I had such a good time doing this last year that I’m doing it again for this year – even if 2025’s had a bit of a quieter start than 2024.
Let’s get something out of the way first: albums are my favorite way to consume music. I love it when artists are able to build out a story and tell it through tracklist. I love cohesive packages of music that ooze passion, skill, and dedication. And, even though it feels like there have been far less albums at this point in 2025 than there were in 2024, there are still some absolute gems to talk about here today.
As I did last year, I’ll try to include full playthroughs of each of the albums that I include here (some of them may make you exit to an external tab) so you can listen as you read and tell me if you agree or disagree with me. And, as always, please let me know if I’ve missed something. I always love discovering new music.
Let’s get into the list!
Table of Contents
Estiva – Embrace
Dutch producer Steven Baan is a master of energy. His club-ready anthems have been lighting up dance floors since the late 2000s. He’s got such a huge discography that it’d be almost impossible to confidently claim that something is his magnum opus. But, that’s exactly what I’m about to do: “Embrace”, his fifth album, is his best yet.
Estiva brings forth a refined, yet gritty sound on this album. It’s a cohesive, expert-quality package of the bass-heavy progressive sound that he’s become known for. It also represents his maturity as an artist, as he clearly knows when to go full throttle on a track (like with “Sudden Moves”) and when to pull it back a bit (like with “Shores”). The album culminates in the near-perfect “E.T. Dust”, a perfect blend of melodic and heavy that could be in the running for the best track of his career. “Embrace” is Estiva in peak form, and is a must-listen.
Skrillex – F*CK U SKRILLEX YOU THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3
I’ve heard the “THIS IS ACTUALLY A DJ MIX AND SHOULDN’T COUNT AS AN ALBUM” argument. I raise you the following point: I don’t care.
This staggering, 34-track behemoth breezes through genres, styles, and phases of Skrillex’s legendary career effortlessly. My favorite part of it is that it refuses to take itself seriously: DJ Smokey’s narration throughout the package is hysterical (“I heard that snare took him two years to make” sent me into orbit) and the entire package is just fun to listen to. Plus, there are some serious gems on here: standouts include “RECOVERY” with Space Laces and the long-lost ID “VOLTAGE”. With this album, Skrillex reminds everyone that music at its core is fun, and we should all just enjoy the ride a little bit more.
FKA twigs – EUSEXUA
I can’t say I had listened to much FKA twigs before this album, and honestly, I think it just made my listening experience of “EUSEXUA” even better. I had no idea what to expect, and I was blown away by all of it.
Raw, intimate, and honest songwriting, top-tier vocal performances from both FKA twigs and guest artists, and retro-styled production with modern quality make this album a true standout. It’s hard to find a flaw here, with “EUSEXUA” providing broad appeal for pop and dance fans alike. It’s an incredible listen, from start to finish. A few favorites from the tracklist include the UK garage inspired “Perfect Stranger” and the ultra-smooth “Sticky”, which features some of my favorite melodic and vocal work on the entire album.
Knock2 – nolimit
Ever since the release of “dashstar”, Knock2 has been on an insane run. And, with “nolimit”, he shows just why all the praise and hype he’s gotten in the past few years has been undeniably deserved.
He effortlessly travels across styles on his debut album, showing that there is truly “no limit” to his high-energy, crystal clean production style. He further shows his proficiency in house with the standout “feel U luv Me”, while also showing his knack for drum ‘n’ bass on “select@”, trap on “ready 2”, and breaks on “party! (dance alone)”. There is truly something for everything here. Knock2 hasn’t just dropped a phenomenal debut album: he’s also firmly seated himself as one of the loudest electronic visionaries of the 2020s.
Desx – Digital Dreamscape
There is a very real chance that you’ve never heard of this album before, considering it’s from a relatively small producer on a relatively small label. Let this be your introduction, then, to one of the best bass music projects of the year, and maybe even the decade.
Released on Neoluminum, Desx’s third album is nothing short of masterful. A three-year undertaking, this record is a concept album, telling a story that, in the artist’s words, “delves into themes of human imperfection, escapism into a perfect world through technology, self-discovery and lots more.” The tracklist features a fusion of color bass (“Cosmic Fracture”), complextro (“Interloper”), glitch hop (“Front Row Suite!”), midtempo (“Rift of the New”), and more, demonstrating Desx’s ability to apply their top-level production to any genre. Almost more impressive is the amount of lore and worldbuilding that went into it, which I sadly don’t have time to get into. This album is phenomenal, and it needs to be experienced to be believed.
Anyma – The End Of Genesys
We’ve been living in Anyma’s world for quite some time now.
He’s redefined techno for the modern age, changed the live performance game with his signature visuals, was the first electronic artist to perform live at Sphere Vegas, and has now released what may very well be his best album yet. Anyma wraps up his signature trilogy and reaches a new level of refinement on “The End Of Genesys”, with commercial hits (like “Hypnotized” with Ellie Goulding) and darker heaters (like “The End Of Genesys” with Y do I) both having a place on the tracklist. There are also some fun collaborations on here – I wasn’t ever expecting to see Yeat on a dance album, and yet, here we are. If you like melodic techno, you’re going to love this one.
Blonde Maze – Second Sight
This could very well be the best feel-good album of the year. It’s hard to put it on and not feel better.
Conceived as love letters written to her wife days before proposing, Blonde Maze’s second album is undoubtedly her best work yet. It includes some of her best songwriting (“If I Stayed” being a particular standout) and some of the highest-quality, most beautiful songs she has ever produced. She also brings quite a stacked guest list to the table, including features from Lizzy Land and Channy Leaneagh of POLIÇA, and collaborations with Polar Inc. and Attom, among others. Yet, regardless of the star power on the tracklist, this consistently feels like a Blonde Maze record throughout its runtime: cinematic instrumentation, beautiful vocal work, and positive energy surging throughout. It’s a triumph of an album.
Moore Kismet – SATURATE YOUR WORLD!
The bass music prodigy is back at it again.
Kismet follows their smash-hit debut album “UNIVERSE” with a worthy sequel. Here, a shimmer-y and gritty bass sound takes center stage on each and every track. What’s incredible about this record, aside from the pristine and constantly-engaging production, is the variety: aside from their signature trap, Kismet explores sounds of UK garage, future house, techno, and more – all achieved at an expert level. Still only 20 years old, Moore Kismet has confirmed with this record that they are here to stay, and we cannot wait to see where their career heads next.
Neddie – Passerby
Neddie made our list of artists to watch in 2025, and for good reason: his newest album is one of the most creative bass music projects of the year.
Throughout the entire album, he’s effortlessly able to blend nostalgic-sounding, beautiful melodic content with gritty bass and hard-hitting drums. Take “That look in your eyes” for example: the first drop is a percussive take on color bass with glitches and distortion, and the second is a garage-inspired section focusing on a gorgeous piano riff, glimmering synth ambiences, and stripped-back drums. It takes a real master to combine so many elements into one track without it sounding out of place – and a majority of the tracks on the album feature fusions just like this one. This album is approachable to both melodic and bass music fans, and we can’t wait to see what else Neddie does this year.
Teddy Killerz – COOKED
There’s an obvious reason why there’s a track on here called “We Love Drum & Bass“: this album is a love letter to the genre.
Teddy Killerz have been among the best drum & bass artists in the scene for years now, and the trio’s second album is simply remarkable. Masters of groove and dirty bass, this record features some of the most impressive sound design I’ve heard in a while. There’s also a great variety of d&b subgenres to enjoy here: from neurofunk to dancefloor to liquid to jungle, all achieved at a very high technical level. And yet, it doesn’t fall into the classic complex music trap where the sound design is the only thing that makes the album worth listening to – there’s clearly a lot of intention and thought put into all aspects of each track. This album is peak Teddy Killerz, and some of the best drum & bass I’ve heard all year.
pluko – OXY
Rounding out our list is a truly one-of-a-kind record that does a lot in its massive 21-song tracklist.
There’s something addicting about the stuttery, melodic sound that pluko highlights on his latest album. In the simplest terms, this record is ear candy, with some of the best production and songwriting of pluko’s career so far. There’s a lot of variety to be enjoyed here, including heavier, bass-heavy cuts like “STUTTER” and lighter, poppier ones like “I FEEL STRANGE”, but it’s all brought together by feeling-drenched vocal performances and the aforementioned stuttery melodic work. This album is pluko at his most emotional, and his absolute best.
Ben Lepper is a music producer and journalist from Boston, Massachusetts.
