I track my music listening pretty exhaustively using last.fm and have about six full years of history there. This is a place for me to note and add context to obsessions of the moment, particular listening projects, and curate my favorite albums of the year.
My Favorite Albums of 2026
All Noted Listens in 2026
A 2026 Favorite
Genre/Description: soul r&b hip hop rap indie new jack swing dub psych hyperpop singer/songwriter/rapper/producer post-Frank Ocean
Date Listened: February 20, 2026
Context/Location:
Format/Platform: Phone / Apple Music
Been waiting 7 years for new music from Choker, and it’s not disappointing. Listened obsessively to his Filling Space trilogy of EPs back in 2019 and haven’t forgotten. Dijon last year, now Choker…
A 2026 Favorite
Genre/Description: indie pop rock singer songwriter Los Angeles Solomonophonic Remi Wolf Billie Eilish Saya Gray and I think Fleetwood Mac to be honest?
Date Listened: February 19, 2026
Context/Location:
Format/Platform: Phone / Apple Music
It’s 2025’s ANGIE but with 4 more tracks now and a different cover image. Nothing to complain about.
A 2026 Favorite
Genre/Description: biblical rainbow neon synth pop funk psych Prince Madonna Kate Bush Cyndi Lauper Tune-Yards
Date Listened: February 19, 2026
Context/Location:
Format/Platform: Phone / Apple Music
These tracks really popped out in mixes, and I had to grab the album. I’ve listened three or four times now and I think I want to like this a little more than I actually do. Still objectively great, though, and I still will probably give it more listens in the future.
Genre/Description: PR Latin indie folk alternative? I don't know my PR and Latin genres enough to label this more accurately, but I'm going to try to learn...
Date Listened: February 18, 2026
Context/Location: puttering on my website and the internet, &c.
Format/Platform: Phone / Apple Music
Branching out into some of the collaborators on DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS now…
Genre/Description: reggaeton pop PR &c
Date Listened: February 18, 2026
Context/Location: working
Format/Platform: Phone / Apple Music
Almost endlessly listenable, it turns out. Guess maybe that’s why he’s the most-streamed artist in the world…
A 2026 Favorite
Genre/Description: indie rock nice songwriting and they sometimes rock out a tiny bit country quite a bit grunge?
Date Listened: February 17, 2026
Context/Location: cooking, working, chores, &c.
Format/Platform: Phone / Apple Music
Well at least I’m not a whole year behind on every album…
A 2026 Favorite
Genre/Description: jazz los angeles chillwave hip hop electronic indie
Date Listened: February 15, 2026
Context/Location:
Format/Platform: Phone / Apple Music
A 2026 Favorite
Genre/Description: Puerto Rico pop reggaeton dembow plena jíbaro salsa bomba latin house
Date Listened: February 15, 2026
Context/Location:
Format/Platform: Phone / Apple Music
I’m running over a year late on music right now, oh well…
Genre/Description: protest songs folk rock indie
Date Listened: January 24, 2026
Context/Location: recommended by Benjamin Booker, who I've also been listening to a lot and has a song on the album
Format/Platform: Computer / Apple Music / Bandcamp download
“…what the meaning of this border line that’s been forced into my mind…everybody talk about it like it’s the greatest line that humans could ever draw…”
– Lonnie Holley, from “A Border is Just a Space Between Two Lines”
Genre/Description: funk soul r&b afro-beat cosmic retro future fuzz psych hiphop gospel mystery collective African diaspora
Date Listened: January 11, 2026
Context/Location: cooking, doing dishes, chores, making notes, website, etc.
Format/Platform: Earbuds / Apple Music
I don’t think I can hear a new SAULT album without listening to it a couple of times and then needing to go back through everything they’ve ever done, or nearly everything.
A 2026 Favorite
Genre/Description: funk soul r&b afro-beat cosmic retro future fuzz psych hiphop gospel mystery collective
Date Listened: January 11, 2026
Context/Location: doing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom, working on this website
Format/Platform: Phone / Apple Music
Like tuning into some alternate universe cosmic retro soul radio station, so great.
A 2026 Favorite
Genre/Description: rock, indie, garage, singer/songwriter
Date Listened: January 4, 2026
Context/Location:
Format/Platform: Phone / Apple Music
This is a really solid collection of songs, quite liking it.