Next 78 Music Albums of 2026
by 
MadhattanJack 
- Chart updated: 4 days ago
- (Created: 04/27/2026 09:05).
- Chart size: 78 albums.
There are 0 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and this chart has not been rated yet. Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
View the complete list of 59,000 charts on BestEverAlbums.com from The Charts page.
Beth Orton is known for a kind of spacey, ethereal, mostly downbeat, and almost dreampop-like sound with vocals that might be more suited to folk music, blues, or even country. This latest album (her ninth) doesn't disappoint, and indeed it might be her best one since 1999's "Central Reservation." Production, musicianship, songwriting, lyrics and vocals are all superb, and while it might have benefited from one or two more uptempo numbers, that's an artistic choice that her fans will probably understand. (Better than I do, anyway.) The album cover makes it look more spooky than it sounds, but that's not necessarily bad. A very good album.
[First added to this chart: 06/24/2026]
Year of Release:
2026
Appears in:
Rank Score:
3
Rank in 2026:
Rank in 2020s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
The third album from this pretty interesting lo-fi post-punk trio from Quebec, whose only issue is that they probably need a fourth member, ideally someone who can sing harmonies. They seem to like (or at least be influenced by) that "angular," "oblique" approach of the early-80s post-punk pioneers, without actually copying it. This one might grow on me, depending on how much food I give it.
[First added to this chart: 05/04/2026]
The best tribute albums are actually "creative reinterpretation" albums, and this collection of Talking Heads covers by Black artists representing multiple genres certainly fills the bill in that regard. Very well done, though in most cases I was able to identify the song being played without having to look at the track listing, so maybe they've got some more work to do on that score. Moreover, there are also no versions of some of my own favorite Talking Heads tracks, like "Memories Can't Wait," "Found a Job," and "Electric Guitar" — but I'm sure that next time, they won't fail to personally consult me on the track selections like they apparently did this time.
[First added to this chart: 04/27/2026]
Year of Release:
2026
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2
Rank in 2026:
Rank in 2020s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
I realize that some of you are going to be disappointed that these guys have (at least temporarily) abandoned their original graphic concept on their album covers. But sometimes you just have to accept this sort of thing — things change, people change, album cover graphic concepts change. Sure, there are things that don't change, like the wavelengths of certain radioactive isotopes, but that's no reason to expect album cover graphic concepts to remain change-free forever.
[First added to this chart: 04/27/2026]
This one may be a "grower" — it's the third album by an all-woman group (another one!) who describe themselves as "punk witches" and their music as "witch punk." I assume this is because they were tired of being described as "post-punk," since posts are just things that stick up out of the ground and can't cast magic spells or turn people into small amphibious lizard creatures like witches can. (Honestly, who wouldn't want to be a witch, if you could do stuff like that?) Anyway, it's a fun album, more so than their previous two, and it also sounds better and tighter production-wise. As I'm writing this (day of release!) it's still too early to know if there's going to be a single, but if there is it will probably be track 7, "The Information," since everyone needs more information.
[First added to this chart: 04/27/2026]
Year of Release:
2026
Appears in:
Rank Score:
0
Rank in 2026:
Rank in 2020s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
This is the second LP from a distinctly DIY post-punk band from Burlington, Vermont. Their previous album, "Wild Guess, had a dragon on the album cover and a logo that made them look more like a black-metal act, so thankfully they seem to have fixed that this time around. There's a lot of potential here that could conceivably be brought further out by an experienced producer, but that could also backfire, so forget I suggested it. As it is, it's a cool record — not quite drop-everything-and-tell-all-your-friends-immediately cool, but still cool.
[First added to this chart: 04/27/2026]
"Winged Wheel" sounds like a good name for a country-rock band, but no, this is more of a "leftfield" post-punk/post-rock remote-collab outfit that's just barely on the "more musical" side of noisepop. They're also a "supergroup," because they're all in other bands most of the time. (I know, I use too many "scare quotes.") The biggest name here is probably Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, but there's also singer Whitney "Matchess" Johnson, who has multiple solo albums to her credit. The best tracks here are the ones that work their way into a kind of hypnotic groove, sometimes without your even realizing it until it's... TOO LATE! Frankly, the main weakness of this album (assuming you're okay with all the post-whatever experimentalism going on) is that there are too many tracks featuring singers other than Whitney Johnson. (I've seen better album covers too, if you really want to get all "snippy" about it.)
[First added to this chart: 04/27/2026]
Year of Release:
2026
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2
Rank in 2026:
Rank in 2020s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
"Otonoma" is apparently a Japanese portmanteau word that means "the space between sounds." I'm not so sure... Anyway, this album isn't quite up to the high standard set by 2021's "Soniscope," but let's be reasonable here. Midori Hirano is one of the finest piano-and-electronics neo-classical composers around. It's certainly a lot better than anything I could come up with, so who's complaining? This is high-quality stuff. Probably too good for the likes of me, anyway.
[First added to this chart: 04/27/2026]
Year of Release:
2026
Appears in:
Rank Score:
2
Rank in 2026:
Rank in 2020s:
Average Rating:
Comments:
The City Gates are a darkwave/coldwave band from Montreal, except that Montreal is too nice and beautiful a town for that kind of music — so they often fall short of being sufficiently morose and depressing to justify their own genre tags. That's a problem. They used to be more of a post-punk/shoegaze act, so... what happened? They still have a guitar player...? Are they trying to get ahead of a trend curve that nobody else is aware of? Surely, shoegaze will never go out of style — why the very idea is simply absurd! Regardless, it's a good album, but I guess I just liked them better before.
[First added to this chart: 05/15/2026]
Year of Release:
2026
Appears in:
Rank in 2026:
None
Rank in 2020s:
None
Average Rating:
Comments:
Weird Nightmare is Alex Edkins, a power-pop practitioner from Toronto who used to be in a band called METZ, who tended to be a bit noisier than this. It's his second solo LP, and it's better than the first (self-titled) one, filled with catchy tunes and pretty well-produced, too. So if he continues on this trajectory he'll be the greatest musician in world history sometime in the late 2040s.
[First added to this chart: 05/02/2026]
Total albums: 78. Page 1 of 8
Don't agree with this chart? Create your own from the My Charts page!
Next 78 Music Albums of 2026 composition
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Tempers | 1 | 1% | |
| Pearl & The Oysters | 1 | 1% | |
| Dream Nails | 1 | 1% | |
| They Might Be Giants | 1 | 1% | |
| Wet Tuna | 1 | 1% | |
| Telehealth | 1 | 1% | |
| War On Women | 1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| |
30 | 38% | |
 |
22 | 28% | |
 |
5 | 6% | |
 |
4 | 5% | |
 |
4 | 5% | |
 |
2 | 3% | |
 |
2 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Next 78 Music Albums of 2026 chart changes
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 58th to 59thGirlfriend by Grace Ives |
| Down 1 from 59th to 60thLean In by Art School Girlfriend |
| Down 1 from 60th to 61stCasino by Richard Sallis |
| New entries |
|---|
| Monkey Mind by Pearl & The Oysters |
Next 78 Music Albums of 2026 similarity to your chart(s)
Not a member? Registering is quick, easy and FREE!
Join 50,000+ music fans
- Join a passionate community of over 50,000 music fans.
- Create & share your own charts.
- Have your say in the overall rankings.
- Post comments in the forums and vote on polls.
- Comment on or rate any album, artist, track or chart.
- Discover new music & improve your music collection.
- Customise the overall chart using a variety of different filters & metrics.
- Create a wishlist of albums.
- Gain access to a Dark Mode theme.
- Help maintain the BEA database.
- Earn member points and gain access to increasing levels of functionality!
- ... And lots more!
Join now - it only takes a moment!
Other custom charts by MadhattanJack
MadhattanJack has shared 3 more fun charts with the community. Browse them all here.| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next 46 Music Albums of 2023 | MadhattanJack | Custom chart | 2026 | |
| Next 36 Music Albums of 2024 | MadhattanJack | Custom chart | 2026 | |
| Next 55 Music Albums of 2025 | MadhattanJack | Custom chart | 2026 | |
Next 78 Music Albums of 2026 ratings
Not enough data Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Next 78 Music Albums of 2026 favourites
Next 78 Music Albums of 2026 comments
Be the first to add a comment for this Chart - add your comment!
Your feedback for Next 78 Music Albums of 2026
Let us know what you think of this chart by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or create a FREE account to assign a rating or leave a comment for this chart.
