my favorite music of 2026 (quarter 1)

Hey! This is my first ever blog and the first ever entry into this (hopefully) recurring series of posts about my favorite albums I’ve listened to every quarter or so. These can be new or old, as long as they were a first listen. I’ll also link my favorite song for each album mentioned via Youtube. I’ll even add other stuff like concerts I went to during that time if applicable and some projects I’m excited for. Hope u enjoy ^^

Paris, Texas - They Left Me With The Sword/With a Gun: This duology of EPs was some of the first music I listened to this year that really struck my ear. This was on my backlog from last year (which had quite a bit of fantastic music released from a few of my favorite artists). The duo switches from psychedelic pop to trap music quite frequently throughout both tapes. Even better, is that every sound they play around with is done so well! The lyrical contents of this project also switch back and forth to amazing one liners such as my favorite line from the project “I’m so antisocial, my bitch think that I’m autistic” to more introspective pieces seen especially in the finale No Strings (my favorite track from both). Fantastic EPs that I keep going back to.

Ayesha Erotica - Big Juicy: This is what girls night feels like. My friend blasted this album through the roads of Chicago, Illinois and every song was an actual banger. Ayesha, I love you. Cadillacs is a transgender classic. Me and this girl I went out with recently sang this in the car. Good memories :-)

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain: I stole 60mg of weed from one of my best friends and got taken to bed immediately afterwards. I turned on this album and had the craziest high of my entire life. The music felt like it was alive. Can You Get To That was my favorite track. Very weird and hard to describe sensation. My friends didn’t let me have any weed for the rest of the trip.

Sublime - Sublime: I remember as a kid listening to What I Got quite a bit on the radio of my eldest sister’s car. Out of a lot of the music I heard as a kid, it was one of the few songs that really struck an impression with me along with Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me. But it wasn’t until years later, that I decided to listen to this album in full while riding my bike through my hometown. It was one of my last times doing so as I would move to where I’m at now just a few weeks later. But immediately, it gave me a sensation I haven’t really ever felt with music. This feeling of “home”. It’s something I remember someone like Tyler, the Creator discussing when talking about his album CHROMAKOPIA and its musical inspirations or Kevin Abstract talking about how his home state of Texas influenced Blush. The sounds present in this self-titled project would bring me back to getting Arizona teas with my now ex-best friend at our local Walgreens and kicking it. The guitars and drum loops have a very distinct sound to me. Just a very Texaco-Mexican album that sounds like cicadas blasting outside in the desert that is Arizona hoping you can make it to your local Walmart before melting. It sounds like 6pm during the summer when the sun is starting to go down a bit making for the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen in my life. It sounds like my childhood. So cozy and so classic. Santeria is one of my favorite songs ever.

Mort Garson - Mother Earth’s Plantasia: This half hour project features these absolutely amazing synth sounds that sound so ahead of their time (cuz they quite literally are) yet so in the moment. It weirdly makes me think of Yellow Magic Orchestra haha. Very cozy listen throughout. Just let yourself get taken away by its soundscapes.

Jim Legxacy - black british music: I offhandedly listened to the single father (my favorite track btw) and immediately had me hooked. I knew I had to listen to this mixtape in full. And by god did it not disappoint. Every song has a very unique energy that I just haven’t heard in hip hop before. The UK rap scene has had its breakouts such as 21 Savage and Skepta, but Jim Legxacy should really be up there. Many of the album’s choruses are just so much fun to sing along to. Very poppy and catchy album all around. It really does show the potential of this generation of hip hop alongside acts like By Storm (who I WILL be discussing later).

PinkPanthress - Fancy That: This was a huge one last year and has already gotten its more than well deserved flowers but it still managed to really perk up my ears especially with Girl Like Me . I like that one a lot :-) I hope she tours where I’m at sooner rather than later cuz I want to dance along to these songs so badly.

A$AP Rocky - DON’T BE DUMB: The first brand new release of 2026 that I’m talking about here. Out of the trilogy of long awaited albums from mainstream hip hop artists; which included Baby Keem’s CA$INO and J. Cole’s The Fall Off, this was my favorite to release. The variety of sounds and eclectic feature list makes this album so much fun to listen to. Every other song on here is a new idea and I admire that a lot. One moment you have a rock song such as PUNK ROCKY , another you’re getting a pop hit with Brent Faiyaz with STAY HERE 4 LIFE , and later on you’re hearing a duet with Doechii about robbing banks in the form of ROBBERY . There weren’t a lot of tracks that I didn’t jive with even with its long runtime. It makes it hard to recommend but I personally think the ride is worth going on. But was it worth the nearly decade long wait? Probably not. But not much would have lived up to what people wanted. I’m very excited for the eventual deluxe to add even more, especially considering its long development. Hopefully that’s sooner rather than later.

Baby Keem - CA$INO: Keem’s 2021 release The Melodic Blue demonstrated that he had so much potential in the music world to be one of the greats. Family Ties is a classic and I don’t think any modern hip hop fan can attest to that. And its added tracks throughout that era proved to be mostly amazing in my opinion. But like any other fan, I wanted to see what he had in store next. Soon enough, murmurs of a project titled Child With Wolves would surface. That still hasn't been released and instead we have this. And that isn’t an issue at all cuz this has some of Keem’s tightest raps yet such as Circus Circus Free$tyle . I’m also a fan of the conciseness of this one sitting at a nice 37 minutes. It’s always nice when an album doesn’t overstay its welcome. Just a really tight showing from him.

J. Cole - The Fall Off: Oh. My. God. This finally released. I liked it :-) I quite like J. Cole to be honest but I don’t have many actual opinions on his music other than its good. If this is truly his end then it's some of his best work (at least that I’ve listened to). I thought the final track Ocean Way was very beautiful though. I might be the only person that’s really big on that one I’m not sure.

underscores - U: I’ve had underscores on my radar since my junior or senior year in high school. I somehow missed out on her previous works for the most part but the announcement and release of the first single of this newest album had me interested. I didn’t think much of it until the second single Do It was released and blew me away. I had this on repeat every day for at least a week or 2. April was diving deeper into this electronic sound that I was investing myself in deeper with artists such as Jane Remover. I adored it and decided that I’m stanning this woman. I had the opportunity to see her alongside Danny Brown and femtanyl for the former’s Stardust Tour but unfortunately I had to get hospitalized the night before. Stupid brain having depression. I had to miss out on probably the stinkiest (/pos) venue of all time to “improve my mental health”. God smh. Ah well I’m sure I’ll have more opportunities to see all three artists. In fact, underscores is on tour right now! I hope she comes to my area :-( Liking smaller artists enough to want to see them live is a hell I wouldn’t bring on anyone. But this album lived up to my hopes and dreams and then some. I am all over this thing right now and it makes me sad some of my friends aren’t into it like that. It sounds straight out of some of the 2000s Janet Jackson work and PinkPanthress. IPod commercial ass music but in the most positive way! Lovefield made me shed a few tears which I haven’t really done for music since listening to IGOR on my 2DS in high school after getting rejected by a boy I liked. I was fucking weird LMAO. I really want to jump around and dance to this whole album though. I adored it and it is easily my second favorite album of 2026.

By Storm - My Ghosts Go Ghost: This is my favorite album of the year. I’m just going to say that definitively because I doubt much better will release through the remainder of this year. It’s a really difficult listen but like By the Time I Get to Phoenix, it's so so so beautiful even through the chaos. I don’t know if I like this more than that but that project is such a once in a generation effort and it impacted me at the right moment. But My Ghosts Go Ghost still has only highs and it lives up to the legacy this group has established even without Groggs’ presence (RIP Groggs). In a way this feels like the perfect follow up to such an album. Having to pick up the pieces of such a traumatic moment in time for the duo and figure out how to move forward. A theme that’s resonated with me quite a bit this year so far. But all I can really do is dance. I have a difficult time recommending a few highlights because you don’t really get the whole deal of this without sinking your teeth into the full thing. It’s truly exceptional. I’m so excited and not excited to see them live and cry when/if they play Superman That . I do hope they play some stuff from their self-titled just cuz it was a pretty big part of my high school music rotation especially in the year I actually listened to it.

Concerts:

Stuff I’m excited for:

New Quadeca(??): He’s been teasing something for a bit and I really wanna know what it issssss!!

Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE’s POMPEII // UTILITY: The singles so far sound so good and I’m quite interested.

Drake’s ICEMAN: I don’t know why but I have a feeling this one could be kinda fire. Maybe. Or he’ll embarrass himself once again.

Thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing! I actually locked the fuck in for this one. See you next time :-)