Sufjan Stevens

Do they know it’s Christmas? Why today’s festive pop lacks the crucial chaos element | Emma Garland

Despite annual attempts at toppling Mariah, there hasn’t been a new Christmas classic in nearly a decade. Modern songwriters shoot too classy: history tells us that commotion is the only way

Emma Garland

20, Dec, 2022 @12:00 PM

The 20 greatest Christmas albums – ranked!

Whether you fancy a heartwarming carol with Elvis or the story of a yuletide drug dealer from OutKast, there’s a festive album for you in our rundown of the best ever

Alexis Petridis

15, Dec, 2022 @1:52 PM

Santa Claus is coming to frown! Why the best Christmas songs are sad and slow

Who says festive numbers have to be merry? Marvin Gaye’s prisoner-of-war lament is a touching treat – while Prince’s track about a guy getting over a yuletide death with banana daiquiris is the jewel of the genre

Emma John

06, Dec, 2022 @3:51 PM

The National’s 20 best songs – ranked!

As the beloved indie band debut new material and return to touring, we count down the best of their eight-album catalogue

Laura Snapes

02, Jun, 2022 @12:00 PM

Fleet Foxes: Shore; Sufjan Stevens: The Ascension review – postcards from the edge

Comeback albums from two pioneers of American indie rock chime with the times in very different ways

Kitty Empire

26, Sep, 2020 @1:00 PM

'I have a sense of urgency': Sufjan Stevens wakes from the American dream

The cult singer-songwriter made his name as a whimsical chronicler of US history. Now he’s made an electropop album about his country’s evils

Al Horner

25, Sep, 2020 @5:19 AM

The 100 best albums of the 21st century

We polled 45 music writers to rank the definitive LPs of the 21st century so far. Read our countdown of passionate pop, electrifying rock and anthemic rap – and see if you agree

Ben Beaumont-Thomas (1-50); Laura Snapes and April Curtin (51-100)

13, Sep, 2019 @8:00 AM

Record Store Day 2018: the exclusive releases in full

From Abba to Zero 7, the 500 singles, EPs, LPs and cassettes released for the annual celebration of independent record shops

Guardian music

07, Mar, 2018 @2:57 PM

David Bowie, Prince and Courtney Barnett among Record Store Day exclusive releases

The annual celebration of independent record shops takes place on 21 April, with the usual sought-after limited vinyl editions

Laura Snapes

06, Mar, 2018 @6:00 PM

Mary J or Miguel, Sufjan or Showman: who will win the Oscar for best song?

Can Diane Warren bag a best original song Oscar on her ninth attempt? Will Sufjan Stevens’ fingerpicking lose out to Miguel’s strumming? Here are your runners and riders for the big race

Ben Beaumont-Thomas

02, Mar, 2018 @7:00 AM

Out of tune: the big star songs that were rejected for movie soundtracks

As Sufjan Stevens reveals his unused song for I, Tonya, here’s a look back at other artists, from Bruce Springsteen to Frank Ocean, who failed to make the final cut

Jon Bernstein

08, Dec, 2017 @3:51 PM