NPR Music

Kacey Musgraves, Conor Oberst and more special guests join us for a steam engine ride to the north pole in this year's holiday extravaganza!

In this Martin Atkins minute, the former drummer for Public Image Ltd shares the story of how he quit the band at the height of its popularity, only to end up digging ditches for a living.

On this week's All Songs Considered, we count down and talk about the poll's top 20 albums. You'll find those records below, along with a list of our listeners' top 100 albums.

Our annual recap of the year's best songs and albums, memorable moments and other defining moments. 1. David Bowie - Lazarus 2. Anderson .Paak - The Season/Carry Me 3. Miranda Lambert - Sweet By And By 4. George Martin - A Day In The Life 5. Greg Laswell - Play That One Again 6. Beyonce - Sorry 7. Mitski - Your Best American Girl 8. Car Seat Headrest - Killer Whales/Drunk Drivers 9. Radiohead - Daydreaming 10. Anohni - Drone Bomb Me 11. Solange - Cranes In The Sky 12. Frank Ocean - White Ferrari 13. Wilco - Normal American Kids 14. Bon Iver - 715 Creeks 15. Adam Torres - Juniper Arms 16. Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker 17. Crystal Fighters - Lay Low 18. Jane Sibbery - Everything You Knew As A Child 19. Frightened Rabbit - An Otherwise Disappointing Life 20. Let's Eat Grandma - Rapunzel

Today's All Songs +1 podcast is a conversation with The Antlers' Peter Silberman on how hearing loss would eventually lead him to create his first solo album.

On this week's show: Songs about the indomitable human spirit. Plus, music plucked from a honey jar (seriously). 1. Peals, "Become Younger," 2. Sam Phillips, "World On Sticks," 3. Laura Marling, "Soothing," 4. Weyes Blood, "Used To Be," 5. bed., "Girl"

Before being consumed by our year-end coverage, hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton hit the pause button to catch up on some of the great music they missed this year. 1. Anthony Joseph - "Slinger," 2. The Frightnrs - "Nothing More To Say," 3. D.D Dumbo "Walrus," 4. Chris Forsyth And The Solar Motel Band - "Anthem I," 5. Africaine 808 - "Ngoni," 6. Lettuce - "The Love You Left Behind"

When profound change happens in life, the meaning of the music you hear tends to change, too. On this week's show: Songs both light and dark in a post-election world. 1. Rubblebucket, "If U C My Enemies," 2. Alev Lenz, "Fall Into Me," 3. Sinkane, "U'huh," 4. Ty Segall, "Orange Color Queen," 5. Leonard Cohen, "You Want It Darker," 6. Lizzo, "Good As Hell"

One of the most surprising records for me this year is the latest album by The 1975. My preconceptions of this band's music as simple, catchy pop have turned out to be so wrong. The album, called I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, is filled with ambient music, electronica and a good dose of '80s sheen. I wanted to talk to frontman Matty Healy about his influences. He's someone whom I'd met a few years ago when he performed a fascinating solo Tiny Desk concert. On this edition of All Songs Considered, he plays DJ and talks about growing up in a family where his parents, both English actors, shared lots of the music they loved.

As a gigantic 27-disc box-set history of Pink Floyd is released, the band's drummer discusses those early years and the other music that inspired him.