10. PETAL ROCK BLACK by Willow Smith - This is the seventh studio album from the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and she's only 25. She released her first song when she was only 9-years-old. She's been releasing albums for over a decade. She's been dabbling in various music forms from neo-soul to emo to jazz. Her last album garnered two nominations at the 67th Grammy Awards, including one for her, as she goes by just Willow. Her last album leaned more on the jazz and progressive rock aspects. This album is a continuation of those aspects. It's a fusion of jazz and progressive rock. It's experimental in that way. The album is partly produced by Jon Batiste who is the Oscar-winning and multiple Grammy-winning phenomenon. Yet, Willow wrote all the songs and produced a lot of it herself, so this is very much her work. She does a cover of a Prince song, and her work is perhaps as intriguing as some of Prince's best.
9. WHEN THE CITY SLEEPS by Alex Isley - She's the daughter of Ernie Isley, one of the members of the iconic group The Isley Brothers. She attended UCLA where she studied jazz. She's been releasing music since 2012. She was nominated for two prizes at the 66th Grammy Awards for a song called "Back to Love," which was a track produced for the TV series Run the World (2021). Isley has released several albums independently. This is her debut album on a major label, that of Warner Bros. Records. Her last release ranked #2 on the contemporary jazz chart. There's not much information on this album's sales, but she's definitely a voice you need to hear.
8. REDSTAR WU & THE WORLDWIDE SCOURGE by Genesis Owusu - This is the third album from the Ghanaian and Australian rapper. His debut album made my list of Best Music of 2021. A song from his second album made my list of Best Music of 2023. If you pay attention to Metacritic, this album is currently ranked #9 of highest scores of 2026. Jack Tregoning of The Guardian newspaper gave it a perfect 100-score and said this album is, "channelling his lived experiences as a Black artist into unabashedly political songs that remain open, accessible and outright fun. .... The album is also a reminder that art – especially this raw and human – is itself a source of hope."
7. COSMIC OPERA ACT I & II by Labrinth - He's a British artist of Jamaican descent. He signed with Simon Cowell's record label in 2010. He's been nominated several times, mainly for his producing and songwriting work with The Weeknd, Beyoncé, and Billie Eilish. He's also gotten a lot of success from his work on film and television soundtracks. His most outstanding work has been his Emmy-nominated songs and score for HBO's Euphoria (2019). This year, instead of releasing one album, he released two. Like Willow Smith and Drake, as well as others, he's releasing multiple albums within one calendar. This first one dropped in January and the second in May. He began as a R&B artist but has moved more toward the world of Classical music. These albums represent his culmination in this journey.
6. PISS IN THE WIND by Joji - A lot has been said about YouTube stars or content creators for social media platforms making the jump to Hollywood this year with big hits in the box office, like Iron Lung (2026), and Backrooms (2026). The same can be said about people in the music industry. The 33-year-old, Japanese-Australian artist here started in YouTube fifteen years ago with The Filthy Frank Show (2011). He started releasing music in 2017 and dropped his first album a year later. This is his fourth studio album, which features several guest stars in the R&B and Hip Hop space, but it topped the charts in the Rock & Alternative categories. The album got mixed reviews with Neil Z. Yeung from AllMusic saying, "fairly depressing at times, offering just a few short moments to perk up the 21-track runtime, which shouldn't surprise longtime fans of Joji's wounded, narcotic beauty."
5. PARIS IN THE SPRING by Alexis Taylor - The English musician is known as being the lead of the synth-pop group called Hot Chip, which was nominated once nearly 20 years ago for Best Dance Recording at the 51st Grammy Awards. I almost put Hot Chip's A Bath Full of Ecstacy (2019) on my list of best music that year. I did put Taylor's song "I Feel You" from his fourth album Beautiful Thing (2018) on my list of best music of that year, so I have liked his stuff before. This is his sixth studio album, and whatever it was that made me connect with him for "I Feel You," it seems like he's bringing the same for this album. He also does a more electronic cover of the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses," which I really enjoyed.
4. FOR THE FIRST TIME, AGAIN by Tyler Ballgame - Reportedly, his real-name is Tyler Perry, but he's nothing like the African American filmmaker based in Atlanta. Tyler Ballgame is a White kid from Rhode Island. He realized he should become a blue-eyed soul singer during a well-received performance of Roy Orbison's "Crying," as well as songs by Elvis Presley and Harry Nilsson. He did attend Boston's Berklee College of Music. This is the 34-year-old's debut album. He definitely seems like quite the incredible find.
3. CITYFOLK by Son Little - This is the Philadelphia musician's fifth, studio album. It was recorded in Alabama and was partly produced by one of the members of the Alabama Shakes. His second album New Magic (2017) made my list of best music that year. His song "Belledonna" from Aloha (2020) made my list of best music of that year. His fourth album Like Neptune (2022) made my list of best music of that year. Clearly, I'm a fan. His brand of blues and folk is amazing.
2. ATLANTA by Gnarls Barkley - This is the third album from the duo, consisting of CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse. Their debut album St. Elsewhere (2006) was up for four prizes at the 49th Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. I didn't have a blog then, but it was one of my favorites of that year for sure. Their second album The Odd Couple (2008) was up for three Grammys, including Best Alternative Music Album.
0020
1. THE ROMANTIC by Bruno Mars - He's probably the most successful person on this list and is considered a legit pop star, if not pop icon. He's been nominated for about three dozen Grammy Awards. One of his first nominations was for a song with CeeLo Green. His first Grammy came from his debut solo single. He's won about 16 Grammys. This album is his fourth, solo, studio album. His previous albums have all done well. All his previous albums have become multi-platinum successes. This album though is his first to debut at #1.
