Musicians were more active in 2022 and it resulted in a vast treasure trove of superb work. The best albums of 2022 pushed boundaries and are more varied than ever.
The 13 best pop albums of 2022 radiate with unstoppable playlist power, much-needed sweet escapism, self-reflection, self-criticism, and killer melodies.
In 2022, indie rock was a guitar-led extravaganza with artists drawing from an ever-widening musical well. These are the 25 best indie rock albums of the year.
If you’re a smart, historically-minded music critic or essayist, let your voice be heard by the quality readership of PopMatters.
A track-by-track analysis of the most celebrated album of the 1990s: Nirvana’s Nevermind. From the hit that popularized grunge to a hidden cacophonous noise-fest.
PopMatters takes a deep dive into Radiohead’s first musically important album, The Bends, where the group’s experimental inclinations initially took flight.
Nostalgia Alert! Jump back a decade and enjoy the best songs of 2011. They are headlined by a synthpop classic, a massive hit from a hot diva, pristine harmonies of a young band headed for greatness.
This is a Beatles list of the nearest things in the most overexposed catalog in popular music history to “deep tracks”.
The best new artists are pushing boundaries as popular music becomes less genre-focused. New artists are forging new identities, rather than occupying the convenient marketing categories of the past.
The electropop universe was vast in 2020 with brilliant newish acts emerging, and experimentalists pushing the music forward. Meanwhile, a few legends returned to show us all how it's really done.
In 2020, the music world saw spectacular reissues spanning rock legends to foundational electronic artists, jazz to pop of all stripes.
In this time of political unrest, racial strife, and pandemic, soul and R&B walked tall and carried a big stick, while also being a much needed balm and source of warmth in 2020.
