Like other areas of culture today, music fandom is beset by intense doomerism. A 2024 YouGov poll showed Americans think we’re living in one of the worst musical decades since the 1930s, revealing a breakdown in our sense of shared cultural experience.

That discontent is surely exacerbated by hyperbolic “poptimist” cheerleading and the increasing difficulty of making a living as a boundary-pushing musician — not to mention pervasive worries that art is in the process of being replaced by AI slop.

Even so, I don’t buy into the cultural malaise. While great artists don’t always get the attention they deserve, I still find it difficult to keep up with how many great records come out each year — even in the 2020s. I’m especially encouraged by musicians who are using their art to speak to the broader political unrest of our time — from punk and hip hop to post-hardcore and folk music.