All Songs Considered
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All Songs Considered
Since launching in 2000, All Songs Considered has been NPR's flagship program for music discovery, artist interviews and conversations with friends and fellow music lovers about the really big questions, like what was the best decade for music, are there albums everyone can agree on, and what do you...
Recent Episodes
365 episodes
What are the greatest videos of MTV’s golden era?
Reports from late last year about the demise of MTV were overstated; but it got us thinking about the network’s legacy and most memorable moments. So,...
New Music Friday: The best albums out Jan. 16
Ya Tseen. The Sha La Das. A mesmerizing collaboration between Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore. Stephen Thompson from NPR Music is joined by Alex N...
Alt.Latino: Our Love Letter to Bob Weir
Over the weekend, we lost a musician who shaped the lives of countless people: the late, great Bob Weir. He was a founding member of the Grateful Dead...
Big Thief’s Buck Meek, Joji and more of the week's best songs
NPR’s classical critic Tom Huizenga joins host Robin Hilton for our first spin of the best songs we’re hearing in 2026, including new ones from Big Th...
New Music Friday: The best albums out Jan. 9
Dry Cleaning. Jenny on Holiday. An introspective debut from Mon Rovîa. Stephen Thompson from NPR Music is joined by Celia Gregory from WNXP in Nashvil...
Alt.Latino: Music as protest in Venezuela
Venezuela has a deep tradition of reflecting political change through music. This week, as the country reels from the seizure of its president by Amer...
The best 2026 albums we've heard so far
We look ahead to some of the albums we’re most excited about for the new year, from sure bets like Dry Cleaning and Beverly Glenn-Copeland to rumored...
New Music Friday: A roundup of December albums
It's a slow release day to start the new year, so this week NPR Music's Stephen Thompson brings us an abbreviated episode highlighting a few of the ne...
Viking's Choice 2025: The Guitar
On the last episode of All Songs Considered for 2025, NPR Music producer Lars Gotrich takes host Robin Hilton through an exceptional year in guitar mu...
Our no. 1 songs: 2024
In our final look back at our number one songs from the past 25 years, we visit Modesto, take an existential stroll through Petco, and find it all so...
A very tolerable Christmas, 2025
We take a motorcycle road trip to Wisconsin in our annual search for the true spirit of the season. And, of course, we meet some special guests along...
Our No. 1 songs: 2023
We get in our fast car, drive like a red wine supernova, and run into Kristine from the 7th grade. Bad idea, right?
Enjoy the show? Shar...
Listener Poll: Your Favorite Albums of 2025
We asked and you answered. Earlier this month, we opened the polls and invited All Songs Considered's listeners to tell us their top 5 records of the...
Alt.Latino: What We Missed In 2025
The sheer volume and variety of Spanish-language music released every year is breathtaking. Even those of us with our ears to the ground are bound to...
Songs that hit hard in 2025
NPR listeners share the one song that hit them the hardest this year, and tell us why they laughed, cried, or simply couldn’t stop listening to it.
Our No. 1 songs: 2022
We go to college and get the “big D,” hit the dance floor and do what we want, then head back to the radio. Is this a life filled with every possibili...
The Best Albums of 2025
If we needed any more proof that the album isn't dead, 2025 was it. On this episode, Stephen Thompson is joined by Ann Powers and Daoud Tyler-Ameen to...
Alt.Latino: What Were Felix and Ana's 2025 Favorites?
This year was bookended by two major statements in Latin music. In January, Bad Bunny released DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, and followed that up with a 31-sh...
The Best Songs of 2025
When the dust settles on 2025, what songs will remain in heavy rotation? We look back at a dizzying amount of music and share some of our picks for th...
Our No. 1 songs: 2021
We’ve got a funny feeling about the times, stay indoors (together alone), and dream about life on the other side.
Note: This is a recurri...
New Music Friday: The best albums out Dec. 5
Dove Ellis. Melody's Echo Chamber. Editors' Tom Smith. Erin Wolf of Radio Milwaukee joins Stephen Thompson to discuss those albums and more on our las...
Alt.Latino: Zen and the art of new music
Some folks think by December all the releases for the year are complete. Not quite. This week's Alt.Latino episode features a new music show with albu...
The year in review, 2025
We look back at the year’s most defining moments in music, from the Trump administration’s takeover of the Kennedy Center to Kendrick’s Super Bowl per...
Our no. 1 songs: 2020
We make some bad moves, start over, and take a day off in Kyoto as we look back at the songs we loved most from 2020.
Note: This is a rec...
New Music Friday: Record Store Day Black Friday 2025
There's 177 new special edition physical releases out today, so go support your local music purveyor. On this abbreviated version of 'New Music Friday...
A Thanksgiving playlist: songs of joy and gratitude
Hosts Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson share stories and songs of gratitude from NPR listeners.
Note: This is an encore presentation tha...
Our No. 1 songs: 2019
We bury a friend, visit the School of Design, and gather around a crowded table to remember the songs that take us back to 2019.
Note: Th...
New Music Friday: The best albums out Nov. 21
Odeal. Snarky Puppy. The return of Tobias Jesso Jr. Stephen Thompson from NPR Music is joined by Justus Sanchez from KNKX in Seattle and Tacoma to cha...
Alt.Latino: Roots and unity at the Latin Grammys
The annual Latin Grammy awards are always full of glamour and glitz. But they're also an ideal time to take the pulse of the industry - which is exact...
The Contenders, Vol. 25: Robyn, Rosalía, Nothing, Snocaps, more
In our final contenders episode of 2025, we’ve got some late additions to our running list of the year’s best songs, including Robyn’s first new relea...
Our no. 1 songs: 2018
An Afro-futurist universe with funk and lots of theater (and a big nod to Prince), a potent, political gut punch from a beloved actor and comedian, er...
New Music Friday: The best albums out Nov. 14
FKA twigs. The Avett Brothers. Madi Diaz covering blink-182. Stephen Thompson from NPR Music is joined by Liz Warner from WDET in Detroit to chat abou...
Alt.Latino: Rosalía in her own words
Spanish vocalist and composer Rosalía has been a major presence in Spanish language music since she released her 2018 album, "El Mal Querer." She star...
The Contenders, Vol. 24: JADE, S.G. Goodman, Cleo Reed, more
With the end of 2025 in sight, we pause to update our running list of the year’s best songs. Our latest adds include the (possibly twisted) dance pop...
Our no. 1 songs: 2017
A Pulitzer Prize-winning hip-hop album, a crushing elegy to a lost love, a reevaluation of Kesha, "melodrama" from Lorde and more.
Note:...
New Music Friday: The best albums out Nov. 7
Mavis Staples. Young Miko. A jaw-dropping project from Rosalía. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson is joined by Alt.Latino's Anamaria Sayre and Liz Felix fr...
Alt.Latino: Portraits of Jazz and Identity in Latin America
Ever since I heard the Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri back in the Seventies, I’ve been fascinated by musicians from South America who found their...
New songs to calm the nerves: 2025
Our fourth installment of music to slow the blood is a mix of all-new releases from this year, from the world-building, ambient sounds of Ozbolt and K...
Our no. 1 songs: 2016
It was a year of staggering losses, from David Bowie and Prince to Leonard Cohen and George Michael. But it was also a year of monumental new music, i...
New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 31
A Waxahatchee side project. Guided By Voices. keiyaA. Marfa Public Radio's Julie Bee joins NPR Music's Stephen Thompson to break down the best albums...