Every once in a while, I like to explore music that I may have missed, so RollingStone magazine’s “The 100 Best Albums of 2025” was just what I needed this evening. Bad Bunny’s “Debí tirar más fotos” and Rosalía’s “Lux” did not come as a surprise, of course. But I wasn’t as familiar with music by Central Cee (whose Guyanese roots are reflected in many of his tracks) or María Zardoya (born in Puerto Rico and raised in Georgia)… Here are the blurbs for the Caribbean-related artists on the list, starting with my favorite—and #1 on the Best Albums list—Bad Bunny (Puerto Rico), followed by Karol G (Colombia), María Zardoya (Puerto Rico), Central Cee (United Kingdom), and Cardi B (U.S. with roots from Trinidad & Dominican Republic). Read the full selection at RollingStone.
#1. Bad Bunny, ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’
On his sixth album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Bad Bunny brings listeners along for his triumphant homecoming with 17 songs that traverse Puerto Rico’s rich kaleidoscope of genres. It’s homegrown, jubilant, and fresh as Benito takes the best moments from Un Verano Sin Ti and pushes the limits of his continuously experimental sound into the unchartered territory of Puerto Rican folk music and salsa. Despite its hyper-specific cultural focus, or maybe because of it, Debí Tirar Más Fotos conquered 2025. It could be heard on the streets of New York, San Juan, and beyond — and helped Bad Bunny make history. The star became the first to host a residency at Puerto Rico’s El Choli, and he will bring the No Quiero Ir De Aqui Tour to the global stage in 2026, stopping to headline the Super Bowl halftime show and maybe even pick up one of the six Grammy nominations he’s up for along the way. The album and its dominance this year are a testament of where unwavering Borican pride can take Bad Bunny.—Maya Georgi
#34. Karol G, ‘Tropicoqueta’
Where exactly does an artist go after globe-spanning, stadium-size, record-shattering success? Colombian superstar Karol G turned inward. She began to think about all of the music that had inspired her childhood — baroque Eighties ballads, soaring vallenatos, merengue from dance parties in family living rooms in Medellin. What ended up pouring out of her was a bright, orange-hued compendium of 20 songs, all pulling from different parts of Latin-pop history — with an emphasis on the pop part. What’s accomplished here is carefree and breezy, interested in accessibility and relatability, stretching out like a mosaic of past and present.—Julyssa Lopez
#48. Not for Radio, ‘Melt’
María Zardoya’s namesake band the Marías had a breakout 18-month stretch leading to a Best New Artist Grammy nomination. Zardoya’s first solo effort is dreamier and more intimate than her band’s jazz-tinged chill pop, with fuzzy guitars gathering around her spectral voice like gray-day cloud cover. On “Back to You,” her simply stated hope for reconciliation is cushioned by stormy pianos; “Not the Only One” has a gently psychedelic vibe, adding a hazy dimension to Zardoya’s negotiations of her heart’s boundaries. —Maura Johnston
#51. Central Cee, ‘Can’t Rush Greatness’
The 25-year-old West London rap sensation Central Cee has proven he can be a reliable Gen Z hitmaker with the streaming stats to back it up, all before dropping a debut album. With Can’t Rush Greatness, he’s out to show that he can live up to the hype, and at 17 tracks spanning a range of sounds and styles, the album makes his case mightily. A true representative of his generation (“Gen Z Love” has the makings of an anthem for an era), Cench is as attentive to the music as the optics surrounding it, and his acumen for both is what makes his debut album a success.—Jeff Ihaza
#60. Cardi B, ‘Am I the Drama?’
On Am I the Drama?, Cardi B makes up for lost time with a massive comeback triumph. She’s got a long list of scores to settle, enemies to crush, crowns to claim. As always, she brings so much larger-than-life personality to the party that she could coast on charisma if she wanted. But Cardi’s been in the news lately for everything except her music, so it’s a trip to hear her finally get to cut loose and have fun. She’s out to remind everyone she’s looser, wilder, less predictable, just plain funnier than anyone else in the game. As she declares, “All of my cars is chauffeured/I ain’t touched door handles in years!”—Rob Sheffield
For full article, see https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-2025-1235466292/bad-bunny-debi-tirar-mas-fotos-3-1235466294/
Every once in a while, I like to explore music that I may have missed, so RollingStone magazine’s “The 100 Best Albums of 2025” was just what I needed this evening. Bad Bunny’s “Debí tirar más fotos” and Rosalía’s “Lux” did not come as a surprise, of course. But I wasn’t as familiar with music
