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The NPR Music editor shares her favorite albums and songs of 2021.

British sensation Keane has built a worldwide audience for its infectious piano-rock hits. The band's new record, Perfect Symmetry, rounds out a trio of acclaimed releases, while revealing a departure from the group's characteristic sound with the introduction of synthesizers and electric guitar.

Five must-hear songs, including a Belgian artist with more than 180 million YouTube views, a wry outsider's take on "sweet France" and an earworm from American Top 40 rooted in the Balkans.

The first single from a new collaboration between songwriters Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee and Jess Williamson is a stunner of a breakup song, best played singing along at top volume.

He had one of the most gorgeous voices ever to sing a love song. But during his lifetime, Johnny Hartman was known only to hardcore jazz lovers. It was after his death when he finally made it to the top of the jazz charts.

In his new book The Beast, Salvadoran journalist Oscar Martinez narrates his eight trips on top of the freight trains known as La Bestia — a journey embarked upon by hundreds of thousands of migrants every year, across Mexico and up to the U.S. border.

Dozens of new bands stopped by WXPN's Philadelphia studios in 2011, and World Cafe host David Dye witnessed them all. Hear the host's top five performances by emerging artists and download a song from each session.

For 15 years, Elson has graced magazine covers and runways as a top fashion model. But these days, it's her voice that's attracting attention. Elson's debut, The Ghost Who Walks, is a roots-rock album with a bit of a dark side; it was produced by her husband, musician Jack White.

The Pointer Sisters won three Grammy Awards and had 13 U.S. top 20 hit songs between 1973 and 1985, Anita Pointer's publicist said. The 1983 album "Break Out" went triple platinum.

Financial woes and contentious negotiations between labor and management have plagued many American orchestras this year. Where can they go from here?