Somehow, we're halfway through the 2020s, which makes it the perfect time to stock: what have been the best pop albums of this decade so far and what do they tell us about the state of both the album and music more broadly in 2025? The New York Times' Joe Coscarelli, NPR's Aisha Harris and YouTuber Mic The Snare join DJ Louie to discuss all of that, before each sharing their top 5 albums of the 2020s so far.

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, Madonna's thirteenth studio album, 2015's Rebel Heart, was released ten years ago in a flurry of leaks and unprecedented chaos for the famously controlled diva. On impact, it became her least successful album to date, producing no hit songs in the US. A decade later, removed from the harsh glare of its' moment, how has this very long collection of latter period Madonna music aged?

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

Chris Molanphy returns to Pop Pantheon for the second and final part in our Cher series. Chris and Louie pick up on Cher’s career just as she scored a hit in 1979 with “Take Me Home” during the disco craze. Then they track her string of failures through the early eighties before her massively successful pivot to acting, including her Best Actress Oscar win for 1987’s Moonstruck. Next they dig into her best-selling album to date, 1989’s Heart of Stone, her infomercial era in the nineties and Sonny Bono's tragic death in 1998 which paved the way for yet another comeback with 1998’s Believe. Finally, they discuss contemporary Cher, her formidable staying power and lasting legacy and rank Cher in the Official Pop Pantheon.

Come to our dance party Main Pop Girls on 2/1 at Parkside Lounge in NYC!

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Chris Molanphy returns to Pop Pantheon for part one of our special two-part series on the Goddess of Pop herself, Cher. Chris and Louie dig into the origins of Cher’s mythology, her early work with Sonny Bonno and Phil Spector and Sonny and Cher’s breakout hit, “I Got You Babe.” From there, they dive into Cher’s iconic looks, her first solo hits and Sonny and Cher’s reinvention as television variety stars. Then they tackle the couple’s split, Cher’s second run of hits, including “Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves” and “Dark Lady,” and the commercial slump she found herself at the end of the seventies. 

Tune in next week for part two, covering Cher’s disco reinvention, Hollywood success, late career hits like "If I Could Turn Back Time" and “Believe” and her ranking in the Official Pop Pantheon.

Come to our dance party Main Pop Girls on 2/1 at Parkside Lounge in NYC!

Listen to Pop Pantheon's Cher Essentials Playlist on Spotify

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In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, pop music stops for no man, even Santa Claus. Louie and Russ got together with Dazed contributor Conor Garel to get into it about two of the most talked about pop events that happened over this holiday season: Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Christmas extravaganza from a football game on Netflix and the long-awaited release of the deluxe version of Sza's 2022 masterpiece SOS.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

Happy New Year! Before we get back to new episodes and our regularly scheduled programming next, we're unlocking one of our favorite All Access episodes from this past year in which Russ and Louie dig into Sabrina Carpenter's surprisingly awesome 6th studio album, Short 'n Sweet, released last summer.

To hear more episodes like this every single week, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

In a preview of this week's Pop Pantheon: All Access episode, we hope everyone is having a lovely holiday! For our last All Access episode of 2024, Russ and Louie got together to react to more of your unpopular opinions about Ava Max, Katy Perry, Dua Lipa, Mariah Carey, live pop shows & more.

To hear the rest of the this episode plus receive weekly bonus episodes of Pop Pantheon, gain access to our Discord channel and so much more, subscribe to Pop Pantheon: All Access at the Icon Tier. You can also subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app.

In anticipation of Beyoncé's much anticipated return to the stage at tomorrow's halftime show for some football game, we're republishing an episode from our Beyoncé series which originally aired back in August of 2022 in the ramp up to that year's Renaissance. This episode features Yale University's Dr. Daphne Brooks, discusses Queen B's work from her 2013 self-titled visual album through just before Renny dropped and is one of the most moving in PP's history.

If you haven't listened to the whole series, check out Parts One, Two and Four. If you have, we hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane. Happy Beyoncmas!

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Clover Hope, journalist and author of The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop, joins Pop Pantheon All Access to discuss the state of the female rap game in 2024. Clover and Russ revisit Meg Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj’s beef, discuss Doechii’s recent string of breakthrough performances, and dig into Alligator Bites Never Heal, Megan, GloRilla’s Glorious and more.

For our final main episode of 2024, Louie and Russ look back at all the artists ranked in the Pop Pantheon this year— from Demi Lovato to Frank Ocean to Adele, Tina Turner, Pink and so many more— and, with the help of calls from our dedicated and very passionate listeners, assess whether any tier adjustments need to be made. Did Brat Summer make us overzealous on Charli XCX? Was it cruel to put Hillary Duff in Tier 5? With the blockbuster success of Wicked, has Ari finally made it to Tier 2? All that and more!

We'll be publishing a couple little treats on 12/24 and 1/2 and will be back to our regularly scheduled programming on 1/9 with new weekly episodes!

Come to Gorgeous Gorgeous Presents: Y2GAY! The New Year's Eve Party in Brooklyn

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GIFT a Pop Pantheon: All Access subscription to your friends and fam!!!

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