The past year’s best reissues, box sets and archival recordings cover the breadth of the field, from expanded versions of classic albums to lavish Super Deluxe Editions to long-lost records that haven’t seen an official release in decades.
The list below of the Top 15 Reissues of 2025 involved both easy and difficult decisions along the way; for example, when does a new reissue of an established work deserve yet another rerelease, and when is it merely a repackaging of that album with fresh glossy adornment?
The 15 best reissues of the year add to artists’ respective narratives, whether they document a specific period in a career (a new John Lennon box that collects his most political period, a live set highlighting a big year for punk trio Husker Du) or pull legendary records off the shelves and attach previously unreleased material to them (Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen).
READ MORE: Top 20 Rock Albums of 2025
Some annual familiar names are here as well: The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and Joni Mitchell have become regulars in the year-end tallies, and their 2025 contributions are every bit as great and essential as their other recent reissues.
The records below — box sets, hefty multi-CD collections and single-disc reissues — represent the best 2025 had to offer in archival releases. You may think you know the albums covered by these reissues back to front by now, but as these great sets prove time and time again, there’s always new stories to tell, even in the most familiar places.
Top 15 Reissues of 2025
From lavish box sets to deluxe editions of classic albums, the year’s best archival releases explore the past from new perspectives.
Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
