Looking Ahead: A Release Calendar of Upcoming Albums in 2026

Keeping track of all the upcoming releases from favorite artists can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. It’s not unusual for musicians to tease an album, then reveal a release date, only for the LP to be delayed for one reason or another (in some cases, multiple times), often without a new release date attached. Then there are albums that are announced mere days before they drop!

But we’ve got you! Musicians from across genres started teasing new projects and announcing album release dates for the new year as it barely started. And like the last several trips around the sun, we’re keeping a calendar to keep track of all the notable releases of the year.

One of the most highly anticipated releases was Hilary Duff’s Luck…or Something — her first album in 10 years — which dropped in February. The singer-actress first announced her return to music in September, when she revealed a new label deal with Atlantic Records, as well as new music and a docuseries that will follow her musical comeback.

BTS also gave its ARMY news to celebrate just days after the new year kicked off. On Jan. 4, the K-pop supergroup revealed that its highly anticipated next album — which comes after the members took a yearslong break as a group to complete mandatory duties for the South Korean military and focus on solo ventures — would arrive in March.

Not to be outdone, fellow K-pop supergroup BLACKPINK also announced its own new music in early January, with DEADLINE dropping in February.

Harry Styles then followed up BLACKPINK’s announcement the next day with his own album reveal. The pop superstar’s fourth studio album made its debut in March.

As winter moved into spring, women superstars not only teased, but announced highly anticipated albums. Among them? Madonna, Olivia Rodrigo and Ariana Grande, with all three projects arriving before the end of July.

With the year more than half over, big projects still remain on the horizon. Among them are projects by K-pop bands ENHYPEN and NCT 127, as well as the late legendary artist Prince, whose estate will be releasing Timeless, a collection of rare and previously unreleased recordings. All three are due before the end of August.

As September rolls around, some big names in rock are set to release their projects. Among them are Anthrax and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, while October will anticipate an album by Nickelback, as well as iconic industrial band Ministry, who returns with its final album.

That’s just several of the big releases of 2026. To help you stay on top of it all, we’ve organized this calendar chronologically by month and week, and have also included a section for albums that have been announced, but do not yet have a release date.

Keep checking back for the latest 2026 album release dates!