Even though the long-playing album had been around for more than a decade, and artists were using the form to construct entire thematic works from individual songs, the format came of age in 1965.

Streaming has mutated the album as a format over the past decade, lengthening tracklists, shifting where likely hits get placed, and chipping away at song runtimes. But this year, artists seemed less ...

Charli XCX, Mk.gee and MJ Lenderman top our pop music critics’ lists this year. By Jon Pareles Jon Caramanica and Lindsay Zoladz Jon Pareles The agendas for 21st-century musicians keep getting more ...

The death of the album has been proclaimed many times, and after decades of piracy and point-and-click listening, cohesive bodies of work have indeed lost some of their cultural stature. Yet the long ...

Reggae artist Etana is particularly proud of her latest album, Nectar of the Gods, which was released today (July 26) on all digital music platforms. “I started working on the Nectar of the Gods in ...

Without question, Metallica are the most formidable, popularized and influential band in the heavy metal genre. No other band in heavy music wields the same number of masterfully crafted albums or the ...

Hubris, lack of taste, massive amounts of drugs: There are many reasons for terrible album covers. This gallery collects 50 of the worst. Enter the carnival tent to witness the monstrosities, the ...

The album is the best invention of the past century, hands down — but the music isn’t the whole story. The album cover has been a cultural obsession as long as albums have. Ever since 12-inch vinyl ...

We’re halfway through 2024 and just posted a list of our 40 favorite albums of 2024 so far, which includes multiple genres of music, including metal. For even more metal, we’ve now put together a list ...

I might be old-fashioned, but I like listening to albums. Spotify seems to always be fighting me on this. I like experiencing a collection of songs all at once, played in the order chosen by the ...

As expected, Billie Eilish has officially announced her third full-length album: “‘HIT ME HARD AND SOFT,’ MY THIRD ALBUMMMMMMMMMMMMM COMES OUT MAY 17THHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHH,” she wrote in an ...

Beyoncé could bow out of music today, and she’ll have released enough music to explore for decades to come. But that’s not a worry — with the release tonight of “Cowboy Carter,” she’s onto the second ...