PopMatters picks the best pop culture for your enjoyment, including music, film, TV, books, games, comics, and more.
This was another noteworthy year for the best rock music. Some artists followed a debut with a stunning second LP and mainstays showed a return to form or evolved.
The best global music albums represent ten especially powerful examples of musical communion from the past year that defy the frictional fictions of borders.
The future of the genre lies in places where it’s less insular and more artistically adventurous. The 20 best jazz albums are outstanding examples of that impulse.
Tangerine Dream’s albums from the early to mid-1970s are not only iconic in the strongest sense of the word; they’re influential beyond compare.
Despite several moments of quiet intensity, Kalia Vandever’s Another View flows like a dream, with composition and improvisation beautifully intertwined.
This year has been particularly exciting for experimental music, ranging from free-form guitar freak-outs to lush, ambient, always pushing boundaries.
Hélène Barbier writes songs that are couched in traditional post-punk, power-pop frameworks, but there always seems to be something off-kilter in the presentation.
A certain group of animated demon slayers supercharged interest in what has already been a banner year for the genre. These are the best k-pop songs of 2025.
This year has delivered an embarrassment of riches, from traditional masterworks to forward-thinking madness. These are the best metal albums of 2025.
So, Here We Are: Best of Doves shows how their secret is making music that’s grandiose yet unpretentious. It’s big music with a small ego.
Rahsaan Roland Kirk had an idiosyncratic style that fused hard bop with more melodic elements from gospel, blues, and pop. He had a theatrical stage presence.
Dan Knishkowy’s ever-evolving indie collective Adeline Hotel open a new chapter with the breathtaking Watch the Sunflowers.
