The Genre Starter Guides series explores musical styles through a handful of essential albums. Each guide introduces listeners to a genre’s core sound and history while suggesting albums that make the best entry points.
If you’re curious about exploring new sounds, these music genre guides introduce the essential albums that define each style.
And if you’d rather explore other genres through a favorite artist, check out our If You Like This Artist series.
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5 Alternative R&B Albums to Explore After the Essentials
Once you get through the alternative R&B essentials, things get even more interesting. The first-wave picks make sense for a reason. Trilogy gives you the bruised after-hours fog.… Continue Reading
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How to Get Into Afrobeat: 5 Essential Albums You Need To Hear
Afrobeat has a sneaky way of getting you. At first, it might just be the groove. The bass sits down and refuses to leave. The drums and percussion… Continue Reading
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How to Get Into Hard Bop: 5 Must-Hear Albums to Start Your Journey
Hard bop is one of those jazz labels that can sound a little dutiful until you actually put the records on. On paper, it risks looking like a… Continue Reading
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Where to Start With Jazz Fusion: 6 Essential Albums for Curious Listeners
From a distance, jazz fusion can look like one giant, slightly stressful pile of 1970s virtuosity: long solos, very serious facial expressions, five-minute stretches where everyone seems to… Continue Reading
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Where to Start With Neo-Soul: 5 Essential Albums for New Listeners
Neo-soul is one of those genre labels people use while also looking slightly suspicious of it. That suspicion is fair. “Neo-soul” can sound like a record-store tag that… Continue Reading
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A Beginner’s Guide to Alt-Country: 5 Essential Alt-Country Albums for New Listeners
Alt-country is one of those genre names that sounds useful right up until you try to pin it down too neatly. Then it starts slipping out of your… Continue Reading