Rosalía's Lux Tops BBC's 2025 'Poll of Polls' for Best Album

Rosalía's Lux was crowned the best album of 2025 in BBC News' poll of polls, a year-end aggregation of more than 30 critics' lists. The Spanish singer's fourth album finished narrowly ahead of Geese's Getting Killed, while PinkPantheress's Illegal was named the year's top single. The final points gap between the top two albums was 52, the closest result in the poll's history. The year also underlined a shift in critical focus away from blockbuster sellers, with major chart-toppers like Taylor Swift's The Life Of A Showgirl drawing only a handful of nominations, and Alex Warren's Ordinary appearing in just one list.

The BBC gathered more than 30 year-end lists from influential music outlets around the world, including Albumism, Billboard, BuzzFeed, Clash, Complex, Consequence of Sound, Dazed, The Guardian, Independent, NME, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, The Times, Time Out, and Vulture, among others. Each list was converted into points, with the #1 album earning 20 points, #2 earning 19 points, and so on. The compiled totals created what critics described as one of the closest super-rankings in the poll's history, with Rosalía's Lux finishing just ahead of Geese's Getting Killed and PinkPantheress's Illegal securing the top song slot. The exercise also highlighted the breadth of 2025's release slate and the divergence between popularity and critical consensus.

The ten best albums of 2025, according to the aggregated results, were: Addison Rae – Addison; Lily Allen – West End Girl; Pulp – More; Dijon – Baby; FKA Twigs – Eusexua; CMAT – Euro-Country; Oklou – Choke; Bad Bunny – Debí Tirar Más Fotos; Geese – Getting Killed; Rosalía – Lux.

The ten best songs of 2025, per the same pool of critics, were: Wednesday – Elderberry Wine; Kehlani – Folded; Addison Rae – Headphones On; Amaarae – SMO; Bad Bunny – Baile Inolvidable; Huntr/x – Golden; Chappell Roan – The Subway; Lady Gaga – Abracadabra; Olivia Dean – Man I Need; PinkPantheress – Illegal.

The publications surveyed span a wide spectrum of outlets, from mainstream to indie and international titles. The playlist of sources included Albumism, Billboard, BuzzFeed, Clash, Complex, Consequence of Sound, Dazed, Daily Mail, Dork, Double J, Entertainment Weekly, Exclaim!, The Fader, Flood, The Forty Five, Gorilla vs Bear, The Guardian, Independent, LA Times, Les Inrocks, Line of Best Fit, MOJO, Mondo Sonoro, NME, New York Times, Paste Magazine, Pitchfork, Pop Matters, Rolling Stone, The Skinny, Slant, Stereogum, The Telegraph, Time Magazine, Time Out, The Times, Uncut and Vulture. In total, more than 200 records appeared across the lists, with the final ranking reflecting the relative emphasis assigned by each publication.

The end result underscores a year when critics gravitated toward music that felt transformative rather than commercially dominant, and where long-established artists and newcomers alike found critical traction. The poll's organizers noted it as one of the closest ever, reflecting a year in which no single record or single could command universal consensus.

The landscape of 2025 also included a mix of cross-genre collaborations and bold indie statements, with critics highlighting records that moved beyond conventional pop hooks to explore new textures and languages. The results reflect a year in which artists from distintos corners of the globe—ranging from traditional flamenco-infused pop to experimental electronic and R&B—were celebrated for pushing boundaries rather than chasing broader market trends. The included lists show a wide appetite for risk, reverence for craft, and a willingness to elevate artists who may not have dominated the mainstream but did define the cultural conversation in 2025.

The ten top albums and ten top songs together illustrate a year that felt both celebratory and exploratory, with critics recognizing both luminous pop moments and more intimate, experimental statements. The emphasis on artists like Rosalía, Geese, and PinkPantheress signals a year in which global sounds and hybrid forms gained traction in year-end conversations. As the dust settled on 2025, culture and entertainment coverage looked both outward to international voices and inward to personal, exploratory listening experiences that challenged listeners to reconsider what constitutes the year’s best music.

The BBC’s methodology and the resulting rankings reflect a broader trend in music journalism: the aggregation of opinions across diverse outlets can produce a nuanced portrait of a year that defies simple categorization. As critics and fans alike dissect the year in retrospect, the super-ranking serves as a snapshot of a dynamic, rapidly shifting cultural landscape.