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Music Featured: Top of Home Page Features Lists Music Features PopMatters Picks Reviews

The Best Albums of 2026 So Far

By
PopMatters Staff
/ 1 July 2026

We scoured the planet to find some of the best albums of 2026. As usual, our gaze is cast across many different styles, but some our very favorites mash-up genres.

FEATURES

‘Rivals’ Is a Steamy Ode to a Better World
Television

‘Rivals’ Is a Steamy Ode to a Better World

By
Ana Yorke
/ 30 June 2026
CFCF on His Turn from Ambient Artist to Sleaze-Pop Superstar
Interviews

CFCF on His Turn from Ambient Artist to Sleaze-Pop Superstar

By
Evan Sawdey
/ 29 June 2026
The Immanent Transcendence in Mascha Schilinski’s ‘Sound of Falling’
Film

The Immanent Transcendence in Mascha Schilinski’s ‘Sound of Falling’

By
Abigail Robejsek
/ 25 June 2026
BottleRock 2026 Turns Napa Valley into a Musical Paradise
Music

BottleRock 2026 Turns Napa Valley into a Musical Paradise

By
Greg M. Schwartz
/ 25 June 2026
MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of June 2026
Music

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of June 2026

By
Spyros Stasis
/ 24 June 2026

Pop Past

The best of our archive [subscriber exclusive]

Joanna Russ, the First Minister of Feminist Science Fiction
Featured: Top of Home Page

Joanna Russ, the First Minister of Feminist Science Fiction

By
Thomas Connolly
/ 11 September 2019
New Zealand Metal 101: Filth, Squalor and Noise from the Antipodes
Featured: Top of Home Page

New Zealand Metal 101: Filth, Squalor and Noise from the Antipodes

By
Craig Hayes
/ 23 January 2013

Music Reviews

Music Music Reviews PopMatters Picks Reviews

Dead Pioneers Seek to Unite and Fight on ‘Wagon Burner’

By
Brian Stout
/ 30 June 2026
Music Music Reviews PopMatters Picks Reviews

Olivia Rodrigo Survives a Cruel Endeavor

By
Matthew Dwyer
/ 30 June 2026
Music Music Reviews PopMatters Picks Reviews

Khun Narin Take to the Studio for Stunning ‘III’

By
Adriane Pontecorvo
/ 30 June 2026
Jacob Ungerleider Steps Out of the Shadows with Stunning Album
Music

Jacob Ungerleider Steps Out of the Shadows with Stunning Album

By
Chris Ingalls
/ 30 June 2026
Low Cut Connie Provides a Soundtrack to the Struggle
Music

Low Cut Connie Provides a Soundtrack to the Struggle

By
Steve Horowitz
/ 29 June 2026
Ibrahim Maalouf Radiates Joy on ‘Trumpets of Michel-Ange Vol. 2’
Music

Ibrahim Maalouf Radiates Joy on ‘Trumpets of Michel-Ange Vol. 2’

By
Adriane Pontecorvo
/ 29 June 2026
Paul McCartney Explores Childhood Memories in Sound
Music

Paul McCartney Explores Childhood Memories in Sound

By
Mariel Ferragamo
/ 25 June 2026
Rizomagic Build a Brilliant Cumbia Cosmos
Music

Rizomagic Build a Brilliant Cumbia Cosmos

By
Adriane Pontecorvo
/ 25 June 2026
Willow Avalon Has a Pink Pistol and Knows How to Use It
Music

Willow Avalon Has a Pink Pistol and Knows How to Use It

By
Steve Horowitz
/ 25 June 2026

Singles Going Steady

Music Singles Going Steady

Electrosoul’s 2ŁØT Joins Guests for 2 Groovy New Songs

By
Sarah Zupko
/ 30 June 2026

Music Features

Music Featured: Top of Home Page Features Lists Music Features PopMatters Picks Reviews

The Best Albums of 2026 So Far

By
PopMatters Staff
/ 1 July 2026
Interviews Feature Sub Head Features Music Music Features

CFCF on His Turn from Ambient Artist to Sleaze-Pop Superstar

By
Evan Sawdey
/ 29 June 2026
Music Events Feature Sub Head Features Music Features

BottleRock 2026 Turns Napa Valley into a Musical Paradise

By
Greg M. Schwartz
/ 25 June 2026
MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of June 2026
Music

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of June 2026

By
Spyros Stasis
/ 24 June 2026
Punching Nazi Teeth with Gregg Deal of Dead Pioneers
Music

Punching Nazi Teeth with Gregg Deal of Dead Pioneers

By
Brian Stout
/ 23 June 2026
The Resonating Hypnotism of ‘Orange Twin Field Works Vol. 1’
Music

The Resonating Hypnotism of ‘Orange Twin Field Works Vol. 1’

By
Ben Schwartz
/ 22 June 2026
Eilen Jewell Steps Off the Road, But Not Out of the Song
Music

Eilen Jewell Steps Off the Road, But Not Out of the Song

By
Brian D’ Ambrosio
/ 22 June 2026

Film

The Immanent Transcendence in Mascha Schilinski’s ‘Sound of Falling’
Film

The Immanent Transcendence in Mascha Schilinski’s ‘Sound of Falling’

By
Abigail Robejsek
/ 25 June 2026
‘I Love Boosters’ Is Not the Critique of Capitalism It Claims to Be
Film

‘I Love Boosters’ Is Not the Critique of Capitalism It Claims to Be

By
Richard Stimac
/ 17 June 2026
‘Unearthly Stranger’ Warns: Beware Whom You Marry
Film

‘Unearthly Stranger’ Warns: Beware Whom You Marry

By
Michael Barrett
/ 17 June 2026
‘House of Dreams’ and the No-Budget Hell of No-Budget Horror
Film

‘House of Dreams’ and the No-Budget Hell of No-Budget Horror

By
Michael Barrett
/ 16 June 2026
Coming-of-Age Drama ‘I’ll Be Gone in June’ Subverts the Narrative Tradition
Film

Coming-of-Age Drama ‘I’ll Be Gone in June’ Subverts the Narrative Tradition

By
Paul Risker
/ 15 June 2026
Chris and Jack’s Hypnotic Blinking Screens with Changing Colors
Featured: Top of Home Page

Chris and Jack’s Hypnotic Blinking Screens with Changing Colors

By
Amir Segal
/ 10 June 2026
The Beatles ‘Magical Mystery Tour’: Best Band, Worst Movie 
Film

The Beatles ‘Magical Mystery Tour’: Best Band, Worst Movie 

By
Dave Van Dyke
/ 9 June 2026
‘Renoir’ Faces the Uglier Parts of Grieving
Film

‘Renoir’ Faces the Uglier Parts of Grieving

By
Guilherme Quireza
/ 9 June 2026

Books

Books Music PopMatters Picks Reviews

Jesse Malin’s Memoir Is the Tale of an Extraordinary Everyman

By
Brian Stout
/ 30 June 2026
Books PopMatters Picks Reviews

Anne Hellman’s Novel ‘The Indecipherables’ Is Pure Cinema

By
Douglas MacLeod
/ 29 June 2026
Reviews Books Music

Robyn Hitchcock’s Tale of Two Obsessions

By
Sal Cataldi
/ 24 June 2026
Michael Bracewell’s Pop Fantasy ‘The Smiths: A Novella’ Is a Stunning Evocation
Books

Michael Bracewell’s Pop Fantasy ‘The Smiths: A Novella’ Is a Stunning Evocation

By
Jack Walters
/ 23 June 2026
The Velvet Underground Get a “Sister Ray”-Sized Biography
Music

The Velvet Underground Get a “Sister Ray”-Sized Biography

By
Sal Cataldi
/ 15 June 2026

Television

‘Rivals’ Is a Steamy Ode to a Better World
Television

‘Rivals’ Is a Steamy Ode to a Better World

By
Ana Yorke
/ 30 June 2026
‘The Testaments’ and the Tyranny of Tenderness
Television

‘The Testaments’ and the Tyranny of Tenderness

By
Efe Teksoy
/ 24 June 2026

Interviews

Interviews Feature Sub Head Features Music Music Features

CFCF on His Turn from Ambient Artist to Sleaze-Pop Superstar

By
Evan Sawdey
/ 29 June 2026
Music Feature Sub Head Featured: Top of Home Page Features Interviews Music Features

Punching Nazi Teeth with Gregg Deal of Dead Pioneers

By
Brian Stout
/ 23 June 2026
Music Feature Sub Head Featured: Top of Home Page Features Interviews Music Features

Eilen Jewell Steps Off the Road, But Not Out of the Song

By
Brian D’ Ambrosio
/ 22 June 2026
Leah Song Stands Strong at the Crossroads of Art and Activism
Music

Leah Song Stands Strong at the Crossroads of Art and Activism

By
Greg M. Schwartz
/ 17 June 2026
The Street Photography Nature of Solo Improvisational Music
Music

The Street Photography Nature of Solo Improvisational Music

By
Scott Bunn
/ 11 June 2026

Lists

The Best Albums of 2026 So Far
Music

The Best Albums of 2026 So Far

By
PopMatters Staff
/ 1 July 2026
MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of June 2026
Music

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of June 2026

By
Spyros Stasis
/ 24 June 2026
MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of May 2026
Music

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of May 2026

By
Spyros Stasis
/ 26 May 2026
Twenty 1990s Songs That Time Forgot
Featured: Top of Home Page

Twenty 1990s Songs That Time Forgot

By
Andrew Doscas
/ 13 May 2026

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PopMatters Seeks Book Critics and Essayists

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/ 24 January 2024
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/ 28 September 2022

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