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For one listener, it was a good year for albums that were big and loud, but a few quieter, introspective picks snuck onto Robin Hilton's list as well.

If one defining thread ran through 2016's best albums, it was an air of mystery: a sense of myth, otherworldliness, storytelling ambition or multimedia wizardry.

For many of his fans, Bob James is to jazz what James Brown is to R&B — the music and the musician go hand in hand. Now, with literally dozens of jazz albums under his belt, James is back with a classic piano-bass-drums trio. Hear full-length cuts from his latest CD, plus an extended version of his conversation with NPR's Tavis Smiley.

Highlights from New York's one-night festival of global sounds included music from Haiti's dance-clubs, Ukrainian experimental theater and Mexican cabarets.

As the Jan. 6 hearings have played out, there has been only some, if any, movement in people's views of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, but independents' views have changed since a December poll.

Burger King recently added smoothies and more wraps and salads to its menus. Its latest creation doesn't seem to fit the trend: a bacon sundae. The food chain claims the concoction of vanilla soft serve, fudge, caramel, bacon crumbles — oh, and a strip of bacon — weighs in at a whopping 510 calories.

At a time when there is so much good TV around, NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says, any Top 10 list says as much about the critic as about the shows he is picking.

These tunes from 2011 each exemplify how great singers and great songs fit together. Hear music featuring vocalists like Kurt Elling, Eliane Elias and Norah Jones.

They broke taboos and stereotypes around the world. They include the co-recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, a disability activist — and a 101-year-old runner.

From the inescapable "Call Me Maybe" to Fiona Apple's intricate word puzzles to the strikingly gorgeous return of Iris DeMent, the Fresh Air critic counts down his favorite albums and musical moments of the year.