Spotify has hit an all-time record of 751 million monthly listeners in 2026, following the upward trend of the rise of music listening on digital platforms, this is up 11% from last year. Just 3 months into the year, 2026 has already been amazing for new music listeners: artists like Bruno Mars, J.Cole, A$AP Rocky, Don Toliver, and others have dropped albums in such a short amount of time.
I interviewed some of Morgan’s most avid listeners who have kept in touch with the new music coming out to gather their opinions. I asked them what their favorite album was and why – three artists kept popping up. Here are Morgan’s favorite albums of the year so far.
The Fall-Off – J. Cole
Sophomore Alex Wilson, an avid music listener with over 250 albums listened to, said, “So I think so far, I’m going to say The Fall Off by J. Cole, because every song on the album is amazing, and I’d say he’s the best hip hop artist out there…and we’ve been waiting, what, 10 years…and the wait was worth it.”
Ever since 2016, J. Cole has teased his long-awaited retirement album; The Fall-Off. On February 6th, J. Cole released this album to critical acclaim. This album is split into two parts; disc 29 and 39, both representing the two most crucial years of Cole’s life.
Disk 29 dives into his “crossroads” of life, returning to Fayetteville, Cole’s hometown in North Carolina, after 10 years in New York at the age of 29. On the other hand, Disc 39 represents Cole’s self reflection on legacy and peace as he reaches 39 years old. Disc 39 reflects Cole’s more mature mindset of success compared to disc 29. He dives into the relationship with his wife, his home city, and his craft (rap). Cole moves away from being wanting the be the best, to finding enjoyment in his art.
This album features Safety, Kenneth Cameron-Antonucci’s, a big J. Cole fan’s, favorite track. He said that the track Safety is his favorite song because Cole goes back to Fayetteville and takes notes on the situation from one of his old friends.
The song Safety features an introspective theme about one of Cole’s friends sending him a voicemail with updates about his life in the Ville (Fayetteville), and asking how Cole is doing. A deep, reflective message mixed with a catchy production makes Safety a true standout on the album.
39 Intro is the first track of disc 2 and it really stands out on the tracklist. The two part song features Cole singing with a melodic instrumental, creating unease as he reflects about chasing ambition. Then part two focuses on Cole’s achievement of finding peace in the music industry and reflecting on his career and influence as an artist. This song features of the the best Cole flows and rapping performances, and each sequence of lyrics have many meanings.
The Fall-Off combines some of Cole’s best flows and rapping performances mixed with an introspective theme, making this album a worthwhile listen.
Don’t Be Dumb – A$AP Rocky
After almost a 6 year wait, A$AP Rocky dropped his 4th studio album, Don’t Be Dumb. Ever since 2018’s Testing, A$AP fans faced a drought of music from him, but on January 16th he released his album to positive acclaim.
Michael Usiak, a long-time A$AP fan said, “His composure and composing knowledge and ideology is amazing with every corresponding tone, note, and musical key.”
Micheal references A$APs wider variety of style and production on this 17 track album. Here A$AP really showed the music scene what he was capable of with diverging tracks like Punk Rocky and Stay Here 4 Life (feat. Brent Faiyaz).
Punk Rocky focuses on, as the title suggests, punk rock production while Stay Here 4 Life stands out on the tracklist for its Brent Faiyaz, a renowned R&B artist, feature and contrasts between Faiyaz and A$AP. A melodic chorus from Faiyaz, and faster paced rapping from A$AP creates a truly magnificent collaboration.
The track DON’T BE DUMB/TRIP BABY, is a self reflection track for A$AP. On the first half of the track, he dives into his willingness to give up his fame, material possessions, and personal image to maintain his relationship with Rihanna. He preaches to be wary of consequences and only do logical things in life.
On the second half of the song, A$AP raps about his instability in life and his vulnerabilities, weaving the two halves together even though the production on both halves is extremely different. The first half of the song features a melodic beat, which perfectly reflects the deep and sad theme of the half. The second half features a hard hitting production, providing contrast and showing that balance is needed in life.
A$AP can also be introspective when he needs to be. On THE END (feat. will.i.am & Jessica Pratt) A$AP reflects on the deep topics of societal decay where people are attached to their screens. Other topics include global warning and societal unrest. A$AP shows that he can not only be a lively rapper, but a reflective artist who describes the problems of the world.
This album also includes great production from Pharrell Williams, Tyler The Creator, Metro Boomin, The Alchemist, and Madlib.
Octane – Don Toliver
Only 2 years after Don Toliver’s last album, Hardstone Psycho, he dropped Octane on January 30th. Octane focuses mostly on the trap genre of music with Don’s renowned production.
Dylan Gallardo, a Don Toliver enthusiast, said, “My favorite album of the year is Octane by Don Toliver. I like the production and features such as Travis Scott and Teezo Touchdown. The production has good samples and flips.”
Octane is a very well produced album. Don has always been very consistent with his production with trap roots. On Octane, Don uses lots of electric guitar riffs to establish this trap feel. While not new to the trap genre, Don had established his more prevalent use of rock production compared to another one of his albums; Hardstone Psycho.
Octane diverges from his other albums like Life of a Don because he has shifted from the R&B style of Life of a Don, to a more lively and energetic style on Octane. Don shows the music industry that he has the variety to stand out in the area of production and style.
On the track, Body, Don Toliver samples Justin Timberlake’s Rock Your Body. He took when Timberlake says “body” and turned it into an interesting hook for the song that stands out on the album. He uses the word “body” as a background vocal to replace when Don himself has to say “body,” creating a cohesive listen with a seamless sample integration.
Octane also features artists like Travis Scott on the track Rosary where Travis adds his psychedelic style to the song, and combined with an upbeat production, creates a fun track. Don and Travis have had a long lasting relationship, with Don adding Travis as a feature on most of his albums. With great production and features, Octane is definitely a worthy album to listen to.
Overall, 2026 has been a great year in music so far with more releases like Drake’s Iceman and Kanye’s Bully teased to release soon, so students should keep their eyes and ears open for the rest of the year.
