Music Lists

Saba (left), Lizzo (center) and Rosalía have released some of our favorite songs of the year so far.

Music & Culture

NPR Music's 36 Favorite Songs of 2022 (So Far)

10:47am June 27, 2022

The songs we love from the first half of the year span a wide emotional and musical range, from wild percussive romps to raw pleas for empathy to Beyoncé's command to leave it all on the dance floor.

Music & Culture

Songs to believe in: A Juneteenth playlist

8:06am June 16, 2022

by Lara Downes

This Juneteenth, pianist Lara Downes remembers the freedom that has been hard fought and hard won.

Queue Listen Now

Is there anyone more deserving of a chart-altering music sync than Kate Bush?

Music & Culture

7 more Kate Bush songs that deserve the 'Stranger Things' treatment

9:48am June 11, 2022

NPR Music staffers convene to offer up the Kate Bush tracks we think deserve a powerful, paradigm-shifting sync in a television show or movie.

Music & Culture

'SNL' just wrapped its 47th season: It's time to cruelly rank its musical guests

5:04pm May 23, 2022

by Stephen Thompson

A cold and methodical ranking of Saturday Night Live performances by Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Young Thug, Arcade Fire, Saweetie, LCD Soundsystem, Camila Cabello and more.

Alanis Morissette performs at Aotea square in downtown Auckland in 1999.

Music & Culture

Through The Decades: The Nineties

10:30am May 19, 2022

by John Vettese

It was a decade that gave us unforgettable pop, metal and more. Take a wild ride through the end of a century in our 30-song playlist.

Prince performs live at the Fabulous Forum in February 1985 in Inglewood, California.

Music & Culture

Through The Decades: The Eighties

10:32am May 18, 2022

by Bruce Warren

Coming out of punk, New Wave and the early days of hip-hop, musicians like Prince, Talking Heads, The Smiths, The Cure, Madonna, Public Enemy, Whitney Houston and more delivered timeless classics.

Music & Culture

Through The Decades: The Seventies

11:49am May 17, 2022

by Bruce Warren

From classic rock to classic soul and R&B, the mid-70s brought us punk, disco, New Wave, hip-hop and jazz fusion.

Bob Dylan, while recording 'Bringing It All Back Home' on January 1965 in Columbia's Studio A in New York City, New York.

Music & Culture

Through The Decades: The Sixties

11:16am May 16, 2022

by Bruce Warren

Enjoy a 750-song playlist full of rock and roll, a bit of jazz, R&B and soul — and even some of our favorite one-hit wonders.

World Cafe celebrates 30 years with a playlist from 2019

Music & Culture

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2019

4:57pm May 11, 2022

by Bruce Warren

2019 was a big year for breakouts in music: We were introduced to Jade Bird, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Maggie Rogers, Black Pumas, The Highwomen, Orville Peck and Nilufer Yanya, among others.

World Cafe celebrates 30 years with a playlist from 2018.

Music & Culture

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2018

12:46pm May 05, 2022

by Bruce Warren

From Hozier to Kacey Musgraves, Nathaniel Rateliff, Jade Bird, Janelle Monae and Hop Along, 2018 was peppered with excellent releases from all genres of music.