The Best 50 Albums Of 2016
These are the records NPR Music couldn't stop playing this year — ones that speak to a moment and a lifetime, ones that party, ones that exist in their own worlds.
Music & Culture
The Top 100 Songs Of 2016
These are the pop anthems, rallying cries, party jams, riff rockers, perfumed piano pieces and emotional exorcisms that we loved to share this year.
Amanda Shires On World Cafe
The natural-born fiddler performs songs from a new album born just a few days before her daughter.
'Jackie' Shows A First Lady Behind Closed Doors — But The Music Is Front And Center
The score for the new film, which stars Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy grappling with the death of her husband, was written by 29-year old English composer Mica Levi (a.k.a. Micachu).
What's A Song That Could Ruin Your Whole Day? Our Listeners Respond
A Canadian police department jokingly said they'd punish drunk drivers by making them listen to Nickelback. That got us thinking: What song would you pick as punishment? We asked, you answered.
Marching Flute And Fantasy Fiction: The Education Of Lizzo
The Minneapolis singer and rapper spent her early life deep in the Pentecostal church — and shut away from secular music. When she moved to Houston, Texas, everything changed.
Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing
A panel of public-radio DJs recommends music for the end of your 2016 — including songs from Third Root, Regina Spektor and Sylvan Esso.
The Birth Of 'Nueva Trova Cubana' And Other Music Styles In Castro's Cuba
Various music styles, from singer-songwriters to dance music to hip-hop, emerged over the many years of Fidel Castro's rule in Cuba.
'O Emmanuel' Composer Mixes In Jazz To Provide 'Respite' Within Traditional Hit
Composer J.J. Wright combines sacred music with jazz for a project based on texts and melodies of Advent. NPR's Scott Simon speaks to him from Rome where he now interns with the Sistine Chapel Choir.
'Half Of Humanity Has Something To Say': Composer Kaija Saariaho On Her Met Debut
Saariaho isn't the first woman composer to stage an opera at New York's Metropolitan Opera — just the first in more than a century. Her opera, L'Amour de Loin, has its New York premiere this week.