The FADER’s 31 most anticipated albums of 2026

The FADER team is just coming down from EOY list season. And while we still wistfully have our "headphones on" reflecting on yet another banner year in music, it's now time to look ahead to see what releases 2026 has in store.

As always, the albums we have our eyes on come from artists that run the gamut from stadium headliners, like Queen Bey, to cult favorites, like Skaiwater who we expect to have yet another year pushing sonics forward.

Read ahead to learn about the albums The FADER is eagerly anticipating in 2026.

1. The Bey Hive (and the world) is gearing up for the long-rumored third and final act in Beyonce’s album series exploring the Black roots of music genres; fans are expecting this one to be a rock album with some guessing that her recent appearances in all leather looks is a nod to the stylistic direction.

2. Charli xcx lent her artistry to the soundtrack to Emerald Fennel’s forthcoming adaption of Wuthering Heights starring Jacob Elordi and Margot Robie. She’s already released tracks “Chains of Love” and “House” featuring the legendary John Cale, but the rest can be heard on February 13th.

3. Last year, we said we were hyped for Lana Del Rey’s country album The Right Person Will Stay (supposedly to be released May 21, 2025) … well, that didn’t happen and this year we’re awaiting Stove, the new name for the project which is rumored to be released in January.

4. Madonna is set to release a sequel to her 2005 dance album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, reuniting with producer Stuart Price and returning to Warner Records.

5. Steve Lacy has been relatively quiet since his 2022 album, Gemini Rights took over our feeds with what was arguably the song of that summer, “Bad Habit.” Lacy recently shared his forthcoming album’s title: the fittingly coy, Oh Yeah?

6. All eyes are on Doechii as she follows a truly historic breakout year with a highly anticipated follow up to 2025’s Alligator Bites Never Heal. She started 2026 with a SZA collaboration and motivation anthem, “girl, get up.”

7. Ice Spice is on a low key roll following her ironic(?) hit for The Spongebob Movie soundtrack, “Big Guy” and the bop “Thootie” ft. Tokischa. An album is TBA, but expected following the busy moves.

8. It’s been nearly four years since Björk released her last studio project Fossora and the Icelandic singer has finally announced its follow-up. It’s still too early to know the details — she’s only teased that it’s “in development” and is expected for release sometime this year. Lucky attendees of Reykjavik’s May Art Festival will reportedly get the first listen, as she’s expected to perform a selection of the new music for an exhibition she’s putting on with artist James Merry.

9. In the years before D'Angelo’s devastating death last year, it was rumored that the private soul singer was working on a new album with Raphael Saddiq, a project that was said to be nearly complete when he passed in October. There’s a high chance we might get to hear some of that album this year, according to Questlove.

10. Lil Baby released two albums in 2025; January’s WHAM and an album of leaks, called The Leaks, in December. Fans are hoping there’s another one in him for 2026 — and with the frequency he’s posting photos of him going in and out of the studio on Instagram, there just might be.

1. A$AP Rocky’s highly anticipated new album Don't Be Dumb is out January 16th and is Rocky’s first since 2018’s Testing. Following a busy period in Rocky’s life which included his relationship with Rihanna, the birth of their three children and a highly documented trial, the new album will be a fittingly big budget affair, with Tim Burton crafting the art work and Winona Ryder guest starring in the new music video to “Punk Rocky.”

2. “Golden” singer Jill Scott hasn’t released an album in 11 years. Now Scott is back with To Whom This May Concern, out February 13th. She already released its first single, the heartfelt “Beautiful People”.

3. Swedish pop legend Robyn started 2026 with a performance on CNN New Year telecast, two shows at the Brooklyn Paramount and an announcement of her new album title, Sexistential. That’s also the name of a new song which finds her rapping about seeking pleasure while pregnant. She also released the danceable “Talk To Me” and performed on Colbert, setting up a massive year.

4. Jamie xx, Romy, and Oliver of The xx have quietly been preparing the grounds for their musical return, following their first live shows since 2018 last year and the re-release of their debut album. Romy told NME in September that the trio is back in the studio.

5. Hilary Duff will release luck… or something, her first album since 2019s, Breath In. Breathe Out, on February 20th. It’s co-produced by her husband and sports a poppy vulnerable flair, as can be heard on first single, “Mature”.

6. Peaches is putting out her first album in 10+ years, No Lube So Rude, on February 20th, following a massive EU/UK tour and North American tour that has support from two major new acts, Cortisa Star and Model/Actriz.

7. Cult rap-metal band Death Grips posted studio photos and the message that they were recording and writing a new album late last year. For many fans it was a long-wished for miracle come true; the band hasn’t released new music since 2018.

1. "Doot Doot (6 7)" Philly superstar, Skrilla announced forthcoming album title as Z in an interview with XXL. He shared that he’s working on it, but he shared a preview with a new single, “RYLO.”

2. British singer Arlo Parks has teased that she’s been in the studio … fans are eagerly awaiting the follow up to Parks’s beloved 2023 album, My Soft Machine.

3. Ari Lennox is releasing Vacancy on January 26th on Interscope—her first since 2022’s age/sex/location. Notably, the two singles released so far, the title track “Vacancy” and “Soft Girl Era”, feature production credits from legendary RnB producer Jermaine Dupri.

4. FADER cover star VEEZE last released an album, Ganger, in 2023. In October he dropped a new song, “Signed A Napkin,” which gave fans — and us — hope that a new album was coming soon.

5. Over the winter holiday, a new batch of Skaiwater leaks seemed liable to derail her upcoming album release. If the unauthorized release phased the U.K.-via-L.A. artist, I couldn’t tell — she’s been coyly gesturing at an impending release on her finsta, with fans eagerly attempting to decipher blurry whiteboard tracklists. Where last year’s pink print series leaned heavily on samples, new songs like “say Jordan” seem to indicate her upcoming album might be her hardest hitting yet.

7. Queens, NY, rapper Lexa Gates is grappling with love and fame on her sophomore album I Am, out January 16. The follow up to 2024’s Elite Vessel extends the hypnagogic bounce of her previous work, and her flows have grown more assured, alternately sprinting and snaking through instrumentals.

8. Sexyy Red spent most of 2025 dormant, but she’s been heating up the winter with a trickle of bombastic singles. Her latest, the YK Niece-referencing “If You Want It,” suggests haters eager to declare her 15 minutes over are sorely mistaken.

9. If you’ve ever felt nostalgic for the blog era, Croydon, London, MC Feng has a sunsoaked song for you. The 19-year-old rapper’s bars might scan as basic on first blush, but his nursery rhyme schemes belie surprising depth, teenage emotions filtered and clarified into transcendent koans. Combined with his love for indie electropop and surprisingly keen ear for beats, his Interscope debut Weekend Rockstar seems set to reshape summer playlists.

1. London post-punk band Dry Cleaning is releasing their new album Secret Love on January, 9th on 4AD. They shared one last single, the bouncy “Joy” ahead of the new release.

2. Super producer Danny L Harle will be releasing his album Cerulean on February 13th on XL with notable guests like Caroline Polachek, PinkPantheress and Clairo, expanding his futuristic pop palette on a whole new canvas.

3. Mandy, Indiana’s album Urgh, a post-punk, highly danceable odyssey, was created between Leeds, Berlin and Manchester and evokes those locales’ grim industrialism. It’s out on February 6th on Sacred Bones.

4. Canadian singer and composer Beverly Glenn-Copeland shared that he was diagnosed with dementia in 2024; he’s still creating music with his partner and collaborator Elizabeth Copeland. The couple is sharing a nine-track project, Laughter in Summer, out on February 6th.

5. Vocalist and composer Julianna Barwick and harpist Mary Lattimore are releasing a collaborative project Tragic Magic on January 16th via InFiné, producing an ethereal mixture of synth ambiance, harp and reverb-drenched vocals.

6. Oslo pop artist Sassy 009 is releasing a concept driven debut album, Dreamer+ that features heavy hitters like Blood Orange and Yune Pinku. It’s out January 16th and melds driving beats with ambiance and narrative lore, adding a new pop offering to the growing Scandinavian alt-pop cannon.