2025 was another incredible year for music, filled with no-skip albums and EPs. We narrowed it down to our top 12 albums/EPs of the year that we loved in their entirety and listened to from start to finish.
Before we begin, we want to extend a huge congratulations to all of these artists for releasing such beautiful projects this year.
Released on: September 5, 2025
Will Linley is an artist we discovered this year, and we instantly fell in love with his artistry. Don’t Cry Because It’s Over explores themes of love, connection, heartbreak, nostalgia, and growth, telling the story of first love from beginning to end. It’s an incredibly introspective and vulnerable album, with Will beautifully sharing his story across all 12 tracks. One of our favourite songs is “First Love,” which also happens to be the first song we heard from him back in August.
This album earned its spot in our final 12 for how each track feels distinct while remaining cohesive to the album’s overall meaning.
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Release Date: October 10, 2025
“bittersweet” was easily our favourite track this month. It’s a stunning song about the complicated emotions of a breakup where hurt and freedom coexist. She captures that duality perfectly with the line, “I know I should be bitter, but baby, right now I’m bittersweet.”
The production is super catchy, and her sweet, honey-toned, light vocals elevate the song into the perfect moving-on anthem. It gave us the same emotional rush as Ariana Grande’s “we can’t be friends.”
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Released on: July 25, 2025
Alessi Rose is another artist we discovered this year and quickly began actively listening to. Voyeur was released around the time we found her, and we absolutely fell in love with the project. The EP is atmospheric and intimate, exploring self-awareness and the vulnerability that comes with falling deeply into infatuation. Blending Alessi’s signature bedroom-pop sound with pop-rock girl energy and dreamy synths, the project feels both vulnerable and self-assured, showcasing her confidence just as much as her emotional honesty.
We’re incredibly grateful to have discovered her this year, as it means we get to be part of her journey now and into 2026.
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Released on: October 14, 2025
elijah woods is an artist we’ve been fans of since his debut, and with every project he releases, he continues to outdo himself. Can We Talk? is his most vulnerable body of work yet, with all 11 tracks exploring love, loss, and every blurred space in between. We had the opportunity to write a press coverage piece on the release, where we described it as a project that “unfolds like a late-night, unfiltered, and deeply human conversation”, which is a sentiment that perfectly captures why we love this album.
From start to finish, the project is stunning and meticulously crafted, blending elijah’s magnetic pop sound with raw emotional honesty. We truly adore elijah and can’t wait to continue supporting him for a fifth year.
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Released on: May 19, 2025
BAEKHYUN is another favourite here at B-Side Rituals, and his artistry remains truly unique and special. Essence of Reverie is his fifth mini-album, a project that explores the space between reality and dreams. Throughout the record, he reveals his true self in contrast to the idealized “idol” image often projected onto him. The title itself represents this duality, blending “Essence” (his authentic self) with “Reverie” (dreamlike states). Through a mix of genres and food-and-drink metaphors, BAEKHYUN captures both the sweet and bitter sides of love and connection, which is an approach we found incredibly clever and easy to grasp.
This album stands as one of BAEKHYUN’s most vulnerable projects to date, and it’s also one he was deeply involved in, contributing extensively to the songwriting and composition. The project highlights his artistic growth post-military enlistment, and we love how authentic it feels, truly reflecting BAEKHYUN as a person.
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Released on: April 7, 2025
MARK, the multi-talented member of NCT and former SuperM, shines in his debut solo album, The Firstfruit. This 13-track project embodies his authentic and spiritual self, rooted in biblical imagery of giving the best to God. It takes listeners on his journey from Toronto to Vancouver and then to Korea to pursue K-pop, blending personal storytelling with heartfelt artistry. Beyond the music, MARK thoughtfully crafted the album’s concept, visuals, and physical merch, making The Firstfruit a complete, immersive experience.
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Released on: November 14, 2025
PRYVT is an artist B-Side Rituals has been supporting since pre-debut, and with every release, their music continues to grow and impress. Their album BACK TO REALITY reflects the transition from thrilling experiences to the calm, sometimes lonely rhythms of daily life. This 12-track project reflects their journey as a band, blending personal experiences and romantic memories like in “PALETTE” with honest storytelling.
The album balances energetic tracks with slower, emotive songs such as “HEAVEN,” showcasing both their musical and personal growth. It’s a heartfelt evolution of PRYVT as artists and as a band, and we can’t wait to see what they do next.
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Released on: February 14, 2025
ROLE MODEL is an artist we discovered this year, and actually saw live at All Things Go Festival in Toronto. His indie-pop sound paired with a country-boy charm feels both refreshing and authentic. Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye) is a deeply emotional project that captures a bittersweet chapter in his life. The album explores heartbreak, lingering love, self-blame, nostalgia, and the slow journey from denial to closure, even wishing peace to an ex. It’s a raw, vulnerable project that truly showcases his artistry, and we can’t wait to hear what he does next.
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Released on: July 11, 2025
We were big fans of Noah Cyrus growing up and, after some time away, this album completely pulled us back in. We also saw her perform a lot of the songs from this album at All things Go Festival in Toronto this summer and we got so emotional seeing her. I WANT MY LOVED ONES TO GO WITH ME is deeply personal, exploring family legacy, grief over the loss of her horse and healing through nature. Blending country and folk, each song unfolds like a chapter from her life. “Don’t Put It All On Me” became one of our most-played tracks this year, and this project truly holds a special place for us.
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Released on: May 30, 2025
The Rose continues to be one of our favourite artists, and with every release, it feels like we’re growing alongside them and their evolving sound. Their music consistently embraces unity and vulnerability, and WRLD is no exception. The album is raw and emotional, exploring themes of finding home, shared humanity, and hope for a brighter future. It reflects the pain and disconnection the world is experiencing like war, division, and environmental crisis, while offering listeners space to pause, breathe, and dream.
The band also reflects on recent years spent traveling the world, healing, and connecting with fans through their music. From the visuals and physical merch to the lyrics and their Once Upon A WRLD tour performances, this project is a beautifully crafted and deeply meaningful experience.
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Released on: February 21, 2025
ONE OK ROCK is a band we had been listening to casually for years, but after seeing them live this June, we truly fell in love with their music. DETOX quickly became one of our top albums of the year, with each track offering something distinct, ranging from slower, reflective moments to high-energy, adrenaline-fuelled songs, all rooted in rock. The album feels like a release and a reset, transforming the tension of today’s world into something cathartic and healing. Blending powerful rock with melodic elements, DETOX moves through themes of love, anger, and resilience with striking honesty.
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Released on: August 20, 2025
JUNNY has been our favourite solo artist since 2019 when we discovered him. null perfectly captures his artistic growth, standing as his most vulnerable and emotionally rich project to date. The album’s title carries a dual meaning of “nothing” in English and “you” in Korean (너) which reflects the emotional tension woven throughout the record. Across 12 tracks, JUNNY explores the complexities of love, balancing intimacy and emptiness while diving into themes of loss and self-discovery.
While experimenting with different sounds, he remains rooted in his signature R&B style, showcasing both versatility and cohesion. JUNNY’s lyricism continues to standout as he is thoughtful, and introspective, which leaves us in awe every time.
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Released on: February 28, 2025
Bradley Simpson’s solo debut arrived at the perfect time. Having grown up listening to him as part of The Vamps, it’s been exciting to see him step into a sound that feels entirely his own. His indie rock/pop direction marks a clear shift from his band days, offering a more personal and expressive side of his artistry. The Panic Years reflects on his twenties, navigating fame, chaos, self-discovery, love, and heartbreak, unfolding as a 12-track coming-of-age story. The album is honest, relatable, and full of lessons, made even more special by Bradley’s openness. Seeing him perform these songs live in London in May felt surreal and unforgettable.
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Check out all these songs in our “Best No Skip EPs/Albums of 2025” Spotify Playlist:
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