The following ten best library music albums are bursting with largely instrumental, deeply cinematic tunes that’ll suit a gamut of possible occasions.
Featuring the likes of Flohio, Westside Gunn, and Open Mike Eagle, this month’s best hip-hop is an eclectic and thoughtful range of new releases.
Both Erotica and Bedtime Stories represent critical periods in Madonna’s career. They were autumn releases and saw Madonna recalibrating her career in the face of rampant criticism.
From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots established Dälek as the finest underground, deconstructive hip-hop outfit that ever toured with heavy-metal heavyweights and held their own.
In Dawn FM, the Weeknd carries the weight of party hauntology, which explores how our cultural past haunts the present and future and mourns what never comes.
On Sampa the Great’s As Above, So Below, she makes music with incredible clarity of purpose and affirms a sense of interconnected self and heritage.
Mariah Carey’s Butterfly is rightly heralded as the finest work in her long discography and it would prove to become one of the best pop albums of the 1990s.
August’s selection of the best hip-hop is an especially strong bunch, featuring long-awaited team-ups, debut masterclasses, and a previously-lost gem.
With 2000 Joey Bada$$ proves he’s just as sharp as he was when he first stepped into the rap game. He offers smart social commentary on American gun violence.
Glitch-hop pioneer Thavius Beck talks about Public Enemy, the Bomb Squad, and LEO, an album heavy with his baritone boom and pumping, catawampus beats.
Beyoncé’s Renaissance repackages traditional marketing and 1990s-inspired dance music, creating the ultimate combination of streaming sensibilities and feel-good anthems.
While Renaissance occasionally sports more style than substance, Beyoncé emerges as the re-coronated Queen of Pop and the reigning regent of eclecticism.
