Jacob Ganz

Whether you use it as a balm or an echo chamber for your despair, Ware's second album is a celebration of gloriously messy feelings, each tamed by her soft touch.

After two solid albums, Too Bright is something shockingly new for Perfume Genius: a set of muscular, magnificently controlled songs that explore darkness inside and out.

Highly emotional rock that reads as low-stakes at first, Lost in the Dream is evocative and pleasant if you let it float by in the background. But it's made with hooks that sink in deep.

A pinch of melody, a dash of groove. Pop music is built on making a song sound just new enough to be intriguing. So what happens when one song sounds a little too familiar?

In honor of The Strokes' new album, Comedown Machine, packaged behind a cover meant to look like a 1970s tape-reel box, here's a selection of other albums packaged inside materials that refer to another musical format of some kind.

Call it diversity or a lack of consensus, but no single act dominated this year's awards. Instead, the Grammys spread the love, though rock bands — including The Black Keys and fun. — fared well.

Page had one of the biggest-selling singles ever with her version of "The Tennessee Waltz."

We're still in the final stages of making our list, but we agree enough on a few albums to share this preview of NPR Music's favorite albums of the year. Audie Cornish talks to Frannie Kelley, Stephen Thompson and Tom Huizenga.

Guitar technician Shane Timm is one of the many people who make the band fun.'s tour possible. Timm is in charge of the 45 pieces of musical equipment that travel with the band on its summer tour.

A trick of light made the rapper, who has been dead for more than 15 years, the most talked about musician after the first weekend of this year's Coachella festival.