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Nonfiction Books » Music & Drama » Music

Browse book recommendations:

Music

  • Jazz
  • Opera & Classical Music
  • Rock

Music & Drama

  • Celebrity Studies
  • Film, Cinema & TV
  • Music
  • Theatre

Music

Last updated: July 03, 2024

You can use our reading lists to find the best music books ever written on a variety of subjects.

Our interviews include discussions include the favourite music books of critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Santigold, the best music books for kids, and the best music-writing books picked by distinguished New Yorker music critic Alex Ross.

    Santigold on her Favourite Music Books

  • Read
    Santigold on her Favourite Music Books - When the Drummers Were Women by Layne Redmond

    1

    When the Drummers Were Women
    by Layne Redmond

  • Read
    Santigold on her Favourite Music Books - Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain

    2

    Please Kill Me
    by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain

  • Read
    Santigold on her Favourite Music Books - Alternative Rock by Dave Thompson

    3

    Alternative Rock
    by Dave Thompson

  • Read
    Santigold on her Favourite Music Books - Q by Quincy Jones

    4

    Q
    by Quincy Jones

  • Read
    Santigold on her Favourite Music Books - Divided Soul by David Ritz

    5

    Divided Soul
    by David Ritz

  • The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter took an unusual route to becoming a performer. She tells us how she got started, how to get what you want in the music business and how an extraordinary range of influences continue to inspire her

  • Santigold on her Favourite Music Books - When the Drummers Were Women by Layne Redmond
  • Santigold on her Favourite Music Books - Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
  • Santigold on her Favourite Music Books - Alternative Rock by Dave Thompson
  • Santigold on her Favourite Music Books - Q by Quincy Jones
  • Santigold on her Favourite Music Books - Divided Soul by David Ritz

Santigold on her Favourite Music Books

The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter took an unusual route to becoming a performer. She tells us how she got started, how to get what you want in the music business and how an extraordinary range of influences continue to inspire her

Santigold on her Favourite Music Books

    Best Music Books for Kids, recommended by Meurig and Rachel Bowen

  • Read
    Best Music Books for Kids - The Children's Book of Music

    1

    The Children's Book of Music

  • Read
    Best Music Books for Kids - The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo

    2

    The Mozart Question
    by Michael Morpurgo

  • Read
    Best Music Books for Kids - Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan Lake by James Mayhew

    3

    Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan Lake
    by James Mayhew

  • Read
    Best Music Books for Kids - Why Beethoven Threw The Stew by Steven Isserlis

    4

    Why Beethoven Threw The Stew
    by Steven Isserlis

  • Read
    Best Music Books for Kids - Audio CD: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten

    5

    Audio CD: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
    by Benjamin Britten

  • Have you heard that music is good for children but don't know where to begin? Musicians Meurig and Rachel Bowen recommend the best music books for children.

  • Best Music Books for Kids - The Children's Book of Music
  • Best Music Books for Kids - The Mozart Question by Michael Morpurgo
  • Best Music Books for Kids - Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan Lake by James Mayhew
  • Best Music Books for Kids - Why Beethoven Threw The Stew by Steven Isserlis
  • Best Music Books for Kids - Audio CD: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten

Best Music Books for Kids, recommended by Meurig and Rachel Bowen

Have you heard that music is good for children but don’t know where to begin? Musicians Meurig and Rachel Bowen recommend the best music books for children.

Best Music Books for Kids, recommended by Meurig and Rachel Bowen

    Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music

  • Read
    Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music - The Infinite Variety of Music by Leonard Bernstein

    1

    The Infinite Variety of Music
    by Leonard Bernstein

  • Read
    Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music - The Birth of Tragedy and The Case of Wagner by Friedrich Nietzsche

    2

    The Birth of Tragedy and The Case of Wagner
    by Friedrich Nietzsche

  • Read
    Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music - Doctor Faustus: The Life of the German Composer Adrian Leverkuhn As Told by a Friend by Thomas Mann, translated by John E. Woods

    3

    Doctor Faustus: The Life of the German Composer Adrian Leverkuhn As Told by a Friend
    by Thomas Mann, translated by John E. Woods

  • Read
    Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music - Silence by John Cage

    4

    Silence
    by John Cage

  • Read
    Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music - Music in a New Found Land by Wilfrid Mellers

    5

    Music in a New Found Land
    by Wilfrid Mellers

  • New Yorker music critic, Alex Ross, explains why writing about music is, really, nothing like "dancing about architecture."

  • Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music - The Infinite Variety of Music by Leonard Bernstein
  • Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music - The Birth of Tragedy and The Case of Wagner by Friedrich Nietzsche
  • Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music - Doctor Faustus: The Life of the German Composer Adrian Leverkuhn As Told by a Friend by Thomas Mann, translated by John E. Woods
  • Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music - Silence by John Cage
  • Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music - Music in a New Found Land by Wilfrid Mellers

Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music

New Yorker music critic, Alex Ross, explains why writing about music is, really, nothing like “dancing about architecture.”

Alex Ross recommends the best Writing about Music

    The Best Music Books of 2018, recommended by Laura Snapes

  • Read
    The Best Music Books of 2018 - Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music by Ann Powers

    1

    Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music
    by Ann Powers

  • Read
    The Best Music Books of 2018 - The New Analog: Listening and Reconnecting in a Digital World by Damon Krukowski

    2

    The New Analog: Listening and Reconnecting in a Digital World
    by Damon Krukowski

  • Read
    The Best Music Books of 2018 - All in the Downs: Reflections on Life, Landscape, and Song by Shirley Collins

    3

    All in the Downs: Reflections on Life, Landscape, and Song
    by Shirley Collins

  • Read
    The Best Music Books of 2018 - Night Moves by Jessica Hopper

    4

    Night Moves
    by Jessica Hopper

  • Read
    The Best Music Books of 2018 - My Thoughts Exactly by Lily Allen

    5

    My Thoughts Exactly
    by Lily Allen

  • From a social history of the sexual and racial dynamics at play in American pop music to a meditation on how we consume music in the digital age, deputy music editor at The Guardian, Laura Snapes, picks the best music books of 2018.

  • The Best Music Books of 2018 - Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music by Ann Powers
  • The Best Music Books of 2018 - The New Analog: Listening and Reconnecting in a Digital World by Damon Krukowski
  • The Best Music Books of 2018 - All in the Downs: Reflections on Life, Landscape, and Song by Shirley Collins
  • The Best Music Books of 2018 - Night Moves by Jessica Hopper
  • The Best Music Books of 2018 - My Thoughts Exactly by Lily Allen

The Best Music Books of 2018, recommended by Laura Snapes

From a social history of the sexual and racial dynamics at play in American pop music to a meditation on how we consume music in the digital age, deputy music editor at The Guardian, Laura Snapes, picks the best music books of 2018.

The Best Music Books of 2018, recommended by Laura Snapes

    The best books on Protest Songs, recommended by Dorian Lynskey

  • Read
    The best books on Protest Songs - Strange Fruit by David Margolick

    1

    Strange Fruit
    by David Margolick

  • Read
    The best books on Protest Songs - Woody Guthrie by Joe Klein

    2

    Woody Guthrie
    by Joe Klein

  • Read
    The best books on Protest Songs - An Unfinished Song by Joan Jara

    3

    An Unfinished Song
    by Joan Jara

  • Read
    The best books on Protest Songs - Come Together by Jon Wiener

    4

    Come Together
    by Jon Wiener

  • Read
    The best books on Protest Songs - Can't Stop Won't Stop by Jeff Chang

    5

    Can't Stop Won't Stop
    by Jeff Chang

  • The journalist and author tells us what happens when protest meets pop music, which book inspired Springsteen and where hip-hop is most potent today

  • The best books on Protest Songs - Strange Fruit by David Margolick
  • The best books on Protest Songs - Woody Guthrie by Joe Klein
  • The best books on Protest Songs - An Unfinished Song by Joan Jara
  • The best books on Protest Songs - Come Together by Jon Wiener
  • The best books on Protest Songs - Can't Stop Won't Stop by Jeff Chang

The best books on Protest Songs, recommended by Dorian Lynskey

The journalist and author tells us what happens when protest meets pop music, which book inspired Springsteen and where hip-hop is most potent today

The best books on Protest Songs, recommended by Dorian Lynskey

    The best books on The Ethnography of Music, recommended by Phillip Vannini

  • Read
    The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Music in Everyday Life by Tia DeNora

    1

    Music in Everyday Life
    by Tia DeNora

  • Read
    The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Sound Moves by Michael Bull

    2

    Sound Moves
    by Michael Bull

  • Read
    The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Club Cultures by Sarah Thornton

    3

    Club Cultures
    by Sarah Thornton

  • Read
    The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Music Scenes by Andy Bennett and Richard A Peterson

    4

    Music Scenes
    by Andy Bennett and Richard A Peterson

  • Read
    The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Inside Subculture by David Muggleton

    5

    Inside Subculture
    by David Muggleton

  • The Professor of Communication and Culture enlightens us about musical enthnography — what people do with music, and how they interact with music (and with one another)

  • The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Music in Everyday Life by Tia DeNora
  • The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Sound Moves by Michael Bull
  • The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Club Cultures by Sarah Thornton
  • The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Music Scenes by Andy Bennett and Richard A Peterson
  • The best books on The Ethnography of Music - Inside Subculture by David Muggleton

The best books on The Ethnography of Music, recommended by Phillip Vannini

The Professor of Communication and Culture enlightens us about musical enthnography — what people do with music, and how they interact with music (and with one another)

The best books on The Ethnography of Music, recommended by Phillip Vannini

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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