Time flies when there’s so much good music to get stuck into, so it’s no wonder the first half of 2026 has whizzed past. Along the way, we’ve had headline-grabbing comebacks, experimental debuts and surprise resurgences from stars that might otherwise have been written off – and that’s just when it comes to albums.
Has the sweeping beauty of My New Band Believe had you in a headlock, or the souful stirrings of Elmiene won your heart? Maybe BTS’ long-awaited return gave you your fix of bops, or Slayyyter’s new sound and story captured your imagination. Whatever it is, there’s been a lot going on. Before we get stuck into all the action the rest of the year promises, remind yourself of some of the gems of the last six months with NME’s 25 best albums of 2026 so far, presented in alphabetical order.
In a nutshell: A cryptic conundrum of an album that takes delight in not giving away all its answers.
What NME said: “Provocative songwriting [and] the subtle ways Harding introduces new ideas and rewrites her own rulebook elevate ‘Train On The Island’ to the level of other recent highlights of genuinely artful pop music.”
Key track: ‘One Stop’
In a nutshell: The biggest boyband in the world return from mandatory military service by tackling the tensions of love and fame.
What NME said: “An apt characterisation of what they’ve always done – mixing the cultural heritage of their home country with global influences […] BTS are back doing what they do best.”
Key track: ‘Body To Body’
In a nutshell: Belfast duo grapple with identity and conflict as they reach their latest sonic evolution
What NME said: “A knockout collection of arresting dance-punk […] in ‘Crystalpunk’, there is something to believe in.”
Key track: ‘Béal Feirste’
In a nutshell: The Sudanese-American star’s experience of migration fuels their accomplished, ambitious second album.
What NME said: “Saleh reveals a new resoluteness as a singer-songwriter, fully embracing pop but without abandoning their experimental curiosity.”
Key track: ‘All Is Love’
In a nutshell: Nine years after she made big strides with her debut, the South African-born punk reminds us of her power.
What NME said: “Although firepower and sonic versatility existed on her debut, a newfound ruthless streak makes ‘Looking For People To Unfollow’ a potent reintroduction.”
Key track: ‘Bleed But Never Die’
In a nutshell: The Oxford-born singer debuts with an impressive collection of cinematic soul and R&B.
What NME said: “Elmiene has had the talent since his first viral moment, but ‘Sounds For Someone’ marks the arrival of soul’s newest custodian, one who’ll no doubt create classic Sunday songs that will be played for generations to come.”
Key track: ‘Special’
In a nutshell: Unpredictability is the order of the day on the Australian’s fearless, genre-hopping third album.
What NME said: “You can’t fault Owusu’s ambition, nor his ability to translate his furies and fears into a response that feels genuinely reactive and urgent […] A truly modern version of a protest record.”
Key track: ‘Most Normal American Voter’
In a nutshell: The North Carolina alt-pop artist dissects her experiences with religion through a fully conceptualised storyline.
What NME said: “Worth the wait […] One of the most flamboyant and honest artists in the pop space right now.”
Key track: ‘Set Me Free’
In a nutshell: After rehab, relapses and invasions of privacy, the rapper refuses to let the cards life has dealt him keep him down.
What NME said: “Woozy, wounded and bruisingly honest […] The Chattanooga rapper shows that even when life gets in the way, his talents still shine through.”
Key track: ‘Same Sh!t’
In a nutshell: Country’s crossover queen journeys back to her roots.
What NME said: “At a time of maximalism and hyperactivity in music, this grounded, assured commitment to songs that sway rather than stomp feels quietly radical.”
Key track: ‘Back On The Wagon’
In a nutshell: The headline-grabbing trio reclaim the narrative and get personal on their party-starting second album.
What NME said: “A spraypainted brick wall of consistency, amplifying the adventure of The Prodigy and Burial, seamlessly but tastefully hopping genres while keeping the vibe up to retain Kneecap’s knack for having a good time to illuminate the hard times.”
Key track: ‘Liar’s Tale’
In a nutshell: The Brighton band work through the messiness of your twenties in real time, to a soundtrack of wonky indie sleaze.
What NME said: “There’s a hedonistic, ‘fuck it’ energy to the first half of ‘Maybe Not Tonight’ that practically fizzes out of the speakers. Lime Garden’s playfulness has always led to their best work, but here they sound fully unleashed.”
Key track: ‘Maybe Not Tonight’
In a nutshell: The New Yorkers spin gold out of a very real case of identity theft.
What NME said: “Lip Critic take the horror of Bret Kaser’s very personal trauma into something strangely communal and alive.”
Key track: ‘Legs In A Snare’
In a nutshell: The indie darling confronts her position as viral success on a record that longs to disconnect.
What NME said: “This is, without question, the most musically ambitious album of her career, on which the tranquil Americana that defined ‘The Land Is Inhospitable…’ is routinely upended by reinventions both subtle and furious, with thrashing guitar breakdowns that recall 2014’s ‘Bury Me At Makeout Creek’.”
Key track: ‘That White Cat’
In a nutshell: Driven by the former bassist of Black Midi, this new collective create a masterpiece.
What NME said: “A staggering, sprawling masterpiece from the mind of Cameron Picton […] A mishmash of grand romantic sweeps and fragmented breakdowns, pianos, strings, woodwind, harpsichords and guitars that slam against each other constantly to keep momentum shifting.”
Key track: ‘Actress’
In a nutshell: A generational talent turns her lens to her first adult relationship, with devastating results.
What NME said: “Here is a major popstar who is not afraid to get weirder and more wonderful, to give even more of themselves over in their art. ‘You Seem Pretty Sad For A Girl So In Love’ is undeniable evidence of Rodrigo’s growth: as a songwriter, composer, and as a human being.”
Key track: ‘Maggots For Brains’
In a nutshell: The south Londoner’s second album doesn’t hold back on the grandeur and glamour.
What NME said: “‘This Music May Contain Hope’ is RAYE firing on all cylinders – and then some. It’s showstopping musical maximalism at its grandest, while still being grounded in relatable experiences and unbridled emotions.”
Key track: ‘I Hate The Way I Look Today’
In a nutshell: With her tongue fully in cheek, Sweden’s pop superstar takes us on a thrilling ride through love, life, sexuality and motherhood.
What NME said: “‘Sexistential’ sometimes feels like a time-travelling whistle-stop tour through Robyn’s different eras […] But nothing here feels ill-fitting, which is testament to the steady, seasoned collaboration between Robyn and Klas Åhlund, as well as ‘Sexistential’’s capacious vision.”
Key track: ‘Sexistential’
In a nutshell: A star is born from her new world of trailer trash and hedonistic excess on this lurid, triumphant comeback.
What NME said: “Chasing the highs of her Tumblr-addled youth, Slayyyter finds her sound in a new strain of brash, sleazy pop, [which] finds salvation in the underbelly of American cinema.”
Key track: ‘Crank’
In a nutshell: The second album from the Leeds band ups the intensity – and the ambition.
What NME said: “An unapologetic collection of screamed vocals, crushing riffs and chaotic energy that couldn’t care less about daytime radio playlists or TikTok virality.”
Key track: ‘Nostalgia Kills’
In a nutshell: An invitation to a banging party that will make you think.
What NME said: “On their debut album, the Luton duo push back against everyday rage, disillusionment and frustration with party-starting electro-punk.”
Key track: ‘Pirate Studios’
In a nutshell: Hyperpop’s future leader cements her place in the genre with a masterful third album.
What NME said: “More Black Mirror than Twin Peaks, ‘U’ is an intimate hyperpop record portraying snowballing isolation, a digital-age pop star’s yearning under the limelight of the techno-infused Anthropocene.”
Key track: ‘Do It’
In a nutshell: Now independent, the Long Beach rapper doesn’t hold back as he addresses racial and political tensions in the US.
What NME said: “[The record’s] messages are elevated by its coherent punkishness; it carries a sense of rough anti-establishment energy and passionate political expression that most rappers of Staples’ position would struggle to authentically muster.”
Key track: ‘The Running Man’
In a nutshell: The past becomes fuel for the Stockholm bedroom-pop star’s creative fire on a refreshingly personal debut.
What NME said: “Waterbaby’s voice remains the record’s standout – a singular combination of gentle and deadpan, intriguing in texture and punctuated by a curious diction that makes the album’s heavier themes land all the more strikingly.”
Key track: ‘Memory Be A Blade’
In a nutshell: The New Yorker maintains his experimental approach on this brilliantly chaotic first full-length album.
What NME said: “‘Xavier’ works best as an introduction into this innovative rapper-producer’s world, an accessible encapsulation of Xaviersobased and of the new NYC underground he’s helped build.”
Key track: ‘Heartfelt’
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