As the Doomsday Clock races, time speeds up, as 2026 is at its midpoint. These lists serve as a decent snapshot of where the year is heading in terms of music. I have already received promos for albums dropping as far out as August in my inbox, so they will need to bring it to compete with the top five albums on this list. Rock is anything that's not metal, so both progressive and hard rock bands are included here. Yes, there might be a few screams on these albums, but when stacked against the bands on the metal list, it's clear that these bands belong here. Some I weighed against putting on the pop list, but they are more rock than not. I have included links to full reviews if you want to check these out, and with all that said, here are the top 10 rock albums of 2026 so far.
The last album I spent much time with by these guys was "Symbol of Salvation", but this album does not find the band straying too far from what they worked on there. The album carries a great deal of momentum with some unconventional sounds.The album sounds great and not dated, John's voice shows little wear and tear,
9-Puscifer - "Normal Isn't"
In prepping for the album's release Maynard dropped a "gpth" plalist of songs that were supposedly the inspiration for this album, along with the promo shots showing the band in darker make-up, while I am not surprised that he knows who Tones on Tail is, this is not a goth album, though there are more reverb drenched guitars in the opening track, I would not all it goth. In fact, the title track reminds me more of Devo. But you can here slight Gary Numan influence lurking around if you are the kind of savant like I am who can detect these sorts of things to draw that connection. But it's Maynard, so better than most.
8-Gus G- "Steel Burner"
I almost let Gus's new solo album fly under my radar. But that would have been a shame because he is obviously metal as fuck, having played with Ozzy and Firewind. When it comes to shredding hard rock he does a great job of it.
7-Hoaxed- "Death Knocks"
This album makes no attempt at draping things in goth window dressing, and we get to see who Hoaxed are: a grunge band. The riffs are more arena-rocking, even when they add tension to a song like "Kill Switch", which at times finds them beginning to drift toward the more straight-up rock n' roll side of grunge. Sonically, they hold a great deal of common ground with the Pretty Reckless, though with more of a penchant for minor ket melodies.
6-Julez and the Rollers -Dirty Little Rock N Roller"
Yes, this is the band with the super-hot drummer. They also happen to write decent songs and are more rock than expected. Going into this, I expected something more like the Beaches. It's more power-pop than the shake your booty kinda of pop you hear on the radio. First off, these gals are playing real instruments and are more like a less punk version of the Runaways.
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5-Muse-"The WOW !. Signal"
These guys used to be one of my favorite bands, but being on the radio for too long caused them to take a left turn into grandiose symphonic disco, andd I lost interest. Those elements are all present on this new album. In fact, they meet you at the front door on the first two songs, but the songwriting seems to be a little more focused. Perhaps they never lost focus, and I just need to dig back into the albums I paid less attention to and give them a second chance. This album si great and a powerful return to form for them
4-Starbenders- "the Beast Goes On"
On the pop side of glam rock, they do indulge in a more biting dynamic upon occasion, but their strength seems to be leaning into this 80s-drenched sound that marries Pat Benatar and Cyndi Lauper. Music is not created in a vacuum, so the title track that opens the album is darker andd with some Ghost-like aspirations in how it's mixed and the overall vibe to some extent, as it feels like a late 60s hippie-garage for of spooky like Coven or Shocking Blue, but hookier than Muse this time around.
3-Genghis Tron- "Signal Fire"
Every five years is the average release rate for this band, as this marks the fourth album of their 20-year career. Their first album, "Dead Mouth Mountain," blended early metalcore sounds with electronics, and they have been slowly evolving past the more abrasive elements of this formula. Their new album puts the band closer to what someone like HEALTH does, though less industrial in their intentions. The balance of atmospheric and edge is more enthralling here, as it is full of hooks. Where the last album stepped away from harsher vocals, they are back in the mix here, but used as more of a dynamic vocal color.
2-Deftones -"Eros"
These are 80 percent finished demos, not sure what they still had left to do on them, as it sounds like I would expect an album from this era to sound. There was a porn theme to this album, and all the songs are named after a woman, presumably a porn star. Though the lyrics are typical abstract Chino metaphors crooned against a dreamy shoegaizing backdrop. Given the nature of this release in its raw format, it is better than some of their 2000s albums
1-Karnivool-"In Verses"
Australia's Karnivool have been around for almost 30 years, but this is their fourth album, meaning they are very calculated and meticulous when writing and producing music. Which can be heard on this album. They are not prog in the sense that there is a ton of guitar solos, but subtly shifting arrangements with djent-like time changes bubbling up under anthemic rock songs that are also very moody and melodic.
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