ALBUMS OF 2025

Hundreds of albums came out during the past 12 months, from A-list releases to debuts and everything in between. Here are Classic Rock's Top 50.

- Words: Rich Davenport, Dave Everley, Ian Fortnam, Polly Glass, Rich Hobson, Rob Hughes, Neil Jeffries, Emma Johnston, Damian Jones, Fraser Lewry, Dave Ling, Siân Llewellyn, Chris Lord, James McNair, Henry Yates

50 NEIL YOUNG

Talkin To The Trees WARNERS

By turns homely and politically fired up, Talkin To The Trees finds Neil Young delivering incisive commentary on Donald Trump's America just as comfortably as the complex nuances of his own family life. It's not his best work (49 albums in, that would be asking a lot), but it is an oddly soothing, dulcet snapshot of the world in 2025, in all its complexities. Both widescreen and deeply personal. PG

Killer track: Big Change

49 CHRISSIE HYNDE AND PALS

Duets Special PARLOPHONE

In addition to writing a bunch of classics for The Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde has also had hits with reinterpretations of songs by artists as diverse as Ray Davies, Jon And Vangelis, and Sonny And Cher. Duets Special expands that approach, with Hynde and pals including Debbie Harry, Shirely Manson, Julian Lennon and Rufus Wainwright collaborating on a collection of songs by or made famous by 10cc,

Willie Nelson, Billy Paul and more into a mellow, cohesive album that's an ideal after-hours listen. RD

Killer track: Sway (Rolling Stones) with Lucinda Williams.

48 BUCKCHERRY

Roar Like Thunder EARACHE

These Californian rockers enter their fourth decade sounding as fun, fresh and focused as ever on album eleven. And yet for all their sun-soaked songs about shagging and partying, Josh Todd has ample gravitas as a hard-rock singer. His sonorous, versatile vocals are still doing the business on tracks like Blackout and Let It Burn, where the riffs are riotous and the hooks are sharp. CL

Killer track: I Go Boom