One thing you have to say about 2026 through its first six months is that it’s seen its fair share of massive albums. Whereas some years this decade have left us in several-months-long droughts of big drops — leaving us absolutely thirsting for the sort of blockbuster LPs that get music fans’ juices flowing and the entire world talking — this year has seemingly nailed the pacing, neatly taking us from one such big-name release to the next. It’s never quite been overwhelming with volume, either: The schedule of new releases has simply ensured there’s always something just-released to chew on, as well as something big coming right around the corner to look forward to.
Those much-anticipated big releases spanned just about every major genre and form, too: everything from new wave-flavored pop-rock opuses to long-awaited K-pop comebacks to hip-hop triple-releases to country crossover breakthroughs to alt-folk level-ups and R&B legacy-cementers. And that was just the stuff happening at the top of the charts: a level or two (or six) lower, there’s been an equally wide variety of LPs to be delighted by, from edgy grunge-pop breakouts to genre-blending party-starters to art-rock cult favorites and underground-defining hip-hop veterans.
We’ve got all of that represented in our look at our staff’s 50 favorite albums from the first six months of 2026, as well as dozens of sets from the spaces in between them. Take a look at our full list below, presented alphabetically by artist, and join us in the hopes that the back half of 2026 ends up filling up as fully and as evenly as the first.
Angine de Poitrine, Vol. II
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When Angine de Poitrine began to gain traction after a viral KEXP live session, it was no surprise that fans were suspicious. Conversations around the hidden forces behind music marketing (kickstarted by an interview on Billboard’s On the Record podcast) led to accusations that ‘psy-ops’ were responsible for these sudden pushes: How else to explain that a math-rock duo from Canada, dressed up in comical polka-dot costumes gibbering their own made-up language, were the name on everyone’s lips? Vol. 2, released in April, proved the hype was justified — and that knotty riffs, filthy grooves and an element of intrigue can still cut through and convert even the most cynical of listeners in mass quantities. — THOMAS SMITH
Arlo Parks, Ambiguous Desire
Ambiguous Desire finds singer-songwriter Arlo Parks revealing and embracing her love for dance and electronic music. Though the skittering beats and late-night lonely synths on this album are a far cry from the organic, warm instrumentation of her 2021 debut (or even the alt-pop vibes of 2023’s My Soft Machine), it’s her voice – literally and figurately – that provides the essential throughline to this album. On chill club tracks like “2SIDED” and “Get Go,” Parks’ ethereal, emotive vocals and reflective lyricism remain at the forefront, as delicate and commanding as ever. And on standout track “Senses,” her voice blends with Sampha’s to tap into an almost harrowing beauty. — JOE LYNCH
Braxton Keith, Real Damn Real
Part of country’s new traditionalist movement alongside Zach Top, Texas native Keith confidently incorporates elements of Western swing and honky tonk on his major label debut for Warner Records Nashville, which never forgoes an inviting twang as engaging as his handlebar mustache. Charmer “I Ain’t Tryin’” and gorgeous ballad “Don’t No More” easily fit in beside the hilariously, jangly “I Own This Bar,” on which a sarcastic Keith goes toe-to-toe with boastful patrons. — MELINDA NEWMAN
Bruno Mars, The Romantic
The Romantic is an apt title for Mars’ fourth solo studio album, though The Revivalist would have worked just as well. Mars has been both things in equal measure since he burst on the scene in 2010. Here, he nods to such classic 1970s sounds as Philly Soul, Quiet Storm and Latin rock. The album’s first single, the sleek “I Just Might,” is largely a summary of Mars’ established strengths, but the second, “Risk It All,” is a bit, well, riskier. With its melodramatic, ultra-romantic flourishes and mariachi accents, it’s a safe bet that no one else could have made that record a hit in 2026. – PAUL GREIN
BTS, ARIRANG
The results of BTS’ long-anticipated return from hiatus with the septet’s first new album in over half a decade speak for themselves: three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, including a historic 641,000 units moved in the set’s first week. But the album itself spoke pretty loudly as well, as ARIRANG demonstrated both the group’s maintained hitmaking capabilities, with stadium-sized anthems like “Body 2 Body” and “Hooligan,” as well as some new musical interests picked up by the seven members in the time off, with alt-leaning sonic edges and enhanced musical sophistication on tracks like “Like Animals” and swooning closer “Into the Sun.” And beautifully splitting the difference: album fulcrum and lead single “Swim,” an immediate Billboard Hot 100-topping smash and likely future classic in the group’s canon. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, Free Spirits
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Free Spirits is exactly what its title suggests: loose, fearless and thrillingly hard to categorize. Following the breakout success of 2025’s Papota, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso lean all the way into their instinct for chaos, jumping between rock en español, dance-pop, a dash of bossa nova and surrealist comedy without ever sounding scattered. The album’s brilliance is in how naturally it holds all those contradictions at once — it’s absurd and intimate, irreverent and emotionally exposed. Even at its most playful, Free Spirits carries a pulse of real feeling, capturing two artists pushing at the edges of genre, identity and fame in real time. Few albums this year have felt so unpredictable, fully realized and genuinely alive. — ISABELA RAYGOZA
Charli xcx, Wuthering Heights
After the meteoric rise of her album Brat in summer 2025, Charli xcx fans would certainly understand if the newly minted pop superstar wanted a break, but Charli refused to rest, and her resolve to release this companion album showed the longtime songwriter and artist hitting a true creative stride. On Wuthering Heights, Charli trades the self-exploration apparent across Brat for a focus on themes of external desire and entrapment. Much like Wuthering Heights protagonists Cathy and Heathcliff let love drive them to madness, so too does Charli xcx on the project. This is especially apparent in visceral standout songs like the grinding “House” (featuring John Cale) and the shimmering “Chains of Love,” as she likens desire to “feel[ing] like a prisoner” and “shattering like glass.” It’s brash, it’s desperate and yet somehow it still feels like a fresh take on one of the most popular (if over-adapted) gothic romances of all time. — KRISTIN ROBINSON
Chyno y Nacho, Radio Venezuela
Infused with the vibrant spirit of the Caribbean and true to Chyno y Nacho’s signature style — vivid merengue and soaring trumpets — this album is more than a musical legacy; it is a joyful miracle that brings together a new wave of Venezuelan talent, with guest artists including Danny Ocean, Rawayana, Elena Rose, Mau y Ricky, Joaquina, Lasso and Akapellah. Radio Venezuela shines as a heartfelt celebration of unwavering friendship, capturing not only the camaraderie among the artists but also the inspiring journey of real brotherhood. — INGRID FAJARDO
Don Toliver, Octane
Despite high-profile releases from J. Cole, Ye, and A$AP Rocky in 2026, it’s Don Toliver’s OCTANE that remains perched atop rap’s hierarchy for the year. Toliver’s penchant for theatrics and intoxicating melodies powers OCTANE to the moon. “E85” is a sugar bomb littered with scenic production and gummy lyrics, while “Body” is a sleek makeover of a Justin Timberlake classic. Even when paired with big-name buddies like Travis Scott (“Rosary”), Rema (“Secondhand”), and Yeat (“Rendezvous”), Toliver remains the unquestioned star of this majestic thriller of an album. — CARL LAMARRE
Drake, Iceman
After hip-hop purists tried to diminish his legacy, Drake’s ICEMAN blitzed the charts and froze his adversaries upon release. His chilly, villainous raps fuel the 18-track mission as he beheads fairweather friends and former lovers on “Make Them Cry” while reminding listeners he can thrive in any city on records like “Ran 2 Atlanta” and “2 Hard for the Radio.” Long known for extending second and third chances throughout his career, Drake is no longer the wide-eyed twenty-something navigating the industry through optimism alone. With ICEMAN, he completes his long-awaited evolution (and coronation) from The Boy to The Man. — C.L.
Durand Bernarr, Bernarr
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Named for his sound engineer father, this album was originally envisioned as a deluxe edition of Bernarr’s last studio album Bloom, the 2025 funk/R&B release that garnered the artist’s first Grammy for best progressive R&B album. But as he recently told Billboard, seven additional songs morphed into 17, intertwining his R&B/soul/gospel roots with “splashy flourishes of yacht rock, P-Funk, house and Miami bass.” Joining Bernarr on the exhilarating ride: a who’s who of producers including Raphael Saadiq, Bryan-Michael Cox and James Fauntleroy. Simply put, hearing is believing: Bernarr — an opener on Kehlani’s upcoming tour — is here to stay. — GAIL MITCHELL
Ella Langley, Dandelion
Bolstered by a career-defining hit, the bittersweet “Choosin’ Texas,” which has spent 10 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, Langley’s second full-length album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The set showcases the Alabama native’s emotional, husky vocals and considerable songwriting chops, further establishing her as a country star who embraces tradition and modernity in equal measure. Aided by executive producer (and mentor) Miranda Lambert, Langley viscerally explores jealousy on Country Airplay No. 1 “Be Her” — which would also have been a Hot 100 No. 1 had it not gotten stuck behind “Texas” — as well as longing on “Something Simple” and transitions on “Butterfly Season” (also featuring Lambert). — MELINDA NEWMAN
Fcukers, O
Fcukers formed just four years ago, but quickly built an impressive resume: opening gigs for Harry Styles and Tame Impala, a collaboration with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, cosigns from the likes of Billie Eilish and Charli xcx. But what the New York duo didn’t have was an album – and its debut, Ö, delivers on the early hype and then some. Across its tight, thrilling 29 minutes, Ö updates DFA Records’ golden age for the post-Brat era, with sleazy dance-punk (“L.U.C.K.Y”), barreling drum’n’bass (“Play Me”), mesmerizing U.K. garage (“if you wanna party, come over to my house”) and hazy dub (“TTYGF”) coexisting naturally like the best DJ sets. — ERIC RENNER BROWN
Grace Ives, Girlfriend
Grace Ives’ songs flit from music box whimsy (“Now I’m”) to booming melodrama (“Avalanche”) to swelling ballad with a beat (“Fire 2”) — and that’s only in the first three tracks of her latest alt-pop epic, Girlfriend. Produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and John DeBold, Girlfriend is moody and playful, as heart-on-its-sleeve as it is self-reflective. Ives probably could knock you over with her alto if she wanted to — but she more often reins it in, singing with a quiet intensity that makes her sound a little sultry, a little secretive and extremely cool. The native New Yorker sobered up and defected to L.A. in recent years, but when she came back to play Music Hall of Williamsburg in May and sang, “I used to run this town,” she undoubtedly meant it. — CHRISTINE WERTHMAN
Harry Styles, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.
As his reported visits to Berlin megaclub Berghain and recent live sampling of Underworld attest, Harry Styles is a recent convert to rave culture, and his fourth studio album unpacks the awe, wonder and occasional dissociation accompanying this new venture. Poised between escapism and self-examination, it welcomes moments of total uncertainty and offers tender, melancholy encouragement to reckon with one’s life choices. “Season 2 Weight Loss,” one of Styles’ most affecting songs to date, is all soft vocal strokes and hushed ambiance, proving that this record works its magic by sleight of hand. — SOPHIE WILLIAMS
Hemlocke Springs, The Apple Tree Under the Sea
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The elasticity of Hemlocke Springs mastermind Isimeme “Naomi” Udu’s voice has always been wonderfully disruptive: Whether she’s doubling down on a sweet-tooth hook, punctuating a verse with a shrill cry or gliding through a sensual melisma, Udu’s tone demands attention instead of blending into playlists. And with debut album The Apple Tree Under the Sea, she has released a collection of songs that match the beguiling personality of her voice, barreling through slam-dunk anthems (“Be The Girl!,” “The Beginning of the End”) and linguistic frolics (“Head, Shoulders, Knees and Ankles,” “Sever the Blight”) with a self-assuredness and songwriting panache that deserve to shake the pop world awake. — JASON LIPSHUTZ
Hilary Duff, Luck… or Something
The incredible momentum Hilary Duff developed in late 2025 with the well-received comeback single “Mature” and a handful of successful return gigs could’ve easily carried her through 2026 even if Luck… or Something, her first album in 11 years, had coasted off that goodwill. Instead, Duff came with one of the most deeply felt, incisive, quietly devastating and yet still kinda life-affirming pop albums of the early year, one that captures growing up in a way that Blink-182 — yes, interpolated here — never could’ve understood in their early 20s. Written with real-life husband Matthew Koma (who also co-produced), the set achieves a unique intimacy and near-uncomfortable vulnerability while still always landing like capital-P Pop music, a combination that gives lost-in-reality ruminations like “Future Tripping” and “Adult Size Medium” a nuclear-grade emotional potency. — A.U.
Holly Humberstone, Cruel World
It’s easy to understand why Taylor Swift picked Humberstone as an Eras Tour opener: the British singer-songwriter’s emotionally raw, ultra-specific writing and immaculately produced pop melodies feel like a close descendant of her own. Cruel World is packed with the kind of vulnerability and writerly detail Humberstone is known for but feels like her most polished and deep artistic statement yet: a truly no-skips record ranging from romantic, dancefloor-ready bangers (“To Love Somebody”) to quietly heartbreaking ballads (“Make It All Better”), anchored by Humberstone’s heart-on-sleeve vocals. — REBECCA MILZOFF
Iceage, For Love of Grace & The Hereafter
Iceage’s earliest albums absolutely ripped, the young Danes cranking out energetic punk with goth undertones that took listeners on a thrilling, foreboding ride. Somewhere around album three, the band discovered that slowing things down didn’t mean letting up — and Iceage continues to play with tempo on its raw, melodic sixth album, its first in five years. Thematically, we’re dealing with love’s more volatile bits here, something tender but aggressive, the kind of romance that roughs up your heart (and perhaps bites your face, as Elias Rønnenfelt sings on “No Fear”). “I love you in an ominous way,” he confesses on album opener “Ember,” perfectly establishing the narrative of pleasure and pain. — C.W.
Jai’len Josey, Serial Romantic
The thumping bass of Detroit ghettotech, vocal acrobatics of ‘90s gospel and R&B and the innate whimsy of musical theatre arrangements shouldn’t go together so seamlessly — but Jai’Len Josey makes it work somehow. The ascendant R&B singer-songwriter’s major label debut album, Serial Romantic, expertly synthesizes her myriad influences into one sleek portrait of a young woman’s refusal to give up on love. Executive produced by three-time Grammy winner Tricky Stewart, Serial tempers its genre-bending moments (“New Girl,” “Freak”) with traditional, radio-ready R&B singalongs like “Love Ain’t S—t” and “Lose Somebody,” ensuring there’s something for every type of listener on the succinct 13-track LP. — KYLE DENIS
James Blake, Trying Times
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James Blake’s Trying Times is the producer/artist’s most potent artistic statement in years. Perhaps that’s because it is his first independently released album after leaving Interscope to much fanfare in 2024, or maybe it’s influenced by his return back to London, where he first started his career around the late ’00s. Regardless, many of Blake’s best instincts are present in Trying Times: For instance, he begins the album on “Walk Out Music,” an amorphous synth-led track which features a pitched-up vocal refrain — a classic hallmark of Blake’s music — repeating “you’re no good to anyone,” a phrase whose meaning he later twists by adding the word “dead” to the end. Or take “Doesn’t Just Happen,” featuring Dave, where Blake comfortably reassumes the role of rap producer, as he’s previously done in his discography with artists like the RZA and Travis Scott. Still, Trying Times pushes Blake’s sound further, including a deeper engagement with R&B samples and more refined sense of capital-S Songwriting, best heard on the single “I Had a Dream She Took My Hand.” It all leaves Trying Times feeling like a triumphant comeback for a great artist who never really went away. — K.R.
Jill Scott, To Whom It May Concern
Fans’ strong response to Jilly from Philly’s first album since 2015 propelled the project to top 10 bows across seven Billboard charts, including Top Album Sales (No. 7) — proving their love affair with Scott’s music hadn’t wavered one iota. Preceded by the popular singles “Pressha” and “Beautiful People,” the insightful and empowering album traverses a full range of emotions alongside a colorful slate of eclectic guest features including Tierra Whack, Too $hort and Trombone Shorty. It should all make for some rollicking new singalongs during Scott’s current tour, which kicked off earlier this month. — G.M.
Junior H & Gael Valenzuela, DEP</3$$SED MFKZ
On DEP</3$$SED MFKZ, Junior H deepens the aching, introspective world that made him a generational voice in corridos tumbados, but this time with Gael Valenzuela as a perfect foil. The album is steeped in heartbreak, longing and emotional fallout, yet it never feels heavy for heaviness’ sake; there’s tenderness, restraint and an almost diaristic honesty running through it. Built on dusky guitars and the quiet conviction of the $ad Boyz ethos, these songs turn private wounds into something communal. In a year crowded with big statements, DEP</3$$SED MFKZ stands out for saying so much in a low, wounded voice. — I.R.
Kacey Musgraves, Middle of Nowhere
As the title suggests, Kacey Musgraves explores the idea of isolation on her seventh album – whether geographic or metaphoric. Sometimes the theme is playful, like on the cheeky, twangy lead single “Dry Spell” (she’s “lonely with a capital H,” y’all), or straightforward, like on the waltzing title track (“No service on the phone, and I’m alone/ But it honestly feels good”). And when Kacey’s feeling lonely, she clearly takes solace in her home state of Texas, leaning on the sounds she grew up with — sometimes squarely in her country comfort zone, teaming up with genre legends like Willie Nelson (“Uncertain, TX”) or Miranda Lambert (“Horses and Divorces”), other times plucking around with some bluegrass alongside Billy Strings (“Everybody Wants to Be a Cowboy”), or even drawing inspiration from regional Mexican sounds (“Mexico Honey”). The main takeaway here is that just because she’s isolated doesn’t mean she’s disconnected; in fact, her newfound independence and sense of self might be her strongest connection yet. – KATIE ATKINSON
Kashus Culpepper, Act 1
Kashus Culpepper released his 18-song debut album in 2026, and with it, established himself as a singer, songwriter and musician worth watching. A rich latticework of pop, soul, country, Americana and blues, the record showcases the Alabama native’s remarkable musical dexterity: He’s adept at wringing out every nuance of love and heartbreak in songs like the passionate “Believe,” the melancholy “House on a Hill” or the devastating “Cherry Rose.” He also offers striking collaborations with Marcus King (“Southern Man”) and Sierra Ferrell (“Broken Wing Bird”) — but his rugged, soulful voice and engaging songwriting remain the album’s centerpiece. — JESSICA NICHOLSON
Kehlani, Kehlani
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Kehlani achieved a career milestone last year: her first top 10 Hot 100 hit, the soulful anthem “Folded.” That mainstream breakthrough garnered not one but two Grammys for best R&B song and best R&B performance plus this self-titled fifth studio album — and first Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart-topper. Featuring both “Folded” and its yearning follow-up “Out the Window,” the 17-track Kehlani finds the singer-songwriter revisiting the ‘90s and 2000s R&B vibes of her childhood that inspired an already successful, almost-decade-long career. Among the highlights: pairings with Brandy (“I Need You”), Missy Elliott (“Back and Forth”) and Usher (“Shoulda Never”). — G.M.
Kim Petras, Detour
After months stuck in record label purgatory, Kim Petras’s Detour arrived just in time for those late-night joyrides through steamy urban dystopia. While there are plenty of thumping hyperpop bangers to fuel your “Need for Speed” on the “101,” the standout “Brutalist” shares a rare glimpse into personal loss and grief that is quite possibly the most heartbreaking song that she has ever written. It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that Petras recently got her license, as Detour genuinely feels like her first album spent squarely in the driver’s seat. Kimmy, take the wheel! — SAMANTHA XU
Lelo, Mastiff: Pink Tiles
Detroit rapper Lelo wanted to show off his versatility, and he did just that with the two EPs he dropped during the first half of 2026. Mastiff, which he dropped first, continues the story he started with his New Detroit debut last year, where he established a unique sound. He then turned around and pushed the limits to that same sound even further with Pink Tiles, where he and production duo GroovePill incorporated Motor City’s ghettotech house scene into high energy tracks like “Get Geeked” and “I Just Wanna,” further proving the point that house music and hip-hop are more siblings than they are cousins. Pay attention, because Lelo is next up. — ANGEL DIAZ
Luke Combs, The Way I Am
Over the past decade, Luke Combs has proven himself to be both one of the genre’s most towering vocalists and consistent hitmakers. While 2024 saw him release the family-oriented concept project Fathers & Sons, his 22-song The Way I Am balances radio-oriented fare such as “Back in the Saddle” with the robust storytelling of songs like “Rich Man,” the tender “The Me Part of You,” and the Alison Krauss collaboration “Ever Mine.” Overall, the album showcases Combs’ adherence to rich storytelling, while he also continues to embrace songs with broad commercial appeal. — J.N.
Megan Moroney, Cloud 9
Megan Moroney looks like the head cheerleader, but sounds like the one who got kicked off the squad. At 28 years old, Moroney already has a raspy voice that will only get better with time, and a wry sense of humor that will do the same — and on Cloud 9, both are on display. “What doesn’t kill you/ Makes you stronger and blonder and hotter,” she sings on “6 Months Later,” adding to the adage. Even someone like Moroney gets ghosted, but the way she responds to it (“He’s a lotta bit pretty and a little dumb/ He probably couldn’t spell ‘valedictorian,’” she pities on “Stupid”) shows she could certainly take it on the chin — but sometimes it’s more fun to have the last word. — C.W.
Mitski, Nothing’s About to Happen to Me
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Only modern indie rock’s greatest (and funniest) chronicler of anxieties both petty and existential would have the sense of irony to title her first album since scoring an unlikely 2023 Hot 100 top 40 hit after something a guy in a ’40s cartoon would say immediately before falling into a pothole. But crossover success certainly hasn’t sanded down Mitski’s edges in that department: If the cosmic panic attack of “Where’s My Phone?” doesn’t convince you, certainly “That White Cat,” where Mitski fears herself getting evicted by the neighborhood stray, will be plenty persuasive. But it’s not all white-knuckling for Mitski this time around: Check out “I’ll Change for You,” perhaps the sweetest and most tender ballad of her entire career — and still also perhaps her most unnerving in its willful abandonment of self. — A.U.
Noah Kahan, The Great Divide
In the recent Netflix documentary Noah Kahan: Out of Body, Kahan does what few artists are willing to: bare in real time the nearly paralyzing fear he experienced facing how to follow up the very long tail of his Stick Season success. That struggle is part of what The Great Divide delves into, but much as Kahan likes to joke about “sad boy summer,” pain isn’t its predominant emotion. Across at last count 21 tracks (on The Great Divide: The Last of the Bugs), Kahan reveals himself as a multilayered real-deal singer-songwriter who, with the help of producer Aaron Dessner, hasn’t reinvented his own wheel but has sharply honed his craft as both a writer and vocalist — and has brought rock back to the top of the charts in the process. — R.M.
Olivia Rodrigo, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love
With the sophomore stress of Guts out of the way, Olivia Rodrigo was able to really take her time with album three – not just in terms of experimenting with and perfecting every detail of her sound, but also in terms of her songwriting. Between Hot 100-topping lead single “Drop Dead” and tracklist closer “Cigarette Smoke,” Rodrigo deftly tells the story of a highly personal relationship from start to finish while somehow capturing its associated emotions with such a rawness, some of the songs feel like open wounds. — HANNAH DAILEY
Paul McCartney, The Boys of Dungeon Lane
Paul McCartney has rarely been at a loss for melodies throughout the course of his 60-plus-year career, but there’s sometimes been a question as to whether he’s able to winnow those ideas into a cohesive and impactful album. But he’s been on a late-career hot streak in that department, the latest entry in which is 2026’s The Boys of Dungeon Lane, which finds the former Beatle feeling nostalgic but not maudlin on a winning folk-rock record. With Andrew Watt co-producing, McCartney sounds vocally revitalized and creatively robust, shouting and toying with time shifts on “As You Lie There,” duetting with Ringo Starr on the jaunty “Home to Us,” strumming sweet anecdotes about hitchhiking with George Harrison on “Down South” and spinning a retro pastiche about his parents on “Salesman Saint.” – J. Lynch
Quevedo, El Baifo
For his third studio album, Quevedo delivers a 14-track set that’s rooted in the soundscape of his native Canary Islands in Spain. A blend of old-school reggaetón and traditional tropical rhythms, the album is a reflection of celebration and local festivities as heard in viral tracks “Al Golpito” with Nuevo Linea, “La Graciosa” with Elvis Crespo, and the title track. With El Baifo — named after the local term that describes a baby goat and loosely references the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) — the Spanish artist “would love for people to understand where I come from,” he previously told Billboard Español. — JESSICA ROIZ
Ratboys, Singin’ to an Empty Chair
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Across the last decade-plus, Ratboys has quietly become one of indie-rock’s sharpest and most consistent bands. Singin’ to an Empty Chair might be the Chicago group’s best album yet, a sterling alt-country set that shines in its quieter moments and also knows when to crank the volume dial to 11. Here, Ratboys continues to expand its sonic ambition — longtime Death Cab for Cutie member Chris Walla sits in the producer’s chair for a second consecutive album — with highlights like “Light Night Mountains All That” and “Burn It Down” each unfurling over well-deserved, several-minute run times. Not that the band has forgotten its power-pop roots: “Anywhere” is yet another perfect little three-minute Ratboys alt-rock song. — E.R.B.
Rawayama, Donde Es El After?
Rawayana really set the tone for 2026 when the group dropped its sixth studio album on Jan. 1. With 23 songs that toggle among reggae, electronic, funk, reggaeton, pop, and tropical, resulting in its characteristic “trippy pop” sound, the Venezuelan band delivers one of the funnest and most energetic Latin albums this year. Lyrically, the tracks are witty, sensual, charged with double meaning and colloquial language from Venezuela, while others serve as a beacon of hope amid the country’s political climate. Collaborators on ¿Dónde Es El After? include Manuel Turizo, Grupo Frontera, Jowell y Randy, and DannyLux. — J.R.
RAYE, This Music May Contain Hope
After fighting tooth and nail just to have the ability to release her first album, 2023’s My 21st Century Blues, RAYE finally had the opportunity to create a project simply for the love of making music, and without the added pressure of having to prove herself anymore. You can hear that unadulterated passion and freedom in every detail of This Music May Contain Hope, the rare album that actually merits the “wildly ambitious” label thanks to its sprawling, unorthodox song structures and maximalist arrangements. — H.D.
Robyn, Sexistential
So much is accomplished in Robyn’s Sexistential that it’s hard to believe it all happens in the LP’s slight 29 minutes and 30 seconds. The Swedish icon positioned her first album in eight years as a meditation on sensual energy and, as she put it, staying horny (“I feel [that’s] the purpose of my life,” she said when announcing the project in January). And while these topics are addressed in their most obvious forms in the yearning “Talk To Me,” the hormonal high of “Dopamine” and the title track’s much-discussed IVF rap, so too does she explore the nuances of motherhood, aging, love and reality itself. The pleasure is all ours. — KATIE BAIN
Roc Marciano, 656
At the start of the year, this era’s God MC walked down his mountain with his latest understudy Errol Holden by his side and gave his subjects a disc of scrolls to study. Roc Marciano hasn’t fully produced a body of work for himself since 2013, so it was great to hear the master do his thing while reminding rap fans who truly is the best rapper/producer pound-for-pound. Tracks like “Childish Things,” “Prince & Apollonia” and “Trapeze” (featuring Errol Holden) drive that point home. Sixteen years after he first shook up the game with Marcberg, Roc showed why he remains the standard with 656. — ANGEL DIAZ
Runkus, Supernova
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Straight out of Portmore, Jamaica, Runkus might have the best album from the Caribbean diaspora this year. At least so far. Crafted in the throes of grief and in the wake of a completed album trilogy, Supernova finds Runkus reaching for intergalactic metaphors to relay the limitless potential of Caribbean talent. From infusing an Occidental College astronomy lecture with the iconic “Punany” dancehall riddim to blending hip-hop and roots reggae on the riveting “Ego Death,” Supernova is easily one of the year’s most thrilling front-to-back listens. — K.D.
Skrillex, Soma
It’s possible to list the influences, subgenres and assorted bric-a-brac in Skrillex’s fourth studio album (a lift of Robert Miles’ trance classic “Children,” trap, gabber, hardgroove, bits of Y2K-era videogame Cel Damage, etc. etc.) but really, the producer’s tight, methodical and in moments objectively insane way of putting them together turn it all into something singular and entirely his own. The 13 productions are co-built by a crew of fellow producers, who together lay the groundwork for all the vocalists — four of them female rappers from South America and Puerto Rico — to deliver the album’s soul and not insignificant swagger. — K.B.
Slayyyter, Wor$t Girl in America
Slayyyter’s Wor$t Girl in America is for all the girls who wore Cookie Monster pajama pants and walked the mile smoking a cigarette with their gay best friend on track day in gym class, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment. The production is addictively danceable and riffy, with Slayyyter’s vocals seamlessly sliding between ethereal and aggressive across each song. Ever since I picked this album up, I haven’t been able to put it down. Do yourself a favor and CRANK IT! — AMANDA RETOTAR
Stella Lefty, Is This Heaven?
She may have broken out (more like exploded) with a song called “Boston” interpolating a hit by pop-rock’s current biggest New Englander (Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season”), but 23-year old singer-songwriter Stella Lefkofsky is a modern Nashville dream girl through and through. Her debut six-song EP is a perfectly concise portrait of what makes her so easy to love: tunes made for dive bar singalongs, line dance floors and long car rides, driven by her earnest rasp, with the kind of vivid writing and hooks that stick in your head for weeks. — R.M.
Trueno, TURR4ZO
The global profile of Argentine singer-rapper Trueno just continues to rise with TURR4ZO, a dazzling, pulse-racing and as always genre-hopping 14-track set. Whether he’s introducing the world to his “South American style” on the club-thumping “Estilo Sudaka” or waxing nostalgic alongside Maria Becerra on the wistful “90s,” Trueno’s energy and flavor remain peerless. It’s no surprise he’s now gone two straight albums invoking American party-rap icon Nelly — a “Hot in Herre” lift on the last one, a banger entitled “Grillz” on this one — since that’s one of the bars he seems to be reaching for, and very well could get to. — A.U.
Underscores, u
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
After quietly becoming something of a digiscore scene leader in 2021 with debut LP Fishmonger and its follow-up Wallsocket, Underscores snuck up on us in April with U, one of the most innovative electro-pop fusions you’ll hear all year. Giddy, caffeinated and dazed, you can’t bottle this record’s pure feeling: with its starburst of a chorus, “Hollywood Forever” nods to the emo-EDM of Justin Bieber’s Purpose era, while the bass-y breakbeats across album standout “Innuendo (I Get U)” prove that this emergent star can go even harder without losing a fraction of her personality. — S.W.
Violet Grohl, Be Sweet to Me
You’d be forgiven to see the surname of one of rock music’s greatest talents over the past 30 years and subsequently approach the album with some trepidation — precedent says such sizable shoes often don’t get filled. But make no mistake, Be Sweet to Me is not a great album because it’s by the daughter of Dave Grohl; it’s great because it simply f–king rips. It’s coated in ‘90s alternative grunge goodness, from its thrashing on “595” and “Cool Buzz” to its off-the-cuff, rebelliously natured writing on “Bug in the Cake” (first verse lyrics “Roll up a rug, fall out of a love, sneak in a handle” give way to “Broken vase inside a truck/ Do you think I give a s–t?”). — JOSH GLICKSMAN
War Child, HELP(2)
1995’s Help Album, organized by War Child to raise funds for young people caught in conflict zones, is the gold-standard for benefit records: Oasis, Radiohead and Paul McCartney were among the original’s contributors. HELP(2) met the moment with an array of stunning recordings from Olivia Rodrigo, Arctic Monkeys and Depeche Mode among others, in sessions helmed by super-producer James Ford. The U.K.’s indie sector rallied behind the record which, as key participants Ford and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker told Billboard U.K., will hopefully stand the test of time, and showcase music as a tool of action in these increasingly dark times. — T.S.
Willie Nelson, Dream Chaser
“I don’t know how to read your mind/ The letters are too small.” The wry lyric comes from two of our greatest songwriters, as Nelson collaborates with Bob Dylan (and producer Buddy Cannon) on “I Can’t Read Your Mind” from “Dream Chaser,” said to be Nelson’s 156th album overall. At 93, Nelson continues not only to tour, but also to regularly release delicately arranged, beautifully performed and lyrically reflective albums like this one. In the title track, age seems simply incomprehensible: “Today I looked in the mirror,” sings Nelson, “and I caught me by surprise.” — THOM DUFFY
Zach Bryan, With Heaven on Top
Bryan’s characteristically rough and tumble rasp is everywhere on his latest full-length — figuratively and literally, with his lyrics bouncing him between the boroughs of New York, down to northwest Arkansas, reminiscing on the smell of Wisconsin winds, out west to Santa Fe and beyond. The writing feels equally well-traveled, with Bryan peeling back one vivid memory after the next, articulating themes of family, lost love and booze-infused escapades with his pals. His brooding often stings like whiskey that’s long been sitting on the shelf (“What if I don’t want children to grow up like their father?,” he asks on “Appetite”); it’s Americana at its purest. — J.G.
