{"podcast":{"title":"NPR Music","slug":"npr-music-738918","podcast_index_feed_id":738918,"rss_url":"https://feeds.npr.org/510019/podcast.xml","website_url":"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510019/npr-music","image_url":"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x3000+0+0/resize/1400/quality/66/format/jpg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Faf%2F5e%2Fcce9847a4c6293486671ce4e36c0%2Fnpr-music-podcast-feed-tile.png","author":"NPR (podcasts@npr.org)","episode_count":300,"summary":"Welcome to your all-in-one destination for every NPR Music podcast. We break down the best new albums to hit streaming each week on New Music Friday; we share the latest songs worthy of your playlists on All Songs Considered; there’s off-the-rails conversations (and chisme!) about Latin music on Alt.Latino. The NPR Music channel is your hub for new records, iconic artists and cult heroes, free of algorithms and full of surprises.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-07T16:22:59.099584+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/npr-music-738918"},"episode":{"title":"The best albums of 2026 (so far)","slug":"the-best-albums-of-2026-so-far","published_at":"2026-07-03T07:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/npr-music-738918/the-best-albums-of-2026-so-far","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/npr-music-738918","url":"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/03/nx-s1-5875441/mpr-music-best-albums-of-2026-so-far","audio_url":"https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510019/npr.simplecastaudio.com/afbbcc66-ab00-44f2-903d-1a96ab240270/episodes/ff0a1d99-d3c8-42a1-b401-a64d94006411/audio/256/default.mp3?awCollectionId=afbbcc66-ab00-44f2-903d-1a96ab240270&awEpisodeId=ff0a1d99-d3c8-42a1-b401-a64d94006411&feed=VUaq3kJJ&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5875441&p=510019&d=2443&size=78191012","summary":"On a special mid-year episode of New Music Friday, host Stephen Thompson and a lineup of NPR Music writers and critics reflect on their favorite albums of the year so far. Albums featured in this episode: (01:14) Album No. 1 - Noah Kahan, 'The Great Divide' (07:16) Album No. 2 - underscores, 'U' (14:00) Album No. 3 - Cécile McLorin Salvant, 'With Every Breath I Take' (20:13) Album No. 4 - Neurosis, 'An Undying Love For A Burning World' (27:18) Album No. 5 - Tiffany Day, 'HALO' (33:46) Album No. 6 - Metropolis Ensemble, Erik Hall & Sandbox Percussion, 'Canto Ostinato' Credits: Host: Stephen Thompson Guests: Hazel Cills, Ann Powers, Lars Gotrich, Sheldon Pearce, Tom Huizenga Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell Digital Producer: Dora Levite Editors: Otis Hart, Elle Mannion Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy","meta_description":"On a special mid-year episode of New Music Friday, host Stephen Thompson and a lineup of NPR Music writers and critics reflect on their favorite albums of…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2443,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/npr-music-738918/episodes/the-best-albums-of-2026-so-far/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/npr-music-738918/the-best-albums-of-2026-so-far.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}