Peyton Thomas

Prudie and Thomas dig into letters about how to handle feeling not non-binary enough for your trans boyfriend, what to do when your friend in recovery comes to your bar and orders a drink, what actions to take if you feel your fiancé has befriended a con artist, what to do when your partner’s lack of direction feels like it’s holding your own future plans back, how to let a new friend know that just because you declined a last minute hiking invite, you still want to be friends.

With the help of Phoebe Bridgers, Conor Oberst, and others, this career collaborator steps into the spotlight with a stunningly empathetic study of human frailties.

The Colombian and Canadian musician’s second album is a symbolic reclamation of her crown. On one level, she’s recollecting intimate relationships; on another, she’s calling entire countries to task.

The electro-pop duo’s first album in five years muses on bodies, blood, and a girl’s coming of age; it benefits from the group’s newfound musical maturity and more exacting editorial eye.

It used to be that queer kids had to imagine themselves into love songs. The ones with no pronouns were the easiest: No chance of daydreaming about the cute girl in English class only to hit a “he” like a speed bump.

Eleven years after Music for Insomnia, Stevens and his stepfather reunite on a collection of warm, improvisatory synth-wave epics; intimate and unvarnished, they double as a testament to the power of found family.

In a hyperspeed world, it is increasingly meaningful to sit with the vision of one artist for an extended period of time. It’s an experience that can offer shelter from the noise—or it can offer better noise, if that’s what you’re looking for. 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.

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.

As the audience rose to applaud at Rogue One’s 2016 world premiere, Joshua Yehl remained in his seat, sobbing so hard his body shook. Yehl had spent a lifetime lining up for Star Wars showings with his best friend Drew Leinonen. But this year, for the first time, he was alone. Leinonen had been shot to death six months prior, one of the 50 victims of Omar Saddiqui Mateen’s brutal attack on an Orlando gay club.

The Australian singer-songwriter uses the Unplugged format as a showcase for the community of musicians she’s cultivated.

Ariana Grande's eventful year shows that pop stars are expected to be triumphant at all times, unless their pain is packaged for the public's consumption.

The singer-songwriter, inspired by seven national holidays (including Bruce Springsteen’s birthday), finds love, death, and wry humor in a few spectacular originals and a collection of covers.

When pop superstar Avery Wilshere discovers your singing talent, you’re catapulted to instant fame! Are you ready to share your voice with the world?

The duo’s third album is a nostalgic indie-pop rumination on suburban teenhood that thrums with hopeful energy. The best songs are like dispatches from a cracking cocoon.

Encased in swirls of dream-pop production, Katherine Paul’s second album represents a softer, more subtle sort of resistance.