From underscores’ pop Pandora’s box to Olivia Rodrigo’s canonical classic and ear’s sprawling sophomore: these are 2026’s best albums so far.
Olivia Rodrigo – you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: Following her knockout debut album, SOUR, and chart-topping sophomore GUTS, Olivia Rodrigo’s third studio album, you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love, consolidates her place as one of pop-rock’s most promising young voices. At times sugary and tender, at others angry and rebellious, it’s a deliciously self-assured body of work that sees Rodrigo reinterpret love, shifting her focus from heartbreak to yearning at the height of what she describes as “her first adult relationship”. Highly critically-acclaimed, it’s proof of what some of us already knew all along: taking young women seriously pays off.
underscores – U
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: underscores’ flawless fourth album is a Pandora’s box of a pop project. Executed with precision and effervescence, U is the San Franciscan vocalist, songwriter and producer’s most digestible yet daring work to date, intellectually intricate, expansively experimental, and effusively entertaining.
Madonna – CONFESSIONS II
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: There’s little better than when a classic artist returns with a seminal album that embellishes their reputation rather than discolours it. And that’s just what CONFESSIONS II does for pop’s unequivocal heroine, Madonna. A worthy follow-up from the original 21 years prior – and her best work since – the sprawling dance masterpiece has some of the most undeniably catchy songs of the year.
Genesis Owusu – REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: On his latest and best album, atop a sonic blanket that stretches from punk to indie rock and electro dance, Genesis Owusu tackles a broad range of divisive topics from political discourse to societal division with a vicious wit and endearing sincerity. Fiercely charismatic, REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE is a Brobdingnagian achievement from one of Australia’s most essential voices.
Gorillaz –The Mountain
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: With The Mountain, long-time collaborators Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett reaffirm their status as generational masterminds. Twenty-five years on from the debut of Gorillaz’ self-titled album, the virtual band dives into deeper waters with a record centred on grief and self-discovery, following the poignantly timed loss of family members for both creatives. The album draws heavily on their time spent in India, a period of healing and creative rebirth reflected in both its eclectic lineup of collaborators and the new sonic textures it brings to the Gorillaz catalogue.
Slayyyter – WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: The label that Slayyyter bequeaths upon herself as the means of her new album title might sound like self-deprecation on the surface, but the pop sensation wears the sobriquet like a badge of honour. Chaotic in all the best ways, her third album has rightly shot the Missourian up the pop food chain.
Harry Styles – Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: Time: perhaps the greatest asset anyone can afford. A breathing room. A chance for reinvention and recalibration. After a near four-year hiatus from music, Harry Styles’ fourth studio album feels like a palette cleanser. Heavily influenced by Berlin’s club culture, it’s a body of work destined for the dance floor. And considering the energy radiating from his shows throughout his Together, Together world-residency tour, it’s clear it was exactly the prescription fans needed.
Robyn – Sexistential
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: Rip-roaring but refined, pop’s left-field queen Robyn sounds as hungry and influential as she ever has on her wonderful ninth album. Polishing off the romantic and replacing it with something more sensual, playful – yet philosophical – Sexistential is a rollercoaster ride you’ll never want to get off.
LAUSSE THE CAT – The Mocking Stars
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: Returning by surprise with his first body of music since his 20218 classic debut EP, “The Girl, the Cat and the Tree”, the enigmatic king of the felines, LAUSSE THE CAT, delivers one of the most thrilling and theatrical rap projects you’ll hear this decade. Narrative-driven, intimately vivid and musically superlative, The Mocking Stars is a worthy return and quintessential listening.
Kehlani – Kehlani
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: Currently sitting atop the throne amid R&B’s contemporary crop of genre-defining talents, Kelhani proves she can be both conceptual and concise on her vivacious, cinematic and emotionally articulate self-titled record. Huge lead single “Folded” still stands clear as the strongest track, but there’s plenty to compel and charm about the deeper cuts.
Fcukers – Ö
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: Slickly produced, stylistically varied, and zeitgeist-setting, Fcukers’ anthemic album is crowd-pleasing, clever and a hell of a lot of fun. Somewhere between club culture and indie sleaze, the New York duo have found their sound and are riding the wave.
Mitski – Nothing’s About to Happen to Me
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: Mitski is a savant of the paradoxical. The US musician’s eighth studio album is gorgeously gothic, sombre yet unhinged, light but dense. She finds sonic rooms to explore where others see blank walls, and atop them searches for unique, unnervingly ubiquitous thematic ground somewhere between isolation and growth, fear and fun. An essential album for the modern age.
Dry Cleaning – Secret Love
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: South London quartet Dry Cleaning were one of the strongest acts to emerge from the post-punk revival of the late 2010s, and have only grown since. Their latest and third record is their weirdest and wildest, with an impressive encyclopaedic musicality and some of the most oddly engrossing songwriting you’ll have heard this year.
Danny L Harle – Cerulean
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: Gathering together an all-star cast of pop’s piece de resistance, superproducer Danny L Harle illustrates he’s more than just the scene-stealing supporting cast as he takes centre stage for his debut album. Cerulean bridges genres and pushes boundaries, showcasing a maverick songsmith in magnetic and majestic form.
Vince Staples – Cry Baby
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: The most challenging and thought-provoking work of his career to date, Vince Staples cements himself as one of America’s most creative and compelling voices with Cry Baby. Less a rap album, more a symphony of styles and a savvy criticism of his nation in its current turmoil, Staples matches the boldness of his stylistic sonic shift with powerful messaging and powerhouse performances.
Joe James – The Ends, Never Ends
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: For years, Essex’s Joe James has been one of Britain’s most prolific players. Finally, after countless mixtapes and collaborative projects, the scene stalwart has shared his debut album. It’s a stunning work of profound depth and impressive intellect, bolstered by a top-tier supporting cast that ranges from Dave to Loyle Carner and Lancey Foux.
ear – Rumspringa
Best Track:
In A Nutshell: Another gem signed by A24 Music following mark william lewis and Sophia Stel, left-field duo ear have emerged as one of the most interesting and enigmatic acts of the 2020s. Their sophomore album, Rumspringa, takes its title from the period of freedom in Amish young people’s lives, and is a fascinating, conceptual look at will and choice, sprawling atop challenging, intricate and compelling backdrops.
