The best albums of 2020 include (clockwise from top left): Bob Dylan, Aesop Rock, Allan Rayman, The Cribs, Beabadoobee, Taemin, Bring Me The Horizon, Greg Puciato, Steve Earle and a collaboration album by Cory Wong and Jon Batiste. Welcome to Part 4 of our super-sized Top 75 albums of…

The best albums of 2020 include (clockwise from top left): The Jayhawks, Lady Gaga, Royce da 5’9”, Poppy, MisterWives, The Weeknd, Donna Missal, Caleb Landry Jones, Songhoy Blues and Homeboy Sandman. Welcome back to RIFF’s top album countdown! If you’re here just to complain about the order or lack…

The best albums of 2020 include (clockwise from top left): Benny the Butcher, Sault, The Soft Pink Truth, Jacob Collier, Lucinda Williams, Jahari Massamba Unit, Bruce Springsteen, Loyal Lobos, Soccer Mommy and Crack Cloud. Welcome back to RIFF’s year-end album roundup! If you’re joining us just now, you’re here…

The best albums of 2020 include Washed Out, the Mountain Goats, Ethan Gruska, Tom Petty, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, Logic, The Strokes, Moses Sumney, Fleet Foxes, Willie Nelson, Yves Tumor, Nicolas Jaar, Ed O’Brien, Charli XCX and Blackpink. After nearly a decade of living through 2020, we’re finally…

Illustration: Skott Bennett/STAFF. It’s been a year like no other. When the Bay Area shut down on March 11 and 12, RIFF had to quickly pivot away from concert reviews—a staple for us—to something else. We ramped up our news coverage, especially in terms of how the music industry…

Mike Shinoda, “Post-Traumatic.” This year was one of transition and experimentation for artists, and I’ve used fairly simple criteria to narrow down my top 10 albums. These are the ones I found myself loading up on my Spotify playlist—or, amazingly, even grabbing the CD. In addition to original songwriting…

Kyle Kohner’s five-part series ranking the 50 best albums of 2017 continues with numbers 30 to 21. Missed everything up until now? Start at the beginning. 30. Arca – Arca To say that Arca is one of the least accessible artists around is an understatement. At the same time, the Venezuelan producer is a musical…

Jack White performs at Bill Graham Civic Auditorim on Aug. 23, 2014. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. This is the second in a five-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts HERE. 10 – JACK WHITE at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium – Aug. 23…

Jessie Ware performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco on Nov. 18, 2013. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. Last year I predicted I would never see as many concerts as I did in 2013, and I was right. Having two kids can do that to any guy, even a music journalist. From 64…

Franz Ferdinand performs at the Fox Theater in Oakland on April 28, 2014. Roman Gokhman/STAFF. This is the fourth in a five-part series. Read how I’m scoring my list and find out about my “special consideration” acts in PART 1, the runners-up in PART 2, and 15 through 11 in PART…