Ken Tucker

While Beyoncé's new album suggests the country-music industry's problematic history of excluding Black artists, the collection as a whole is as much a celebration as it is a critique.

The Philadelphia rapper and singer is known for her playful side, but she widens her subject matter on World Wide Whack, with emotions ranging from ecstatic happiness to the deepest despair.

The indie rocker's guitar playing conveys a confidence in making music — even when the songs themselves detail doubt and vulnerability. Untame the Tiger is her first solo album in 15 years.

Fresh Air's rock critic recommends three songs that transcend age and genre: Howard's "Another Day," Kweskin's duet with Maria Muldaur, "Let's Get Happy Together," and Helms' "Leanne."

Given the ceaseless torrent of music being released, it's almost inevitable that worthy artists slip through the cracks. Rocker King Tuff and hip-hop's Brown deserve a special mention.

Every year, a sleigh-full of Christmas music gets released. Cher and the Cowsills came to prominence in the '60s, but they still possess the distinctive sounds that brought them their initial success.

Over the course of a career that began in the 1970s, the Oklahoma native, who died Oct. 18, specialized in rock 'n' roll sincerity, and dramatizing the pain of love rejected.

The Stones' new album — their first in 18 years — features guests appearances by Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, and offers at least one song that can stand among their very best.

The five discs in Joni Mitchell Archives Vol. 3, The Asylum Years (1972-1975) represent both a summation of Mitchell's pop achievement and a harbinger of her later, more experimental work.

The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist spent years in various bands, including Birds of Chicago and Our Native Daughters. Now Russell's startling sophomore album serves as a sort of rebirth.

Bush Tetras formed in NYC in 1979, at the height of the punk era. Decades later, the band brings a sustained energy to a new album, an urgency to get things said and to make some different sounds.

Ndegeocello has combined soul, funk, pop, hip-hop and jazz to create a unique body of work over the course of her more than 30-year career. Now in her 50s, her latest album is The Omnichord Real Book.

Ken Tucker reviews Robert McCormick's Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey, and Robert Mugge's Notes from the Road: A Filmmaker's Journey Through American Music.

Monáe has been releasing albums that mix R&B, pop and rap since 2007 — this is the artist's first since 2018. In recent years, Monáe has appeared in the films Moonlight, Hidden Figures and Glass Onion.

Where Isbell's Weathervanes sounds like a new attempt to describe the world around him, Crowell's Chicago Sessions has the aura of an old pro who's realized he has a few more life-lessons to share.

The married British duo Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt — aka Everything but the Girl — have their first album in 24 years. Ken Tucker reviews Fuse, then we listen back to a 2018 interview with Thorn.

Green is widely considered one of the greatest pop singers ever. In 1973, he constructed this superb nine-song album for Hi Records in Memphis, in close collaboration with co-producer Willie Mitchell.

Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. is filled with dense compositions about family lore and romantic entanglements.

Whether it's the folk-protest music of DeMent, the cutting-edge blues of War or the hard-charging Americana of Price, these three artists create music that stands out.

Desire, I Want to Turn Into You was recorded during a time when many were emerging from pandemic isolation, and, intentionally or not, it taps into the upheaval and disorientation we've lived through.