Lady Gaga

On her seventh album, Lady Gaga returns to pop with the larger-than-life sound. She delves into the inner turmoil of fame while reminding you why she’s earned it.

Japanese Breakfast

Michelle Zauner’s lovely, pensive, capital-R Romantic fourth album takes a step back from autobiography to examine the performances and peril of fame itself.

Sharp Pins

Best New Album

Lifeguard’s Kai Slater bottles the feeling of youthful, lovestruck invincibility with enough scream-a-long hooks and artful riffs that his second album feels like a greatest-hits collection.

Playboi Carti

Carti’s long-awaited third official album is a blockbuster event that synthesizes all of his impulses—good and bad—into a dizzying, inspired, vibes-driven, 30-track flood of everything.

Marie Davidson

Forget dancing like no one’s watching: The Québécois musician’s latest LP is raving under surveillance capitalism, offering pranksterish critiques over Y2K-inspired beats.

Charley Crockett

Following in a long tradition of country singers on the skids, the Grammy-nominated Texan songwriter’s new album recounts a trail of broken promises and broken hearts.

Panda Bear

Best New Album

Assisted by his Animal Collective bandmates, Noah Lennox’s latest solo LP is disarmingly laid-back. It might be his most straightforwardly beautiful record—and also his most emotionally complex.

Dutch Interior

After the lo-fi slowcore of its first two albums, the L.A. sextet embraces a welter of instruments, some carefully chosen country influences, and sentimental feelings delivered with a wink.

Black Flag

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we look at a 1984 record that rewrote the rules of punk, balancing hardcore’s jackhammer attack with dirge-like heavy metal, and helping pave the way for grunge, stoner rock, and beyond.

Françoise Hardy

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we revisit the French singer’s arresting 1971 album, a highlight of her career, a lovelorn mélange of spare Brazilian folk and the chanteuse traditions of her youth.

Macy Gray

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we revisit Macy Gray’s misunderstood 1999 debut and the unlikely story that shaped its wise songwriting and chameleonic sound.

Flipper

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we revisit a 1982 album in which hardcore punk’s oppositional spirit turned on itself—a nihilistic spiral both profound and absurd.

William Ackerman

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we revisit a sublime 1976 solo guitar album, a humbly brilliant record that spawned a colossal new-age music empire.

Babes in Toyland

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we revisit Babes in Toyland’s overlooked 1992 album, a raw rock exorcism that connected grunge to the beginning of the riot grrrl sound.

Movietone

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we revisit a lost indie rock gem from 2000, an ethereal and luminescent highlight of the underground Bristol scene.

Jerry Garcia

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we revisit Jerry Garcia’s 1972 debut solo album, a captivating blueprint of cosmic Americana and one of his many transcendent detours from the Dead.