It’s that time of the year again when everyone crowds around their phones in anticipation of who is on their Spotify Wrapped or Apple Music Replay. Meanwhile, album and song of the year lists are beginning to appear across several major media outlets that cover music, like Billboard and Pitchfork.
Last year, I created a list of my top 10 hip-hop albums of the year. This year, I decided to expand the criteria for this list to include different types of genres.
Starting with the hip-hop genre, this is the first year when industry titans like Drake and Kendrick Lamar have taken a back seat in releasing hit albums and songs, leaving room for underdogs to step up as the genre's leaders. Rappers like JID, Tyler, the Creator, Clipse, Freddie Gibbs and many more talented rappers had their chance to take over the mainstream and put together some of the best projects. The R&B genre also leveled up this year, with standouts such as The Weeknd, Giveon, Leon Thomas and Daniel Caesar.
Before this year started, no one really knew who WHATMORE was. However, the band has taken the underground rap scene by storm this year. The young rap group from New York City began as just five friends having fun together and making music. Soon after, they built a following on social media by posting short songs. These songs were sample flips of popular modern songs that the group’s producer, Elijah Judah, used to create beats. That success eventually led to their debut album, a fusion of rap and indie pop.
This concept is unique in today’s music landscape and is able to bring in different types of fans from the two genres. It’s clear that WHATMORE’s future will be successful beyond 2025.
9. “Life is Beautiful” by Larry June, 2 Chainz and The Alchemist
Each song features its own beautiful, lush production from The Alchemist and fantastic rapping from Larry June and 2 Chainz. June and The Alchemist have already collaborated, including on their joint project, The Great Escape. It seems as if “Life is Beautiful” takes on this pseudo-sequel role to The Great Escape, but instead adds 2 Chainz and his unique perspective.
8. “God Does Like Ugly” by JID
Within the hip-hop community, many people may have this album at the top of their lists and I wouldn’t fault them for that.
Nevertheless, there are some great songs on this project, but the one I’d like to highlight the most is “Community,” featuring Clipse, the rap duo made up of Virginia-born brothers Pusha T and Malice. The song is one of the calmer yet menacing tracks on the project, and JID matches that energy right away. He gracefully balances calm and angry emotions throughout this song and raps about his struggles in Atlanta's inner cities.
Other standouts include “Sk8,” a rap-dance track that features Ciara and another rap duo in EARTHGANG, and “On McAfee,” featuring Baby Kia.
7. “STAR LINE” by Chance the Rapper
This project was Chance’s first in over six years, and it might be one of the best in his entire discography. “No More Old Men” is a perfect example. Chance raps about the blissful freedom he had as a child growing up in the inner cities of Chicago and how there were so many older men in his life who would mentor him. The featured artist, Jamila Woods, is a gorgeous addition to the song, adding her heavenly voice on the hook of the song. Ride, “Drapetomania," “Back To The Go,” and “The Highs & The Lows” are all great tracks as well.
6. “Don’t Tap The Glass” by Tyler, The Creator
I’ve dissected Tyler, the Creator a lot for Blaze, and have been a fan of his for a long time. I never expected him to make an album quite like this. “Don’t Tap The Glass” is an album that’s full of energy and dance production, mixed with Tyler’s rapping. Now, Tyler doesn’t rap at the level that he has in prior projects, but he knew that going into the project. Tyler is as versatile an artist as there is in hip-hop.
5. “Let God Sort Em Out” by Clipse
When there were rumblings within the community that a new Clipse album could be on the horizon, I had little clue who they were. This was the first album under the group name in 16 years. After their last album, “Til The Casket Drops," Pusha T became an underground superstar. Malice, on the other hand, stopped rapping entirely. However, the duo would come back and create magic with this project. Standouts include “Chains and Whips” featuring Kendrick Lamar and “P.O.V.” by Tyler, the Creator.
4. “Alfredo 2” by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist
The sequel to the Grammy-nominated “Alfredo,” and one could make the argument that the second album is better than the first. The first iteration featured menacing, haunting beats from The Alchemist. However, the second album took on a completely new meaning. It not only traded Italian Alfredo for Asian ramen on the cover art, but the new album also included many samples from Japanese music and movies. This new style was created for more flowery production and groovy songs, with Ensalada as an example.
The feature artist, Anderson. Paak delivers one of the best features of 2025 and provides smooth and silky vocals on the chorus. Shangri-La is where Gibbs’ best rapping performance on the entire album. This project is a wonderful listen curated by two rap experts at the top of their game.
3. “Hurry Up Tomorrow” by The Weeknd
This album and some of its songs should’ve been nominated for the 2026 Grammy Awards. The Weeknd had reportedly 14 submissions, and not one of them turned into nominations. This news comes after the Grammys essentially apologized to The Weeknd, who then performed “Cry For Me” and “Timeless” from the album. As a fan, seeing this album not get the credit it deserves is extremely disheartening. If you want to check out my full thoughts on the album, click here.
2. “The Boy Who Played the Harp” by Dave
I have never before listened to an album and been in complete shock the entire time. In my opinion, this album is on the level with “DAMN.” and “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” by Kendrick Lamar, purely in terms of the unique concept of the album.
This album seems to place the listener behind Dave’s eyes as he navigates through life in London. Chapter 16 perfectly executes on this vision. Another song worth mentioning is called “Fairchild”. It’s not just a song, it’s a beautiful piece of art on a canvas that only Da Vinci and Van Gogh could paint. This song blew me away from start to finish because it talks about topics that are so unique to the genre.
Up-and-coming UK female rapper Nicole Blakk plays Tamar, a biblical figure from the Book of Samuel, furthering the album's religious motif. The song is basically a modern reprise of a story where Tamar gets raped by her half-brother Amnon. Dave and Blakk use this harrowing event in a broader context and give light to what it feels like to be a woman in that situation. This album is unbelievable and should be getting more praise than it is right now.
Not only is this album the most cohesive body of work I’ve heard all year, but the replay value goes through the roof with all of these songs. My top three favorite songs on the album are led by the two lead singles for this album’s rollout, “TWENTIES” and “RATHER BE,” with “DIAMONDS FOR YOUR PAIN” slotting in at the bronze medal position. Other incredible songs include “I CAN TELL," “BACKUP PLAN” and “DON’T LEAVE”. Every song on this album is great in its own way. If you want an R&B album that you want to belt at the top of your lungs on a night drive, there’s no better one than this.