A lot of the year-end lists you've looked at probably didn't have that one favorite album or song you hold near and dear. This episode of All Songs is about our hidden gems, the ones that, in the give-and-take of making a representative staff list, got left off. In the case of the NPR Music team, we each had at least one record we want you to know about that you won't find on our Top 50 Albums list or our Top 100 Songs list. So, we gathered with ALT. Latino host Felix Contreras, our hip-hop and R&B lovers, Sidney Madden and Rodney Carmichael, classical music geek, Tom Huizenga and pop-and-rock fans Lyndsey McKenna and Marissa Lorusso to set the record straight. And with outrage in our hearts (and bit of tongue in our cheeks) we play the eight other songs we really want you to hear.

The All Songs gang looks back at this year's anthems and unmissable milestones, from Kendrick Lamar's Pulitzer to Childish Gambino's mind-blowing video for "This Is America," Rosalía, Mitski and more. Hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton are joined by NPR Music's Ann Powers and Stephen Thompson as they look back at the albums, artists and moments that mattered most in 2018.

It's our final New Music Friday for 2018 – barring any big surprises, December is a pretty slow release month – but we end with some phenomenal new albums, including The 1975's Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships, singer Alessia Cara's affecting coming-of-age manifesto The Pains Of Growing, an exercise in minimalism from rapper Earl Sweatshirt and more. Host Robin Hilton is joined this week by NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael, Sidney Madden and Lyndsey McKenna as they do a quick look at the most essential new albums dropping on Nov. 30. Featured Albums: The 1975: A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships; Meek Mill: Championship; J.I.D: DiCaprio 2; Alessia Cara: The Pains Of Growing; Earl Sweatshirt: Some Rap Songs. Other Notable Releases For Nov. 30: Jeff Tweedy: Warm; Foxwarren: Foxwarren; Lil' Baby: Street Gossip; Neil Young: Songs For Judy; Bryan Ferry And His Orchestra: Bitter-Sweet

Jeff Tweedy's written a book that's incredibly open-hearted and honest. Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, Etc. is a journey in music, friendship and family — from getting his first guitar (which didn't work out so well), to the formation of Uncle Tupelo with his friend, Jay Farrar, their surprising breakup and all the various incarnations of Wilco. It's filled with stories of insecurities, drug dependencies and thoughtful reflections. On this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen talks with Jeff Tweedy about his remarkable life story, plays clips from the Penguin Random House audio version of Jeff's book and digs a bit into his new solo album called Warm, which addresses a lot of personal thoughts and feels like a companion to Jeff's book.

Gobble gobble! Our Thanksgiving weekend edition of New Music Friday includes the warped and wild pop sounds of My Brightest Diamond, stunning instrumental records from Ed Harcourt and Jacco Gardner, punk with heart and humor from Art Brut and more. Host Robin Hilton is joined this week by NPR Music's Stephen Thompson as they do a quick sprint through the essential albums dropping on Nov. 23. FEATURED ALBUMS: 1. My Brightest Diamond: A Million And One; 2. Ed Harcourt: Beyond The End; 3. Calexico: The Black Light 20th Anniversary Edition; 4. Art Brut: Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out! 5. Songs Ohia: Love & Work: The Lioness Sessions; 6. Jacco Gardner: Somnium

If you don't know boygenius, there's a good chance you know at least one member of this trio, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers. They've just released a self-titled EP. We gathered in the studio here at NPR just moments after they finished their Tiny Desk Concert to talk about the music they love and listen to. In this conversation with these three talented songwriters, they talk about how they inspire one another and give each other confidence. Lucy Dacus says, "I associate Phoebe and Julien with having real strength in darkness. They're also very wise and funny people that I trust as people, not just artists. So I kind of did assume that it would be very easy to work with them. And it turned out that was right."

This week's list of essential new albums includes one of the year's most anticipated releases – Anderson .Paak's Oxnard, plus Mariah Carey's Caution, a lost Glen Campbell record he made for Elvis, a career-spanning retrospective on the late singer Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave), The Good, The Bad And The Queen's first new album in more than a decade and more. All Songs Considered's Robin Hilton is joined by NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael, Lars Gotrich and Stephen Thompson as they run through the best releases out on Nov. 16.Featured Albums:Anderson .Paak: Oxnard; Chris Cornell: Chris Cornell; Mariah Carey: Caution; Glen Campbell: Glen Campbell Sings For The King; Leikeli47: Acrylic; Various: Brainfeeder X; The Good, The Bad & The Queen: Merrie Land;Other Notable Releases For Nov. 16:The Smashing Pumpkins: Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1: No Past, No Future, No Sun; Kate Bush: Remastered Pt. 1; The Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition; Mumford & Sons: Delta; Ryley Walker: The Lilywhite Sessions; Eiko Ishibashi: The Dream My Bones Dream; Various: The Greatest Showman: Reimagined

Fifty years ago, just before the holidays in 1968, The Beatles put out not just a new album, but a double album, something relatively unheard of at the time. The album art was a stark, white, glossy cover with raised, slanted lettering that simply said, "The Beatles." That self-titled album, with its 30 songs that span genres from American country music to avant-garde tape collage, has come to be known as "The White Album." And in celebration of it's birth 50 years ago, The Beatles label Apple Records has scoured the archives for a new deluxe edition of the album that, for the first time, includes previously unreleased, early demo recordings, studio outtakes and stunning remixes in both stereo and 5.1 surround. On this episode of All Songs Considered we've got a conversation with the man who produced this 100-plus song celebration, Giles Martin, whose father, George Martin, produced "The White Album" back in '68 (along with most everything else The Beatles ever made). In this interview with Giles Martin, you'll hear some of the early demos, outtakes and remixes. But he begins by describing the process of making of the "The White Album," how it turned out to be a much-less planned and much more organic process than ever, and how that frustrated George Martin.

This week's best new albums includes emo-rapper Lil Peep's posthumous follow-up to Come Over When Your Sober, 50th anniversary editions of Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland and The Beatles "White Album," a labor of love from the late soul singer Charles Bradley, rock with a wink from Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers, the music of Hanson set to strings and more.FEATURED ALBUMS: Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers: Bought to Rot; The Glands: Double Coda; Charles Bradley: Black Velvet; Jimi Hendrix: Electric Ladyland 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition; Golden Hornet with Jeffrey Zeigler: The Sound of Science; Hanson: String Theory; Meg Baird & Mary Lattimore: Ghost Forests; Lil Peep: Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 2; OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES FOR NOV. 9: The Beatles: The Beatles ("The White Album"); J. Fernandez: Occasional Din; J. Masics: Elastic Days; Muse: Simulation Theory; Tom Adams: Yes, Sleep Well Death, Boygenius: Boygenius (physical release); Rays: You Can Get There From Here; Imagine Dragons: Origins

As voters head to the polls today, we hear from artists whose music speaks to our current political and cultural moment. Full playlist: 1. Deerhunter: "Death In Midsummer," 2. Andrew Bird: "Bloodless," 3. Alexander: "Strange Time," 4. Tomberlin: "Self-Help," 5. Foxwarren: "Everything Apart," 6. Ian William Craig: "TC-377 Poem," 7. Bokanté + Metropole Orkest: "All The Way Home"