Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry Names Class of 2026

Washington, DC (May 18, 2026)—This year’s additions to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress have been announced and include albums by Taylor Swift, the Go-Go’s and, by popular demand, Weezer.

Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen named 25 recordings as “audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage,” according to the announcement. Taylor Swift’s pop album 1989, Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It),” The Go-Go’s debut album Beauty and the Beat, Vince Gill’s “Go Rest High On That Mountain,” Weezer’s self-titled debut Weezer (The Blue Album), Chaka Khan’s crossover hit “I Feel for You” and Broadway’s original cast album of Chicago have all been selected to join the National Recording Registry in 2026.

The public made more than 3,000 nominations of recordings to consider this year. Weezer was among the most nominated selections. The 2026 selections mark the first recordings by Swift and Beyoncé chosen for the registry. It also marks the first time a daughter and father have both been included in the registry with the selection of Cash’s The Wheel. Her father Johnny Cash’s At Folsom Prison was selected in 2003.

• National Recording Registry Adds Chicago, Elton, Minecraft and More for 2025

The 2026 class of inductees span 70 years of music and recorded sound ad also includes: The Byrds’ single “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season),” Reba McEntire’s country album Rumor Has It, Rosanne Cash’s album The Wheel, Gladys Knight and the Pips’ “Midnight Train to Georgia,” Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music and José Feliciano’s beloved Christmas classic “Feliz Navidad.”

For the third time, video game music was selected with the soundtrack from Doom. Selected singles from the 1940s and 1950s include Paul Anka’s “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” Kaye Ballard’s “In Other Words (Fly Me to the Moon),” Pérez Prado’s “Mambo No. 5,” and the earliest recording, “Cocktails for Two” by Spike Jones and His City Slickers, from 1944.

Discover more great stories—get a free Mix SmartBrief subscription!

The recordings selected for the National Recording Registry this year bring the number of titles on the registry to 700, representing a small portion of the national library’s vast recorded sound collection of nearly four million items.