Album covers used to be a first impression for many when searching for new music. I don’t think that their importance has dwindled in the digital age, but perhaps their presence has amongst listeners for discovering new artists. Nonetheless, art design is still an integral piece of an album or single, and I wanted to share some of my favorites from the year.

Since the release of Mario Kart World, I have been obsessed with the soundtrack and music design led by Atsuko Asahi. I explore the development of World’s soundtrack through developer interviews, insights from playing the game myself, and provide further reasoning as to why this might deserve Best OST of 2025.