify matters and hit all the right notes. The now-tight-knit collective lean into what they do best: taking listeners on a messy but enlightening rock-and-roll journey. – Patrick Gill

13. Suede – Antidepressants (BMG)

Thirty-odd years since Suede’s heyday, a feeling of disconnect, though a different kind, persists. Antidepressants, Suede’s tenth studio album, is a cri de coeur for connection in an ever-increasing technological world that, paradoxically, is becoming more disconnected. It showcases a band maturing gracefully and at the top of their game, unafraid of taking risks. Where does Antidepressants sit in Suede’s canon? Whereas Autofiction is a chiaroscuro world of introspection, Antidepressants is the equivalent of tenebrism—dramatic, intense, and dark. Put differently, the record looks outward, proving more expansive than its predecessor, with a gothic grandeur that is part Dog Man Star, part Seventeen Seconds. – Jack Walters

12. The Royston Club – Songs for the Spine (Modern Sky)

Everything about Songs for the Spine is big, and some of it is even huge. Big crunchy guitars. Big catchy choruses. Big emotional lyrics. Big, powerful singing. Even some big videos to promote the big songs. With all this bigness, it’s unsurprising to discover that the Royston Club have covered Taylor Swift‘s “You Belong With Me”, and that it rocks, while adding interesting new dimensions to the song.  

The Royston Club may have tightened up their songwriting and playing on the Songs for the Spine, but they’ve done so while maintaining the energy of Shaking Hips and Crashing Cars. That is apparent right away on the opening track, “Shivers”, which starts with menacing bass and a few scattered guitar chords before exploding into a full-blown anthem 24 seconds into the song. – Rich Wilhelm

11. Bon Iver – SABLE, fABLE (Jagjaguwar)

Bon Iver purists may feel a familiar sense of frustration upon hearing Justin Vernon’s fifth studio album, SABLE, fABLE. On the one hand, the record includes the SABLE EP (2024), which features three strong tracks, including the unmatched “S P E Y S I D E”. That offering hinted at a return to form; however, that is only half of the equation, as the LP contains lush arrangements and celebrates Bon Iver’s affinity for R&B over the sparse folk that put him on the map.   

In the face of such critiques, the quality of his craft cannot be denied. The influences on SABLE, fABLE include Prince, Michael McDonald, and 1990s crossover hits, meaning the entire record inspires new possibilities instead of closing them off. Repeated listens soften the impact and help normalize what’s unfamiliar, underscoring Vernon’s genius. The resulting statement proves as enjoyable as it is personal, perhaps as close as Vernon will ever get to what he hoped to become. – Patrick Gill