21 February 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.
Browse specific styles
Twelfth album and first on seven years from Columbian-born pop star featuring collaborations with Cardi B, Bizarrap, Rauw Alejandro, Grupo Frontera, Ozuna, Karol G, Fuerza Regida and Tiësto
6.6
A great two-for-one set that is essentially a short new album and a de facto "Greatest Hits 2022-2024" Read Review
The She Wolf is back and she is howling louder and prouder than ever Read Review
The long-awaited return from the Latin trailblazer sees her unpick her recent emotional devastation with wit and real self-awareness Read Review
Lawsuits and lost love couldn’t stop the Colombian powerhouse from taking her rightful place atop Spanish pop’s streaming-fuelled resurgence Read Review
Las Mujeres is a grab-bag of pop genre fusions, yet Shakira manages to hold court in every song with her incisive and enduring songcraft Read Review
The Colombian superstar’s first Spanish-only album in 19 years is a brutally honest look at her breakup that overflows with vengeance and still-got-it sex appeal Read Review
Her first record since 2017’s El Dorado melds pulsating dance anthems with reggaeton, pop… and even a splash of grunge Read Review
Despite a hit diss track so withering it affected the stock market and enlivening turns from Cardi B and leading regional Mexican musicians, the Colombian’s wan 12th album washes out her adventurous spirit Read Review
Break-ups reoccur throughout the songs, but they lack the vim of the record’s hit single Read Review
Roll over video for more options
Hen Ogledd DISCOMBOBULATED
On Hen Ogledd’s latest record, things feel messier and more exposed, as if logic itself has become suspect Spectrum Culture
Featuring taunts in Welsh, ‘bard rap’ and spirited jigs, the British quartet’s ragged, rich music underpins their vision for change The Guardian
Hen Ogledd's latest album, focused on life, death and rebirth sways more into the meandering rather than the conclusive, leaving things feeling somewhat stunted The Skinny
In spite of its title and the national mood which it both mirrors and rebuffs, it’s a smile-inducing, healing experience, one which reminds you of all the good-weird in the world, rather than the bad-weird, which so often seems to be winning in these strange, discombobulated days Clash
The multiple styles and masses of guest appearances on Discombobulated could have produced a scrambled blob, but instead the community around the core band members adds clarity and strength The Quietus
Dizzying stuff. Print edition only Mojo
Hen Ogledd make music on their fifth album which feels rooted in something more timeless than simple pop. Print edition only Record Collector
A truly singular record. Print edition only Uncut
Moby Future Quiet
In dealing with his own anxiety and insomnia, Moby has created a 14-track state of therapy for his own mind but kindly offered it to the world. It is the offering of one of the genius producers of our time Clash
Mumford & Sons Prizefighter
The solemnness of the title track reverberates throughout most of the other tracks on the ‘Prizefighter’ album. It easily wins the ‘prize’ as the best song on an especially spectacular album Clash
Peaches No Lube So Rude
Underneath all the references to rampant sex and general debauchery, there’s a beating heart at the centre of Merrill Nisker’s exhilarating, essential work musicOMH
Regenerating his introverted side, this straight-from-the-heart outing offers private musical ambience to soothe and console musicOMH
Sébastien Tellier Kiss The Beast
Six years on from his last artist album Domesticated, one of the finest French songsmiths around returns – with some surprise guest turns musicOMH
Charli XCX Wuthering Heights
While it’s certainly not the bold left turn some critics are evidently trying to manifest, it remains a perfectly fine record — even if it feels oddly static No Ripcord
These are assured, solid songs by very good musicians, albeit lacking a killer punch or any wild, barrier-pushing inspiration. Print edition only Record Collector
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