Here’s a home for the classics. The deep, the soulful, the funky, the liberated—sounds that can be built on but never quite improved. Pop music, yes, but also instances of Black America centering itself in the cultural conversation with pride and style. The tracks here resonate not just as joys unto themselves, but also as the foundation of hip-hop—and a whole lot of today's pop. While the picks here focus on the past, our editors update them regularly, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.