Music Lists

Music & Culture

21 Hip-Hop Albums That Reflected The Politics Of Race, Space And Place In 2017

3:07pm December 28, 2017

Many of the year's best challenged America's record on race, critiqued widespread cultural erasure, or broke conventions of genre, gender and identity within the space of rap itself.

Anna Burch's song "2 Cool 2 Care" is featured in this month's Heavy Rotation.

Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

7:11am December 23, 2017

This month's playlist includes a single off Anna Burch's forthcoming debut album, a cover of a Willie Dixon song and a powerful spoken-word track about homelessness.

The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (50th Anniversary Edition)

Music & Culture

The Best Reissues Of 2017

3:04pm December 20, 2017

by Tom Moon

It was a good year for previously unheard songs from classic albums and discoveries of studio works and live performances that never saw the light of day.

Music & Culture

World Cafe Remembers The Musicians We Lost In 2017

1:38pm December 20, 2017

by Talia Schlanger

We were lucky to have some of the artists who died in 2017 pass through the World Cafe to perform. Listen back to their sessions.

Music & Culture

The 2017 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll

12:07pm December 20, 2017

by Francis Davis

An international panel of 137 jazz writers voted on the best albums of 2017. The winner took the top spot by a wide margin.

Kirk Knuffke's Cherryco was Francis Davis' top jazz album of the year.

Music & Culture

The Jazz Albums Of 2017 And The Power Of Gatekeepers

11:01am December 20, 2017

by Francis Davis

Record labels — and the physical presence of CDs and vinyl — stood out compared to artists who issued albums digitally. Plus, see the poll master's ballot.