Music bestsellers

The revelatory and wildly bestselling memoir by legendary rock star Bruce Springsteen: “Glorious…a philosophically rich ramble through a rock ’n roll life…It’s the lyric he was born to write” (USA TODAY, 4 out of 4 stars).

Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life. The result is... Read more »

The #1 New York Times Bestseller

Includes six new songs by Jessica Simpson, available exclusively in the Open Book audiobook.

Performed by the author featuring her music throughout.

Jessica reveals for the first time her inner monologue and most intimate struggles. Guided by the journals she's kept since age fifteen, and brimming with her unique...

From funny and fearless entertainment journalist Sesali Bowen, Bad Fat Black Girl combines rule-breaking feminist theory, witty and insightful personal memoir, and cutting cultural analysis for an unforgettable, genre-defining debut.

Growing up on the south side of Chicago, Sesali Bowen learned early on how to hustle, stay on her toes, and...

Under the Big Black Sun explores the nascent Los Angeles punk rock movement and its evolution to hardcore punk as it’s never been told before. Authors John Doe and Tom DeSavia have woven together an enthralling story of the legendary west coast scene from 1977-1982 by enlisting the voices of people who were there. The book shares chapter-length... Read more »

"Working On A Song is one of the best books about lyric writing for the theater I've read."—Lin-Manuel Miranda

Anaïs Mitchell named to TIME's List of the 100 Most Influential People in the World of 2020

An illuminating book of lyrics and stories from Hadestown—the winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical—from its author, songwriter... Read more »

“Amazingly raw and  candid . . . Come As You Are is as good as rock bios get” —Billboard

Nirvana came out of nowhere in 1991 to sell nearly five million copies of their landmark album Nevermind, whose thunderous sound and indelible melodies embodied all the confusion, frustration, and passion of the emerging Generation X.

Come As You Are is... Read more »

A Recorded Books Audio Original production of songs and stories performed by Dolly herself, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics goes beyond the glitz, glamour, and rhinestones to the warmth, heart, and soul of a treasured pop-culture icon. In this exclusive audio performance, the ten-time Grammy Award–winning artist weaves her words... Read more »

"Bestselling author and Sundance award-winning director Questlove offers a thrilling, music-driven ride through the last fifty years of American history?. In Music Is History, bestselling author and Sundance award-winning director Questlove harnesses his encyclopedic knowledge of popular music and his deep curiosity about history to examine... Read more »

In this Time Top 100 Book of the Year, the National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author of Heartland “analyzes how Dolly Parton’s songs—and success—have embodied feminism for working-class women” (People).

Growing up amid Kansas wheat fields and airplane factories, Sarah Smarsh witnessed firsthand the particular... Read more »

**Winner of the 2021 Audie Award for Narration by Author or Authors**
**An AudioFile Earphones Award-winning production**

This program is read by Alicia Keys, with special guest appearances by family and friends, including Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, and Michelle Obama.

An intimate, revealing look at one artist’s journey from self-censorship to full...

In this New York Times bestselling follow-up to her critically acclaimed memoir, Home, Julie Andrews reflects on her astonishing career, including such classics as Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and Victor/Victoria.
In Home, the number one New York Times international bestseller, Julie Andrews recounted her difficult childhood and her... Read more »

With "virtuosic vulnerability" (The Atlantic), the iconic bassist and Red Hot Chili peppers co-founder pens a love letter to a youth spent wild in Los Angeles in his raw and riveting coming-of-age memoir.
In Acid for the Children, Flea takes readers on a deeply personal and revealing tour of his formative years, spanning from Australia to the New... Read more »

The quintessential depiction of 1980s New York and the downtown scene from the artist, actor, musician, and composer John Lurie

“Ferocious and wise, funny and tragic, raging and forgiving, and I loved every page.”—Nick Flynn, author of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

In the tornado that was downtown New York in the 1980s, John Lurie stood at... Read more »

Introduced with more than 90 biographical entries that trace the friendships, loves, and rivalries that inspired each musical genius and their work.

Profiles offer revealing insights into what drove each individual to create the musical masterpieces - symphonies, concertos and operatic scores - that changed the direction of classical music and... Read more »

Two iconic bands. An unforgettable life.

**This program is read by Chris Frantz**

One of the most dynamic groups of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Talking Heads, founded by drummer Chris Frantz, his girlfriend Tina Weymouth, and lead singer David Byrne, burst onto the music scene, playing at CBGBs, touring Europe with the Ramones, and creating hits like...

So, I've written a book.

Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities ("It's a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!") I have decided to tell these stories just as I have always done, in my own voice. The joy that I have felt...

From the acclaimed, controversial singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor comes a revelatory memoir of her fraught childhood, musical triumphs, fearless activism, and of the enduring power of song.   Blessed with a singular voice and a fiery temperament, Sinéad O’Connor rose to massive fame in the late 1980s and 1990s with a string of gold records. By... Read more »

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A panoramic experience that tells the story of Beastie Boys, a book as unique as the band itself—by band members ADROCK and Mike D, with contributions from Amy Poehler, Colson Whitehead, Wes Anderson, Luc Sante, and more.
 
The inspiration for the Spike Jonze “live documentary” Beastie Boys Story, coming soon to IMAX... Read more »

“A hot-rod joy ride through mid-20th-century American history” (The New York Times Book Review), this one-of-a-kind narrative masterfully recreates the rivalry between the two men who innovated the electric guitar’s amplified sound—Leo Fender and Les Paul—and their intense competition to convince rock stars like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and... Read more »

An explosive memoir from Bobby Hall, the multiplatinum recording artist known as Logic and the #1 bestselling author of Supermarket.

This Bright Future is a raw and unfiltered journey into the life and mind of Bobby Hall, who emerged from the wreckage of a horrifically abusive childhood to become an era-defining artist of our tumultuous age.

A... Read more »

A backstage pass to the groundbreaking, hit musical Hamilton, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Eleven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, including the award-winning libretto, behind-the-scenes photos and interviews, and exclusive footnotes from composer-lyricist-star Lin-Manuel Miranda, now streaming on Disney+ with the original... Read more »

"This captivating audiobook purports to be about the musical development of the multitalented Lenny Kravitz... As he draws listeners into his world, however, listeners begin to see that he's talking about something broader than music: This deeply thoughtful man is talking about how his passion for learning and expressing himself was shaped." --...

“The industry bible” (Los Angeles Times), now updated, essential for anyone in the music business—musicians, songwriters, lawyers, agents, promoters, publishers, executives, and managers—trying to navigate the rapid transformation of the industry.

For more than twenty years, All You Need to Know About the Music Business has been universally... Read more »

EXPLODING FISTS … BREAKING BOUNDARIES … DEFYING ODDS …BONE-BLASTING … SPINE-SHATTERING … BOX-OFFICE-BUSTING … When a Hollywood studio released Five Fingers of Death to thrill-seeking Times Square moviegoers in 1973, only a handful of Black and Asian audience members knew the difference between an Iron Fist and an Eagle’s Claw. That changed... Read more »

World-renowned hip-hop artist Jason “Timbuktu” Diakité’s vivid and intimate journey through his own and his family’s history—from South Carolina slavery to twenty-first-century Sweden.

Born to interracial American parents in Sweden, Jason Diakité grew up between worlds—part Swedish, American, black, white, Cherokee, Slovak, and German, riding a...

HIP-HOP (AND OTHER THINGS) is the third book in the (And Other Things) series. The first two—Basketball (And Other Things) and Movies (And Other Things)—were both #1 New York Times bestsellers. Read more »

Presenting an original audiobook performance of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, starring the cast of the National Theatre's 2018 Broadway revival.

In this production, adapted especially for the listening experience, Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane, and the entire cast recreate their acclaimed performances from the 2018 Tony Award-winning National... Read more »

Grammy Award–winning musician Rickie Lee Jones tells all in this electrifying, intimate memoir about how a little girl grew up to be one of the most legendary, groundbreaking artists of her time. Read—and sung—by Rickie Lee Jones!

This troubadour life is only for the fiercest hearts, only for those vessels that can be broken to smithereens and... Read more »

This program is read by the author, and includes excerpts from Richard Wagner's musical compositions throughout.

A New York Times Notable Books of 2020

Alex Ross, renowned New Yorker music critic and author of the international bestseller and Pulitzer Prize finalist The Rest Is Noise, reveals how Richard Wagner became the proving ground for...

"Tegan and Sara Quin’s joint memoir is perfect in audiobook form....Knowing and loving Tegan and Sara the musicians will obviously make this listen extra special, but it’s by no means a prerequisite to entry. High School, very literally, is for everyone." -- Paste, best audiobooks of 2019

This program is read by the authors and features bonus...

The long-awaited autobiography of Keith Richards, guitarist, songwriter, singer, and founding member of the Rolling Stones.

With The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the songs that roused the world, and he lived the original rock and roll life.

Now, at last, the man himself tells his story of life in the crossfire hurricane. Listening... Read more »

The eagerly awaited follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s new book gives listeners an extraordinary inside look at In the Heights, his breakout Broadway debut, written with Quiara Alegría Hudes, now a Hollywood blockbuster.

“[An] exuberant, unique, and invaluable record of dynamic, brilliant,... Read more »

A 2016 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist

National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson delivers a brilliant and riveting account of the Siege of Leningrad and the role played by Russian composer Shostakovich and his Leningrad Symphony.

In September 1941, Adolf Hitler’s Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Grammy Award–nominated, platinum-selling musician Halsey is heralded as one of the most compelling voices of her generation. In I Would Leave Me If I Could, she reveals never-before-heard poetry of longing, love, and the nuances of bipolar disorder.

In this intimate audio performance of her debut collection, Halsey bares... Read more »

A vinyl edition of Face It, the much-anticipated autobiography from rock icon and lead singer of Blondie, Debbie Harry. Face It Vinyl is performed by Debbie Harry with vocal guest appearances from Chris Stein, Clem Burke, Alannah Currie, and Gary Valentine with original music by Chris Stein. Face It Vinyl features two colored records filled with...

"Narrator Andrea Burns is amazing! Her performance of NEW YORK TIMES editor Jacobs's charming, well-researched look at the life of actor Elaine Stritch (19252014) is at once intelligent, amusing, and illuminating...Wonderfully entertaining listening." — AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

The ebullient, troubled life of a Broadway...

The New York Times bestselling memoir from the legendary Gucci Mane spares no detail in this “cautionary tale that ends in triumph” (GQ).

For the first time Gucci Mane tells his extraordinary story in his own words. It is “as wild, unpredictable, and fascinating as the man himself” (Complex).

The platinum-selling recording artist began writing... Read more »

An acclaimed music scholar presents an accessible introduction to the art of listening to jazz

In How to Listen to Jazz, award-winning music scholar Ted Gioia presents a lively introduction to one of America's premier art forms. He tells us what to listen for in a performance and includes a guide to today's leading jazz musicians. From Louis... Read more »

A long-awaited memoir from the larger-than-life, multifaceted lead vocalist of Iron Maiden, one of the most successful, influential and enduring rock bands ever.

Pioneers of Britain’s nascent Rock & Metal scene back in the late 1970s, Iron Maiden smashed its way to the top, thanks in no small part to the high-octane performances, operatic...