Music
Anamaria Sayre
The NPR Music assistant producer and Alt.Latino contributor shares her favorite albums and songs of 2021.
Stephen Thompson
The Pop Culture Happy Hour host shares his favorite albums and songs of 2021.
NPR Music's album of the year: 'Heaux Tales' by Jazmine Sullivan
NPR Music's album of the year, Heaux Tales, by Jazmine Sullivan, shows the singer exploring themes of love, sex and loss.
This year's best songs come from some of the youngest — and oldest — artists
From 18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo to 83-year-old Peter Stampfel, critic Ken Tucker says the music he most enjoyed in 2021 was recorded by artists who were either very young or quite old.
Morgen Wurde, 'Weiht'
Classical critic Tom Huizenga selects a standout track from an annual compilation of ambient works.
Moin, 'Crappy Dreams Count'
The band exists somewhere in the deconstructed '90s punk nexus of Fugazi, Unwound and Shellac, but its high-definition payoff is somehow more psychedelic.
Skyzoo (feat. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble), 'Bed-Stuy is Burning'
Over a gorgeous, jazz-infused beat, Skyzoo runs down a vivid and loving detailing of life in the Brooklyn neighborhood that birthed him.
Encore: Remembering Maria Angelica Mares, who died of COVID, with 'I Walk the Line'
With nearly 800,000 lives lost to COVID-19 in the U.S., NPR pays tribute to some people by listening to their stories and the music they loved. Lionel Mares remembers his mother.
Fleeing the Gilded Cage
Forget the diva stereotype: Opera careers are tough, and often strict. But as concert halls reopen after months of shutdown, more than a few singers are showing newfound creativity.