The best headphones and earbuds in 2026, according to Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports found the best options in each major categories, testing dozens of options before making its decisions.

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It's hard to know which headphones make the most sense for you with so many options on the market.

Luckily, experts at Consumer Reports did the hard work for us, testing dozens of earbuds and headphones to find the best in each category.

"If there’s one thing that separates truly great headphones from the merely mediocre, it’s sound quality," CR said. "At Consumer Reports, our trained testers evaluate fit and the performance of the noise cancellation tech (if a model has that feature), but in our headphone ratings, we give the most weight to sound quality."

Continue reading to see which were named their favorites — and why.

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If you're buying Apple $AAPL AirPods, CR thinks you should go with the Pro 3. CR said the earbuds, which cost between $200 and $250, have........

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