2026 is shaping up to be a massive year for music fans, with huge names set to drop new albums and singles.
From Lana Del Rey adding a country twist to her latest tracks, to The Rolling Stones promising fresh rock anthems, there’s something for every taste.
Rising stars like Raye and Leigh-Anne will be making waves, while veterans including Paul McCartney, Van Morrison and Bruce Springsteen show no signs of hanging up the microphone.
With this and so much more on the way, here are our top picks for an exciting year ahead.
LANA DEL RAY
FOLLOWING the likes of Beyonce and Post Malone, Del Rey is set to saddle up and add country nuances to her tenth studio album.
Previously announced as Lasso and The Right Person Will Stay, expect Stove sooner rather than later in the new year.
XMAS LEGEND GONE
Driving Home For Christmas singer Chris Rea dies aged 74
NEW TUNE
Legendary band’s unreleased track to be played publicly for first time since 1974
Singles Henry, Come On and Bluebird demonstrated her shift to Americana stylings.
THE ROLLING STONES
MICK JAGGER, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood may be hanging up their touring boots, but it still promises to be a momentous year for rock’s great survivors.
There was a huge 18-year gap between Hackney Diamonds (2023) and the Stones’ previous album of original songs, A Bigger Bang.
But in late April, we can expect a new one, again produced by US live wire Andrew Watt.
RAYE
WE can expect the much-anticipated follow-up to Raye’s all-conquering, soul-bearing, Brits-winning My 21st Century Blues.
The R&B singer debuted two unreleased songs at this summer’s Glastonbury with one, Where Is My Husband!, becoming the lead single from the as-yet-unnamed album.
Her official site promises an early 2026 release date.
FOO FIGHTERS
A NEW album from Dave Grohl and Co is on the cards in 2026, their second since the sad passing of Taylor Hawkins.
With another new drummer, ex-Nine Inch Nails Ilan Rubin, announced in the summer, the first recorded music with him appeared in the shape of single Asking For A Friend.
Two massive UK shows at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium are set for June.
ROBBIE WILLIAMS
INSPIRED by the mid-Nineties period after Robbie left Take That, Britpop is his 13th studio album.
It begins with the, er, rocket-fuelled Rocket, which is graced with suitably heavy riffing from Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi.
Bearing in mind the recent exploits of Oasis, Blur, Pulp and Suede, why not this celebration by one of the era’s favourite singers?
Out on February 6.
CHARLIE XCX
AFTER the Brat summer of 2024, the singer heads in another direction with her soundtrack album for Wuthering Heights.
Out on February 13, same day as Emerald Fennell’s film version of Emily Bronte’s novel, it has already yielded singles House, with Velvet Underground legend John Cale, and Chains Of Love.
Charli says: “It couldn’t be more different from Brat.”
PAUL McCARTNEY
AS far as his epic music career is concerned, Macca will never “let it be”.
The Beatles legend confirmed work on the follow-up to 2020’s excellent McCartney III.
In the foreword to a memoir about his other band, Wings, he wrote: “Right now, I have 25 songs that I’m finishing . . . new songs that are interesting.”
He’s also mentioned in despatches sessions in LA with Andrew Watt (Stones, Lady Gaga).
THE FACES
HERE’S a rock ’n’ roll reunion to savour.
The band’s three survivors, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Kenney Jones, have been preparing their first album in more than 50 years.
At least 11 songs have been recorded, which Jones says are “a mixture of stuff we never released but is worthy of releasing and some wonderful new stuff. Rod is writing the lyrics.”
COURTNEY BARNETT
THE Aussie rekindles her love of the electric guitar on her forthcoming fourth album.
After decamping to California, she’s been recording in Rancho De Luna, Joshua Tree, home of the legendary hard-rocking Desert Sessions.
First evidence of her labours is recent single Stay In Your Lane, complete with scuzzy bass lines and wonderfully deadpan vocals.
VAN MORRISON
HOT on the heels of his sublime return to form, Remembering Now, comes this love letter to the blues, Somebody Tried To Sell Me A Bridge.
Out on January 23, the 20-track album proves Van is still “The Man” at 80.
It includes Fats Domino’s Ain’t That A Shame, Blind Blake’s Delia’s Gone and features stellar
guests – Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal among them.
DANNY L HARLE
AFTER stellar production duties with Dua Lipa, Caroline Polachek and Olly Alexander, Harle steps into the limelight with the genre-hopping Cerulean (released February 13).
“This is my debut album. This is the big one,” says the North Londoner.
Singles already released Starlight (ft PinkPantheress) and Azimuth (ft Polachek) offer much promise.
BJORK
THE Icelandic icon has given a strong hint of new material in the new year, her first since 2022’s Fossora.
She’s involved in a huge exhibition in Reykjavik involving immersive audio and visual installations.
A social media post reveals that the third and last of these is “a new work based on music from her forthcoming album, currently in development.”
LEIGH-ANNE
THE impressive former Little Mix singer can finally do things her way when
she releases her 15-track debut album as an independent solo artist. Following the singles Been A Minute, Burning Up and Dead And Gone, she delivers My Ego Told Me To in February.
Rooted in reggae and pop, it explores personal themes of family and empowerment.
GORILLAZ
MURDOC, Russel Hobbs, 2D and Noodle – the brainchildren of Damon Albarn and visual artist Jamie Hewlett – release The Mountain on March 20.
The ninth Gorillaz album brings Indian music to the fore but also finds room for guest appearances by Sparks, Gruff Rhys, Idles and Johnny Marr. Drummer Hobbs calls it “a journey of the soul – with beats.”
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
THIS was a year when The Boss gave us so much.
Another visit to the UK with the E Street Band followed by two significant raids on his archives – Tracks II with its SEVEN unreleased albums and an expanded Nebraska to coincide with the recent biopic.
Yet he told Rolling Stone: “I have a record finished. It’s a solo record . . . I imagine it will come out in ’26 some time.”
MUMFORD & SONS
THE trio of Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett and Ted Deane have reunited with Taylor Swift associate, The National’s Aaron Dessner.
He has produced and co-writes Prizefighter.
Set for release on Feb 13, the band’s sixth studio album arrives less than a year after their UK No 1 fifth, Rushmere. Gracie Abrams, Chris Stapleton & Hozier guest.
LUCINDA WILLIAMS
BEARER of one of the most passionate voices in American music, Williams returns with World’s Gone Wrong on January 23.
She addresses head-on the divisions in her country while taking specific aim at the sandy-haired White House incumbent.
She duets with the mighty Mavis Staples on a cover of Bob Marley’s So Much Trouble In The World.
THE DAMNED
WHEN the punk pioneers’ founder member Brian James died earlier this year, the current line-up recorded a covers album celebrating the Sixties music loved by their fallen comrade.
Not Like Everybody Else is out on January 23.
Singer Dave Vanian turns There’s A Ghost In My House into a hoot and Captain Sensible takes the lead on Pink Floyd’s See Emily Play.
