NPR Music

Jack White. Baby Rose. Suki Waterhouse. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Maggie Brennan of WCBE in Ohio about their favorite albums out Friday, July 10. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (02:00) Album No. 1 - Jack White, 'Frozen Charlotte' (07:28) Album No. 2 - Baby Rose, 'YEARNALISM' (15:23) Album No. 3 - Suki Waterh...

It’s that time of the year again: a mix between Christmas and Halloween for me and Felix. We gift you our best album picks of the year so far — and there’s nothing spookier for us than having to choose. So here it is, the music we’ve loved and listened to the most in the first half of 2026, some of the best (in our opinion) from all of Latin America and its diaspora. — Anamaria Sayre Artist and al...

Roséwave is a feeling more than a singular sound or genre. It’s the kind of sweetness and sadness that underscores the long, languid days of summer.  Long drives with old friends, watching your kids at the pool, backyard barbecues while the sun slowly sets.  On this episode we share a mix of songs that offer the perfect soundtrack for your roséwave days and nights, from Linda Ronstadt’s “How Do I...

On a special mid-year episode of New Music Friday, host Stephen Thompson and a lineup of NPR Music writers and critics reflect on their favorite albums of the year so far.  Albums featured in this episode: (01:14) Album No. 1 - Noah Kahan, 'The Great Divide' (07:16) Album No. 2 - underscores, 'U' (14:00) Album No. 3 - Cécile McLorin Salvant, 'With Every Breath I Take' (20:13) Album No. 4 - Neurosi...

The origin story of The Postal Service is as simple (and twee) as they come: An electronic music producer (Jimmy Tamborello) and an indie rock singer-songwriter (Ben Gibbard) decide to collaborate on a few songs, sending each other music via snail mail. But The Postal Service’s only album, Give Up , eventually went platinum, and the band is selling out arenas decades later. It’s a record that seem...

On this week’s Alt. Latino, Anamaria and I both gush about 'Femme Fatale Vol. 2,' the new album from Chilean-Mexican singer Mon Laferte, who is on one of the more amazing creative streaks I've witnessed in a while. Also, Ana and I sometimes unintentionally align when picking new music for the show, and that took place this week with a couple of Brazilian highlights: I chose an artist who records a...

It's the midway point of 2026, and it's safe to say that when it comes to the best songs of the year, there's not really any consensus to be found. So we’ve assembled our personal Top 10 list of the most memorable songs to cross our paths, from the outlaw country of Charley Crockett to the glam rock of Friko, Lana Del Rey’s twisted ode to love, Vince Staples' "White Flag" and more. NPR Music’s She...

Beth Orton. Chanel Beads. Cécile McLorin Salvant. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Ayana Contreras from KUVO in Denver about their favorite new albums out Friday, June 26. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (00:00) Introduction - Roberta Flack, 'The Montreux Years' (02:01) Album No. 1 - Cécile McLorin Salvant, 'With Ev...

This week's episode is a musical time machine. In the late 1960s, the band Zapata sprang out of a street gang in northwest Washington, D.C., with a sound that combined a variety of contemporary styles: Afro-Caribbean rhythms, soul jazz and the golden era of American R&B. The mixture worked. For a few years, Zapata opened for an astonishing number of A-list acts passing through the city, like Miles...

We share our picks for the best new tracks of the week, including Mitski’s surprising cover of One Direction’s “Fireproof.” But first, we remember Beck’s still mind-blowing Odelay , which just celebrated its 30th anniversary.  NPR Music’s Lars Gotrich joins host Robin Hilton. Featured artists and songs: (00:00) Beck’s Odelay at 30 (03:39) Perennial: “What’s New On The Beat Scene” (08:55) Mitski: “...

Tierra Whack. The War and Treaty. A plethora of new jazz releases. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Nate Chinen from WRTI in Philadelphia about their favorite new albums out Friday, June 19. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (01:17) Album No. 1 - Tierra Whack, 'Whack's Museum' (06:43) Album No. 2 - The War and Treaty,...

We're living in a moment when the geopolitical intersects with the personal in a profound way. The relationship between the United States and Cuba is once again in the news, and it happens at a time when there are a handful of new releases from Cuban artists on the island and around the world. The sounds of the albums are vastly different, but they all draw from the same deep well of inspiration t...

It’s the season of road trips — and nothing goes better with those long and winding roads than music.  This week we share our picks for the perfect playlist, breakdown what works best when, and consider some ground rules — does the driver always have the final say? Reviews help!  Leave us one on Apple or Spotify wherever you listen to podcasts.  Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any...

Olivia Rodrigo. Pussy Riot. Hayley Kiyoko. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Nastia Voynovskaya from KQED in San Francisco about their favorite albums out Friday, June 12. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (00:00) Songs of the Summer (01:59) Album No. 1 • Olivia Rodrigo, 'you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love' (10:...

Ruben Ramos' life story mirrors the history of what we now know as Tejano music. His family's musical roots in Texas go back to 1918, and as a boy he was brought into the family bands, first as a drummer and then as a vocalist. He's been playing big band-inflected Tejano music now for more than six decades, and just released a tribute album tracing that musical lineage, called 'Los Días de Calor.'...

NPR listeners share the songs they reach for when they need to reset the mood, their day or even their life. This is a followup to our April episode on songs for starting over .  NPR’s Dora Levite joins host Robin Hilton. A good review helps! So, leave us one on Apple , Spotify , or wherever you listen to podcasts. And tell a friend to listen! Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any ki...

Vince Staples. Zoh Amba. Death Cab for Cutie. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Laura Grant from WEXT in New York about their favorite albums out Friday, June 5. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (00:00) Album No.1 Death Cab for Cutie, 'I Built You a Tower' (ANTI-Records) (08:18) Album No. 2 Vince Staples, 'Cry Baby' (...

The best new tracks of the week include a raging, dance floor remix of Wet Leg’s “Catch These Fists,” a touch of vintage soul from rapper Vince Staples, Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien and more. NPR Music’s Tom Huizenga joins host Robin Hilton. A good review helps! So, leave us one on Apple , Spotify , or wherever you listen to podcasts. And tell a friend to listen! Questions, comments, suggestions...

Boards of Canada. Kurt Vile. Iceage. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Andrew Brown of KUTX in Austin about their favorite albums out Friday, May 29. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (00:00) Paul McCartney (02:00) Boards of Canada (09:22) Kurt Vile (17:01) Iceage (22:18) feeble little horse (27:45) Greg Mendez (33:46)...

We don’t often get to discuss the ways that Latin American music made its way west across the Pacific Ocean. But this week we have two incredible projects that celebrate that journey. First, a Japanese band that fuses traditional minyo folk sounds with cumbia and other Latin rhythms. Then, a project that unearths a forgotten history of the 19th century Mexican cowboys who went to Hawaii to help ma...

We weigh the options and attempt to pick the one song that best captures the Millennial experience, from the dizzying highs of the dot-com boom, when anything seemed possible, to the post-9-11 bust, the "hope and change" of the Obama years, and prolonged period of generational disillusionment. NPR Music editors Hazel Cills and Sheldon Pearce join host Robin Hilton. A good review helps! So, leave u...

Aja Monet. Jack Antonoff's Bleachers. Radiohead's Ed O'Brien. Guest host Ann Powers chats with Aurora McGuckin of MVY Radio in Massachusetts about their favorite albums out Friday, May 22. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (00:00) Bleachers, 'everyone for ten minutes' (06:55) JPEGMAFIA, 'EXPERIMENTAL RAP' (12:49) Ed O...

Two different pioneers - from two different continents - are at the heart of this episode of new music. Since the late 80s, Gipsy Kings have been infusing Catalan rumba flamenca with a pop sensibility that defies the purists. Their new single "Historia," from an upcoming album of the same name, shows they've still got that punchy danceability forty years on. And across the pond, Mexican rocker and...

Our latest mix of the week’s best new songs includes a moody reflection on burnout from Gracie Abrams, rising L.A. duo Evening Elephants, the elusive electronic collagists Ear and more.   NPR Music’s Dora Levite joins host Robin Hilton. Please leave a glowing review on Apple , Spotify , or wherever you listen to podcasts. And tell a friend to listen! Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of...

It’s been five years since we last heard music from Isaiah Rashad. And four years since he largely disappeared from the public eye after two leaked sex tapes, featuring Rashad with other men, upended his life. Now, he's back. On his album, 'It's Been Awful,' he reaches new levels of clarity and intimacy. Having survived hypervisibility, this new music encapsulates what it means to truly be seen. ...