Music, politics, and pop-culture magazine Rolling Stone unveiled its “100 Best Albums of 2025”, with three Nigerian albums earning spots on the prestigious year-end list.
Leading the pack is producer Sarz’s debut studio album, Protect Sarz at All Costs, which landed at an impressive No. 27. The long-time hitmaker behind Wizkid and Lojay classics stepped into the artist spotlight with a project Rolling Stone hailed as a “reinvention of his legacy.” The album features heavyweights such as Asake.
At No. 73, Davido held his own with 5ive. The album debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s World Albums chart and No. 37 on the Billboard 200. It shattered Spotify Nigeria’s 2025 single-day streaming record at 9.3 million plays on launch day.
5ive has since amassed over 100 million streams on the platform. Standouts include the Grammy-nominated “With You” featuring Omah Lay and the Chris Brown collaboration “Titanium”.
At No. 88, rising star Fola earned a spot with his debut, Catharsis. The 24-year-old’s emotionally raw project peaked at No. 3 on Nigeria’s TurnTable Official Albums Chart. It logged a record-breaking 10.66 million Spotify streams in Nigeria in its first week, the highest for any Nigerian debut.
It also surpassed 100 million total streams across streaming platforms by October. Catharsis debuted at No. 2 globally on Spotify’s Top Albums Debut chart, the best-ever for a Nigerian rookie release. Songs such as the “Gokada” and the Kizz Daniel-featured “Lost” both landed in the streaming Top 10 charts.
Burna Boy’s No Sign of Weakness, despite a 2026 Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album and high-profile features with Mick Jagger and Stromae, failed to crack the top 100.
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