Anyway, haven't heard any of the following, but looking forward to these releases this week—...
Thanks, Hayden! What a fantastic selection of highly artistic album art!
Hayden wrote:
Also, I'm going to work on a smidge of a shuffle on this somepoint soon, but maybe just give it a skim and pluck 2-3 releases you haven't heard—
Top 100 Music Albums of 2026 by Hayden
And as always, a list of 100 rare releases of 2026. Actually, I've seen a couple of those covers before. I think they were Gorillaz and Angine De Poitrine!!!
Okay, we'll continue to root for them so that Michelin-starred restaurants always remain accessible to them!))
Hayden wrote:
It's been a subtle year, and it won't ever go down as an all-time great, but there's been some good stuff over the past few months—
Last year, my list changed dramatically in just December. And now it's only September 2026!!!
Also, I'm going to work on a smidge of a shuffle on this somepoint soon, but maybe just give it a skim and pluck 2-3 releases you haven't heard—
Top 100 Music Albums of 2026 by Hayden
I counted 91 that I didn't even know existed. Of the remaining 9, I'd only listened to four of them all the way through (Gorillaz, Angine de Poitrine, Aldous Harding, and Kiss Facility), and I only had Kiss Facility on my own chart. (Which remains fully-annotated, of course. Just thought I'd mention that...)
I guess I should expand my horizons a bit more, so to speak! Also, "Smidge, Shuffle, Skim and Pluck" would be a good name for a new "Annual Overspill" chart. So I might have to steal that one.
So... I guess I (or anyone here, really) could make a handy chart of "favorite albums by masked bands," but as you've pointed out with respect to Marci, some musicians only wear masks for one album. So that creates a situation where you're arguing over whether someone like her should be added to the same list as bands who have been wearing them over the course of a multi-album career. Naturally I'd say "Hell NO!" but not everyone is likely to agree with me. In fact, most people never actually agree with me at all, about anything.
There are a couple of hot hip hop artists following this trend, but in different ways. Mach-Hommy uses a bandana as his mask and Billy Woods, while not using a mask per se, always conceals his face (he doesn't directly conceal his face at concerts but uses dim or back lighting to hide his face). This might go against your rule you defined below, but I think maybe you could broaden "masked artists" to "artists with concealed identities" or something along those lines. He's definitely in the Doom lineage even if he doesn't use a mask I'd say.
I also feel like I can't talk about masked artists without mentioning Ghost. I'm a newer fan of theirs, but last year's album Skeletà (2025) by Ghost (SE) was AMAZING. _________________ My overall top 100 is far from fleshed out at this point, so here are some charts I am actually proud of:
Top 100 Albums of 2025
Not a mask per se, but Billy Woods and Mach-Hommey can still go to a McDonalds or 3-Michelin Star restaurant in any city without a second thought— any park, sports game, community event, parade, bar, club, hotel, airplane seat—
Anonymity has perks—
I imagine DOOM was the same—
The members of Daft Punk, during their peak, etc—
Ah, I see you beat me to the punch with this thought. Great minds think alike. _________________ My overall top 100 is far from fleshed out at this point, so here are some charts I am actually proud of:
Top 100 Albums of 2025
Also, I'm going to work on a smidge of a shuffle on this somepoint soon, but maybe just give it a skim and pluck 2-3 releases you haven't heard—
Top 100 Music Albums of 2026 by Hayden
I counted 91 that I didn't even know existed. Of the remaining 9, I'd only listened to four of them all the way through (Gorillaz, Angine de Poitrine, Aldous Harding, and Kiss Facility), and I only had Kiss Facility on my own chart. (Which remains fully-annotated, of course. Just thought I'd mention that...)
I guess I should expand my horizons a bit more, so to speak! Also, "Smidge, Shuffle, Skim and Pluck" would be a good name for a new "Annual Overspill" chart. So I might have to steal that one.
Steal all you want, just never borrow— 😉
Your chart is a whole bunch of new names for me as well— think I'm in somewhat similar shoes, I've heard four of them, and had only come across maybe eight—
I get recs from everywhere, but more and more I'm just doing the digging myself—
Bit more fun that way, less biased, less expectations—
(Bandcamp's been my go-to the last decade or so, but recs come from all over, including BEA, course)—
I do find I'm getting recs less and less from publications though—
musicoed wrote:
Hayden wrote:
Anyway, haven't heard any of the following, but looking forward to these releases this week—...
Thanks, Hayden! What a fantastic selection of highly artistic album art!
Hayden wrote:
Also, I'm going to work on a smidge of a shuffle on this somepoint soon, but maybe just give it a skim and pluck 2-3 releases you haven't heard—
Top 100 Music Albums of 2026 by Hayden
And as always, a list of 100 rare releases of 2026. Actually, I've seen a couple of those covers before. I think they were Gorillaz and Angine De Poitrine!!!
Last year, my list changed dramatically in just December. And now it's only September 2026!!!
And course, September's still young, over a quarter the year left in the tank—
Looking forward to whatever's ahead—
Popularity-wise, the new Gorillaz album is probably a slight outlier compared to everything else, but I really enjoyed it— easily my favourite release from the outfit since Plastic Beach— wouldn't be too surprised if nothing usurps it as BEA's #1 for the year— great vibe on the project, and I love the (literal) reincarnation and afterlife themes throughout with the deceased featured musicians — I'm stopping by Rajasthan for a bit later this month, where a lot of the record was recorded and conceptualized — might give it another spin once I'm there— _________________ Doubles & Conch
...
This might go against your rule you defined below, but I think maybe you could broaden "masked artists" to "artists with concealed identities" or something along those lines. He's definitely in the Doom lineage even if he doesn't use a mask I'd say.
...
I must apologize again if I misinterpret what is written, as I do not speak English.
But my understanding of your words coincided with my thoughts on masks in music and everything that lies behind them.
First of all, it's important to clarify that I try to approach this impartially, as if it were the laws of dialectics—the contradictions without which movement and life itself are impossible.
When I was a child around 1980, there was virtually no information about Western music. Not on TV, not in newspapers or magazines. Although all my friends had, for example, Pink Floyd tapes.
However, there was a band I never listened to, but I had a good idea of its members. The thing is, magnetic tape was a fairly expensive medium. To record something, you had to erase something. Apparently, this band's albums rarely lasted long in the record libraries of thrifty Soviet music lovers. But homemade photographs were easier to come by. I personally spent countless hours creating a high-quality photocopy of an amateur photo of this cover.
Destroyer (1976) by Kiss
There was another band that I not only didn't listen to, but also had no idea what it looked like. But everyone knew its catchy name. Years or even decades passed, and completely unexpectedly for myself I learned that this group has a cult status. And in my opinion, it didn't become a cult following because of the colorful masks the musicians might wear. The trick was that the band's leader didn't even need to wear a mask. Even without the mask, fans saw him as the Prince of Darkness, which, I hope, he was not.))
Also, I'm going to work on a smidge of a shuffle on this somepoint soon, but maybe just give it a skim and pluck 2-3 releases you haven't heard—
Top 100 Music Albums of 2026 by Hayden
I counted 91 that I didn't even know existed. Of the remaining 9, I'd only listened to four of them all the way through (Gorillaz, Angine de Poitrine, Aldous Harding, and Kiss Facility)...
Okay. I've slightly modified the statistics and applied a suitable mask. But only to highlight and add contrast to the facts.
In reality, besides the two album covers, which I hope everyone is familiar with by now, I also noticed a third.
Train On The Island (2026) by Aldous Harding
Now the situation has changed dramatically. It's now possible to talk about coincidences that aren't programmed, but miraculous. Which, you'll agree, is much more interesting.
So, three music lovers with, to put it mildly, different preferences chose just one album out of a hundred.
Why? I think I could devote an entire scientific paper to this; I've been thinking about it for so long.
I fully admit that we perceive music through different sensors in the cerebral cortex, if these sensors are located in the human body itself, and not outside of it.
In any case, I'm simply certain that we hear music completely differently and, accordingly, derive satisfaction from different reactions or transformations. But in this case, something coincided. Some elusive additional frequency modulation.
For example, I liked the three album covers Hayden posted earlier.
I also really appreciate the artistic flourishes that are so abundant in Aldous Harding's videos.
I think it's the visual spectrum of her work that somehow mingles with the music.
On the other hand, I'm not the only one who likes MadhattanJack's annotation style.
It's likely that some subtle lyrical quirk sparked our shared interest.
As for my personal opinion of the album,
I haven't compared it, but it seems weaker than the previous one. I especially miss her stunning videos.
As usual, I find it lacking in melody. There are only two tracks that I'd highlight on the entire release.
But it was a pleasant surprise that the album's main hit, the song of the same name, wasn't released as a single.
...
This might go against your rule you defined below, but I think maybe you could broaden "masked artists" to "artists with concealed identities" or something along those lines. He's definitely in the Doom lineage even if he doesn't use a mask I'd say.
...
I must apologize again if I misinterpret what is written, as I do not speak English.
But my understanding of your words coincided with my thoughts on masks in music and everything that lies behind them.
First of all, it's important to clarify that I try to approach this impartially, as if it were the laws of dialectics—the contradictions without which movement and life itself are impossible.
When I was a child around 1980, there was virtually no information about Western music. Not on TV, not in newspapers or magazines. Although all my friends had, for example, Pink Floyd tapes.
However, there was a band I never listened to, but I had a good idea of its members. The thing is, magnetic tape was a fairly expensive medium. To record something, you had to erase something. Apparently, this band's albums rarely lasted long in the record libraries of thrifty Soviet music lovers. But homemade photographs were easier to come by. I personally spent countless hours creating a high-quality photocopy of an amateur photo of this cover.
Destroyer (1976) by Kiss
There was another band that I not only didn't listen to, but also had no idea what it looked like. But everyone knew its catchy name. Years or even decades passed, and completely unexpectedly for myself I learned that this group has a cult status. And in my opinion, it didn't become a cult following because of the colorful masks the musicians might wear. The trick was that the band's leader didn't even need to wear a mask. Even without the mask, fans saw him as the Prince of Darkness, which, I hope, he was not.))
Both of those are great examples. I think there is a mystique to a hidden identity that is inherently interesting. _________________ My overall top 100 is far from fleshed out at this point, so here are some charts I am actually proud of:
Top 100 Albums of 2025
The trick was that the band's leader didn't even need to wear a mask. Even without the mask, fans saw him as the Prince of Darkness, which, I hope, he was not.
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MadhattanJack
, while not using a mask per se, always conceals his face (he doesn't directly conceal his face at concerts but uses dim or back lighting to hide his face). This might go against your rule you defined below, but I think maybe you could broaden "masked artists" to "artists with concealed identities" or something along those lines. He's definitely in the Doom lineage even if he doesn't use a mask I'd say.
I'm a newer fan of theirs, but last year's album 
Hayden
