In a hyperspeed world, it is increasingly meaningful to sit with the vision of one artist for an extended period of time. From drowsy hip-hop to pitch-perfect pop, albums of all genres felt more profound than ever. Synthesizing devastating breakups and calling for revolution in every style of sound, these albums went all-in on what matters. Listen to selections from this list on our Spotify playlist and Apple Music playlist.

Flower of Devotion


Shawn Mendes: “If I Can’t Have You”
Thousands of you did. Thank you! And check out all of our end-of-year wrap-up coverage here. Weyes Blood: Titanic Rising 5. Angel Olsen: All Mirrors 6. Big Thief: U. Vampire Weekend: Father of the Bride 8. Bon Iver: i,i 9. Big Thief: Two Hands Solange: When I Get Home
Powder: “New Tribe”
In , with one killer track, an artist could become a household name, sparking infinite conversations and even more memes. In addition to all the new names, established artists like Lana Del Rey and Vampire Weekend redefined themselves and reset the trajectories of their careers. At the end of one year, and looking ahead to the next decade, here are the tracks we believe will stand the test of time. Listen to selections from this list on our Spotify playlist and Apple Music playlist. Shawn Mendes seems beamed in from a pop era before face tattoos and pink hair and cursing: Last year, when the Canadian heartthrob revealed he liked to— gasp! On paper, Mendes is pining after the girl who got away with the obsessiveness of an Instagram stalker—and yet his effervescent delivery, and shameless cheesing in the video , make it clear that this winning rom-com of a song has a happy ending. The titular vocal sample, chopped into oblivion, is a suitable mantra: Nate returned to footwork while recovering from an injury that left him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down, a particularly cruel irony in a scene defined by movement. What emerges is a strangled, melodic hook offset by unsettling vocal effects and chords that spiral upwards in a nervous twist of energy. The exhilarating track from her seventh studio album, Beauty Marks , follows the singer in the throes of infatuation, with a throwback disco beat that mimics her joy. The heartbreaker and the heartbroken—aka the villain and the victim—are often the stock characters in songs about failing relationships.
In , music videos seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once. Turn on the TV, log in to a streaming platform, open up your social media feeds: Rapid-fire, music-fueled visuals bombarded us from all sides. But with everything from album teasers to TikTok competing for attention, it was harder than ever for traditional music videos to cut through the fray. The revelry is complete with a peach-headed Powder on the decks and trucks with 12''s for steering wheels. Sure, everyone dreams about quitting their day job, but Powder makes it look like absolute heaven. Interrupted by occasional sci-fi special effects, as if the Canarsie native is being magically teleported around Brooklyn before our very eyes, Pop Smoke raps with a small child in his arms and lets a charismatic teenager steal a few scenes; at one point, a bottle of champagne is uncorked to the beat. Somehow, it all suits the intensity.