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.

Twenty One Pilots
Trench
Alternative, EDM/Electronica/Techno, Pop, Rap/Hip-Hop, Rock

The latest from Twenty One Pilots once again explores the in-between spaces between determination and despair.

for KING & COUNTRY
Burn the Ships
Christian/Gospel, Pop, Rock

The third effort from this Christian duo finds them choosing joy, even in the midst of life’s dark moments.

Various/Soundtrack
A Star Is Born (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Country, Pop, Soundtracks

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper team up for a soundtrack that’s beautiful and broken, hopeful and haunting in equal measure.

Halsey
Without Me
Pop

Halsey’s latest is emotionally raw—in honest ways and problematic ones, too.

Avril Lavigne
Head Above Water
Pop, Rock

Avril Lavigne nearly lost her battle with Lyme disease. Now she’s singing about crying out to God to save her.

Carrie Underwood
Cry Pretty
Country, Pop

Carrie Underwood has never feat into a neat package. And that’s true again on her mascara-streaked sixth album, Cry Pretty.

Carrie Underwood
Love Wins
Country, Pop

Carrie Underwood’s latest offers a stirring call to love, though it only partially reflects a biblical understanding of that virtue.

Troye Sivan
Bloom
EDM/Electronica/Techno, Pop

This Australian singer’s second effort focuses on his same-sex attraction and experiences with other men.

Why Don't We
8 Letters
Pop

The debut album from this boy band is like a lovable puppy in some ways—except when it starts acting more …

Ariana Grande
Sweetener
Pop, R&B

Anyone who listens to Sweetener will have to sift through some salt to get to the sugar.