The Best of Car Talk

For this year's annual holiday music show, All Songs Considered hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton set out on a snowy road trip in search of the true spirit of the season. Their destination: America's heartland, where they plan to celebrate Christmas with Robin's family in Kansas. Join Bob and Robin as they motor across the country in a '71 Volkswagen Beetle, brave an ice storm and meet some special guests along the way, including Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, St...

Hear us count down through the top 25 most popular albums in this year's poll. It's always hard to predict how our audience will vote in our year-end polls for the best music. NPR has a large group of listeners with wildly varying tastes. But this year was even harder to call because we had an unusually large pool of contenders for Album Of The Year. In the end listeners picked Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires Of The City as the year's best album. No other record came close...

Hear us count down through the top 25 most popular albums in this year's poll. It's always hard to predict how our audience will vote in our year-end polls for the best music. NPR has a large group of listeners with wildly varying tastes. But this year was even harder to call because we had an unusually large pool of contenders for Album Of The Year. In the end listeners picked Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires Of The City as the year's best album. No other record came close...

Hear us count down through the top 25 most popular albums in this year's poll. It's always hard to predict how our audience will vote in our year-end polls for the best music. NPR has a large group of listeners with wildly varying tastes. But this year was even harder to call because we had an unusually large pool of contenders for Album Of The Year. In the end listeners picked Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires Of The City as the year's best album. No other record came close...

What defined music in 2013? All Songs Considered kicks off NPR Music's year-end coverage by humbly submitting the following themes for your consideration: The long-awaited return of legends. New favorites who arrived fully formed. The triumph of elaborate promotion. The sneak-attack album drop. On this special edition of the show, Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton are joined by NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Ann Powers for a roughly chronological tour through the musical high points of the year...

What defined music in 2013? All Songs Considered kicks off NPR Music's year-end coverage by humbly submitting the following themes for your consideration: The long-awaited return of legends. New favorites who arrived fully formed. The triumph of elaborate promotion. The sneak-attack album drop. On this special edition of the show, Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton are joined by NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Ann Powers for a roughly chronological tour through the musical high points of the year...

What defined music in 2013? All Songs Considered kicks off NPR Music's year-end coverage by humbly submitting the following themes for your consideration: The long-awaited return of legends. New favorites who arrived fully formed. The triumph of elaborate promotion. The sneak-attack album drop. On this special edition of the show, Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton are joined by NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Ann Powers for a roughly chronological tour through the musical high points of the year...

How would you describe your family in a song? Would it be AC/DC's ominous "Highway to Hell," or The Beatles' warm, sentimental "All You Need Is Love"? Last week we asked you to tell us about the songs that remind you of your family. We got a lot of wonderful stories (and a few unsettling ones), along with a bunch of great song suggestions that reflect the same wide range of family experiences...

How would you describe your family in a song? Would it be AC/DC's ominous "Highway to Hell," or The Beatles' warm, sentimental "All You Need Is Love"? Last week we asked you to tell us about the songs that remind you of your family. We got a lot of wonderful stories (and a few unsettling ones), along with a bunch of great song suggestions that reflect the same wide range of family experiences...

How would you describe your family in a song? Would it be AC/DC's ominous "Highway to Hell," or The Beatles' warm, sentimental "All You Need Is Love"? Last week we asked you to tell us about the songs that remind you of your family. We got a lot of wonderful stories (and a few unsettling ones), along with a bunch of great song suggestions that reflect the same wide range of family experiences...