The Best Albums of July 2026
Five release days in one month is way too many.
Well, we’ve blown right past July, and I think we’re at risk of completing yet another year without having a Certified Summer Banger.
Am I just missing it? Has the committee already voted and I slept through the deliberations? Unclear, but I really think we’ve been running on empty since brat summer.
Alarming, really, because Charli XCX just dropped a new record. Not that she’s required to carry the summer banger torch year after year, but we may have come to expect it. I won’t add to that already oversaturated discussion, for what it’s worth — even if it were my favorite July album, you still wouldn’t see it on the list below. You don't need me to put you on it.
Other July albums that could have been contenders: new ones from legends like Madonna and The Strokes, a buzzy debut from Swapmeet1, and strong follow-ons from Lucia & The Best Boys, Baby Rose and Suki Waterhouse.
You won’t see any of them in the list below, for that reason, or just because they didn't fully do it for me (needless to say, five release days in one month is excessive!). And none of them produced a universally beloved warm weather anthem, anyway, as far as I can tell.
I very much want to stand corrected, by the way, so please present any and all counter-evidence.
Prove me wrong — what’s the 2026 Song of the Summer?
All month-by-month best of lists are here.
The Best Albums of July 2026
9 albums. 1 Playlist. No rankings.
Legend:
🎯 → if you only have time for one…
📼 → most nostalgic/accessible
🧩 → most challenging
Keep scrolling for the July playlist.
Twisted Teens - Florida Water Blues
I’ve been watching this band skyrocket to indie superstardom over the last few months with a quickness I haven’t experienced for ages. They already had an album release earlier this year you might have missed, but I’ll forgive you if you skip it (it’s worthwhile, but this one is stronger). Unlike other post-country/swamp rock bands we’ve been loving in recent years (Wednesday or Ratboys, par exemple), these guys are rougher, grittier, swampier — think Creedence Clearwater Revival with a touch of The Black Keys.
Start with: “Florida Water Blues”
Still to come — we’re heading to Brazil, Cuba, and back in time to the ‘80s and ‘90s… from synthpop to backpack hip-hop to college rock and more.
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