Joey Willis

By the time The Cure released Greatest Hits in 2001, they had already built one of the most recognizable catalogs in alternative music, moving from scrappy post-punk minimalism to lush, radio-ready pop without losing their identity. Owing one last album to Fiction Records, Robert Smith agreed to put out a greatest hits under the condition that he could choose the tracks himself. With Robert Smith personally curating, the collection feels less like a label-driven roundup and more like a deliberate snapshot of how the band wants their legacy presented. As the Greatest Hits celebrates 25 years and the band marks 50 years, Rhino Records is reissuing the compilation on Bio Silver vinyl as a 2-LP set.

Released as a companion piece to 2001’s Greatest Hits, Acoustic Hits strips The Cure’s catalog down to its core and puts the songwriting front and center. Recorded at Olympic Studios in London during the same sessions, these versions remove most of the band’s signature production (no dense synth layers or effects), just acoustic arrangements that highlight melody and structure. For Record Store Day 2026, the set returns newly remastered by Robert Smith and pressed on 2LP silver bio vinyl by Rhino Records, giving this once under-the-radar release a more fitting spotlight.

Coming off the buzz of their debut United, Phoenix returned in 2004 with Alphabetical, a record that trades some of that scrappy indie energy for a more controlled, polished approach. The Versailles band leans harder into groove here with tight basslines, clean guitar tones, and a subtle nod to R&B that gives the album a smoother, more deliberate feel. It’s not as immediately punchy as the debut, but it gives a further glimpse into what would become Phoenix’s signature sound. For the first time in almost a decade, Alphabetical is being reissued on vinyl by Rhino Records for Record Store Day 2026. The RSD Exclusive is pressed on silver vinyl and limited to 3500 units.

Coming off the stripped-down intensity of Hallowed Ground, Violent Femmes pivoted in a noticeable way with 1986’s The Blind Leading the Naked. Produced by Talking Head’s Jerry Harrison, the album expands the band’s wiry folk-punk foundation into something more layered and polished. It still carries that anxious energy that defined their early work, but adds a wider mix of sounds like horns, keys, and a wealth of guest players that give the record a different kind of weight. For its 40th anniversary, Craft Recordings is reissuing the long-out-of-print third album on “Candlelight Swirl” vinyl for Record Store Day 2026.

Arriving as part of Third Eye Blind’s 30th anniversary run, Rarities & First Drafts pulls material largely from the band’s first three albums: Third Eye Blind (1997), Blue (1999), and Out of the Vein (2003), and presents it through demos, alternate takes, and acoustic versions. Instead of revisiting these songs in their familiar form, the collection strips back some of the studio layering and centers on the songs’ structures. It plays less like a standard compilation and more like a look at how these tracks functioned before the final mixes. As part of Record Store Day 2026, Rhino Records is offering this new compilation on Translucent Emerald vinyl as an RSD Exclusive.

Released in 2012, Just Tell Me That You Want Me brings together a wide range of indie and alternative artists to reinterpret Fleetwood Mac’s catalog. The compilation doesn’t just revisit the band’s biggest songs; it draws from multiple eras, from the early blues years to the more polished pop records of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Now issued on vinyl for the first time as a 2-LP set pressed on translucent sea blue by Craft Recordings for Record Store Day 2026.

Jazz Dispensary’s compilations tend to work best when they lean into a specific mood, and Magia Brasileira takes the listener to the Samba-filled Brazil of fifty years ago. This set spans the late ’60s through the ’70s, focusing on Brazilian artists and adjacent players who blurred samba, jazz, and funk in a way that feels loose yet tightly played. It’s not a deep archival statement so much as a small sampling of tracks that best exemplify the music scene at the time. For Record Store Day 2026, Craft Recordings is releasing Magia Brasileira as an RSD Exclusive pressed on “Brazilian Shimmer” green/yellow / gold splatter vinyl with original artwork by São Paulo-based artist Fernanda Peralta.

Coming on twenty into their run as one of Austin’s most consistently inventive rock bands, White Denim’s 13 feels less like a reset and more like a snapshot of everything they’ve learned how to do and how comfortably they can shift between those ideas. The band has always pulled from a wide range of influences, but here that approach is pushed even further. It’s a dense, groove-focused record that draws on rock, funk, soul, country, and more. The result is a record that moves quickly, sometimes abruptly, but rarely loses its footing.

Few albums carry the weight of Pet Sounds, and even fewer have been reissued this many times with as much scrutiny. For its 60th anniversary, The Beach Boys’ landmark release returns as part of Interscope-Capitol’s Definitive Sound Series, cut from All-Analog tapes sourced from the highly regarded 1972 Brother Records pressing. Long thought lost, these newly rediscovered tapes of the 1972 Brother Records pressing are believed to be the best representation of the original Mono sound Brian Wilson recorded. This new One Step edition aims to present the original mono mix with as much presence and detail as possible. What stands out immediately is the sense of balance. Brian Wilson’s dense arrangements have always been the core of the record, but here they feel more organized without losing their complexity.

District Five’s Glut continues the Zurich band’s push into a sound that pulls equally from art-rock, jazz, post-punk, and experimental noise without fully settling into any one category. The four-piece has spent over a decade developing a sound that feels loose and spontaneous without losing focus, and this album captures that balance particularly well. Recorded with minimal overdubs, the record has the tension and unpredictability of a live performance, but the band’s control over dynamics and texture keeps it from spiraling into chaos. Instead, Glut feels like a document of a group constantly reacting to one another in real time.