In 2025, the best rock music radiated self-assurance. That sometimes meant staking a claim to micro-genre legacies, but just as often meant leaning hard into idiosyncrasies. This year’s best and boldest rock came from Britpop veterans and emo-revival heroes who returned to level up their sound; feminist punks and indie upstarts making electrifying debuts; and regional artists fearlessly embodying local traditions. Below, find our top 30 rock albums of 2025, chosen by Pitchfork staff writer Nina Corcoran and editors Sam Sodomsky and Marissa Lorusso.
Check out all of Pitchfork’s 2025 wrap-up coverage here.
(All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors. When you buy something through our retail links, however, Pitchfork may earn an affiliate commission.)
30.
Suede: Antidepressants
In 1995, it was hard to imagine Suede making a third record, let alone existing for another 30 years. Against the odds, Brett Anderson has led his Britpop survivors into the most consistent, constructive phase of their career, and Antidepressants has enough restless energy and hooks to make you believe their best days could still be ahead of them. –Sam Sodomsky
Listen/Buy: Amazon | Apple Music | Spotify | Tidal
29.
Lambrini Girls: Who Let the Dogs Out
On their debut album, the Brighton punks give the V-sign to racist cops, sexist bosses, capitalist pigs, and every other kind of loser. Their fuzzy, rambunctious songs land like an uppercut straight to patriarchy’s jaw; that they sprinkle the tracks with wry humor and communal joy make the knockout even more thrilling. –Marissa Lorusso
Listen/Buy: Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Rough Trade | Spotify | Tidal
28.
Chime Oblivion: Chime Oblivion
In his latest side-project, Osees frontman John Dwyer borrows punk luminaries from Bow Wow Wow, FKA Smiley, Flying Luttenbachers, and more for his most inspired album in years. Together as Chime Oblivion, they jam through no-wave acid trips and spiral into dubby proto-punk, snapping together like misfit magnets escaping fridge-door normalcy. –Nina Corcoran
Listen/Buy: Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Rough Trade | Spotify | Tidal
27.
James McMurtry: The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
A man stares at himself in the mirror as his mom calls him down for dinner. From any other writer, this might be a passing detail. For James McMurtry, it’s a nightmarish portal into a long line of generational trauma and addiction with a dash of so-sad-you-have-to-laugh humor. On his latest album—with a title inspired by a sketch drawn by his late father, the writer Larry McMurtry—the Austin, Texas songwriter tells big stories through the smallest details. –Sam Sodomsky
