NPR Music’s 50 Favorite Albums of 2013

Top picks for 2013, Benji B's PrivateJam, St. Vincent and more in our weekly look at music

Every day this week the Vinyl Factory released a batch of 20 LPs, reissues, box-sets and first-pressings which have culminated in the discerning enterprises’s top vinyl releases for 2013. Be sure to check out the now-complete list, which serves as much as a place for personal discovery as it does an intelligent musical compass. Highlights include William Onyeabor, Psychemagik, Digable Planets, The National, Thelonious Monk, …

The Vinyl Factory: Top 100 Vinyl Releases of 2013

Top picks for 2013, Benji B's PrivateJam, St. Vincent and more in our weekly look at music

ListenUp is a Cool Hunting series published every Sunday that takes a deeper look at the music we tweeted about that week. Often we’ll include a musician or notable fan’s surprising personal interests—#PrivateJam exposes their musical guilty pleasure.

It’s Nice That + NTS Radio’s Black Impulse Playlist

The historic Nelson Mandela anthem, Kirsten Dunst in anime costume, a lot of NTS radio and more in our look at music this week

Our creativity-championing friends over at It’s Nice That have let the folks from Black Impulse on NTS Radio hijack their weekly mixtape—resulting in two hours of music, most of which you’ve probably never heard before. Heather Weil focuses on prog, heavy psych, 1970s and ’80s punk and hardcore. She explains, “These are three really difficult genres to make accessible.” Check out the selection of 30 …