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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

‘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

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’

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

BottleRock 2026 Turns Napa Valley into a Musical Paradise

By

Greg M. Schwartz / 25 June 2026

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of June 2026

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

Low Cut Connie Provides a Soundtrack to the Struggle

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

Paul McCartney Explores Childhood Memories in Sound

Rizomagic Build a Brilliant Cumbia Cosmos

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

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

Punching Nazi Teeth with Gregg Deal of Dead Pioneers

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

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

Film

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

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

‘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

‘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

‘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

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

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

By

Dave Van Dyke / 9 June 2026

‘Renoir’ Faces the Uglier Parts of Grieving

‘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

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

Television

‘Rivals’ Is a Steamy Ode to a Better World

‘Rivals’ Is a Steamy Ode to a Better World

By

Ana Yorke / 30 June 2026

‘The Testaments’ and the Tyranny of Tenderness

‘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

The Street Photography Nature of Solo Improvisational Music

Lists

The Best Albums of 2026 So Far

The Best Albums of 2026 So Far

By

PopMatters Staff / 1 July 2026

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of June 2026

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of June 2026

By

Spyros Stasis / 24 June 2026

MetalMatters: The Best Metal Albums of May 2026

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

Publish with PM

PopMatters Seeks Book Critics and Essayists

PopMatters Seeks Book Critics and Essayists

By

Karen Zarker / 24 January 2024

Submit an Essay, Review, Interview, or List to PopMatters

Submit an Essay, Review, Interview, or List to PopMatters

By

PopMatters Staff / 26 July 2023

PopMatters Seeks Music Writers

PopMatters Seeks Music Writers

By

PopMatters Staff / 28 September 2022

PopMatters Seeks Film Critics and Essayists

PopMatters Seeks Film Critics and Essayists

By

Karen Zarker / 28 September 2022

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