Welcome to New Music Friday, NPR Music's podcast dedicated to sharing the best albums out each week. We listen to dozens of new releases in advance, identify the ones we think you need to hear, and ...

This story was originally published in our sister paper, Portland Mercury. In 2017, Judith Arcana sent a postcard to the old Mercury offices in Old Town/Chinatown. I was the arts editor at the time—it ...

As the year comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the music that defined 2024. From soul-stirring R&B records to groundbreaking hip-hop projects, this year has been nothing short of monumental for ...

Jeremy has more than 2300 published articles on Collider to his name, and has been writing for the site since February 2022. He's an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet, so will gladly ...

The waiting is the hardest part, when it comes to some recording artists. And if a lot of them come through on their promises, threats or hints of delivering new material in 2026, it will be like a ...

Here are our 11 most anticipated prog rock and prog metal albums of 2026! To recap the best of the year, Loudwire already reflected on the best prog rock albums of 2025 and the best prog metal albums ...

As 2025 draws to a close, Metacritic has unveiled its annual rankings of the best albums of the year, highlighting a diverse and genre-spanning collection of critically acclaimed releases. From ...

90 tracks! Five hours! Remix the year in pop however you wish. By Lindsay Zoladz The longest Amplifier playlist of the year is finally here: five hours, 90 tracks, each of which was chosen as a 2025 ...

If we needed any more proof that the album isn't dead, 2025 was it. On this episode, Stephen Thompson is joined by Ann Powers and Daoud Tyler-Ameen to run through 12 dazzling albums that stuck with ...

Before I share my list of favorite albums of 2025, I need to repeat my regular “year-end list” disclaimer. If you already know the drill, feel free to skip ahead. We all know this. Art isn’t a ...

Have you noticed that guitars are back? I’m being a little facetious, but rock and even punk has has been steadily climbing its way back to the mainstream and we felt that more this year than we have ...

Rosalía made an album invoking the saints, Lily Allen took us on a tragicomic trip through her domestic hell, Lady Gaga found the sweet spot between artpop and arena-ready funk, and Bad Bunny was just ...