The best albums of 2026 so far according to Indie Basement

A third of the way through the year, some are already drawing up a first assessment of the best records released so far. That's the case with Indie Basement, the weekly column on BrooklynVegan devoted to classic indie and alternative artists, "college rock", and new releases that move along similar lines. "After what felt like a very long, very cold winter, spring has arrived and the first quarter of 2026 is now behind us," the magazine writes in its introduction. "Even if the year, in many respects, hasn't been the best, plenty of excellent records have already come out on the musical front. We've picked 21 albums out of the roughly 90 we reviewed on Indie Basement across January, February and March. The list includes many indie veterans, a few recurring names from the column, several debuts, a couple of supergroups and a compilation. As always, despite the title, this isn't meant to be a definitive or exhaustive list of the best albums of 2026 so far — just the personal preferences of the person writing it. It's also far too early in the year to start ranking things, so the list is ordered alphabetically by artist."

So here's the list of the best albums of 2026 released so far, according to Indie Basement (full feature here). We've reviewed several of these titles on our webzine, and you can read them by clicking the links.

Alexis Taylor – Paris in the Spring

Bibi Club – Amaro

Bill Callahan – My Days of 58

Buck Meek – The Mirror

Cardinals – Masquerade

The Cribs – Selling a Vibe

Dry Cleaning – Secret Love

EXEK – Prove the Mountains Move

Heavenly – Highway to Heavenly

Hot Face – Automated Response

Ladytron – Paradises

Lande Hekt – Lucky Now

Mandy, Indiana – URGH

MEMORIALS – All Clouds Bring Not Rain

The New Pornographers – The Former Site Of

Plantoid – FLARE

Sleaford Mods – The Demise of Planet X

Ulrika Spacek – EXPO

Various Artists – HELP(2)

Whitelands – Sunlight Echoes

Winged Wheel – Desert So Green

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