Music Lists

Eight essential jazz albums for beginners — from Kind of Blue to Head Hunters, Getz/Gilberto to Mingus Ah Um. The records that open the door, plus one modern entry point.

The best albums of 2026 so far — from Aldous Harding and Friko to Joyce Manor, Basement, and the This Is Lorelei super-deluxe. Updated regularly.

Eight albums that make a long flight feel like time well spent — from Moon Safari by Air to Either/Or by Elliott Smith, Boards of Canada to The Avalanches. Window seat required.

Ten albums for the aftermath of love — from Joni Mitchell's Blue to Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin, Blood on the Tracks to Back to Black. The records that understand what you're going through.

Fifteen essential indie albums from the 2000s — from Is This It to Merriweather Post Pavilion, Fever to Tell to Ys. The decade that defined independent music.

Fifteen albums for deep focus, writing, and studying — from Bonobo's Black Sands to Nils Frahm's Olsen, Tycho's Dive to Substrata by Biosphere. Music that disappears into the work.