A pair of rappers pulling off the best Tom Tom Club sample since Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” (G Perico & Rucci), an iconic New Wave band trafficking in tongue-in-cheek nostalgia (Duran Duran), a ...

It’s brutal out there, and that’s why, more than ever, we needed the consoling and prodding pleasures of popular music to help everything make sense in here. [Stage direction: taps chest, knowingly.] ...

In another trying year, many of the best songs—from “Like I Used To” to “Pick Up Your Feelings” to “Hard Drive” to “Good Days”—were about picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and trying again.

When we remember 2021, few things will be more evocative than the music that provided the soundtrack to the world as we re-entered it after a long year filled with uncertainty and social distancing.

"Only here to sin." That admission from NPR Music's song of the year lies at the heart of many of the stories told across these 100 tracks. Perhaps the crowning of Cardi and Megan's "WAP" last year ...

Silk Sonic, the late DMX and Olivia Rodrigo rocked some of the best songs of 2021. Whether it was the retro-soul romance of Silk Sonic, the thrashing teen spirit of Olivia Rodrigo or the grand divorce ...

Who says classic country heartbreak is a thing of the long-ago past? While legends like Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson and Patsy Cline set the standard for sad songs, modern country music has more than ...

"Only here to sin." That admission from NPR Music's song of the year lies at the heart of many of the stories told across these 100 tracks. Perhaps the crowning of Cardi and Megan's "WAP" last year ...