A little more than two months till Listmas. What do you have as your best songs of 2026? Here are some frontrunners for yours truly, in playlist form.
September 2026
1. "Lost Boys" by Phoebe Bridgers — I successfully avoided this song until I could hear it within the context of the album, and it was fucking worth it. Incredible song. Totally would've played it out had I heard it as a single. Things move quickly with the new music these days, though, and I'm thinking maybe I didn't give the new Bridgers album as much attention as I should have. It grew on me for a while, and then I gave it a break. I should return to it. It feels like one of those albums that's gonna keep growing.
2. "Guided Thunder" by Twisted Teens — Sometimes the speed of new music means that you have to make conscious choices. I started to see some heat for Twisted Teens for their second album of 2026, Florida River Blues. Pretty good! I like garage rock, of course I'm gonna take a swipe at any contemporary version of the genre you wanna throw at me. But then Twisted Teens went ahead and announced a third album for the year. Was this album good enough for me to want more? I don't know. Let's see how it shakes out.
3. "Round of Applause at the End of the World" by Wild Pink — There's just too much new music usually, is the thing. I say this all the time on the blog, and I'll say it again while I'm listening to the sweet-ass accordion on this bangin' Wild Pink track: I will probably never slow down in my intake of new music, but sometimes, I wish I could just spend a whole year pouring over like four albums. I could find so many nooks and crannies in this thing, I bet.
4. "My Guy" by Sam and Louise Sullivan — There's too much new music, but music criticism works. If you find good tastemakers that you trust, then it's a little bit easier to stay on track and discover something that feels new and fresh. I have a few people I trust employed at Stereogum, and I read a great interview with this Philly brother-sister duo that got me to try out the newest album, and I've been hooked ever since. The way I described it to Pam: "rediscovered Lindsey Buckingham side project from the '70s."
5. "Overdog" by Star Moles — And then that Sam and Louise interview mentioned another artist from their same little Philly cohort, Emily Moales a.k.a. Star Moles. Almost as if Emily had taken these guys under her wing or something. Then I saw the new Star Moles album in the top ten of Stereogum's Best 2026 Albums So Far list when I went back and checked. So it all makes sense, how the coverage is all connected. And while I'm not over the moon about Highway to Hell like I am Love & Devotion, it's still pretty dope. Nice moving through some new-to-me sounds in this very good year of music.
6. "Blow Your Nose" by Rico Nasty — But it's nice returning to some old-to-me sounds too, ya know? I absolutely fucking adored Rico Nasty's 2019 album Anger Management, and I've followed her since then, but this new one is her first since Anger Management to be produced by Kenny Beats, and it's not really a surprise it's my favorite Rico Nasty album since then too. Rico sounds absolutely vicious no matter what she's rapping over, but something about the offbeat, oddball production value of Beats' sounds really does wonders for her voice. It's just a perfect fit. Glad to revisit it in its newer form.
7. "Tiger's Blood" by Brandon Flowers — I guess that's the big question with returning artists in the year 2026: does their new shit sound like their old shit, and if so or if not, is that a good thing or a bad thing or what? I got at least one text that said "lol it's a country album?" in reference to Flowers' new one, THRASHER. Yes, it is, but it's not like that. It's not modern country, but instead steeped in the sounds of very old country, like Grand Ole Opry or whatever. But also, it fits comfortably next to the Killers' most recent album, 2021's Pressure Machine. And the fact that a bridge was so adeptly built between those two sounds makes this new album a wonder. Does his new shit sound like his old shit? Yes, but also no, and both are a good thing.
8. "Kiss the City" by Petey USA — When it comes to "old shit" and Petey USA, I'd really only be referring to The Yips, which I only got hooked on like ten months ago. He's already back with a new short album of eight songs, and again, it both is and isn't like his "old" shit. I guess there are more electronic elements in this one? I'm still into it but maybe not as much as the Midwest emo-tinged Heartland rock that this former(?) TikTok personality(?!) hit gold on last year. All good, I'm totally locked into Petey enough that I'd follow him to whatever sound he wants to try next.
9. "Satre-torial" by Cola — Gosh, I guess that was only last summer when Record Club explored the "old shit" of Ought. I knew then that a couple members of that band had reformed into a band called Cola, but I wasn't so into Ought that Cola would've been a lock. It in fact took me finally paging through Steve Hyden's Best Albums of 2026 So Far list to be convinced. I don't feel strongly about this album either way, but this particular song has a riff that I can't seem to shake. That's why it's worth it explore all this new music! If from a pretty good album comes one incredible chorus, then it's all worth it.
10. "St. Agnes" by Cardinals — Here's another one I got from Hyden's list. When was the last time that Steve Hyden introduced an artist to me that I completely fell head-over-heels for? I can't even remember. Cardinals ain't it, but they fit the mold of what I typically get from Hyden—extremely competent and occasionally great music for indie rock dudes who have jumped into the next age bracket. I like Cardinals, and I'm glad I'm listening. I would recommend them for sure, hence their inclusion on this playlist. But I question my authority as an amateur music critic sometimes, just like I question Hyden's authority as professional music critic.
11. "Hard Drive, Ontario" by Kiwi jr. — I didn't hear about Kiwi jr. from Steve Hyden. I don't even remember I first heard about these guys. Probably on a message board sometime around COVID. I've been following them for their past four albums, and while nothing gets me overly excited about them, they have become one of the most reliable indie rock bands. The new stuff is no different. This jangle pop is comfort music. With all the new music out there, you need something that you know is going to give you comfort and not necessarily challenge you too much. I don't need to mix it up THAT much. Comfort can be nice.
12. "Hurts like Hell" by Charlotte Cornfield — Then again, it's nice as hell to discover something truly surprising. Beautiful song, and pretty much the opposite of whatever corny-ass country music you're thinking is gonna come out of the mouth of someone with the stage name of "Cornfield." This is the title track on her newest album. It's probably not even the best song on there. More on this later in the year. For now, suffice it to say that a lifelong commitment to music discovery is the only way to live. Doesn't matter how you do it, just try. Start with this playlist, even, and go from there.
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