The best new musical artists of 2019 are all pushing boundaries as popular music becomes less genre focused. New artists are forging new identities, rather than occupying the convenient marketing categories of the past.
From French-Canadian electronic producer Marie Davidson's riotously scathing critique of modern capitalism to Dolly Parton's chart-topping foray into the world of EDM, here is a list of some of the year's best dance tracks.
This was a major year for country music. With Lil Nas X, the world saw the shift. But others are helping to move country from near homogeneity to a diverse pastiche.
In 2019, the music world saw amazing reissues spanning rock legends to foundational electronic artists, soul and jazz to pop of all stripes.
From "Old Town Road" to "7 Rings", from Lizzo to Lucy Spraggan, 2019 was a wild time for pop music, one where escapism was king. Now, as the year winds down, we simply can't escape how good these 12 albums are.
As the dominance of guitar rock has faded among indie-leaning audiences, there has also been a spreading into the mainstream of sounds that would have been easily described as indie-pop a decade ago. Indie-pop styles show up in TV commercials, Hollywood movie soundtracks, and within mainstream pop and country hits.
Our Best 20 Americana albums of 2019 are a multicultural, polysexual, cross-genre lineup of cool Americana music that, as with the best parts of the American promise, pays tribute to the musical wells from which they spring but also takes the artform wherever their rugged individualism and talent-rich hearts lead them.
Electronic music is a huge tent with so many diverse approaches, and it's more international than ever with producers around the globe pushing music forward. The year's best albums featured returns from established talents, as well as ground-breaking newcomers, and a host of women changing the old boy's club of electronic music.
Folk in 2019 is an image of inclusivity and unity in the face of international political upheaval. It's most captivating in its moments of sheer, heart-bearing authenticity and ensnares with new musical bearings introduced by some of its foremost innovators and newcomers to the scene.
In an age when the personal is political feels as necessary as ever, we identify most with experimenters who transcend the throwing-shit-at-a-wall, banging-on-pots-and-cans approach. These artists occupy the earthly just as much as they occupy the mechanical and the celestial.
Our jazz critics create four quartets of great creative music, demonstrating four trends that keep "jazz" relevant in a new century.
From forward-looking electronic and experimental to new approaches in the ever-evolving R&B scene, from hip-hop and punk to rock and pop, 2019 bestowed an embarrassment of musical riches upon us.
