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Jerry Garcia playing guitar on stage, Mickey Hart playing drums.

With Mickey Hart backing him up on drums, Jerry Garcia plays lead guitar during a Grateful Dead concert at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, California. Philip Gould/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

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Philip Gould/Corbis via Getty Images

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NPR Music+: “Touch of Grey” by Grateful Dead

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Despite having more than a dozen studio albums, thousands of live recordings you can find online and an impassioned fan culture that’s endured over six decades, the Grateful Dead have never quite been a mainstream band. But there was one song that managed to break through to become a top-40 hit. How did it happen? And why this song?  

NPR Music+: “Touch of Grey” by Grateful Dead

How to love the Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead (left to right): Brent Mydland, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Bob Weir, Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart Roger Ressmeyer / Corbis / VCG via Getty Images hide caption

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Roger Ressmeyer / Corbis / VCG via Getty Images

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How to love the Grateful Dead

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Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest places, if you look at it right. And if you get confused, just listen to the music play. This week, resident Deadheads Isabella Gomez Sarmiento and Felix Contreras help host Robin Hilton hear what he’s been missing in the music of the Grateful Dead.

How to love the Grateful Dead

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New Music Friday: The best albums out July 24

New Music Friday

New Music Friday: The best albums out July 24

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Charli xcx. Tyla. Shania Twain. Guest host Ann Powers chats with Nastia Voynovskaya of member station KQED in San Francisco about their favorite albums out Friday, July 24. Plus, some NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round.

New Music Friday: The best albums out July 24

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Sylvan Esso, Phoebe Bridgers, feeble little horse, more

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Sylvan Esso, Phoebe Bridgers, feeble little horse, more

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We share our picks for the best new tracks out now, including the laid-back dystopia of Sylvan Esso’s “Concrete Glen,” an acoustic take on Phoebe Bridgers’ “Lost Boys,” the glitched-out chaos of feeble little horse and more.

Sylvan Esso, Phoebe Bridgers, feeble little horse, more

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New Music Friday: The best albums out July 17

New Music Friday

New Music Friday: The best albums out July 17

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Gracie Abrams. Nia Archives. Steve Lacy. On a release day full of catchy earworms, host Stephen Thompson chats with Tshego Letsoalo of KALW in San Francisco about their favorite albums out Friday, July 17. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round.

New Music Friday: The best albums out July 17

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Frank Ocean singing on stage.

Singer Frank Ocean performs at Terminal 5 on July 26, 2012 in New York City. Jason Kempin/Getty Images hide caption

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Jason Kempin/Getty Images

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NPR Music+: "Thinkin Bout You" by Frank Ocean

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Frank Ocean released what is for now his last full-length album, “Blonde,” 10 years ago this summer, and his initial run at stardom was only about five years. And yet, it seems like every day there’s some emerging young artist who cites him as a primary influence. How did this happen? Why has Ocean’s impact reached so far for so long, even after he’s disappeared from the spotlight?  

NPR Music+: "Thinkin Bout You" by Frank Ocean

beabadoobee, The Rolling Stones, Four Tet, more

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Erika Kamano/Dirty Hit

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beabadoobee, The Rolling Stones, Four Tet, more

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On her stellar new single, “Switchblade,” beabadoobee shreds ‘90s style. The Rolling Stones have still got it on their latest album, Foreign Tongues. And Four Tet surprises us with a new “wingdings” project. We’ve got all that and more as we share our picks for the best new songs of the week.

beabadoobee, The Rolling Stones, Four Tet, more

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Suki Waterhouse

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Miles Aldridge/Island

New Music Friday

New Music Friday: The best albums out July 10

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Jack White. Baby Rose. Suki Waterhouse. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Maggie Brennan of WCBE in Ohio about their favorite albums out Friday, July 10. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round.

New Music Friday: The best albums out July 10

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Summer’s simple pleasures: Roséwave
Lars Gotrich

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Summer’s simple pleasures: Roséwave

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Roséwave is a feeling more than a singular sound or genre. It’s the kind of sweetness and sadness that underscores the long, languid days of summer.  Long drives with old friends, watching your kids at the pool, backyard barbecues while the sun slowly sets.  On this episode we share a mix of songs that offer the perfect soundtrack for your roséwave days and nights, from Linda Ronstadt’s “How Do I Make You” and Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t That Peculiar,” to Katie Gavin’s “Aftertaste,” Waxahatchee’s “Much Ado About Nothing” and more.

Summer’s simple pleasures: Roséwave

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The best albums of 2026 (so far)

New Music Friday

The best albums of 2026 (so far)

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On a special mid-year episode of New Music Friday, host Stephen Thompson and a lineup of NPR Music writers and critics reflect on their favorite albums of the year so far. 

The best albums of 2026 (so far)

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Ben Gibbard singing into a microphone on stage.

Musician Ben Gibbard of the band The Postal Service performs onstage during day 2 of the 2013 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club on April 13, 2013 in Indio, California. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella hide caption

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NPR Music+: “Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service

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The origin story of The Postal Service is as simple (and twee) as they come: An electronic music producer (Jimmy Tamborello) and an indie rock singer-songwriter (Ben Gibbard) decide to collaborate on a few songs, sending each other music via snail mail. But The Postal Service’s only album, Give Up, eventually went platinum, and the band is selling out arenas decades later. It’s a record that seems to have captured how rapid advances in technology would change how we communicate and even love, bridging the distances that separate us.  

“Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service

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The year’s best songs (so far)

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Adrian Nieto

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The year’s best songs (so far)

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It's the midway point of 2026, and it's safe to say that when it comes to the best songs of the year, there's not really any consensus to be found. So we’ve assembled our personal Top 10 list of the most memorable songs to cross our paths, from the outlaw country of Charley Crockett to the glam rock of Friko, Lana Del Rey’s twisted ode to love, Vince Staples' "White Flag" and more.

The year’s best songs so far

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New Music Friday: The best albums out June 26

New Music Friday

New Music Friday: The best albums out June 26

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Beth Orton. Chanel Beads. Cécile McLorin Salvant. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Ayana Contreras from KUVO in Denver about their favorite new albums out Friday, June 26. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round.

New Music Friday: The best albums out June 26

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Beck’s ‘Odelay’ at 30, Mitski covers One Direction, more

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Lexie Alley/Dead Oceans

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Beck’s ‘Odelay’ at 30, Mitski covers One Direction, more

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We share our picks for the best new tracks of the week, including Mitski’s surprising cover of One Direction’s “Fireproof.” But first, we remember Beck’s still mind-blowing Odelay, which just celebrated its 30th anniversary. 

Beck’s ‘Odelay’ at 30, Mitski covers One Direction, more

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New Music Friday: The best albums out June 19

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New Music Friday

New Music Friday: The best albums out June 19

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Tierra Whack. The War and Treaty. A plethora of new jazz releases. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Nate Chinen from WRTI in Philadelphia about their favorite new albums out Friday, June 19. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round.

New Music Friday: The best albums out June 19

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Eddie Cochran on stage holding a guitar.

Musician Eddie Cochran performing onstage with his guitar circa 1958. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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NPR Music+: “Summertime Blues” by Eddie Cochran

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With the summer solstice upon us, we’re looking back at a song that really nails the season in the opposite way that you’d expect. It’s a song about how summer is not always fun and why that's the case—and it’s since inspired dozens of high-profile covers and influenced a trove of other summer bummer songs.  

NPR Music+: “Summertime Blues” by Eddie Cochran

New Music Friday: The best albums out June 12

New Music Friday

New Music Friday: The best albums out June 12

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Olivia Rodrigo. Pussy Riot. Hayley Kiyoko. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Nastia Voynovskaya from KQED in San Francisco about their favorite albums out Friday, June 12. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round.

New Music Friday: The best albums out June 12

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NPR listeners share the songs that help reset their mood

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Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

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NPR listeners share the songs that help reset their mood

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NPR listeners share the songs they reach for when they need to reset the mood, their day or even their life.

Need (another) reset?

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New Music Friday: The best albums out June 5

New Music Friday

New Music Friday: The best albums out June 5

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Vince Staples. Zoh Amba. Death Cab for Cutie. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Laura Grant from WEXT in New York about their favorite albums out Friday, June 5. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round.

New Music Friday: The best albums out June 5

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NPR Music+: “Time Warp” from ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’

From right to left, actors Richard O'Brien, Tim Curry and Patricia Quinn as Riff Raff, Dr Frank-N-Furter and Magenta respectively, on a lobby card from the 1975 musical comedy 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show', produced by 20th Century Fox. Movie Poster Image Art/Getty Images hide caption

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NPR Music+: “Time Warp” from ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’

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The latest revival of “The Rocky Horror Show,” which first appeared on stage in London in 1973 and later became a cult movie classic, is nominated for nine Tony Awards this year. The show's continued resonance is no surprise—after all, its most popular song is one that’s exceeded the frame of the musical and captured the hearts of countercultural weirdos all over. 

NPR Music+: “Time Warp” from ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’

All Songs Considered: Wet Leg, Vince Staples, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien

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Alice Backham

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All Songs Considered: Wet Leg, Vince Staples, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien

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The best new tracks of the week include a raging, dance floor remix of Wet Leg’s “Catch These Fists,” a touch of vintage soul from rapper Vince Staples, Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien and more.

All Songs Considered: Wet Leg, Vince Staples, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien

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