more music from 2026

I posted in July about some of my favorite albums of the year as of then and thought I'd do another round because a number of really good things have either come out since then (or I've discovered them since then).

Note: I don't always give commentary below - don't take that as a sign it's not good; if it's on this list I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

The Albums

This one is unexpected. I'd never heard of such a thing as Tolkien Metal prior to seeing John post it on Mastodon. I'm glad I know about it now though. Weirdly aggressive. Weirdly hopeful. Weirdly delightful. Also entirely about Bill the Pony from Lord of the Rings (except track 5 which celebrates a fox talked about in one paragraph of The Fellowship of the Ring).

This is another early contender for album of the year. I've really been enjoying it. I was hoping to go see them at the end of the month with Fleshwater but tickets are a bit too pricey and the timing isn't great. Stand out tracks: Revenant, Gemini, Block of Flats

This one comes from OKC and brings with it a lot of nostalgia for me (I lived in that vicinity for about 10 years). They did an album signing at one of the record stores I went to a lot in college and post college as example. The album itself is heavy and good.

This is a lovely album. I'm very new to Phoebe Bridgers; I just happened to see a lot of excitement about the release and was really blown away by it when I took a minute to listen. Stand out tracks: Kill Me, Bobby (that's two different songs fyi)

Another Round of Radical 'Ritas, Please may end up being my song of the year.

Another album of the year contender honestly. Deeply committed to social change in action and lyric as well as just being amazing screamo music. Stand out tracks: Juneberry, Pray for Peace

Some Honorable Mentions:

• Friko - Something Worth Waiting For
• Olivia Rodrigo - You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love
• Show Me The Body - Alone Together
• Held. - GREY