If you want to know where music is heading, just listen to these 25 songs.
The New York Times Magazine compiled this list of songs and essays, reflecting on this moment in music history and noting the rising relevance of "the song" as a singular, digestible, private-yet-shared experience.
The playlist clocks in at just under 2 hours. You can listen to snippets on the New York Times Magazine website, or in its entirety on Spotify.
Several of the music critics joined us to discuss their choices: