The Best Albums of 2025
Episode Date: December 12, 2025If 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...
Welcome to your all-in-one destination for every NPR Music podcast. We break down the best new albums to hit streaming each week on New Music Friday; we share the latest songs worthy of your playlists on All Songs Considered; there’s off-the-rails conversations (and chisme!) about Latin music on Alt.Latino. The NPR Music channel is your hub for new records, iconic artists and cult heroes, free of algorithms and full of surprises.
298 episodes transcribedIf 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...
This year was bookended by two major statements in Latin music. In January, Bad Bunny released DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, and followed that up with a 31-sh...
When the dust settles on 2025, what songs will remain in heavy rotation? We look back at a dizzying amount of music and share some of our picks for th...
We’ve got a funny feeling about the times, stay indoors (together alone), and dream about life on the other side.Note: This is a recurring series in c...
Dove Ellis. Melody's Echo Chamber. Editors' Tom Smith. Erin Wolf of Radio Milwaukee joins Stephen Thompson to discuss those albums and more on our las...
Some folks think by December all the releases for the year are complete. Not quite. This week's Alt.Latino episode features a new music show with albu...
We look back at the year’s most defining moments in music, from the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center to Kendrick’s Super Bowl per...
We make some bad moves, start over, and take a day off in Kyoto as we look back at the songs we loved most from 2020.Note: This is a recurring series...
There's 177 new special edition physical releases out today, so go support your local music purveyor. On this abbreviated version of 'New Music Friday...
Hosts Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson share stories and songs of gratitude from NPR listeners.Note: This is an encore presentation that originally r...
We bury a friend, visit the School of Design, and gather around a crowded table to remember the songs that take us back to 2019.Note: This is a recurr...
Odeal. Snarky Puppy. The return of Tobias Jesso Jr. Stephen Thompson from NPR Music is joined by Justus Sanchez from KNKX in Seattle and Tacoma to cha...
The annual Latin Grammy awards are always full of glamour and glitz. But they're also an ideal time to take the pulse of the industry - which is exact...
In our final contenders episode of 2025, we’ve got some late additions to our running list of the year’s best songs, including Robyn’s first new relea...
An Afro-futurist universe with funk and lots of theater (and a big nod to Prince), a potent, political gut punch from a beloved actor and comedian, er...
FKA twigs. The Avett Brothers. Madi Diaz covering blink-182. Stephen Thompson from NPR Music is joined by Liz Warner from WDET in Detroit to chat abou...
Spanish vocalist and composer Rosalía has been a major presence in Spanish language music since she released her 2018 album, "El Mal Querer." She star...
With the end of 2025 in sight, we pause to update our running list of the year’s best songs. Our latest adds include the (possibly twisted) dance pop...
A Pulitzer Prize-winning hip-hop album, a crushing elegy to a lost love, a reevaluation of Kesha, "melodrama" from Lorde and more.Note: This is a recu...
Mavis Staples. Young Miko. A jaw-dropping project from Rosalía. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson is joined by Alt.Latino's Anamaria Sayre and Liz Felix fr...