Hey everyone, Anthony Fantano here, internet's busiest music nerd. Hope you're doing well. We are at the halfway point of 2026, and it's finally time to take account of my favorite records of the year so far.

So, let's list them out like we do every year. Remember, these albums are listed in no particular order. I'm not trying to promise you what my record of the year is going to be before 2026 is even over. But I do still love these albums a whole lot, and all of them are likely to land very high on my year-end list. Know that. So here we go. 15 of my favorite albums of 2026 so far. Boom.

Starting off with the new Tierra Whack mixtape, WHACK'S MUSEUM [review]. The Philly rap phenom is back with really her first big, just simply rap-focused project with a bunch of Conductor Williams production and loads of wordplay and double entendres, allegories and witty one-liners for days and days and days and days. Even though this is a relatively trim project, this record without question has many of my most replayed bars of 2026 and it's kind of solidifying itself with me in such a way to where I don't know if another album is gonna beat it on that front. It's just such a fun listen. It's amazing to hear Tierra Whack truly back, and I hope that this tape, for as enjoyable as it is, is really just like kind of gearing up for more.

Next on our list is of course the new Olivia Rodrigo album [review]. For me, hands down thus far pop album of the year. The production is so good. Some of Olivia's best songwriting ever. Some of her best singles ever. Fantastic linear narrative flow to the tracklist overall. Also really enjoying a lot of the kind of throwback pop and alternative rock and post-punk influences à la The Cure. It's a very tastefully and thoughtfully assembled album, and I don't know if there's going to be too many more pop records better and stronger than this one this year, I'm gonna be honest with you. Olivia's packing a lot of punch on this one, that's for sure.

Also enjoying this new Iceage album [review]. I mean, Iceage has continued to be one of my favorite underground rock outfits for a long time now. Their past couple of records did see cleaning up their sound and presentation and recording style a little bit. This new one over here, however, goes back to, I think, the messiness and the rawness of their first three projects, which I think ultimately is a good thing. We are talking about some very chaotic, very all over the place rock music and post-punk music here. But what makes this album different and, I think, not just simply a rehash of what Iceage has done in the past, is that a lot of the lyricism and song topics revolve around love and just being in love. Lovesickness. A romantic infatuation if you will. And as a result of that, it's provided the band a bit of a bittersweet edge, not just simply a dark and unruly sound. There's like a beauty in the chaos this time, which I really appreciate. So, yeah, something kind of abrasive but also kind of lovey-dovey too about this one.

Also really enjoying this new Lip Critic album, Theft World [review]. And while I wouldn't explicitly say what Lip Critic is doing on this album is, you know, purely Death Grips-coded or sitting in that industrial hip-hop lane, I do feel like Lip Critic on this project are carrying a torch of sorts in terms of with their sound, with their music, with their lyricism trying to reflect and paint a picture of the very overwhelming, chaotic, oversaturated, terminally online world that we exist in right now – its absurdisms, its injustices, all of it really – and bring it together into a cathartic madness soup, which I'm telling you sounds unlike anything else you are going to listen to this year. In a lot of ways, the music is kind of like the cover. The closer you listen to it, the more you're like, "What the hell am I even looking at?"

This next album, I think I have maybe a firmer idea of what I am listening to. This new Genesis Owusu Redstar Wu album [review]. Genesis continues to be one of the best artists working today from Down Under. And with this new record here, he is coming through with one of his boldest and most upfront projects to date in terms of its lyricism, in terms of its commentary on the world, the current state of things. He's calling out everyone, from Elon to billionaires to corrupt political systems, racism, and doing it with all these vibrant, punchy instrumentals that bring together elements of indietronica, of funk, of New Wave – really running a range of different genres tastefully and successfully. Few records are creating an accurate picture of the times in the way that this one is, in my opinion.

We also have this new Jessie Ware record, Superbloom [review], a project a lot are saying is kind of like the third installment of her disco trilogy, and I think a very enjoyable one at that. Not going for as much of a poppy, maybe sort of house-inspired and streamlined version of this production like she did on her last record. We get more electro influences, more boogie influences, and I would say more soul vibes on a lot of tracks from this record as well. As far as dance music goes, as far as disco is concerned, there is somewhat more of an organic sound on this project in my opinion, which I really appreciate. The singing and the songwriting and the production are enchanting and sexy and alluring. It echoes very tastefully what Jessie has been doing on her past couple of records, while experimenting enough to maybe give listeners a little bit of a preview of the kind of genre or style break she might make on her next project.

Following this, I have to say I am also very enamored with this new Neurosis album [review], which hit me by surprise – many of us by surprise – because not only did the band return after a very disheartening lineup change, but they returned with Aaron Turner of Isis fame with a fantastic record that not only celebrates Neurosis's sludge metal roots, but is also a very well-assembled meditation on our burning world, as is kind of described in the title. A lot of forays into experimental and post-rock on this project too, that sometimes are kind of Swans coded – an influence that Neurosis has made no secret that they most definitely have had for a long time, but rarely have they been seen like diving into it quite this hard and sounding this amazing in the process. So, really awesome team up on this record and hopefully one of many more into the future.

Of course, I am also enjoying the new underscores album, U [review], another pop album of the year contender for a lot of viewers out there, and understandably so. April really came through with some of her most punchy and fun and enjoyable production and tunes yet, really building on the hyperpop canon and momentum in a way that not only kind of tributes the roots of that genre but is very broadly appealing for people who aren't even necessarily that deep into this particular niche pop genre. Like, clearly the audience for this record over the past several months has been proven to be pretty far and wide, making it really one of the biggest pop underdogs and Trojan horse projects of 2026.

On the docket we also have the new James Blake album Trying Times [review], which is in my opinion one of James's most stunningly beautiful albums so far. Like, not only does he deliver once again a really impressive palette of forward-thinking, mind-bending production, but he really pushes the boundaries of what you might be able to label "blue-eyed soul" on this project, or just soul-adjacent music in general, with some angelic and heart-wrenching vocal performances. But also a handful of tracks where James works very interestingly with samples and interpolations in a way that hopefully inspires other artists to get a little bit more ambitious with how they play with source material and bits of musical inspiration on tracks into the future.

Following this, I would like to shout out the new Bill Callahan record, My Days of 58 [review], one of Bill's most fantastic albums ever across his expansive catalog – his solo stuff and Smog, I would say. Not only is the chemistry with his band so on point with this record, giving us these tracks that bring together elements of folk and folk-rock with some psychedelic twists here and there too, but also Bill's songwriting, some of which can feel very kind of stream of consciousness and casual with which how he describes or puts certain things to words just feels so frank and authentic, and in its best moments, funny. Clearly, with Bill's 58 years of experience on this planet has come a lot of experiences worth mulling over, but also a lot of intelligence and a lot of wit too, that makes all the tracks on this record a super entertaining listen.

Following this, I would also like to shout out the new Gorillaz album, The Mountain [review]. The virtual band is back with one of their most ambitious albums in years, bringing together once again more impressive and surprising collaborations, along with lots of reflections on spirituality and mortality, losing loved ones, and filtering all of that through forward-thinking production, much of which leans into Hindustani classical music and a host of other things too. I mean, sometimes these genre combinations can be a little rough, or the tracklist a bit indulgent, but it is still a massive project that, 6 months into this year, I still very much stand in awe of.

Next, next, next, we have the new hemlocke springs album, the apple tree under the sea [review]. Another pop highlight for 2026, and I can understand why. It certainly has some of the catchiest songs you were going to hear this year on it – sleeper hits like "be the girl!" – and a little bit of a conceptual angle as well with many of the lyrical themes. But for the most part, what makes this album work is simply just great songwriting, strong vocal performances, punchy, hard-hitting production that borrows very heavily from the synth-pop world. One full-length album in, and hemlocke springs is already very much proving herself to be the total package pop artist. And I feel like all we have to do is just kind of sit here and watch how the apple tree grows beyond this point.

Next, of course, I am still very much loving this new Jill Scott album, To Whom This May Concern [review]. Sure, it's true, it's been a long time since Jill has graced us with a brand new album of tracks, but given the quality of this record, the material was very much worth the wait. Because not only are Jill's vocals still very much on point in 2026, her chemistry with her band is amazing. The way they fuse together elements of funk and jazz and soul is just impeccable. But on top of all of that, it's really Jill's song ideas and lyricism that ends up selling a lot of these tracks the most, going from these kind of spiritual, metaphysical meditations on love itself to some pretty funny social commentary here and there. This is just such a fun, passionate, amazing album, and a top 10 album of the year for sure.

Another big 2026 highlight, of course, is the new By Storm album, My Ghost Go Ghost [review]. Once Injury Reserve, now By Storm, this experimental hip-hop outfit are back with a record that continues to push the boundaries of this genre and also lyrically dives into some pretty personal and emotional experiences, having to do with family, loss of loved ones, past events that you're reflecting on for a very long time, and just doing that in ways that, honestly, is kind of difficult to put into words in terms of its sonics, in terms of where it's landing genre-wise. It's just such a creative, unique, one-of-a-kind, mind-bending album. You are not gonna hear another record like this for a very long time, I guarantee it. What By Storm continues to do is very, very special and very, very out there, and very, very impactful emotionally. And I just can't say enough positive things about it.

And the last record I would like to shout out in this bunch is the new Mandy, Indiana album, URGH [review]. Mandy, Indiana bringing together elements of post-industrial dance music on this new record here, and also a very interesting Billy Woods feature to boot. These are sounds and influences that have been a part of the Mandy, Indiana repertoire for a minute, but I feel like they're really kind of coming together in the best way on this record with these strange, groovy, unnerving cuts that are sometimes visceral, sometimes confusing. I don't know whether or not to dance or just feel disturbed. What's for sure is that it's sticking with me either way.

And there you have it, the records I am enjoying most in 2026. There they are. That is them. Anthony Fantano. 2026. Albums. Forever.