Songs about new beginnings – ranked!
From CMAT and the Carpenters’ fresh starts to the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun and Nina Simone’s Feeling Good, starting again is a rich theme in pop. Here are some of the best examples
Our 2026 listening resolutions: from Radiohead to Kendrick Lamar, critics try to get into music they’ve never liked
Streaming’s algorithms make it easy to avoid whole discographies – so in the interest of deeper listening, our writers dedicate time to the ones who might have got away
NewJeans member Danielle sued for millions after bitter feud with K-pop record label
Ador terminated the Australian-born singer’s contract on Monday and is now suing her, a family member and the band’s former producer
‘Being annoying is worse than being evil’: the high-octane, low-culture genius of indie duo Getdown Services
Scatological lyrics, social conscience and a shoutout from Walton Goggins – 2026 is going to be the laptop garage band’s year
Lily Allen’s live return, Charli xcx’s Wuthering Heights and Simon Rattle’s Janáček: music to listen out for in 2026
Raye, Deftones and Yungblud do UK tours, Jill Scott returns for more neo-soul, and classical world gears up to celebrate György Kurtág at 100
Songs about love, poverty and swimming in Bacardi lemon: Dutch ‘levenslied’ captures a new generation
The Netherlands’ guttersnipe answer to French chanson and German schlager is as popular as ever – but has it lost its roots as the defiant voice of the working class? Our writer sways along at the Muziekfeest van het Jaar to find out
‘Have sex to my own music? That sounds repugnant’: KT Tunstall’s honest playlist
The Scots singer thought Kim Wilde was cool and got talked into buying a Cocteau Twins record but which song gives her a slap in the face?
‘Almost collapsed’: behind the Korean film crisis and why K-pop isn’t immune
Both industries dominate the world but now face fundamental transformation and uncertainty at home
‘Hardcore had a level of violence I was really interested in’: the thrash solos and beatdowns of False Reality
The band may be relatively new but its members have spent years steeped in the scene, giving them edge and an ear for tracks that rip through a room
The best songs of 2025 … you may not have heard
From a folk murder ballad to an impassioned call for peace, Guardian writers pick their favourite lesser-heard tracks of the year
Soul-baring ballads, alt-rock fury and neon-lit techno: five-star albums you may have missed this year
Valentina Magaletti drummed for her life, Sarz got hips swinging and Daniel Avery got slinky and serpentine: our writers pick their favourite unsung LPs from 2025
Paranoia, pop-dubstep and perfectly odd gems: the best old music we discovered this year
Strange folk, lost pop, disco oddities and, um, Dido – here are the forgotten tracks that became this year’s most replayed revelations
What happened next: the Oasis comeback – and how it transformed a hill in Manchester
When the band played their homecoming shows, the city council attempted to discourage ticketless fans from an area that became known as ‘Gallagher Hill’. But, realistically, nothing could keep them away ...
Bold docuseries or dull branding exercise? What The End of an Era really told us about Taylor Swift
Swift’s six-parter charting her Eras tour began with some riveting revelations – but the drama ebbed away, leaving another piece of mere product for fans
‘It contains the greatest song ever about an ice cream truck’: readers’ favourite albums of 2025
The beautiful despair of Cameron Winter, the perfectly imperfect life of Lily Allen, the maximalist R&B of Dijon and more: here’s what our readers have had on heavy rotation