1 April 2026
Here's how it works: The Recent Releases chart brings together critical reaction to new albums from more than 50 sources worldwide. It's updated daily. Albums qualify with 5 reviews, and drop out after 6 weeks into the longer timespan charts.
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Fourth solo album from the Houston rapper featuring guest appearances from Bon Iver, Sampha, Drake, Playboi Carti, Beyoncé, 21 Savage, the Weeknd, Yung Lean, Young Thug, James Blake, Kid Cudi, Bad Bunny, Future and SZA
6.2
UTOPIA sees Scott stay true to his style, his preferences, and his principles, going against the grain of the tendencies in the viral-hungry world that is 2023 ra Read Review
Lead single ‘K-POP’ remains a titanic moment, but its immediacy is perhaps a misnomer on a record dominated by misdirection, about-turns, and sudden revelations Read Review
The album operates less as a cohesive body of work and more as a series of show-stopping set pieces Read Review
The Houston rapper's first album since 2018 teases a brave new sonic world, but has little to say about what might happen if we get there Read Review
In an attempt to give the world a true blockbuster rap album, the Houston rapper delivers a shiny, empty spectacle loaded with pop superstars who rarely make an impact Read Review
The reality is that while Scott is a masterful curator, he’s just an OK rapper. Those two realities are discordant for too many moments on Utopia Read Review
Returning with a long-awaited fourth album in the wake of the Astroworld disaster, Scott’s rhyming isn’t strong enough to distinguish him from his A-list guests Read Review
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José González Against The Dying Of The Light
Less a new collection of songs than it is a continuation of everything that has come before from José González Far Out
Reclaiming his past in order to transcend it, the songwriter’s poetic flourishes – and enchanting guitar playing – make for one of his strongest in a decade Clash
Understated as they are, his songs are also not without weight and his fifth album, Against the Dying of the Light, is his heaviest to date All Music
José González preaches to his audience like a folksinger, but his music shares more in common with chamber pop than with other Dylans due to his polished stylings PopMatters
Righteous and blissful. Print edition only Uncut
These new songs see González deepening his palette with subtle gradations, his response to a chaotic world reassuringly measured yet still heartfelt. Print edition only Mojo
Raye This Music May Contain Hope
Full of big ambition and packed with emotional intelligence, 'This Music May Contain Hope' is RAYE at her most fearless. Every risk feels justified, every wild idea fully formed. It's a bold, all-feelings-on-deck mission statement that confirms her as one of pop's most compelling voices Dork
THIS MUSIC MAY HOPE. is a fascinating yet nebulous project, a pompous and lavish exploration that would have been better on the stage, with backup dancers, percussion, and RAYE as the star in the center of it all Northern Transmissions
Fcukers Ö
On their debut, the New York duo’s brash charm reverberates through kinetic club energy and after-hours haze, even if the end result plays it a little safe Paste Magazine
Flea Honora
To riff on a previously-alluded-to quote from Nick Cave: I'm forever near a stereo saying, "What is this beautiful ambient-jazz odyssey?" And the answer is always Flea Exclaim
The British star delivers a 73-minute autobiography of romantic despair and nonstop emotional turmoil. It's a lot — and all the better for it Rolling Stone
Robyn Sexistential
The Swedish pop phenom's latest effort is strange, vibrant, and plenty of fun Consequence Of Sound
The Twilight Sad It's The Long Goodbye
After a long hiatus, the Twilight Sad return with a new lineup to deliver raw emotion centered on James Graham’s mental health struggles and his mother’s death PopMatters
The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist reignited his childhood love of the trumpet to make his first solo album: a mature, sophisticated collection of songs featuring stars of the L.A. jazz scene Pitchfork
A certain contender for end of the year lists, this is an album of rare scale and energy, one that’s been designed to come back to time and time again musicOMH
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past twelve years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.
Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly
Fiona Apple Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Rosalía Lux
Kendrick Lamar Damn.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen
Spiritbox Tsunami Sea
Self Esteem Prioritise Pleasure
Hayley Williams Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways