One of the best albums of 2024, Diamond Jubilee, isn't on streaming services. The artist who released it, Cindy Lee, has rejected the streaming era's demands to create something entirely their own.

Speaking alongside brother/collaborator Finneas, Eilish says she discovered a new self-awareness on Hit Me Hard and Soft, after years of seeing herself through others' eyes.

Madlib's music feels like a magic trick. On this edition of 8 Tracks, we bow down to Madlib's mastery, plus check out new music by Charly Bliss, Fana Hues and reminisce on an old Ted Leo record.

Taylor Swift, whose latest album is now the first to surpass one billion Spotify streams in a single week, has smashed another record as well.

On Friday — the day Swift released her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department — she smashed the all-time Spotify record for most album streams in a single day, with more than 300 million.

With The Tortured Poets Department, the defining pop star of her era has made an album as messy and confrontational as any good girl's work can get.

A new single, "Primrose Hill," was co-written by Sean Ono Lennon and James McCartney, the youngest sons of Beatles musicians John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

The Houston-bred artist's new album uses country as a trapdoor into a sweeping genre expression. By adopting the role of the outlaw, she's free to toss all rules into the trash heap.

Is the much-hyped sequel to Renaissance a country album? In many ways, yes — but it's also a sprawling collage of disparate references, while remaining a Beyoncé album at its heart.

The Carters have it all — wealth, influence, critical cred — but they've never stopped chasing the approval of exclusive institutions like the Grammys. At this point, who are they fighting for?

The South African singer brought a homegrown genre, amapiano, to new ears with a viral hit and a Grammy. With her debut album, she wants to prove the world is ready for a full-blown African pop star.

What do New Jazz Underground, Black Sabbath and Remi Wolf have in common? According to NPR Music producer Lars Gotrich, they put out the best tracks of the week.

What would you do if your favorite artist stared you down and asked for the truth? On this 8 Tracks: Michael Knott, Rapsody and Tierra Whack offer mirrors to themselves and to anyone listening.

The film and TV composer talks about his second solo album, plus scoring hit shows like The Midnight Gospel.

The song is many things: comforting, manipulative, cathartic, a little threatening. Most importantly, it is a vessel, which empties out at the chorus to accommodate whatever a listener brings to it.