The best books about music translate this art form in ways we humans can appreciate. It’s probably no surprise to anyone that most humans enjoy music, so naturally the best books with musical themes cover plenty of topics. Whether you’re looking for the best music appreciation books, best books about the music industry, or the best books on music history, there’s something here for you on this mega list of the best music books.
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And now for an epic list of the 30 best books about music…
The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz
The first entry in this list of the best books about music starts with the definitive biography of The Beatles. Unlike many biographies of this iconic band, Bob Spitz’s book dispels the myths and lore that still surrounds what many consider the best band of all time. The result is an engrossing epic you won’t want to miss.
How to read it: Purchase The Beatles on Amazon
Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore by Albert Mudrian
In this intriguing book, one of the best rock music books, Albert Mudrian compiles the quintessential history of the death metal and grindcore subgenres. You’ll learn all about the rise of this kind of niche favorite music, with comprehensive guides to death metal and grindcore, including interviews, chapters on the historical origins of these subgenres, and can’t-miss-it essays by leaders in this corner of the music world.
How to read it: Purchase Choosing Death on Amazon
Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story in Music Lessons by Jeremy Denk
From concert pianist and MacArthur “Genius” grant-winning musician Jeremy Denk, a book that the New Yorker listed as one of the best of the year and one that certainly ranks on this list of the best books about music. In Every Good Boys Does Fine, Denk writes a tribute to the various music teachers in his life, from your friendly neighborhood piano instructor to elite professors. The result is a tender story that any classical music fan—or anyone who loves music—will enjoy.
How to read it: Purchase Every Good Boy Does Fine on Amazon
Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen to Music in the Age of Musical Plenty by Ben Ratliff
In Every Song Ever, New York Times music critic Ben Ratfliff takes a deep dive into the way we listen to music today in the digital age. Whereas once you had to hunt down obscure albums in record stores or hope to hear a song you loved on the radio, today you can easily explore more artists, bands, and genres with the click of a button. Ratliff focuses on universal music “traits,” like speed and virtuosity, helping readers become more familiar with how to listen. One of the best books about music, Every Song Ever will transform the way you hear music.
How to read it: Purchase Every Song Ever on Amazon
Fangirls: Scenes from Modern Music Culture by Hannah Ewens
If you’ve ever wondered why Taylor Swift’s Ticketmaster ticket debacle crashed from too many people trying to buy tickets, this book will help you understand the power of the young women who are full-time fans of contemporary groups, bands, and solo performers. A celebration of fandom and the way younger fanatics steer music culture, Fangirls is a unique look at the people buying tickets, rocking merch, and living their best life celebrating the musicians they love. This affectionate love song to fans is one of the best music books.
How to read it: Purchase Fangirls on Amazon
Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman
This music memoir—one of the best rock music books—tells the story of how cultural critic Chuck Klosterman became a metalhead growing up on a farm in the small, rural town of Wyndmere, North Dakota, with a population of less than 500 people. Among the silos and cows, Klosterman became a major fan of bands like Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses as he came of age as a culture-hungry kid in the sticks. Anyone who has ever looked back fondly at the way they experienced fandom while they were young will for sure identify with Klosterman’s tender, poignant, and hilarious memoir.
How to read it: Purchase Fargo Rock City on Amazon
Guitar Zero: The Science of Becoming Musical at Any Age by Gary Marcus
The best books about music can also be about making music. Maybe you’ve thought about taking up a keyboarding hobby, but you felt like you were too old. Enter Guitar Zero, Gary Marcus’ book that you need to read. In Guitar Zero, Gary Marcus opens your world to learning how to be a musician no matter what your age. A cognitive neuroscientist, Marcus talks about the elasticity of the human mind to learn new things. Marcus reassures readers that you don’t have to be a piano prodigy by age 10. Instead, you can find a good instructional model, practice, and give it your all. It’s an inspiring book that argues you’re never too old to make music.
How to read it: Purchase Guitar Zero on Amazon
How Music Works by David Byrne
Looking for a primer on how humans relate to music? If so, you’ll need to check out David Byrne’s How Music Works. In this eye-opening book, Byrne translates the power of music as we humans experience it. From talking about how we create music to the distribution of music, Byrne has compiled a necessary book for anyone seeking to learn more about music that belongs on any list of the best books about music.
How to read it: Purchase How Music Works on Amazon
The Indispensable Composers: A Personal Guide by Anthony Tommasini
Ever wondered how to get started with the vast world of classical music? If so, you need to pick up Anthony Tommasini’s The Indispensable Composers. As the chief classical music critic at The New York Times, Tommasini is the perfect person to give readers a tour through the most significant composers of classical music. Blending personal memoir with an accessible instruction manual on how to get started with classical music, this book is the perfect way to dip your toe into the realm of classical music and for sure among the best books on music history.
How to read it: Purchase The Indispensable Composers on Amazon
Just Kids by Patti Smith
This bestselling memoir by punk rocker Patti Smith won the National Book Award, and it’s not hard to see why. In Just Kids, Smith recalls her close friendship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. As they both made a major impact in the arts and culture scene of the late ’60s and ’70s, the friends had an intense relationship. Just Kids is an autobiography as much about Smith’s early years as a musician as it is about her bond with a young man who died young and shaped her life forever. Just Kids has become a modern classic and one of the best music books.
How to read it: Purchase Just Kids on Amazon
Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal by Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Thurman
Louder Than Hell is exactly what it says it is: the definitive oral history of metal. In this essential read, one of the best books about music, you’ll hear from the biggest players in the history of this beloved subgenre, including Metallica, Megadeath, Black Sabbath, Slayer, and more. Metalheads know that the genre is not merely a type of music, it’s a lifestyle, one celebrated in this oral history that is a must-read for any metal fan and among the best books about the music industry.
How to read it: Purchase Louder Than Hell on Amazon
The Lyrics: 1956 to Present by Paul McCartney
Unquestionably one of the most influential songwriters of all time, The Beatles member Paul McCartney here collects his thoughts on the tunes that made him famous. In two volumes, The Lyrics covers all the songs McCartney has written since 1956. That includes “Blackbird,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and all the hits. The result is a book that any Beatles fan will want to own.
How to read it: Purchase The Lyrics: 1956 to Present on Amazon
Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres by Kelefa Sanneh
This book looks at the history of popular music through the lens of seven genres: rock, r & b, country, punk, hip-hop, dance, and pop over the past fifty years. You’ll learn all about the tensions within and between these genres. Sanneh’s Major Labels is smart music criticism that’s also accessible for the armchair musicologist, so it’s no surprise that it’s on this list of the best books about music.
How to read it: Purchase Major Labels on Amazon
The Motherlode: 100+ Women Who Made Hip-Hop by Clever Hope with illustrations by Rachelle Baker
In this key contribution to music criticism that’s also one of the best books about music, Clever Hope profiles more than 100 women who have influenced the subgenre of hip-hop. From Missy Elliott to Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, The Motherlode celebrates the powerful contributions of female artists to the foundation, evolution, past, present, and future of hip-hop.
How to read it: Purchase The Motherlode on Amazon
Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011 by Lizzy Goodman
In Meet Me in the Bathroom, Lizzy Goldman puts the spotlight on the alternative rock and roll scene in New York City from 2001 to 2011. Goldman features all the NYC-based major players in shaping the rock industry, including The Strokes, Vampire Weekend, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Interpol. This book was also adapted to a feature picture documentary by the same name, which you might want to check out as a way to enhance your reading of the book. Even though 2011 wasn’t all that long ago, all things considered, Meet Me in the Bathroom belongs on any list of the best books on music history.
How to read it: Purchase Meet Me in the Bathroom on Amazon
Music Is History by Questlove
Academy Award-winning documentarian and Grammy-winning musician Questlove is also the author of one of the best books about music. In Music Is History looks at the last fifty years or so of American music, from approximately 1971 to present. In chapters that focus on a variety of music topics and subgenres, such as disco, hip-hop, and more, Questlove seamlessly weaves the history of American music with major changes to American culture, history, and politics.
How to read it: Purchase Music Is History on Amazon
The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth through Music by Victor L. Wooten
For many people, music is deeply spiritual, and it’s exactly that intersection between music and spirituality that Victor L. Wooten takes as his subject in The Music Lesson, one of the best music books. Even if you aren’t a religious person, you can still appreciate Wooten’s takeaways about how to harness the power of music to help you explore your faith.
How to read it: Purchase The Music Lesson on Amazon
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
The late Oliver Sacks is perhaps the best known neurologist who wrote many works of pop psychology. In Musicophilia, Sacks takes readers on a wild adventure through the connection between our brains and our music. Sacks has written a fascinating expedition into the human brain and the way that music impacts it, highlighting extraordinary stories of ordinary people who experience music in astonishing ways in one of the best books about music. I featured a book by Sacks, The Man Who Mistook His Hat for His Wife, on my list of the 30 best psychology books of all time.
How to read it: Purchase Musicophilia on Amazon
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad
This book has already become a classic and among the best music books of all time. In Our Band Could Be Your Life, Michael Azerrad puts the spotlight on the indie music scene in America over the pivotal decade of 1981-1991. The wide array of bands that Azerrad features include Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., and Black Flag. If you’re a fan of indie American music, you’ll want to pick up this book.
How to read it: Purchase Our Band Could Be Your Life on Amazon
Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of NWA and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap by Gerrick Kennedy
And now for one of the best books on music history! Gerrick Kennedy zeroes on the moment when NWA began to emerge as one of the foundational artists in the emerging subgenre of gangsta rap. Focusing on ways that NWA shaped gangsta rap, Parental Discretion Is Advised is a vital contribution to music history.
How to read it: Purchase Parental Discretion Is Advised on Amazon
The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan
As the winner of the 2016 Noble Prize for Literature, Bob Dylan is recognized not just as one of the most acclaimed American musicians of the last sixty years, but also a writer of extraordinary talent. In The Philosophy of Modern Song, Dylan has compiled more than sixty essays about “modern song.” Some of the artist Dylan talks about include Nina Simone, Hank Williams, Elvis, and more, exploring genres that range from heavy metal to bluegrass, making this an indispensable book of music history, criticism, and appreciation and for sure one of the best books about music ever.
How to read it: Purchase The Philosophy of Modern Song on Amazon
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
In Please Kill Me, you’ll find the definitive oral history of the punk genre. Now after 20 years a classic in its own right, Please Kill Me is the singular book on punk’s origins, reign, and subsequent popularity, with contributions from key players in the game, including Iggy Pop, The Ramones, and Richard Hell. Please Kill Me puts you there on the scene with the major players who influenced punk, such as musicians, music critics, and more. There are few better or more impactful music history books than Please Kill Me. It is quite simply one of the best music books of all time.
How to read it: Purchase Please Kill Me on Amazon
The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song from Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed by Shea Serrano
In The Rap Year Book, definitely one of the best books about music, Shea Serrano does exactly what he says in the title: discuss, debate, and deconstruct the most important and influential rap song from every year from 1979-2015. Serrano’s eclectic mix of best-of hits span from Notorious B.I.G. to Puff Daddy, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Lil Wayne. Any rap fan should make sure to have The Rap Year Book on their shelves.
How to read it: Purchase The Rap Year Book on Amazon
Smash! Green Day, The Offspring, Bad Religion, NOFX, and the ’90s Punk Explosion by Ian Winwood
I grew up in the era when Green Day exploded onto the new wave of ’90s punk music. In Smash!, Ian Winwood takes readers back to that time when American punk was evolving and experiencing a revival. With so many books focusing on punk in the 1970s and 1980s, Winwood puts the focus on the way that American punk bands of the ’90s experienced incredible mainstream success, with Green Day and The Offspring selling millions of records. Anyone interested in learning more about the history of punk and alternative music will enjoy Smash!, definitely one of the top rock music books and one of the best books about the music industry.
How to read it: Purchase Smash! on Amazon
Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory by John Seabrook
In Song Machine, New Yorker journalist John Seabrook takes readers on an inside tour of the industry that is built around the quest to make the most successful songs. When a pop music hit explodes, it’s not always known that the tune was deliberately manufactured to be as catchy as possible. In fact, there’s a whole workshop of songwriting that follow a formula to compose and write music that uses neuroscience to grip your brain, hook you on the tune, and make sure you can’t get it out of your head. Song Machine definitely ranks as one of the best music books and best books about the music industry.
How to read it: Purchase Song Machine on Amazon
This Is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin
Neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin breaks open the connections between our brains and music in This Is Your Brain on Music, for sure one of the best music books of all time. You’ll learn about how “earworms”—those catchy songs we can’t get out of our head—happen, the science that says you can pick up and master an instrument at any age, and how composers harness the way our brains react to music to make the most audibly pleasurable songs.
How to read it: Purchase This Is Your Brain on Music on Amazon
This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
The best books about music combine neuroscience with the art form. According to cognitive scientist Susan Rogers, each person has an individual “listener profile” that creates a unique way you respond to music. Maybe you’re a melody person. Or maybe you’re a lyrics fan. Either way, you have a way you respond to music that is distinct as your fingerprints. And in This Is What It Sounds Like, you’ll learn all about this side of you and your musical personality. Rogers also discusses some of the most widely acclaimed and popular songs and deconstructs why we like them. This is an interesting book to learn more about yourself through music.
How to read it: Purchase This Is What It Sounds Like on Amazon
Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music by Alex Ross
Most lists of the best books about music include New Yorker music critic Alex Ross’ The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. But in this roundup of the best music books, I’m featuring a different Ross book, Wagnerism. This book takes a hard look at one of the most influential composers of all time, Richard Wagner. Ross traces his accomplishments, fame, and complicated legacy; Hitler was a notorious Wagner fan and latched onto Wagner in his campaign for German nationalism. So how do we reconcile the man from the myth and the harm his music has done? Find out in this engrossing book.
How to read it: Purchase Wagnerism on Amazon
Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste by Nolan Gasser
This book tops 700 pages, but thats what Nolan Gasser, the man behind Pandora Radio’s Music Genome Project, needs to write his definitive guide to why we like the music we like. It turns out each person has individual music taste as unique as their DNA. In Why You Like It, Gasser tells the story of the science behind that custom and unique musical taste. It’s a captivating read that will change the way you hear and think about music and for sure one of the best books about music.
How to read it: Purchase Why You Like It on Amazon
Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Every Day by Clemency Burton-Hill
For our final book in this list of the 30 best books about music, we turn to classical music. Are you as intimidated by classical music as I am? Never fear! In Year of Wonder, author Clemency Burton-Hill introduces the world of classical music by selecting one piece to enjoy for each of the 365 days in a year. It’s a crash course that will finally take the fear out of becoming a fan of classical music.
