There’s a strange kind of magic that happens when the world you love through headphones suddenly opens up on a printed page. Music and reading have always been soulmates, even if nobody talks about it that way. They both demand your attention, stir your emotions, and leave you fundamentally changed if you let them.
According to IFPI’s landmark global study, the average listener takes in over 20 hours of music per week, and on average, people engage with eight or more different genres. That’s a lot of passion swirling around out there. So the real question is: what should you be reading to match that energy? Let’s dive in.
1. For Hip-Hop Fans: “High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul” by Marcus J. Moore
Marcus J. Moore, whose 2020 book “The Butterfly Effect” expertly dissected Kendrick Lamar’s influence on American culture, goes equally deep on the eclectic hip-hop of De La Soul in “High and Rising,” chronicling the trio’s origins and impact on the genre. This is not a dry, Wikipedia-style account. It’s intimate, soulful, and surprisingly emotional.
Moore isn’t afraid to make it personal, sharing how the Long Island rappers’ music provided comfort following the loss of his mother. Authorized or not by the group themselves, “High and Rising” is a must-read for fans of nineties hip-hop. Honestly, if you’ve ever blasted “Stakes Is High” on a late-night drive, this book will hit you somewhere deep.
2. For Jazz Fans: “3 Shades of Blue” by James Kaplan
In 1959, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bill Evans created the now-iconic “Kind of Blue,” an album that changed the nature of jazz, influencing generations of musicians. With painstaking detail, Kaplan traces the evolution of each musician’s career and provides a close look at the making of that landmark recording. “3 Shades of Blue” may be the best book on jazz in recent years, examining the evolution of a musical form and its influence on other genres.
Will Friedwald’s “Nights at the Red Steinway” is another standout for jazz fans, offering an intimate journey through jazz piano’s evolution, drawing from his decades of expert journalism and capturing the genre’s most influential performers from Abrams to Zawinul. If jazz is your genre, these two books together form a kind of essential reading canon. Think of them as the “Kind of Blue” and “A Love Supreme” of music literature.
3. For Rock Fans: “Blacksound” by Matthew Morrison
Professor Matthew Morrison’s “Blacksound” defines its central concept as “the sonic complement and aesthetic legacy of blackface performance,” taking readers on a never-ending series of revelations about the minstrel roots of sounds we consider quintessentially American. It sounds academic at first glance. It is anything but.
This is the book that reframes everything you thought you knew about rock’s origins. For music fans, some of the most cherished books produced today are those that tell the stories of artists who make music and those who bring that music to our ears. “Blacksound” does exactly that, but with a level of honesty that most music histories completely dodge. Rock fans who want the real story owe it to themselves to read this one.
4. For Folk Fans: “Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell” by Ann Powers
2024 was a big year for Joni Mitchell, with her captivating appearance at the GRAMMY Awards representing a major milestone in her remarkable recuperation. NPR music critic Ann Powers extensively examines the many sides of Joni Mitchell in this stimulating and provocative book. It is, without question, one of the most beautifully written pieces of music nonfiction in years.
With the lyrical energy of a Joni Mitchell song itself, Powers paints a colorful portrait of the iconic musician whose restless creativity animates her musical journey across the terrains of folk, jazz, rock, and soul. It’s a definitive account tracing Mitchell’s musical journey from folk roots to jazz fusion, revealing her groundbreaking artistic transformation through meticulous research and insider perspectives. For folk fans, this one is nothing short of essential.
5. For Country Fans: “My Black Country” by Alice Randall
Alice Randall’s “My Black Country” received great acclaim, with NPR listing the book among its “Books We Love” for 2024, and justifiably so. Here’s the thing: most people think they know country music. They really, really don’t.
An author, professor, and songwriter, Randall tapped all her talents in creating this inspiring work that addresses her life story and investigates the history of Black country music, which she traces back nearly a hundred years. Importantly, this isn’t just a Nashville-centered book; it explores Black country music made all across America. The oldest country recording that exists on wax is an 1891 performance by a Black man, Louis Vasnier, a detail that opens up this sweeping, revelatory history. Expect to have your assumptions completely overturned.
6. For Punk Fans: “Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk” by Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna’s memoir “Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk” chronicles her tumultuous childhood and college years as a punk band frontwoman. If you’ve ever felt like an outsider, or ever played a power chord at full volume just to feel something, Hanna’s story will speak directly to your bones.
She candidly addresses the male violence and challenges she faced in the music scene while highlighting the movement she helped shape. Punk has always been about more than the music. It’s a worldview, a refusal, a shout. The best music books of recent years have tended to be more personal than historical, providing a certain access readers have yearned for decades. Hanna’s memoir is exactly that kind of rare, raw access.
7. For Hip-Hop and Fashion Fans: “Fashion Killa” by Sowmya Krishnamurthy
Sowmya Krishnamurthy’s “Fashion Killa” offers a unique lens on how hip-hop transcended music to transform luxury fashion over the past fifty years, capturing exclusive stories of artists, designers, and cultural forces that challenged fashion’s exclusivity and redefined style globally. It’s the book that finally connects those two worlds with the seriousness they both deserve.
The hip-hop landscape changed dramatically in recent years, with fresh voices and evolving sounds reshaping how fans and creators engage with the genre. From production techniques to cultural critique, hip-hop continues to be a vital force in music and society. “Fashion Killa” captures that intersection with style and substance. If you’ve ever wondered why rappers wear what they wear, this book is your answer.
8. For Classic Rock Fans: “Gliders Over Hollywood” by Paul Rappaport
Paul Rappaport’s memoir “Gliders Over Hollywood” is a music executive’s first-hand account of guiding Columbia Records’ promotional efforts to album-rock stations for releases by Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, and scores more. This is the behind-the-curtain story that classic rock fans have been waiting decades to read.
The year’s top music-related reads include bios and memoirs associated with legendary artists. As AI seemingly takes over the world, serious readers value real human authors who put in the hard work of researching and crafting books about other creative humans. For music fans, some of the most cherished books are those that tell the stories of artists who make music and those who bring that music to our ears. Rappaport’s insider story does just that, with stories that feel almost unbelievably cinematic.
9. For Indie and Alternative Fans: “The Chronicles of DOOM” by S.H. Fernando Jr.
S.H. Fernando Jr. sets out to unmask the late, great, London-born hip-hop avatar MF DOOM in “The Chronicles of DOOM.” Nearly as avant-garde and unknowable as San Francisco’s The Residents, DOOM seemed like an island unto himself. His music always sat somewhere between hip-hop, experimental, and something that defied every genre label imaginable.
The best music books of 2024 tended to be more personal than historical, providing a certain access we’ve yearned for for decades, whether that means remembering a colossal, mysterious figure in hip-hop whose recent death shook the underground scene, or permitting artists space to tell their unique story. Fernando’s previous books are far-reaching tomes, and trying to focus on the tale of the eccentric, enigmatic, and anonymous DOOM must have been akin to pinning down mercury. Somehow, he pulls it off magnificently.
10. For Roots and Americana Fans: “Red Dirt Unplugged” by Josh Crutchmer
Josh Crutchmer’s “Red Dirt Unplugged” mixes dashes of history with a fly-on-the-wall point of view of Red Dirt music’s current moment of mainstream popularity. Through more than 100 interviews with over 40 artists, Crutchmer gives both longtime devotees and new fans alike the next best thing to a concert ticket: access.
According to a Deezer survey of US respondents, country and roots music remains more popular than many expect, ranking as the third most listened-to genre at nearly half of all respondents. Country music is more popular than you might think, and it has a vast, loyal community of listeners. Crutchmer’s book captures the heartbeat of a genre that major media still largely overlooks. If you’ve ever felt that raw, dusty, emotionally honest music never got the spotlight it deserved, this book is your vindication.
Conclusion: Your Genre Is Your Guide
Music has always been more than sound. It’s identity, memory, community, and emotion all rolled into one. Roughly half of Americans read a book in recent years, while nearly two thirds planned to attend a concert during the same period, which means many people sit comfortably at the intersection of both worlds.
The beautiful thing about this list is that it meets you exactly where you already are. Your taste in music already tells a story about who you are and what moves you. The right book doesn’t just inform you about that world. It deepens it, complicates it, and sometimes breaks it wide open in the best possible way. So, which genre are you reaching for first?
