Across all genres, 2025 was a banner year. Duets lead Billboard’s 2025 Year-End Chart, with Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ anthemic “Die With A Smile” perched at the peak, closely followed by Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s 13-week chart topper, “Luther.” Elsewhere, Gen Z darlings Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan proved they’re here to stay: “Birds Of A Feather” sits at #5 while “Pink Pony Club” completes the list at #10.

Yet, as a top 0.01% listener of any recording artist will attest, there’s more to music than hit singles. As streaming services continue to usurp digital and physical sales, albums are more accessible than ever: per Luminate’s mid-year music report, Canadian album consumption rose 4.5% in the first half of 2025 (compared to the previous 6-month period). If you’ve spent any time around the SHARP team, this news is no surprise. At every desk, there’s a pair of headphones pulsing with everything from hip-hop and hyper-pop to heavy metal. To celebrate the year end, the SHARP editors are sharing our favourite albums from 2025.

Addison Rae: Addison

I like to think that music can define a period of time. In 2025, through many ups and downs, I was in search of music that took me out of reality and allowed a sense of escapism. For me, that album was Addison by Addison Rae (also my top album on Spotify Wrapped). Released a day before my birthday and with notes of sweet nostalgia and high-energy beats, I had this album on repeat — and still do. — Lindsay Patterson, Social Media Manager

Clipse: Let God Sort Em Out

There’s something so refreshing about an artist willing to unapologetically call their shot, whether it’s Timothée Chalamet declaring his “pursuit of greatness” at this year’s SAG Awards or Pusha T bellowing to a Dallas crowd that his duo’s latest album, Let God Sort Em Out, was destined to be “Rap album of the motherf******* year, right?” back in September.

On the awards front, we’ll have to wait until February to see. But in my book, Pusha T and Malice (the other half of Clipse and Pusha’s older brother) somehow exceeded the lofty bar they set before themselves. It’s an album that combines the lyrical kingpins’ intricate wordplay with Pharrell’s return to the production booth to create an elevated iteration of the group. Plus, in an era of PR-driven press circuits, Clipse’s bombastically charismatic promotional tour was everything you’d expect from rap’s pettiest duo. They rehashed old beefs, called out label drama, and beat their chests with the confidence that Let God Sort Em Out would live up to the hype. And it does. — David Stol, Managing Editor

DAMAG3: BLiND

As SHARP’s resident ‘heavy music fiend’, it’s been a great year for new music, but it’s also been one that vastly expanded my scope of genre rotation. In turn, my hero album of the year is a hip-hop record: BLiND, by Louisiana-born DAMAG3. I first stumbled across DAMAG3 and her raw, violent-yet-lyrical flow through The Neighborhood Kids, with whom she collaborated on the single Start A Fire. BLiND hits hard from track one, fuelled by consistent grooves layered under powerful prose that throw a spotlight on the systemic issues and traumas that America (and the world) is currently facing. To pick a singular standout, GOD iMAG3 is hard to beat; the line ‘keep that iron on my hip, keyboard warriors anemic’ lands in the middle of one of toughest bars I’ve heard in a long time.

Now, it would be unfair to tease heavy music without tipping a hat to the metal scene. An honourable mention needs to go to Alien Weaponry’s third album titled Te Rā (the day, in Māori) that dropped earlier this year. This is a band I’ve been hooked on since their first album release in 2018, and their recent appearance in Toronto opening for Kerry King and Municipal Waste did not disappoint. Delivering a heavy driving thrash metal sound that incorporates a mix of English and Māori lyrics, you can sense a bit of sonic evolution in the new album that pulls a bit of influence from progressive rock without losing the energy and power the band is known for. It goes hard, but even those on the more Metallica or Anthrax end of the metal and hard rock spectrum will love it. — Justin Mastine-Frost, Director of Digital Content

Jane Remover: Revengeseekerz

As Spotify Wrapped can attest, my headphones got plenty of exercise in 2025. The soundtrack was pulsing with electro-pop (comme d’habitude), from Addison Rae’s upbeat and addictive “Fame Is A Gun” to Soulwax’s synth-fuelled classic “KracK.” Nothing hit quite like Jane Remover’s Revengeseekerz, though. With twelve tracks, the album runs for a fiery forty-nine minutes without taking a breather. Fun, fast, emotional, and — more than anything — loud, Revengeseekerz is packed with pervasive rhythms that bounce between your ears. The soundscape is bustling and gritty, a metropolis built from eclectic materials: vintage video game samples, distorted synths, towering percussions. It’s crammed with chaos, catchy in spite of itself. With all that said, I can’t leave out FKA Twigs in good conscience. In 2025, the British art-pop darling blessed the internet with a two-part project, resulting in 2 LPs: Eusexua and Afterglow. On glittering, vulnerable tracks like “Sticky,” Twigs is at her best: her trademark whispers breeze over the curls and crashes of icy synthesizers. Call it a tie!— Cormac Newman, Associate Editor

Lily Allen: West End Girl

The week Lily Allen released West End Girl, it felt like I took any opportunity to tell people about it. As far as breakup albums go, it ranks pretty high. Allen wrote and recorded the songs in L.A. over 10 days, which is pretty remarkable, since it was her first record in 7 years. The lyrics are raw, explicit, relatable, and primarily focus on her crumbling marriage. I loved the marketing campaign and getting to see Allen in the spotlight again, it has been well overdue. — Sahar Nooraei, Editorial & Creative Director

ROLE MODEL: Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye)

While reflecting on this year, I realized that I had a few albums on rotation that I couldn’t get enough of. Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye) by Role Model took over the start of my year, a perfect balance of yearning and fun, with the addition of “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” on the deluxe version. I slowed things down in October with the release of SABLE, fABLE by Bon Iver, though my favourite track from the album is “From.” I spent a good chunk of the latter half of the year listening to a mix of NEVER ENOUGH by Turnstile, and SWAG/SWAG II by Justin Bieber, two surprise releases this year. Coming to the end of the year, it’s been nothing but West End Girl by Lily Allen. — Haley Dach, Fashion Director

FEATURE IMAGE: DAMAG3. PHOTO BY SAMMI SHINAGAWA.