‘Fun, propulsive, full of queer joy’: readers’ favourite albums of 2026 so far, from Muna to Raye and J Cole

After the Guardian’s music critics chose their best of the half-year, we asked you for your picks – from Brian Jackson and Arlo Parks to Maya Hawke, Flea and more

Gracie Abrams: Daughter from Hell review – bloodless anthems hit like a faceful of icing sugar

Despite their goth-coded attempts at emotional turbulence, the saccharine songs of Abrams’ third album feel adolescent in their melodrama

Is the most popular song played on Australian radio stations the product of generative AI?

Josh Fawaz’s song, a cover of Like a Prayer, has raised questions about how generative AI is being used in music and whether it should be declared

‘We can find renewal despite the bullshit we navigate as Black women’: Kelela on stan armies and speaking up for Gaza

The genre-bending R&B artist’s new album finds fresh focus for her uncompromising vision, blending soul, sex and shoegaze

‘Unchained Melody makes me want to live out my Swayze fantasies’: Gary Jarman’s honest playlist

The Cribs man had a youthful Bee Gees obsession and loves one particular 80s power ballad. But which song does he say is too rude for his funeral?

Casual by Chappell Roan helped me ditch dead-end relationships

After years of one-sided commitment, revisiting her hit song Casual finally gave me a reality check

Lizzo answers her critics: ‘I’m a fat, black, happy girl – they were always going to try to tear me down’

Three years ago, the pop star was riding high after a sellout tour. But then a slew of shocking accusations from her former dancers changed everything. Where does she go from here?

Rapper Pitbull and fans set ‘bald cap’ Guinness World Record at London show

Crowd of more than 22,000 people – and the musician himself – filled Hyde Park with the ‘largest gathering of people wearing bald caps’

‘Take that, Marti Pellow!’ Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s Rein Me In beats Wet Wet Wet’s UK chart record

Duetting pair spend 16th week at No 1, a record for a British artist – but they’ll need 19 weeks to beat Frankie Laine’s all-time record from 1953

Bon Jovi review – rockers make a surprisingly poignant return to the stage

After vocal cord surgery, Jon Bon Jovi and band make a sturdy return with hit-packed show

Baby Rose: Yearnalism review – gloriously cinematic soul from the edge of emotional collapse

The US songwriter paints an impressively wide variety of shades on her third album, from vintage R&B to melodic soft-rock and balladry worthy of Nina Simone

Beatles’ early mentor Lord Woodbine to feature in new BBC drama

Six-part series will explore the band’s years in Hamburg, including the overlooked influence of Harold Phillips

Oasis reunion helps draw record 25m ‘music tourists’ to UK concerts

Gigs by Gallagher brothers, Coldplay, Lana Del Rey and Beyonce gives £11bn boost to the economy

‘Ramones had leather jackets when they got spat on. We didn’t!’ David Byrne on touring with Talking Heads and taking advice from Lou Reed

As his American Utopia tour film hits cinemas, the musician answers your questions about his Scottish sense of humour, working with Brian Eno and his desire to direct another film

Brian Potter, British songwriter behind hits for Glen Campbell, Take That and more, dies aged 87

Versatile Essex-born hitmaker known for Rhinestone Cowboy, It Only Takes a Minute and many more had been living with Alzheimer’s disease