25

Hello it's me

- almost a no-skip album - knew 8 or 9 / 11 songs prior to listening (no pun intended) ranking: [3 stars] when we were young > remedy > water under the bridge > all I ask > love in the dark > hello (though overplayed) & million years ago > send my love > [2 stars] I miss you & river lea > sweetest devotion

I mean. It's Adele. What else is there to say I do have to say it's not my usual style of music, and if it were someone else I wouldn't stand it that much, but her vocals make up for so much of it. Also there's so many iconic songs in this album nad it's just *cheffs kiss* Not sure what my favourite song is yet, and I'll give it s couple listens, but so far it's great!!!!!! it's not my favourite type of music, so I'll give it a 3, maybe?? i won't be listening to it again i think

You know, its adele

As much as I love Adele she’s definitely someone I need to be in the right mood for.

I really enjoyed this album, but it's far from complete for me. Hello is an incredible song and a tremendous way to start out, though it's undoubtedly the peak of this album. There are some other great cuts on here, no doubt, including When We Were Young, Water Under the Bridge, and River Lea. And Adele's voice soars throughout, it's such an amazing instrument. All the same, this isn't a cover-to-cover listen. There are a few missteps in here, imo, such as Million Years Ago, which felt like an inferior version of some of the songs that appeared earlier in the album. 4 stars, as Hello is incredible and there's enough here to hold that rating. But far from a 5-star album.

Best Song: Hello I don't think it can be argued that Adele can sing. And, it shows here. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would and, while it isn't exactly going to get the party jumping, the easy listening aspects definitely have a use case in my life. My thinking when it comes to grades, if there are several songs I can say are my favorite - we are looking at a 4. If every song could be a favorite - we are looking at a 5. Hello, Send my Love, When We Were Young are all great tracks but there are some that are skippable so 4/5.

8.5/10

Nunca me ha gustado Adele pero me gustó el concepto del álbum y reconozco que su tono es de otro calibre

Fav- remedy 2/5

Adele conoció la viralidad pre tiktok y todos la sobrexposición a rolas de ella, así que le tenía cierta aversión a escucharla pero es un gran discooo. Tiene un ritmo muy a gustoo, digerible pa todo el mundo y letras potentes, When we were young sigue siendo mi favorita de ella desde antes de escucharlo completo La neta nomás no es un 5 porque hay algunas que son muy repetitivas en el coro

algunos deep cuts bastante chidos, igual los otros sencillos (sobre todo when we were young), pero cabrón cómo me caga hello

For one of the missus’s top all-time music makers I’ve spent remarkably little time listening to Adele in any meaningful way. Adele mostly reminds me that love hurts. While these songs aren’t so great individually, one thing I appreciated about this listen is that the album as a whole exceeded the sum of its parts. This is a rare, valuable and overlooked trait of albumness. I’m giving that trait an extra star.

I was about to get surgery on my hand as a result of a sandwich-related accident. It was just a local anaesthetic. My arm had a tourniquet above the elbow and was strapped down to the table. The surgeon entered. “So just a local?” I assumed he was talking to me. The tone was vaguely judgemental, as if I was responsible for the whole thing. Which to be fair, I was, between me and the sandwich. “Ah, yeah,” I said. “I’ve never had general anaesthetic and the concept makes me nervous, so I’m pretty glad.” “The concept?” “Yeah.” “Well, I’m not.” “Not what?” “Not glad. The ‘concept’ of general anaesthetic prevents conversations like these. Why are you so sweaty?” Also a fair observation. I was in a gown and lying on a bed lined with what felt like paper. Both materials felt like they were about to dissolve under my back sweat. “I’m nervous, I guess.” “Well, stop it. Stop being nervous and stop being sweaty.” He sighed. “I’m going to put on some music.” He walked out of sight to the corner of the room and pushed play on what sounded like an iPhone in a cereal bowl. He sat down and started pulling on my hand. I couldn’t feel anything other than a vague sense of pressure. “What’s this song?” I asked. He stopped what he was doing. I heard the clatter of the scalpel on the table. “Adele.” He said. “Ah. Day. El. The most popular artist in the world.” “OK, it’s not really my cup of…” “Would. You. Please. Stop. Sweating.” This was the first time I listened to Adele: strapped down to a table getting my hand cut open by a belligerent surgeon and trying not to sweat. Towards the end of the album, the operation was complete, and he removed the tourniquet. It unleashed this wave of the most intense pins and needles I’ve ever experienced. It felt like pure electricity running down my cold sausage of an arm. The surgeon picked up my lifeless arm, wiggled it a couple of times, then dropped it with a thud. He walked out without another word, with Adele still warbling away from the bowl in the corner. The second time I listened to Adele was today. I’m unsure which was the more painful experience.

I was kind of surprised by how many songs I recognized from this album. Makes sense, as I remember this album being huge. While I’ll probably never enjoy this album as much as the millions of moms around the world that love it, it’s a pretty decent R&B album. Adele has a phenomenal voice, and there are some catchy songs. Didn’t really hold my attention that strongly, but it was a pleasant listen.

Despite all the changes in music over the years people still love a singer of Standards. Adele at her peak was a throwback in the face of all the other pop stars in the 2010s. We're getting this now again in 2026 with Olivia Dean (another Brit, of course) - but it's proof that if you have a powerful voice and are singing catchy, booming songs about love lost and found there will always be an audience. 25 is not an improvement on its predecessor and doesn't really break new ground but it shouldn't be surprising that the best song "Send My Love to Your New Lover" is Max Martin produced. But still, it's an Adele album. I don't love it but it's hard to be upset if you hear it in a grocery store or a waiting room either. Sometimes inoffensive background music is perfectly fine.

Adele is great, but she's not quite my tempo

adele is so unbelievably talented and there are some unquestionable bangers on here, but at the end of the day this specific style of music just doesn't do it for me as a whole.

Si basas tu carrera en ser la gorda esa que canta bien, deberías cumplir, al menos, una de las dos cosas. Aburridísimo y plano.

TE AMO ADELE CON TODAS LAS FUERZAS DE MI SER. UN SUEÑO. i miss you que temon. when we where young en este album? omg, 100% album para escuchar.

Adele obviously has a beautiful and powerful voice, and I do think her songs perfectly showcase that. She is soulful and deep, and can also be subdued and poignant. I can't say this is my particular type of music that I enjoy on my own, but it is good in its own rites.

A 3 just because I didn't like it a lot. I prefer Florence and the Machine, but it's just my opinion.

I enjoyed. Not much to say. Exactly what I thought it was.

Flawless and soulful, a go to to feel everything Music moves within us.

clasico de todos los tiempos. lo que transmite esta mujer con su voz es de no creer.

girl get a grip this album is well constructed and wholly inoffensive not my kind of music and I don't think anyone should be writing this much about a man I liked River Lea

not really my thing but i respect its cultural relevance. i find adelle to be super samey. i think i havent experienced an adult breakup to apricate her lyrics

Very unrelatable and very bland.

A mixed of overplayed radio hits + really sad ballads. I think this album needs more time and distance to become a higher rating for me. It is really good, I just can't distance it from its cultural phenomenon.

Chart pop isn’t my thing, and I’ve not listened to music radio since the mid ‘80s. But even from this position of supreme ignorance, I know Adele is a big deal and could probably name two of her songs without any prompting – I know, impressive. However, this is my first time with one of her albums, and it’s not what I expected at all. I thought it would be more fun. I don’t know why, but I assumed a ridiculously successful artist with a happy homelife and a new family, would be writing songs that reflected her experience – instead, 25 is a ballad heavy ball breaker of an album, with songs mostly steeped in regret and nostalgia. There’s no doubt that she sings the shit out of everything put in front of her, and in the moment, she believes and lives every word. It’s undeniably a collection of great performances and, for her fans, that’s probably enough, but I’m not anywhere near convinced. Sorry. 4/10

Not my style. But you can’t deny the magic and artistry that Adele holds in every song.

Some boring ones

Cracking, not my thing

Absolutely great album. Not a single skip. I admit I wasn't a big fan of the jazzier 19. 21 had some moments, but was a bit uneven. On 25, Adele put it all together in a perfect package.

The GOAT

There’s a point at which virtuosity stops being exhilarating and starts becoming slightly exhausting. That’s where I found myself with 25. Adele is, obviously, an extraordinary singer. There’s no useful argument to be had about that. The control, the power, the phrasing, the ability to take a fairly conventional ballad and inflate it until it fills every corner of the room — all of it is formidable. But listening to an entire album built around that level of command began to feel a little like attending a one-woman show in which the performer can switch from Beyoncé to Streisand in the blink of an eye. You spend the first twenty minutes thinking, Christ, that’s impressive. Eventually you start yearning for somebody to miss a cue. My daughter can do that sort of thing. Big West End Style. Total commitment, total projection, absolute certainty that the person in row Z deserves exactly as much performance as the person sitting three feet away. It’s a genuine skill. It can also leave you desperate for Syd Barrett to wander on and sing Terrapin slightly sideways. That’s essentially my problem with 25. There’s almost no slack in it. The songs may be vulnerable, but Adele herself never sounds vulnerable. She sounds magnificently equipped to sing about vulnerability. Heartbreak arrives miked, lit and ready for the balcony. Even the quieter moments carry the sense that an enormous voice is merely choosing, for now, not to flatten the scenery. And yet it would be churlish to pretend the thing doesn’t work. Adele’s great gift is making very traditional material feel monumental without making it incomprehensible. There are no puzzles here. No need to spend three listens wondering what the emotional stakes are. She can take regret, nostalgia or romantic wreckage and make it instantly legible to millions of people. The voice isn’t really sitting inside the arrangements. The voice is the architecture. That explains the scale of 25 rather better than any argument about innovation. This isn’t an album that rewrites the rules of pop music. It’s an album that demonstrates just how enormous conventional pop can become when the person at its centre has enough authority. And I think that’s probably why it belongs in a book like this. Not because it’s Adele’s best album. It isn’t. 21 is, by some margin, a better record: more alive, more varied, more likely to surprise me rather than simply impress me. 25 feels different. It feels like the point where Adele stopped merely being a hugely successful singer and became an institution. This is the monument. That distinction matters. A canon doesn’t only preserve the records that changed musical language. Sometimes it preserves the records that became too culturally enormous to ignore. 25 represents Adele at maximum public scale: the gigantic voice, the gigantic songs, the gigantic emotional reach, the sense that an album release could still briefly make the whole culture turn its head in the same direction. I admire it considerably more than I love it. After a while I start craving a wobble, an odd corner, a badly placed chair, anything that allows a little air back into the room. But perhaps that’s partly the point. 25 is not trying to sound fragile, eccentric or accidental. It’s the sound of Adele becoming inevitable.

What is this? An album featuring songs that were ubiquitous on top 40 stations when *I* was a teenager? I didn’t think that was allowed. I thought the purpose of this list was to compile music-critic-masturbatorily esoteric underground stuff or Gen X nostalgia or both. Well I guess it’s MY turn on the nostalgia roller coaster… People in some other reviews complain about filler here. I guess that’s fair. You can kind of tell listening to this that the album as an art form was largely dead by 2015. Long live the age of streaming/playlists/whatever I guess. But honestly… none of this is bad, and the big numbers are so huge that they almost HAVE to pull the thing to an above-average rating anyway. And anyway, like, it’s Adele. Are you really going to complain about her singing ANY song to you

No podcast episode

After 45 minutes I have no memory of what I listened to aside from her voice. Aural wallpaper.

Not as strong as "21", but still good. Adele's a great vocalist and one of the few modern pop artists I like. The best track is probably "Hello". I also like "River Lea", but I get burnt out on that track easily. The chorus on "When We Were Young" is pretty good. Side note: As someone that was listening to the radio when "Hello" and "Send My Love" came out, it boggles me that they're on the same album.

I've listened to too much Adele, and now hearing her voice just annoys me.

An absolute no skip album, even with some imperfect songs ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Highlights: “Hello”, “River Lea” “All I Ask” “Sweetest Devotion”

4/10

I don’t get all the hate for this album. I think it’s enjoyable and nice to listen to.

Yikes, 11 back to back breakup songs in a row. Adele sings well and I like her voice, but damn, this ain't for me. I could at least appreciate the other Adele album on this list a little more because the break up songs were broken up by some cool sounding songs. Those are all absent in this album other than some slight bounce in River Lea. Otherwise just moping. Somebody really needs to bite the bullet and stay in a relationship with Adele so she can make better music. 2/5

I know this is well executed for what it tries to be, but I can't stand this kind of whiny, bombastic pop that wants to be so heartfelt and emotional, but feels as deep as a puddle to me while sounding like the calculated chart success it logically had to become.

Amazing amazing voice, great songwriting, wanted to give it 4 stars for being great, but generally it's not for me - for my taste, too downbeat and sad, so something I'll usually avoid putting on, either by myself or with fam or friends.

Voix de ouf en mode diva Les chansons les plus connues sont belles D'autres on ressent rien

I don't really remember anything that was on that album

Songs played everywhere so instantly recognisable. This was a massive record in it's time. The voice is impeccable but the tracks are a bit vanilla. Now I love vanilla but something outside the comfort zone might be nice. And at 25 can you really reminisce about "when we were young"? Not exactly groundbreaking stuff.

Grandiose instrumentals for a gradient voice

😭

Not an Adele fan for a reason

Hello.

Des chansons fortes de sens, Adèle a une voix puissantes et on ressent ses paroles. Mais pour moi l'album tourne trop autour du même sujet et cela en devient lassant. Étant quelqu'un d'empathique cela me plomb un peu le moral

2,5/5, un album qui commence très fort avec Hello, mais qui s'essouffle vite, avec une formule qui fonctionne, mais qui reste très lisse, et qui rend le reste du projet très impersonnel à mon goût. Une recette qui plaît à tout le monde, pour finalement ne rester pour pas grand monde.

Increíble la voz de Adele, hay que escucharla antes de morir si o si. Podría cantar las mismas canciones acapella y seguir transmitiendo lo mismo. Te destroza el corazón su voz rota. Es genial lo que una artista con personalidad puede llegar a transmitir con su voz.

Really solid. Her voice is so powerful, and she has such great musicianship.

Great album! Not perfect, but great... :-)

Ela consegue mais que isso. O disco abre com duas das mais icônicas e populares canções da década 2010. Todo mundo conhece, e talvez isso seja até pro detrimento das faixas. Hello é uma canção ótima, especialmente pra mim que não a saturei e apenas a escutei algumas vezes, por algum milagre me livrei da constante exposição! Adele é uma cantora objetivamente sensacional. Mesmo se você odiar a sensibilidade Riachuelo-core de sua produção e estilo visual e sonoro, ainda deve admitir que seu vocal é inigualável. Histórico, lá no panteão junto dos melhores de todos os tempos. E devo dizer, não sou o maior fã da questão Renner-core. É uma pena, mas não dá pra negar que suas canções são fubangas em larga medida. As temáticas são básicas demais, não há progressão, e esse disco exemplifica bem isso, sendo praticamente 11 canções sobre o mesmo tópico. A produção é boa, mas é plástica. Não têm nada notável, único, audacioso em qualquer medida. O resultado final é decepcionante. Quando se inicia com uma canção como Hello você acaba criando certa expectativa, mas Adele nunca foge da zona de conforto. O que redime o álbum é a sua voz absolutamente angelical, como eu já havia mencionado, mas nem ela é capaz de te tirar do tédio que o disco causa ainda na sua primeira metade. Talvez um dia ela lance o ‘46’ e lá ela decida se abrir a outros horizontes. Um pouco de diversão, talvez? Swing? Qualquer coisa além de melodrama “sinto falta do meu ex”! Nesse disco aqui mesmo, é perceptível que as melhores canções são as mais animadas, como Water Under The Bridge ou Send My Love. Enfim, por enquanto, ficamos com este disco medíocre de uma artista com potencial infinito. 2/5

hello é iconico em niveis dificeis de explicar e a segunda música mantém o sarrafo. miss you absurdo os vocais. gostei de como a musica sobe no refrao de when we were young, mas nao gostei muito da lirica. remedy achei menos repetitiva. river lea é maneira. love in the dark perfeita. million years parecia q n acabava nunca. all i ask gostei pq parece um pouco mais diferente de como todas as outras soam. sweetest devotion bem diferente também, gostei. irrefutavel a voz da bicha.

Copied from my Adele - 21 review, because I still feel pretty much the same about 25: "Adele obviously has a phenominal voice. She can belt it but also has a great raspy lower range. This style of like pop-ballads or whatever you call this genre isn't for me though. Its just forgettable outside of the couple singles that the radio played on repeat a decade ago. Musically there's not much going on - just your standard studio band playing some slower tunes. Adele is the star: you came for her and you get her singing love songs very well." I will say, this album starts out so strong. The first few songs are very good, then it just kinda melts back into the same song over and over. The last song is a banger too, so thankfully it ends on a high note. I was hoping to give this album a better rating than the last, and I do think it's slightly better, but it's still a 3 for me. Pleasant, but outside of the singles, not really my jam. Standouts were "Hello," "Send My Love," "Water Under the Bridge" and "Sweetest Devotion"

Sweet

3 sterne

while her voice is pretty powerful, and her albums are personal and sincere, i find that the production that accompanies her music is really functional but quite simple for me. Maybe my mood made me not connect as i should.

I know and understand a lot of people having criticisms of newer albums that have been added not having stood the test of time yet. This one is absolutely an exception. It is a pure masterpiece. Four songs over a billion streams on Spotify, and two more that aren't that far behind places you in a different echelon. Adele is the premier voice of her generation and has one of the best voices of all time. Her having written almost every song she's ever put out also sets her miles apart from other singers of the modern era. Just a purely fantastic album.

Oh man.......that voice.

Music for those who miss having a spouse to beat.

i’m not sure what to rate this as - to me the whole album sounds like being fourteen years old and going through it…i still love adele’s voice and generally like her songs, but i can’t tell for certain whether this is actually a good album or not-3 stars for now because i got a little melancholic and confused.

Stupendous voice. Emotion, parole des sentiments. Clair, rien de trop, pas surchargé. Puissance.

I thought I would like this more than I did

I don't know 19 or 21 so fresh take, I gotta agree with her self-assessment that she's a young fogie. The writing sounds like the songs my mom would have a scotch and get misty eyed over, which I guess speaks to its universality. That little edge or timbre or whatever you would call it in her voice is the interesting part, it sounds halfway to Miley or Rihanna with none of the edge. So I guess I'll give 21 or 30 a listen.

Adele is such a talented vocalist. These aren't groundbreaking tracks, but they still hit because they are so well sung. The album definitely comes across like a typical pop album in that the harmonies aren't too interesting and the lyrics are pretty repetitive. I probably wouldn't like it nearly as much if it weren't for the soul/R&B quality of the music. I can't deny its success though because I've never listened to this album, but I have heard most of these songs before in the wild and I know at least 5 of these tracks were huge hits. Adele writes melancholy, wistful love songs really well and I do enjoy that. My favourite tracks from this album are When We Were Young and All I Ask. I would happily belt those out any time. I think the rest of the album is solid too. I personally can't enjoy Hello anymore because it has been overplayed, but that's not to say it's a bad song. I do think I got sick of it pretty soon after it came out though. I think my personal favourite Adele album is 21 which is also on this list.

I don’t know why she has to sing so much. Just too much for me.

Adele, Adele, Adele i feel bad for you girl, every album you write it seems as though you are going through some deep shit. Like I would honestly kinda love if you wrote your songs about something else... see what you come up with.. like what'd you have for breakfast? Rolling in the deep coulda been rolling in the hashbrowns, Hello? Rename it scrambled eggs, atleast then maybe itd be a bit more interesting. Dont get me wrong, I love Adele, she has an amazing voice.. but I would rank 21, and 30 much higher than 25. Even though they're also all about love and heartbreak, they have a bit more oomph. 25 feels like its reaching for 21's success and depth. 30 feels like it went back to not trying so hard and in turn the songs have more of a creative edge and uniqueness. 25 is like Adeles awkward middle child. There is one song on here I did really like, thay being A million years ago, and even then it still doesn't amount to the love I have for 30, and 21. Wasn't bad, her singing is great, this album just feels a bit plain compared with her other albums that im already well familiar with (especially 30, love that album) Maybe im just talking out of my ass and none of this makes sense, but Im sticking with my ass guns here and giving this one a 6.5/10. Looking forward to listening to 21 thats also on this list, and I will be listening to 30 sometime soon as its not on this list and it makes me feel like I'm a mid 30s mom who loves wine, chocolate, and screaming loudly at my son lil Jimmy at his hockey games. Didn't realize i had so much to say here about Adele lol...

Some of the bigger hits just feel so polished I find it hard to latch on to (Send My Love To Your New Lover, for example). But the songwriting is great and Adele has one of the best voices of our generation - 7/10

A great voice, a great message, and a great person!

estoy seguro que adele y josé josé se llevarían muy bien y este disco es prueba de eso. ojalá se arrastren por mi como lo hace adele. qué manera de transmitir emociones esta dama

Uwielbiam ten album ❤️

Найгірший альбом Адель. Пам'ятаю, як я чекав і був на хайпі. А вийшов флоп. Типу модний продакшн на деяких хітах постарів просто жахливо. Подобаються лише I Miss You та Love in the Dark. Hello потрапляє в категорію пісень, які занадто багато грали скрізь. Окремий прикол співати в 25 років про good old days.

Типовий якісний альбом Адель, є пару мегахітів типу хелло, є просто якісний філлер. Мені загалом воно дуже рівно, але пару пісень сподобались - I Miss You та Sweetest Devotion.

did not expect to know about half of this album already. I was not looking forward to listen to it, and i don’t think i will revisit, but definitely a great album to listen to. Too ballady for me, and it feels more directed towards older audiences, but Adele’s voice and songwriting really is amazing. I’d say All I Ask was my favorite. Definitely understand better why she is so popular. I’m pretty sure this is the divorce or breakup album, so I really wish she gave more for someone with such great vocals and writing. Every song i’ve heard from her sounded the same and has the same vibe, and i expected like other artist for the album deep cuts to bring in something new, but i found the same middle-aged mom vibe throughout. I hope she innovates more and takes more risk with 30, if I ever get around to listening to it.

Adele is the real deal and can sing! I’m just not that into this music.

чисто за то что это Адель. я люблю у нее одну песню, она классная, но я не слушаю ее в целом

MAMÁ TE AMO

TOO MUCH FACE. BACK. UP. I haven't even hit play and I'm already intensely uncomfortable. Top notch vocal performance but she really did herself a disservice with the title/theme on this one. It taints the interpretation of the whole thing: "Songs about how hard it is to be the ripe old age of 25. My life is practically over, boo hoo, what will I do? I'm all shriveled up and will never find true love. Remember being young? I miss it so." -_- uhh, ok I would have liked a few of these songs ('River Lea' is actually pretty amazing) had I not been listening to them through the lens of some barely grown woman pining over 'lost youth'. Gurl, I'm 42 and my midlife crisis isn't this dramatic. Pass. Thanks.

Este disco é uma obra-prima! Assim como tudo que a Adele faz é grandioso!

I am not a regular listener to Adele, but I generally like her, or at least admire the strength of her voice when I hear her songs. This collection of songs has the vocal strength, but lacks the substance of the "hits" in her catalog. Water Under the Bridge was the only track that really stood out to me that I would want to add to my regular rotation. The rest just make me want to listen to Adele songs I already know.

Boring - probably her worst album. I Miss you and Water under the bridge are good

this was... not fun. it felt repetitive and uninteresting. hollow and soulless. i'm sure other people can appreciate it but... not me. only interesting thing i found about it was that one of the songs was a tiktok meme recently.

Belter- good but sorta repetitice

Oh man, it's very hard to rate this album in an honest way. I guess it's well made, she has a good voice, it's well produced and there's a healthy dose of sadness and depression which I appreciate. But it's too "Mother's Day Soundtrack" for me. I just can't. I'm not the demographics for this.

Holy fuckballs this album is phenomenal. 99% of musicians, if not all, sing about love in some way, shape, or form, but Adele makes you feel every single word she sings. She has the voice of an angel, the lyrics are poignant, and there isn't a single thing I'd change.

Top Songs: Send My Love (To Your New Lover) When We Were Young Water Under the Bridge

I'm not one to listen to this kind of stuff yet it hit me at some point. Then it just stagnates. Like there isn't much development. I understand there are powerful lyrics which signify nostalgia, there is some self-reflection and its retrospective. But overall it's mild and boring. Don't get me wrong she has a beautiful voice but I wish her talent was used more remarkably like some kind of build up would've raised this album to a more impressive level. 5/10.

Heartfelt, maybe even heartbreaking in places. Her voice is so powerful I forget it’s not the only thing happening on the record.

I don’t quite buy into Adele’s music. I know there’s stuff to like about her as an artist and a person but this is a set of quite samey power ballads that don’t rise above the predictable often enough to get or keep me interested.

Adele has a great and powerful and the music is good too so it's difficult to dislike this album. My only criticism is that the tracks are a little 'samey'. Perhaps that's what you get when it's a single artist with a particular singing style?

Banger of an album, sometimes popular music can be good Very good vocals of course 4/5

It’s Adele…not much to critique other than the familiarity of her unique voice over time.

So many songs heard against my will, but they do sound very nice together.

I mean, her voice is amazing but no song seemed amazing to me.

Iconic

Hot take: Hello is the only really good and memorable song on this. The rest falls flat

okay, so I've never been into adele, but I'm gonna give this a genuine try. Her first album came out when I was 10, i think, and I just remember it being made fun of as "mom music". She's kinda just permanently in my brain like that now. Okay, honestly i'm just really really bored. *maybe* if i had a friend who LOVED adele and sat me down and tried to show me her greats then I could get it, but like rn it's just really really not my vibe. It's kinda funny cause I am a Pop and Indie Pop girlie, this should be my bread and butter. I Love Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, Hozier, Florence and the Machine, Olivia Dean, etc etc. But yeah, she's just really never clicked with me, sorry. I wanted to give this a 3 at least. I don't think I can? idk. 2.5 i guess

I bun a zoot on the river lea once #realshit

Very good singer. Just not my bag.

now that’s what I call songs I can play on the piano 56

Blijft heel goed. Dit heel veel gehoord op de radio. 4 sterren… nee fuck dat, na m nog een keer te hebben geluisterd, 5 sterren

Det her går ikke

Hun er flink, og jeg kjeder meg.

Æ anerkjenne at dette e high class shit, i en sjanger æ ikke høre veldig mye på. Men æ syns ho e det, så i vippen mellom 3 og 4 så legg å til litt godvilje.

Musikk for folk som ikke bryr sæ om musikk. Komposisjonan e så vanvittig kjedelig. Hør på pianoet på Hello.. e det mulig?!?! Adele har en vanvittig stemme. Synd noen menn i dress skal teame ho opp med Espen Lindan rundt i verden. Det høres ut som man har gått inn i suno og bedt den lage 10 ballada i moll.

For mange kjedelige pianoballader med svulstige tekster. Og den sangstemmen er irriterende på minst halvparten av låtene (spesielt Love In The Dark).

4.5/5

It’s Adele!!!

She has a great voice and "Hello" is a great song! "Send My Love" and "Water Under The Bridge" are good as well. And the rest of the well-produced album is at least o.k. Strong three stars for her "25". 3,5

A great big voice placed front and center on simple compositions. The many ballads didn't offer much expansion or exploration.

I was excited about this one as I like some of her more popular songs but unfortunately there weren't any hidden jems.

Not bad, great voice.

Beautiful voice. Not my thing though.

as far as megastars go, adele is a pretty amazing one. "hello" is pretty boring and staid, but "send my love" has something magnificent going on with it.

A well sung and well produced album with lots of ballads on it...about what I expected. I did enjoy listening to it, and there were a few standout tracks, like "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)". Overall, not quite my cup of tea, but I dig it enough to enjoy if someone else had this album on.

I liked this and think I might like it more with a few more listens. I added “When We Were Young” to my Generator playlist.

I can’t stand it to be honest. Hello ist still a great song but the rest does not reach its level.

Oh no. No. No. No. No. Great voice. Not for me.

Cant think of one occassion where I would put this on, so I have been puting this one of for a long time. And once I did listen to it - damn it blew me away, I mean, I can't think of a single person that would deny she's one of the greatest voices of our time. That said, I still don't listen to this kind of music, even though her voice got me in aw.

the best

Hello When We Were Young

I'm familiar with this album, though I don't listen to it enough. It's quite good.

banger after banger like this is music

Beautiful voice and musical backing, just not my thing

- A mature, introspective record full of nostalgia and heartache - Adele's voice is the undisputed star - powerful yet vulnerable throughout - Highlights include "Hello", "When We Were Young", and "Million Years Ago" - Polished but occasionally plays it safe compared to 21

A compilation of whale sounds

Booho I guess. Incredible vocals as always, super heartfelt writing as well. Not as good as 21.

Not really my type of music, but I can appreciate it for what it is. Of course Adele's vocal talent and the orchestral(? - not sure if this is the right term) production of some songs are fantastic, but when I listen to music I want a BANGER. The cadence in which she sings the chorus of "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" annoys me honestly and the instrumental sounds like boring corporate slop. Definitely my least favourite song from here. Like it's worse than just being boring, it actively bugs me. "I Miss You" which plays right afterwards is a LOT better. I think my favourite is "River Lea". The thing that confuses me is um.. she was only 25 when this album was first being made? And most of these songs are about lamenting the loss of your youth?? Why are you acting like you're middle aged at 25??? I guess that's what having a kid at 24 does to you.

Adele canta increíble y tiene muy buenos temas.

I am happy for the millions of people who love this, an entire album of power ballads did not really work for me

Like every other human in the Anglophone world, I've heard Adele plenty of times, so I knew what I was getting into before listening to this album. I can acknowledge she's a good singer and I've even liked some of her songs. But this was a painfully dull listen. I'm almost sorry I disliked this as much as I did. I felt like I was chewing on white bread for 45 minutes. The soporific ballads aren't even the worst part, the Max Martin "pop" songs are just gruelling; it's rare for me to straight-up skip a song, but I needed to do that twice on this listen. Some of these tracks sound like background music on an autoplay ad when you're watching YouTube. She sold a zillion copies, though, so what do I know? Am I so out of touch? No, it's the boomer parents who are wrong.

(door creaking) Hello? Is that you u/Professional-Ice-978? It's me. I was wondering why this album sucks so much LOL (soft piano music) I tend to write these 1001 reviews as I'm listening to the album that the generator gifted me that morning and I'm (almost 400 albums in) starting to think that maybe I need to change that because what is tolerable for 2-3 songs (however painful) becomes a sort of audio torture (I'm hurting) by songs 7-9 and I really mean that (man!) my ears actually hurt right now- no not a theatrical metaphor my ears (both of them) HURT! So, this review will start off nice-ish (if slightly catty) and end up a flopping about/around starless shape - an unnamable thing recently released from the bile lined rectum of some Lovecraftian creature. OK, so maybe not so nice. Yes, she can sing and she won't let you forget that fact for what feels like 100 hours. I imagine few people on the 1001 list have a better voice than Adele and even fewer have released a more boring, disposable album than 25. An album that was recorded in 17 studios with 15 producers over a period of two years. You think about that, OK. Hello? No, seriously think about why it took 17 studios, 15 producers AND two years to get this fucker finished. HELLO ADELE! Please end my will to live just do it in song after song (11 total-collect them all!) that explores in the finest of detail how unique your life experience is and sing it loud enough to kill random sea life for hundreds of miles from each of the 17 studios needed to capture the complexities of being a wealthy 20 something girl that needs 15 producers just to say hello. 25 has 11 songs each one more tepid and pointless than the last one. Big and goopy lyrics about her big and goopy fucking life. Each song needing 1.3 studios and 1.2 producers to create what would become a pieced together beast of burden, Adele's monster she named "Twenty-Five" and set loose on the world AKA her stage. How does such a big powerful voice like the one Adele possesses carry so little of an emotional punch? Hello, Adele? Is that you? Hello? I was wondering if you could tell us about the latest cad who broke your heart HELLO (!!!) hello, how are you? Me? OMG hello! I'm fine! Only two songs to go! Yay! 25 sounds like it was created by AI (of course it wasn't) in its soul crushing uncanny valley perpetual state of mind-numbing perfection. It's idea of perfection anyways. Eleven songs so bloody formulaic that it's difficult to distinguish one from the other. How sad that millions of people bought this album in hopes of feeling something only to be left with nothing but a deep emptiness and a ringing in the ears provided by Adele's stunning and stunningly evil booming voice that put more dark thoughts in my head than Throbbing Gristle and Slayer combined ever did. Hello? OH, right! Fuck off then.

Your aunt is going to love this album. Not for me but Send My Love is a good song.

This is 21st-century Top-40 orchestral pop at its absolute finest. I had never heard any Adele album, but I was pretty impressed with this one, though I don't see myself reaching for it much in the future. The songs are very well orchestrated and performed. As I expected from her reputation, the real highlight here is Adele's singing. This chick can really wail, and she doesn't sacrifice tone for power. Her readings are pretty standard, but they don't ever dip into sing-song territory, at least not that I heard. The recording itself was ok but not great. The mastering seems pretty brickwalled, but I never heard any actual clipping. I listened to this record once, and I don't have much desire to listen again. Still, I was impressed with Adele's talent, and I'll keep this one in the library just in case. Four stars.

Rating 6/10 Best Song - Hello

I have never understood the appeal of Adele and now that I have listened to a whole album by her, I understand it even less. She might be a talented singer, but I simply do not like her voice. This album felt like the saltines of music; utterly bland. It felt like the songs kept one upping each other to be my least favorite. The only track I kind of liked was the last song, but I would have liked it more with a different singer. Either way I won't listen to this again besides when the radio at work forces me to suffer through the singles. Favorite Track - Sweetest Devotion Least Favorite Track - All I Ask ⭐️

I have not heard this before. I’ve heard Adele before of course, but I didn’t keep up with a lot of pop music during the ‘10s beyond what was playing in the background. There was a lot of bad pop music going on at the time but I’m sure I was being overly dismissive. As I’m listening to this I recognize a few songs from the radio and from grocery stores. There’s one that I like, and the rest are formulaic, maudlin, and not very catchy. She’s got a good voice and the instrumentation is nice, but nothing in here is what I like. I’m still sure I was overly dismissive of ‘10s pop but not in this case.

I’m so mad people are giving this low ratings. Take the stick out your ass and belt some Adele, you’ll feel better I promise.

Song no. 1 is great. Other than that, not one of Adele's best albums. Doesn't mean that she is not an excellent singer song writer.

Not bad for this type of thing. Million miles away sounds uncannily like Dusty Springfield.

One of the best voices ever and pretty decent writing

These songs all sound like the inner monologue of a very bats ke reality tv show person

Hello, Send My Love, When We Were Young

Obviously

*2015 *Several radio hits - Hello, Send My Love to Your New Lover, and Water Under the Bridge. *A little Adele goes a long way - it's so dramatic as we build up to the bit in each song where she sings VERY LOUDLY at us. *Not a very exciting album. It almost sounds like someone doing Karaoke of Adele. I guess she is only 25 here, but it sounds like the voice control is off and she's just not doing much with that powerful voice. *There are some pretty parts, but I just don't care for this at all. The last song had potential if she'd just chill out and not shout. RATING - 5/10

I liked it! She has quite a few singles from this album that I had on repeat.

Surprisingly good. All the songs follow a consistent theme but are still unique enough that they don't get repetitive.

First time I heard this was 20 years old

3 Stars. Maybe even 3.5 Nothing wrong with the album, but it's also not something I'll come back to again. It's just okay, but I do kinda like it more than a just okay album. Not sure if that makes sense.

i like when she says hello

I’ve got no need with Adele and think she’s a great singer. But this album is a snooze fest. A handful of these songs make me feel like I’m at a worship center on Sunday at 9am, no disrespect. But just not my vibe. Specifically, songs like All I Ask, Remedy, Water Under the bridge. While they’re beautiful songs, they’re also very boring songs that just kind of fade into the background. The last song, Sweetest Devotion, had more of the vibe that I appreciate for this type of style. Drums are rocking, cool guitar licks, great strings and great breaks. But there’s no denying how big of an album this was for the mainstream. I knew about half of these songs from them just being in the ether of popular music (Hello, Send My Love, When Were Young, Water Under the Bridge). Not a bad album, just not the album for me.

Your favorite guest reviewer is in studio today and these are her thoughts. "Adele's expression of the pain she felt figuring out love is presented to the benefit of the world. This album is her magnum opus."

Hello is a HEATER. Totally different sound on track two. I wish every song was her singing about being heartbroken, her voice is incredible. I’d listen to her sing the dictionary. ‘When we Were Young’ could be an Elton John song. I really like all of the piano songs, the more pop oriented the songs become the less I enjoy them.

Adele must have been hurt badly because the pain and sorrow comes out in this album from beginning to end.

21 ist sehr viel besser 3/5

this album is so fierce i forgot about her

*pokes Adele with a stick repeatedly* C'mon, Adele! Do something fun! C'mon! This is one of the most redundant album I've ever heard. All the same themes lyrically throughout. About the only way she changes it up, is to be more upbeat. We get it. You've had heartbreak. And you think you're old at 25. She can sing, that's for true. Vary your lyrical themes lady! 3

Powerful voice, boring album

Oh what a voice she has, not heard this one for a long time, what a legend!

I love Adele but this is just not my favourite Adele.

Very calming

Say no to power ballads

Incredibly talented singer, seems to be a lovely human. But it's so boring. Probably great for people who are 'going through it'

Maybe I just didn’t want to listen to a pop album today or maybe Adele just isn’t for me, but I enjoyed this magnitudes less than 21. I get that it is probably pretty good, but I refuse to sit through it

laaaaaaaangweilig

Adele is truly a masterpiece. Fantastic album

4/10 - This album is a 4/10 because of how incredible Adele’s voice is. The talent and power of her vocals drag an otherwise boring, made for radio album as far as humanly possible.

Adele is a great vocalist, however, being a great vocalist does not mean you make good music. This sounds like it's made to be played in retail stores. It lacks emotion and I can't find anything redeeming about this album. 2/10

Not being blown away by an album doesn't make it very very solid. I think there are many hooks, many things that work great together and it's very cohesive (a bit too much actually). I don't think it's as necessary as 21 is, but as a follow up it meets the bar. My main problem are twofold, one I don't think this album as ambition to revolutionise even her own sound, and that is ok but I always enjour that more. Also, while her voice is gorgeous, it has a tendency to over power everything and therefore make every song of hers sound similar. Like it sounds like 21, it sounds like her, and it as a potent identity that piegeon holes her a bit. I am fine if I never have another piano ballad from her, and yet when you listen to songs like all I ask, you still feel it. She is obviously talented, and a star. I'll give it a 4 cause it does work on me, though it is a small 4.

There's no denying that Adele’s voice is absolutely insane, but I can't listen to this album in full without feeling like it's just a bit…. bland. There’s very little of interest in how the songs are written, and whilst the delivery is impeccable, the flow of the album makes me feel flat. I also felt like I was listening to the same song 12 times which truly says it all.

i think the other Adele albums are better

Pretty good overall; but don’t care for “Hello”

Gorgeous voice for a deeply personal álbum. I love the way she sings, but also the melodies and great music that engages With her feelings.

So boring

Solid, not in love with every track, but the strong vocals keep it afloat across the board. Water under the bridge is the standout.

MOR

I don't like this album as much as 19 and 21, but it's still solid and beautiful.

Probably better than you expect. This is my second Adele album on this list, which is the only reason I'd ever think to listen to them. I had about the same thought as I did when the first one came up. "Prolly not for me. I know her voice is good, but I hate this pop diva crap!" Even though I was already turned around by that first album, 19. There's just no way this pop gal has strong enough chops for a second album of quality. Well, here we are with another album that is quite listenable. And like the other, it's got 2 or 3 songs that are simply great along with 2-3 that are pretty good, and 5-6 that are just filler. Reading about these albums was an eye opener! Both are on the lists of biggest selling albums ever and have won dozens of awards. Since I don't follow the pop stuff, I was amazed at all the accolades. But this isn't an accolades list. This list/exercise is about "Is it Important, Imperative, or Influential?" I'm not really sure if it's influential. There sure does seem to be a lot of pop divas out there. But there always were. I do think I recall reading how some of them were influenced by Adele to be better songwriters and to experiment with musical styles. That's a good thing. Anyway, back to this one. The first and last songs are great! She's got writing credits, but every song seems to be written by at least 2 or 3 others, too. I gotta wonder how much she's responsible for. Either way, the most important thing is her voice. She's got pipes! And it's not all just runs, trills, and melisma. It's belting it out with emotion. One note is that the emotion is usually heartbreak. I'd like a little more Major chord emotion. I'll put a couple of songs on my lists, but I don't imagine myself coming back to listen to the whole compilation again. It's too much mid-tempo crooning. It's ok, but it's not for me. I'd call this a 3 mostly based on the couple of singles that are soooo good. And her strong voice makes me want to hear her do something different, just for fun. Sit in with a rock band sometime, Adele. Let's hear it! Note: I find it hilarious to hear someone that is 25 singing "When We Were Young"!

8/10. Great songwriting, but lacks some fire

When I think of once-in-generation-voices Adele is on that list. My first exposure was a free download on iTunes a million years ago. She hasn't disappointed yet. At times I thought this album was going to drag and then almost immediately a key change or something would happen and I was right back in. She's not my usual listen but I cannot deny those pipes. Hello Send My Love Water Under The Bridge All I Ask

I think most of the other low reviews already said it. Adele is incredibly talented and her voice is SO good, it's just a shame she only seems to use it on piano ballads. Please, someone convince this woman to get in front of a band with a bit of a groove. She could absolutely slaughter with a touch of soul or R&B in her songwriting but for some reason she insists on writing soundtracks for Lifetime movies. Such a waste. I reserve 1 star for actively bad albums since evidently that's a problem on this 1001 albums list... so she gets 2. Not actively bad, just uninteresting.

m acuerdo que lo habia escuchado apenas salio y m habia parecido un discazo, envejeció mal muy cornuda war flashbacks de las peleas x el sampleo de miley (fweaky) en river lea (sigo firme que suenan igual) (chorra)

Good!

5/10

I listened to Hello and thought: "Wow this is a huge improvement from 21" and then 6 songs went by and it was all in one ear and out the other. Love In The Dark was good, but besides that everything on this album is just sooooooo generic and boring. She is a good singer, but man... I just don't care about this type of music. Low 3.

Jake: 6.8/10 I mean cmon it’s Adele, one of the finest vocalists people with ears have had the pleasure of hearing. Having said that, this album didn’t hit for me for several reasons: the production made it sound like everything on the radio in 2015, and i prefer Adele’s more bluesy/soul approach to her songs. If another vocalist had recorded this album i don’t think it would be very noteworthy. Greg: 6.0 what Jake said. Also never really been a big fan of this kind of balladry Annie: "oh my god I want to submit my review before Jake because he always says what im about to say"

Nice album, what a voice! But a bit too vanilla and repetitive for me. When We Were Young is my song of the album and Hello and Sweetest Devotion being my other highlights (with Sweetest Devotion being my fav first listen of the album)

Basically what I expected.A few standout tracks though .

When this album came out, I was in high school and was more into singles than entire albums, so I had never listened to the entire album before. Obviously I knew the big three songs, “Hello”, “When we were young,” and “Send my Love (To your new lover).” I really liked the songs “River Lea” and “Million Years Ago.” I think I might like this album better than 21 (which is super overplayed in my honest opinion). 10/10 album and I can’t believe it took me this long to listen in it’s entirety.

Very boring. Adele is an amazing singer but the instrumentation, which helps to highlight the strength of her voice, is lacking.

Includes some pretty good songs, but they are all so similar that they bleed into one another after a while.

A new Adele album is an event for a reason. Incredible music all the way through. Maybe not my thing but I definitely get it.

Hello - 4 Send my love (to your new lover) - 4 I miss you - 3 When we were young - 3 Remedy - 3 Water under the bridge - 4 River lea - 3 Love in the dark - 3 Million years ago - 4 All I ask - 3 Sweetest devotion - 3

shes just different i love adele

As a devout avoider of pop music, I was shocked how much of ‘21’ I recognised and didn’t hate. Can’t say the same here. A load of poorly written depressing dirges and nothing recognisable. I’ll give it a 2 because I can’t deny she has a great voice but the song writing (whoever does it) fell off a cliff for this one.

Timeless banger after timeless banger. Truly a generational singer

Adele is back with another huge album, but man, she's falling off here. 25 only sold 20 million records compared to 21 selling 30 million. Only 4 songs on here that have over a billion listens on Spotify. Of course, I am kidding. I will say that I do like 21 better since she was much more fiery, but on 25, she's much more mature and retrospective; which brings a different and more healthy perspective. She has such a strong, powerful voice that it's just crazy. I'm a fan of Send My Love (To Your New Lover) and I Miss You just because they're a bit more uptempo. It's a powerful album, but I'm just not a fan of so many ballads. This music resonates with so many people, and I get it, it's just not my personal preference. What I do appreciate is that she does what she wants and doesn't cater to the masses. She's struggled so much with writers block and real mental health issues, anxiety and depression, that it makes me glad she just kinda comes out with an album when she wants. She could phone it in like Taylor Swift does now, but she doesn't, and her albums are a reflection of her own personal journey. It does sound ridiculous for a 25 year old to be retrospective and longing for the days of "youth", taking for granted that they still are in those days of youth, but 25 is right around the time that realities of life start hitting you. Let's not forget that she became a mother at 24. So I am listening to this album with the understanding that the music is a reflection of Adele during that period of time of her life, which differs from my own life at 25.

Not bad but not my favorite Adele album.

the absolute grip this album had on society... actually insane how many bangers it has Would I listen again: obviously Deserves to be on this list: one of the few artists that I'd permit multiple albums from 4.2

Obviously

Oh yeah, this is for me. Her voice, lyrics, composition, loved it all, song after song

As other have commented and rating here, I will also say that overexposure to Adele songs worked against her! Yes, her voice is great and is a ver talented singer, but this is the kind of music I cannot stand no more . they pushed way too much this into our years Giving a 3 for her voice but, please, I would die happily without having to listen to her again :-(

There were a handful of songs I've enjoyed. Most of it was about not being young anymore, but 25 is still young.

8/10 - great album, amazing vocals as expected, not too long so no fillers either

I am here for music, not singing. Adele is awesome though. 3/5

We all know she has a booming voice and the respect of many fans and music enthusiasts alike. With that said, this album isn’t for me. Too dramatic just for the sake of being deep, and too poppy to strike a meaningful chord with me. Boring pop opera, it’s too constructed and perfect.

Yet again Adele impresses me with how versitile and powerful her voice is. Most of the time the production is clean and really let's her voice shine. The tone of the album is a lot of melancholy and nostalgia but without just becoming sad Standouts Hello Send My Love (To Your New Lover) When We Were Young Love I The Dark 4/5

3,3/5

eh it's fine. adele's a really good singer & instrumentalist and the production's really good, everything feels really big and stadium-y, but also this is a top 40 pop album from after 2012 so despite the big emotional swings its still kind of bland and toothless and i dont think i'll remember any of this album in a week. i suspect i was having a much rougher go of things when i was 25 years old than adele was. the youtube playlist i found for this album ended with a short travelogue about a beach in the phillipines so that was a pretty fun bonus.

This was a real slog for me. So depressing I couldn't get through more than a track or two before turning it off. A thoroughly miserable 48 minutes

Most of this is annoying but secretly there are a couple of tracks I actually quite like….

Technically competent but dull

I quite like “Rolling In The Deep” but this is unlistenable, albeit more listenable than the Zep and the other albums unfeasibly below “25” in the one stars. Tom.

Pretty good... pretty good.

Great album. Variety of song style and range of styles of singing make a big impact. An album that you can return to again and again.

Adele's voice is incredible. I loved seeing it showcased on songs like "All I Ask" or "I Miss You". She is captivating and is good at making you feel the emotion in the story being told. I knew so many songs off the album, never having listened to it -- Pop music is Adele's game which can be a bit of a downfall in terms of crafting genuinely interesting music I think. Also, being 26, I am amazed at the level of success she had at 25.

Hello, It's Me 1001 Albums Generator 230 (2/18/2026) The fluoride stare on the cover is crazy lol. Adele is one of those artists that's just so much larger than life; one of those that everyone knows multiple songs by, even if unwittingly. On this album alone, you have Hello, Send My Love, and When We Were Young, the latter two of which I had no idea that I had heard before, but they were immediately familiar. Hello is just like nothing to me because it's so overplayed, but it's objectively a totally fine pop song. Also, the drums on I Miss You are so huge, it makes me feel like I'm listening to a U2 song or something (positive connotation). This is probably the greatest moment on 25. Unfortunately, after the first 4 songs, we get a stretch of quite bland ballads. I do like how Million Years Ago sounds almost like Adele's take on Bossa Nova or something. Overall, I liked 25 more than I thought I would, but it catfished me into thinking that I was uncovering a gem of pop music, when instead it's just a totally passable take at the genre. 3/5. Favs: Send My Love (To Your New Lover) I Miss You When We Were Young Least Fav: Remedy

And with this, I have listened to every album on the 1001 Albums list from 2015. Granted, there's only 4 of them, but they're all pretty different from each other. I mean, you've got an interesting African blues rock album with the Songhoy Blues record, a great late-era work from one of the best female music artists of the past 30 years with Vulnicura, a genuine contender for "greatest hip-hop album of all time" with To Pimp a Butterfly, and Adele's 25. For some this is the least interesting of the 4 albums and while I can see why that is, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I do think that Adele's fame over the past 15 years or so has been incredibly warranted as she is very talented. Her voice is great and her songwriting is pretty respectable too. But from what I've seen, 25 is pretty divisive with music nerds, particularly on the production front. Why is that? Well, 25 is, to put it bluntly, a modern pop album. Music nerds don't really gravitate towards these sorts of things. Admittedly, I do prefer the more balanced style of 21, but 25 isn't bad, okay? Dare I say the album is actually quite good. As far as the songs go, "Hello" is easily the album's biggest hit. Sure, I've heard the song a few too many times as someone who was in fact alive in 2015, but I can't bring myself to dislike it. It's a good song. "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" is probably where the production is at its poppiest and the result is definitely interesting. It's not my favorite song on the album, but it's not bad either. "When We Were Young" is nice. None of the album's songs are bad. I think the album's general themes and emotional focuses are commendable. I will say that 21 is easily the better of the two Adele albums on the list, but I still think that 25 is a pretty solid album. Maybe not as special as 21, but still a respectable album as far as 2010s pop albums are concerned. Strong 3/5.

You know what I do love Adele but this is not my favourite album.

I feel so harsh rating this so low because she is undeniably and incredibly vocalist but I just found the whole thing unmemorable and a bit boring. Felt like I was waiting for it to end and by the time it did I had forgotten it all

Hello. It's you. A perfectly serviceable album that doesn't take much risks and is rather boring, if I'm honest.

Despite having sold so many copies and getting so much airplay this record just feels like one big sigh. Her voice is good, but the songwriting is too simple and if you pay close attention to the lyrics it becomes clear this was created by songwriters for hire, not the person on the cover. All pretenses of authenticity fall away and leave a shallow ( and thus easily latched onto) breakup/makeup record.

As a casual listener of Adele, I’ve always been aware of the hits without delving much deeper. However, I have long admired her vocal prowess; she is truly wonderful in that regard. Crucially, she avoids the trap of over-singing, a common pitfall for many vocalists with similar technical abilities. I found "25" to be a sophisticated album, boasting clear production and excellent arrangements. Yet, on the whole, the material doesn't quite live up to Adele’s immense talent. The track list feels somewhat light on truly memorable moments, with 'Million Years Ago' being perhaps the only standout that lingers. While there is plenty to admire and enjoy here, it remains a 'good' rather than 'great' record. Three stars. 1 "Hello" (4/5) 2 "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" (3/5) 3 "I Miss You" (4/5) 4 "When We Were Young" (3/5) 5 "Remedy" (3/5) 6 "Water Under the Bridge" (4/5) 7 "River Lea" (4/5) 8 "Love in the Dark" (3/5) 9 "Million Years Ago" (4/5) 10 "All I Ask" (3/5) 11 "Sweetest Devotion" (3/5) Total - 38 Average - 3.45 248/1001 137/248 albums reviewed were new to me

Look, Adele's vocal ability is beyond question. She has one of the great voices of her generation. But the music it serves? I've never been able to connect with it. With all due respect, 25 felt like 21, but part II, the same core concept (heartbreak, reflection, moving on), just polished to a higher sheen. It's very common human emotions, sung by a magnificent voice, but I struggle to see the artistic evolution. I'm left with a recurring question, aside from being a supremely gifted vocalist, what makes this an Adele album? What is her artistic signature? If you took her voice off these tracks, what's to stop them being recorded by anyone else? (Nothing). All I Ask is the undeniable highlight. And it's telling that it takes a co-writer like Bruno Mars to inject that level of drama and structure. It feels like an outside vision finally matching her vocal power. What I don't hear in her work is rage. Or hunger. The sense of an artist with something to prove, pushing against expectations. Commit fully to a vision. If she don't have one, find a collaborator who can help you build it. Don't settle for this level of polished mediocrity. Because true greatness demands you give it everything you have. And that brings me to the Grammys. 25 won Album of the Year. Over Lemonade. You may not be a Beyoncé fan, but you cannot deny she took similar theme, infidelity and forgiveness and transform into something sonically new. She took a risk. Adele won with... the piano ballad album. Again. Isn't it wild she used to be compared to Amy Winehouse? Beyond the British passport and a vague jazz inflection, the comparison falls apart. Amy wrote from addiction, from a love so consuming it destroyed her. Her music is a scar. Adele writes from feelings that are sanitised. There's value in that relatability. But it's not the same artistic weight. It's not Back to Black. It's albums so meticulously safe they feel like they could be sung by anyone. We know, she'll keep winning Grammys for albums that sound magnificent in the moment and dissolve from cultural memory the next. But damn. What if she stopped playing it safe?

Going into this I thought, “Okay, there’s going to be 2 hit singles with a ton of filler like most modern pop albums”, but this really did feel like a quality record with pretty great songwriting throughout. I have a newfound respect for Adele as an artist. While she’s not my style exactly I feel like this album will withstand the test of time many years from now.

Pretty good. Not my genre of music but I liked it.

I'm not the target I think, where is the music ?

Starting off strong with Hello, honestly. It makes me feel sad and nostalgic and view my life through a much more romanticised lens than I would usually allow myself. A friend of mine wrote a book after having just moved to a new city. It was cold and depressing; she’d sit on the balcony and chainsmoke cigarettes, then go on dates with random fleeting men in the evenings. Maybe horrible to live but beautiful to reminisce. Similar vibes.

A well crafted album which has more variety than earlier Adele efforts. Not my thing though. 3

The final boss of mid discographies

just love it for obvious reasons

Man... All I ask is a gut puncher. A great album overall. Listening to it while going through a weird breakup is... so fun. It's interesting that Send my Love is as popular as it is. Her voice is generational.

Best singer I have ever seen live. This album is a masterpiece and really live everything she puts out. Full 5/5.

I’m torn on this one. She sings beautifully, but ends up being a bit boring for me, except for the hits. 6/10 Pretty Good

every song sound the same

Just by passive exposures it is apparently one of the albums I know best thus far. Really nice voice, okay songs - still nothing that I would listen to voluntarily.

Nice voice, have heard Beth listening to this one before

An obviously beautiful voice. I'd never really clocked how much this album talks about her getting old. But... 25?? Almost got angry about it at one point when she'd said it for the third time. Stop whining and say something different.

She has great vocals and they really focus on them in every song by putting her voice at the forefront. But some of her high notes felt slightly jarring even for me who loves higher vocals generally.

Puikus balsas, gražios dainos.

I own almost all the songs on this album. It’s my second favorite Adele album after 21. I especially love the song Million Years Ago.

I'll search for comprehensive information about Adele's album "25" to provide you with an in-depth review covering all the aspects you mentioned. Based on my research, here is an in-depth review of Adele's album **25**: --- ## Overview Released in November 2015, **25** represents a pivotal moment in Adele's career. Unlike her previous breakup-focused albums (*19* and *21*), Adele described this as a **"make-up record"** — an exploration of nostalgia, reconciliation, and coming to terms with adulthood rather than raw heartbreak. The album shattered commercial records, selling 3.38 million copies in its first week in the US alone — the largest single-week sales since Nielsen began tracking in 1991 . --- ## Lyrics & Themes **Central Themes:** - **Nostalgia and aging**: The album grapples with the passage of time and longing for youth ("When We Were Young," "Million Years Ago") - **Reconciliation and forgiveness**: Rather than burning bridges, Adele seeks to mend them ("Hello," "Send My Love") - **Maternal love**: "Sweetest Devotion" is a touching tribute to her son Angelo - **Self-reflection**: "River Lea" explores how her upbringing shaped her relationships **Standout Lyricism:** - **"Hello"**: "At least I can say that I've tried / To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart" — conversational yet devastating - **"When We Were Young"**: "Let me photograph you in this light / In case it is the last time" — capturing the fear of irreversible change - **"River Lea"**: "It's in my blood and I stain every heart that I use to heal the pain" — using geographic imagery to explore emotional inheritance The lyrics are **more mature and introspective** than *21*, showing growth from melodramatic heartbreak to nuanced reflection. However, some critics found certain tracks ("When We Were Young," "Remedy") to veer into "Instagram platitudinal emptiness" with limited insight into why these relationships mattered so deeply . --- ## Music & Production **Production Team:** Greg Kurstin, Ryan Tedder, Paul Epworth, Max Martin, Shellback, Danger Mouse, Ariel Rechtshaid, and The Smeezingtons (Bruno Mars). **Musical Diversity:** - **"Hello"**: Gothic, reverb-drenched balladry with bells and layered backing vocals — one of the album's most immersive productions - **"Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"**: Upbeat pop with guitar riffs and rhythmic percussion — a Max Martin collaboration that divided critics - **"River Lea"**: Danger Mouse's gospel-blues production with organ, wall of backing vocals, and a "dark, haunting" groove - **"I Miss You"**: Theatrical, sonorous beats with an infectious, singalong chorus - **"Million Years Ago"**: Stripped-back Spanish guitar arrangement highlighting vocal fragility **Vocal Performance:** Adele's voice remains the centerpiece — spanning from F₃ to A₅ on "Hello" . Critics consistently praise her "unmatched instincts as a singer," her understanding of "timbre and pitch," and her ability to infuse lines with "nuance and power" . --- ## Cohesion & Album Flow The album's **consistency is debatable**. While some praise its "shaded melancholy" and cohesive sound , others note it feels like "a compilation of singles rather than an actual album" with "wonky sequencing" . The shift from the gothic "Hello" to the sparse, pop-oriented "Send My Love" to the organ-saturated "I Miss You" creates a jarring listening experience . --- ## Cultural Impact & Influence **Industry Disruption:** - **Withheld from streaming** initially (Spotify, Apple Music) — emphasizing the album as a complete artistic work and driving physical/digital sales - Accounted for **3.6% of all albums sold in the US in 2015** despite only being available for six weeks - Credited with **"saving the music industry"** at a time of declining profits from streaming - Other artists (Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Sam Smith, One Direction) reportedly delayed releases to avoid competition **Awards & Recognition:** - **5 Grammy Awards** including Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Hello" - Debuted at #1 in over 30 countries **Legacy:** Ten years later, *25* stands as a "defining milestone" that bridged her early career to future endeavors, proving that "heartfelt songwriting and powerful vocals could triumph in an era dominated by streaming" . --- ## Pros | Strength | Details | |----------|---------| | **Vocal Mastery** | Arguably the greatest vocalist of her generation; unmatched dynamics and emotional delivery | | **Emotional Authenticity** | Genuine introspection and maturity; avoids cynical calculation | | **Production Highlights** | "Hello," "River Lea," and "Water Under the Bridge" showcase sophisticated, immersive soundscapes | | **Thematic Evolution** | Moves beyond breakup tropes to explore aging, motherhood, and reconciliation | | **Commercial & Cultural Impact** | Proved the viability of album-oriented releases in the streaming era | | **"When We Were Young"** | A standout collaboration with Tobias Jesso Jr. that combines '70s soul with modern emotional resonance | --- ## Cons | Weakness | Details | |----------|---------| | **Inconsistent Production** | Max Martin's "Send My Love" feels out of place; jarring transitions between tracks | | **Formulaic Balladry** | Falls back on "dreary piano ballads" as a default position; some tracks lack melodic distinction | | **Limited Musical Risk** | Some critics felt Adele and her team "did not take any risks musically," following a proven formula | | **Over-sentimentality** | "All I Ask" (co-written with Bruno Mars) and "Love in the Dark" verge on excessive melodrama | | **Lyrical Repetition** | Themes can feel repetitive; some lyrics described as "Moon/June" level banality with "no insight" | | **Vocal Effects Inconsistency** | Differing production styles make Adele sound "dramatically different on each song" | --- ## Verdict **25** is a **mature, emotionally honest work** that solidified Adele's status as a generational talent. While it lacks the raw, cohesive intensity of *21* and suffers from occasional formulaic tendencies, its best moments ("Hello," "When We Were Young," "River Lea," "Water Under the Bridge") demonstrate sophisticated songwriting and production. The album's greatest achievement may be **industry-level**: proving that artistic integrity and commercial success aren't mutually exclusive in the digital age. **Rating:** 4/5 — A very good album that occasionally plays it safe, but when it connects, it resonates with devastating precision. **Essential Tracks:** "Hello," "When We Were Young," "River Lea," "Water Under the Bridge," "Sweetest Devotion" **Skip:** "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" — unless you need gym motivation

Hell0

According to my Last.fm statistics this is the first time I'm listening to Adele but of course I've heard many of these songs before. Adele has a beautiful voice but the album gets pretty boring pretty fast. En jaksanut loppuun asti.

В цьому альбомі немає моїх улюблених пісень Адель. Ніби і добре, а ніби і чогось не встигає. Пісню Hello я чомусь взагалі терпіти не можу, а вона перша в альбомі, далі краще, але катартікуса, як під пісню Skyfall я не відчула

21 was her magnum opus, but this still has some of her hits my favorite song is a tie between all I ask and when we were young, phenomenal songs

She has a great voice; there is no disputing that. But the majority of songs by her that I know are obsessive, stalker-like songs. "I keep calling hundreds of times to tell you I'm sorry, but you never pick up the phone!" Girl, get a clue. "Hey, I know you're married now, but I'll never find someone like you - not trying to ruin your relationship or anything, tee hee." Again, girl, tone it down. The non-stalker songs on this album were boring and similar-sounding. You're 25; stop wishing you were young again and move on with your life.

Adele is a god among mortals. How anyone can sing like that is beyond me. "All I ask is that if this is my last night with you, hold me like more than just a friend. Give me a memory I can use. Take me by the hand while we do what lovers do. It matters how it ends, because what if I never love again?" God, I'm so heartbroken. I miss her so much :(

Decent 1,5

last cd I ever bought

Amazing voice but not that impressing

She’s got the vocal chops, but this is a snooze fest. At least 21 had some chutzpah

Some memories tied to this album, good times. Fave track: When We Were Young

I never really quite got the hype around Adele. Send My Love really took me out because a) I didn’t even realise it was an Adele song and b) it’s inclusion in this album, as second track no less, is honestly baffling. Having said all that, there are some very poignant, emotional moments to be found throughout the album. 3.5/5

There are like two dozen producers, songwriters and engineers on this album. Far too many for it to be this mid.

Another great Adele album. If you are familiar with her work then you pretty much know what to expect. Several big hit songs and some other good ones too that showcase her vocal talent. Not necessarily something that I would choose to listen to on my own but it was nice listening to it.

i don't play about this album....

Jeg synes albummet er godt, men mangler lidt samme indlevelse som jeg havde ved nogle af hendes tidligere værker. Dog er hendes stemme stadig helt fantastisk og hun leverer nogle meget stærke numre. Dog blev sjælen min, ikke i samme grad bevæget. Stærke sange: - Hello - River Lea - Million Years Ago

안 좋을수가 있습니까 (2) 아니 다시 들으니까 ㅈㄴ 좋은데?? 4->5

I loved it.

No doubt Adele has a powerful voice - I just can not for the life of my listen to it after hearing some of these songs a million times. Ads, supermarkets, radio etc. have ruined it for me

Adele is an incredible vocalist. This is a strong album, if not quite as emotionally resonant as her previous. 4/5

Perfectly fine. I imagine it would be a lot better had you not heard an Adele song because there wasn't much original from her previous work on here at all. Still a great singer and songwriter, no doubt.

It’s good.

not my cup of tea found it boring but her voice is incredible

Some songs peak really hard. I have heard this before and "Send my Love" and "When we were young" are bops.

Canta legal nossa amiga Adele

OI aqui de fora

Dude this is peak! I love Adele! Anytime I hear her I think of me and friend on a tiny like 10 person school van going to a tennis match playing blackjack in the back on our books while listening to her on my old phone that was about to die. Great times.

2015 was my senior year of high school, and so probably the year that I was most aware of what was going on with pop music before I went off to college and dove straight into college radio indie rock. As a result, I remember the release of 25 being supposedly a very big deal! And yet, I'm pretty sure I never heard anything off this except "Hello"?

Album 1044 of 1089 25 - Adele (2015) Rating : 4 / 5 I never get tired of listening to a truly talented vocalist, and Adele certainly qualifies. This was an easy album to settle into - one that moves along effortlessly without demanding too much from the listener. There are a couple of tracks that clearly stand a little taller than the others, but as a whole, the album stays consistent from start to finish. The songwriting is strong, the production is smooth, and everything is built around letting her voice do what it does best. Nothing feels overworked or forced, just well-crafted songs delivered with confidence and control. Adele may be newer compared to some of the all-time great vocalists, but she carries that “top-tier” label comfortably. This album doesn’t try to reinvent anything - it simply delivers quality, and sometimes that’s more than enough.

I’ve never been much of an Adele fan. The hits are so overly emotive as to be cheesy. The deeper cuts on this album are pretty good though.

Adele by numbers

I remember the advert to launch this album. I was playing FIFA on a monitor in the room whilst the wife was watching X-Factor. I pretty much instantly went to Twitter to see if everyone suspected it was Adele. It was a great viral moment. I like some of Adeles songs, Hello is a pretty decent song, but I wouldn't say I'm a fan or that bothered overall. There is no doubting her impact though and that's why that ad was so effective. 3/5 some good songs, she has a great voice and I recognise her contribution to music. Overall not for me though.

A near perfect pop album with wonderful vocals. Adele can get it.

A few great songs and some good ones. Probably about as close to a 5 as any album has gotten while still getting a 4 from me.

It's not as good as 21, but it's still a 4.5 and I'm rounding up because you can't stop me.

I like the lyrics of Hello, how they are are open to interpretation, etc., and she had a great voice, but then the backing instrumentation is just way overblown by the end, I would love a smaller, more intimate cover. Send My Love was a fun tune. Remedy, and a lot of these other songs, are really overdone, oversung, and surface-level. Something about the rhythm of the singing in the final Sweetest Devotion reminds me of Enya.

Another Adele, hmm. Starts ok, but drifts into blandness quick enough. The lyrics are so banal, uninteresting, music by committee. 2 Heard before? Some Owned: No 47/195 (24%) Will I get: No

that's why she's fucking Adele

hell yeah

I love her voice but I feel like her albums are just more and more of the same

Unsubtlissimus

Niice

i lost my review of this. I essentially remember that this album had way more songs that I recognized than I would have anticipated. Adele has a killer voice, and this project is well constructed. Not sure I would ever listen again, but I can appreciate it for what it is

Adele, YIPPI!! Åh vilken throwback att lyssna på Hello igen efter alla dessa år. Att den kom ut för 11 år sen, gud vad sjukt att tänka. Man kommer ju som ihåg när den kom ut. Adele är i en klass av sin egen. Hon tillsammans med ett piano och en vacker text är allting som behövs för gåshud. 8.5/10

This is pretty bland. Some decent songs but all seem to be about the same thing. She doesn't throw crap songs at the end so that's a bonus. The 2nd song on the album is definetely stolen 😅

Great album

album for lovers of the color beige

It's ok.

meh

Four all the way. Great songs with even better vocals and arrangements. Water under the Bridge always gets me.