Best Music Podcasts (2026)
Whether you want to understand why a song works, discover something new, or hear your favourite artists talk honestly about their craft — there's a music podcast for that. These ten are all actively releasing episodes and genuinely worth your time.
Waking up with a podcast on iOS
Podcast Alarm is a fully featured podcast player and alarm. You can set up queues of your favourite episodes and listen to them whenever you like. Why not subscribe to your favourite podcast and have the latest episode wake you up every weekday morning. There are lots of screenshots and videos in our "How to set a podcast as an alarm on iphone?" blog post.
1. Song Exploder
Host Hrishikesh Hirway gets musicians to take apart a single song piece by piece — vocals, drums, synths, lyrics — and explain how it all came together. Past guests include Billie Eilish, Fleetwood Mac, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Every episode is under 30 minutes and leaves you hearing familiar songs completely differently.
2. Dissect
Cole Cuchna dedicates an entire season to one album, breaking it down song by song with serious academic depth. He's covered Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean, Beyonce, and Tyler, the Creator. If you've ever wanted a university-level course on a modern classic album, this is it.
3. Switched On Pop
Musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding explain why pop music sounds the way it does. They pull apart chord progressions, production tricks, and cultural trends with genuine enthusiasm and zero snobbery. Recent episodes have covered Charli XCX, A$AP Rocky, and Bruno Mars.
4. Broken Record
Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, and their team interview musicians about the creative process in long, unhurried conversations. Rubin's perspective as a legendary producer gives these interviews a depth you won't find elsewhere — he asks the questions only someone who's been in the studio would think of. Recent guests include FKA twigs and Jack White.
5. All Songs Considered
NPR's flagship music discovery podcast has been running since 2000 and still delivers. Host Robin Hilton and the NPR Music team highlight the best new releases every week, covering everything from indie rock to jazz to electronic. If you want to find music you wouldn't stumble across on your own, this is the one.
6. Rolling Stone Music Now
Senior writer Brian Hiatt brings the weight of Rolling Stone's journalism to a weekly podcast. The interviews go deep — not the usual press tour talking points — and the magazine's editorial team joins for roundtable discussions on new releases and industry news. A solid all-rounder for anyone who cares about popular music.
7. Hit Parade
Slate's Chris Molanphy is obsessed with chart history, and his enthusiasm is contagious. Each episode traces how a song or genre conquered the Billboard charts, weaving together cultural context, industry mechanics, and pure trivia. If you've ever wondered why certain songs became massive and others didn't, Molanphy has the answer.
8. Sound Opinions
Rock critics Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot have been debating music on air together for over two decades. They review new albums, interview artists, and argue passionately about what's good and what isn't. Three episodes a week means there's always something to listen to, and their chemistry after 20 years is hard to beat.
9. 60 Songs That Explain the '90s
Rob Harvilla from The Ringer picks one song per episode and uses it as a lens to explore everything happening in '90s music and culture. The writing is sharp, funny, and nostalgic without being lazy about it. The show was so popular it expanded beyond its original 60 episodes and has now moved into the 2000s.
10. Tape Notes
A UK podcast where host John Kennedy reunites an artist with their producer to talk through how a record was made. You hear early demos, voice notes, and raw stems from the original sessions. Recent episodes have featured Lorde and producer Jim-E Stack. If you care about how music actually gets made in the studio, this is essential.
Wake up to music talk
Set a music podcast as your morning alarm and start the day hearing about the songs and artists you love. Download Podcast Alarm and make your mornings sound better.
Waking up with a podcast on iOS
Podcast Alarm is a fully featured podcast player and alarm. You can set up queues of your favourite episodes and listen to them whenever you like. Why not subscribe to your favourite podcast and have the latest episode wake you up every weekday morning. There are lots of screenshots and videos in our "How to set a podcast as an alarm on iphone?" blog post.
