Last month, we asked our readers to tell us the best albums of 2026 so far. Their answers went long, spanning everything from Static Dress’ injury episode to Tigers Jaw’s Lost on You to Evanescence’s Sanctuary. With the topic still on our minds, we wanted to know their thoughts on the best songs of 2026 so far. It’s not a Turnstile or Brat summer anymore, but these tracks will keep us going as the hotter months rage on — and there’s still so much more more to come. Find the top fan picks ranked below.
Read more: Thursday: Tramps like us
5. Evanescence – “Who Will You Follow”
Before Evanescence announced Sanctuary — a gorgeous album that tells the story of good versus evil — “Who Will You Follow” set the tone early, raising an important question. Though the band referenced The Hunger Games and Stranger Things’ The Upside Down for the record’s cinematic scope, they had another in mind for the lead single. “‘Who Will You Follow’ is very like, ‘There’s this other reality. We’re living in The Truman Show. Ha ha, everything good! Yay, happy!’ But the crack in the fabric, it’s The Matrix,” Amy Lee said during their AP cover story in May.
4. Joyce Manor – “All My Friends Are So Depressed”
Out of all the songs on Joyce Manor’s uniformly excellent album, I Used to Go to This Bar, our readers singled out “All My Friends Are So Depressed.” That’s for good reason, as the track, drawing from the Smiths, X, and 100 gecs in equal measure, presents the SoCal band’s gift for couching bad feelings in catchy hooks. “While searching for a line that rhymed with ‘Lord above in a Tecate truck,’ I came up with ‘Why even exist? Who gives a fuck!?’ and the concept of ‘All My Friends Are So Depressed’ was born,” vocalist/guitarist Barry Johnson says. “It’s kind of my take on what I imagine Lana Del Rey lyrics are like. Instead of icy, detached cool ’50s Americana, it’s all dirty shag carpet, bong rips, Peter Frampton Comes Alive, key lime pie, and suicidal ideations.”
3. Motionless In White – “Afraid of the Dark”
Late last year, Motionless In White revealed that a new song was on the way during a tour stop in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania — their first in four years, to be exact. When they shared “Afraid of the Dark,” the track turned out to be the first preview of their seventh studio album, Decades, arriving later this month via Roadrunner Records. Featuring a pummeling build-up, it bridges the band’s “past, present and future” with references to their deep catalog (When Love Met Destruction, “Carry the Torch,” etc.) It’s ultimately about “taking control of your destiny and writing the script of your own future without any doubt or apprehension,” which makes it one of the year’s top songs in the eyes of our readers.
2. Saosin – “Starting Over Again”
Frankly, it’s a big year for Saosin fans. Along with a self-titled 20th anniversary tour that kicks off in the fall, the band released “Starting Over Again” — their first new music in a decade through their new label home, Sumerian Records. The song follows Cove Reber, who appeared on their aforementioned self-titled and 2009’s In Search of Solid Ground, reuniting with the band in 2024. “Starting Over Again” spawned from “fans calling for it and us realizing the timing finally felt right… A reset, but with more clarity, more urgency, and way more fire behind it.” The result is nostalgic, passionate, and bleeds with intention. Welcome back, Saosin.
1. Bring Me the Horizon – “Dehumanized”
In recent years, Bring Me the Horizon’s Oli Sykes has only continued to experiment with his voice, getting highly melodic with 2019’s amo and then diving into heavier, more experimental sounds on 2024’s POST HUMAN: NeX GEn. However, leading up to the 20th anniversary of Count Your Blessings, he’s returned to the band’s deathcore roots, including a rerecorded version of the 2006 album that recently featured a new song. “Dehumanized” goes for broke, featuring a blitzkrieg of growls that brings readers back to BMTH’s early days. They’ll even play the album from front to back, for the first time, later this month over in the U.K.
