Backstreet Boys
DNA
Pop

The Backstreet Boys’ chart-topping comeback album bounces between love and lust, maturity and immaturity.

Ariana Grande
7 rings
Pop

Ariana Grande’s latest bling-filled effort tries to convince listeners that money really can buy happiness.

Maggie Rogers
Heard It in a Past Life
Alternative, EDM/Electronica/Techno, Folk, Pop

Maggie Rogers’ owes her big break to Pharrell Williams. But her voice makes it obvious why she got noticed.

Maren Morris
GIRL
Country, Pop

Maren Morris encourages women to accept themselves when they don’t feel perfect … in a song and a video that …

Chris Brown
Undecided
Pop, R&B

Chris Brown can’t quite bring himself to commit to the woman he’s already sleeping with in “Undecided.”

Ariana Grande
Imagine
Pop, R&B

Ariana’s back with another song about emotional and physical intimacy. But this time around, it’s not all about the latter.

Alessia Cara
The Pains of Growing
Pop

Growing up, and breaking up, can both be hard to do—lessons Alessia Cara sings about on her sophomore effort.

Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus
Nothing Breaks Like a Heart
Pop

Mark Ronson teams up with Miley Cyrus to offer a grim glimpse at a broken romance … and a broken …

Mumford & Sons
Delta
Alternative, EDM/Electronica/Techno, Folk, Pop, Rock

Mumford & Sons’ latest, by the band’s own admission, deals with the “four Ds”: death, divorce, drugs and depression.

Imagine Dragons
Origins
Alternative, EDM/Electronica/Techno, Folk, Pop, Rock

Imagine Dragons returns with another paradox-filled journey through the messy intersection of grief and hope.

Kane Brown
Experiment
Country, Pop, R&B

Kane Brown’s sound pushes country’s sonic boundaries. His messages? A more familiar mix of positive and problematic.

Lewis Capaldi
Someone You Loved
Alternative, Pop

Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi unintentionally reminds us of the emotional trials of intimacy outside marriage.

Ariana Grande
Thank U, Next
Pop

Ariana Grande’s surprise breakup anthem jarringly blends profanity and positivity.

Post Malone and Swae Lee
Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Pop, R&B, Rap/Hip-Hop

This chart-topping hit from the soundtrack to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse includes some content that isn’t kids’ stuff.

Billie Eilish
When the Party’s Over
Alternative, Pop

The breakthrough hit from this 17-year-old singer is beautiful, sad and unsettling all at once.