Most Exciting Rock Books of 2025

With the 2025 holiday season upon us, it’s time to start gift-giving. And if anyone on your shopping list enjoys a good book about music, you’re in luck.

In the past calendar year, a slew of rock-related books have entered the market, with a little something for everyone.

For fans of memoirs, there’s Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell‘s aptly titled Heartbreaker, plus Lionel Richie’s Truly: The Official Inspirational Journey Through the Life of a Musical Legend and part two of Robbie Robertson‘s memoir, this one titled Insomnia. Not to mention Ozzy Osbourne‘s Last Rites, which takes on extra special meaning given the singer’s passing at the age of 76 in July.

Or perhaps you know someone who loves musical photography. In that case, there’s Oasis The Masterplan with archival images by Kevin Cummins — fitting for the year in which the Britpop band reunited — and Pearl Jam Live!: 35 Years of Legendary Music and Revolutionary Shows by Selena Fragassi.

We’d also recommend one or a few of this year’s books honoring the women of rock, including but not limited to Pretend We’re Dead: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Women in Rock in the ’90s by Tanya Pearson, Songs She Wrote: Forty Hits by Pioneering Women of Popular Music by Michael G. Garber or Queens of Disco by Annie Zaleski.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In the below gallery, we’ve rounded up 45 rock books released this year that would be perfect for gifting the music lover in your life this holiday season.