The Best Queer Albums (and Beyond) of 2025...So Far

As 2025 hits its midpoint, it is clear that queer artists are once again leading the charge when it comes to innovating new sounds, exposing vulnerability and crafting bodies of work with their albums.

This year has already gifted us an extraordinary wave of music that not only pushes genre boundaries, but that also capture the complexities of identity, intimacy and liberation all in deeply personal ways. Whether it is Jane Remover's glitchy emotional chaos or Ethel Cain's slow-burning ambient confessions or Rebecca Black's triumphant pop rebirth these records are not just great queer albums - there are some of the best albums of the year, period.

From ambient dreamscapes to dance floor anthems and post pop experiments, below is a list of the top 10 standouts released this year that only prove that queer artists continue to shape the sound of modern music.

Jane Remover - "Revengeseekerz"

After establishing themselves as a musical boundary-pusher after first rising to fame in 2021, Jane Remover is back with "Revengeseekerz," an album that is as sonically explosive as it is emotionally raw and quite different from her latest LP, a shoegaze album called "Census Designated." There's a chaotic beauty to certain tracks on the album such as "Experimental Skin" and "Professional Vengeance," which channel complicated emotions through walls of distorted and glitchy beats. It doesn't make for an easy, but that is the entire point of "Revengeseekerz." Instead, the album proves that Jane Remover is one of music's most thrilling current visionaries.

Ethel Cain – "Perverts"

Ethel Cain released one of the best albums of the decade with "Preacher's Daughter" in 2022, but she followed it up remained a mystery until she released her "Perverts" EP early into 2025. A stark contrast to "Preacher's Daughter," "Perverts" is darker and more intimate with songs that often feel like confessionals without hardly saying anything at all. Each song is a lengthy exercise in Cain's musical prowess and when she does finally speak such as on "Amber Waves" and "Punish," she goes right for the jugular with such visceral emotion. As Cain gears up to release her upcoming album "Willoughby Tucker, I Will Always Love You," "Perverts" further cemented her as a prophet of trauma and transience in slow motion.

Rebecca Black – "Salvation"

Rebecca Black has had one of the most interesting transformations in music history, from going from a meme with her song "Friday" to genuinely making boundless pop music and "Salvation" is a prime example of this. Tracks such as "Salvation" and "Trust" are dance floor bangers while other songs such as "Do You Even Think About Me?" and "Twist the Knife" maintain the same smart pop sensibilities, but with a cutting edge of vulnerability and earnestness often absent from pop. With "Salvation," Black feels triumphant like a rebirth of a pop star with newfound energy and confidence.

OHYUNG - "You Are Always on My Mind"

OHYUNG's "You Are Always on My Mind" is a deeply textural and cinematic mediation on memory, grief and queer longing. The project mixes ambient soundscapes with fragmented spoken words that culminates in an album that floats rather than marches. Found on the project are the achingly tender tracks "I'm Holding Close the Memory Fades" and "Years Ago" which blend heartfelt lyrics with forms of sonic experimentation. More than an album to listen to, "You Are Always on My Mind" lingers like a dream that you're not quite ready to wake up from.

FKA twigs - "Eusexua"

FKA Twigs returned in 2025 with her first project in three years and the result was her most daring work to date. Mixing sensuality, gender and performance in a post-human world, FKA Twigs proves that she is one of the most avant-garde artists in the game with "Eusexua." Across the project she weaves a tapestry of operatic vocals and futuristic sounds into a completely unique sound. The project is challenging gorgeous and entirely her own, one need not look beyond the tracks "Striptease" and the title track as examples.

Tate McRae - "So Close to What"

One of pop music's biggest budding stars, Tate McRae leans into darker pop aesthetics with "So Close to What" drawing heavily from the sleek and catchy R&B influences from the 2000s as seen on the tracks "It's Ok, "I'm Ok" and "Sports Car." Across the project, it is one addictive earworm after another as she explores themes of sexuality and relationships as well as other topics such as heartbreak and power dynamics. With "So Close to What," McRae is able to walk the line between vulnerability and polish with impressive confidence making a collection of songs that are both radio-ready but also with hints of vulnerability sprinkled throughout them.

McRae's voice complements both the throwback sound and punchy beats, often times underscoring the album's themes. With the release of "So Close to what," McRae not only shows that she can keep up with pop's elite, but also proves she is ready to lead the pack.

Lady Gaga – "Mayhem"

With an urgent call from her Little Monsters to return to the dark pop sounds of her early work, Lady Gaga does just that on "Mayhem" with a few twists along the way. Dripping with theatricality, Gaga is able to recall her "The Fame Monster" sound on tracks "Disease" and "Abracadabra," while diving into rock on "Perfect Celebrity" and even reheating Michael Jackson's nachos on "Shadow of a Man." While far from a cohesive listen, Gaga is her most uninhibited across "Mayhem". It's camp. It's chaos. It's catharsis and Gaga at her best in a decade.

PinkPantheress - "Fancy That"

Another boundary pusher in music, PinkPantheres continues to expand her sonic palette on "Fancy That." Dripping with late 90s and early 00s influence, the singer and producer delivers a collection of songs take the listener back to a simpler time. But make no mistake, PinkPantheres is not afraid to explore other genres such as on the rock-tinged "Romeo" and R&B saturated "Stateside." Her vocal delivery and stylistic experimentation give the project both cohesion and surprise. The result of the exploration is a confident step forward, one that cannot be boiled down to a viral trend, but rather an evolution driven by intention, vision and growth.

Miya Folick - "Erotica Veronica"

"Erotica Veronica" is a sensual, lyrically bold exploration of intimacy and identity. Miya Folick blends alternative pop elements with folk influences and indie rock to craft a sound that is both assertive and introspective. Tracks such as "This Time Around" and "Hate Me" are vulnerable listens. While only 41 minutes long, Folick takes the listener on a journey of emotional and empowered songs that ring with nuance that only further proves Folick as one of alt-pop's most gripping voices.

Miley Cyrus – "Something Beautiful"

To say that "Something Beautiful" is Miley Cyrus' most experimental album to date would be an understatement. The project is an amalgamation of sounds from the Madonna-esque "Walk of Fame" to the grunge-heavy title track and the 70s-inspired "Easy Lover," Cyrus takes the listener on a journey through not only her influences, but also on a victory lap of one of the most underrated careers in mainstream pop. But let's be honest – at this point in her career Cyrus has absolutely nothing left to prove, and she carries herself with the kind of unapologetic confidence that comes from years of reinvention, resilience and refusing to be boxed in. The result is something truly beautiful.