Sarah Collins
Sarah came up through Nottingham's rock and indie scene, working the door and the merch stall before she ever wrote a word about it. That view from behind the scenes taught her how the machinery of live music really works. She writes about bands, live music and the culture around it.
The Best Chamber Pop Artists to Know
A handful of artists define the chamber pop canon. Here are the names that matter most, what makes each distinctive, and where to start with their work.
The Complete Guide to Sequencers
Sequencers form the technological foundation of contemporary music production, from hardware step sequencers to sophisticated DAW implementations.
The Best The Black Pearl Soundtrack Songs Right Now
A guide to the essential individual tracks from the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl score, with context for each.
The Complete Guide to Gypsy Jazz
Gypsy jazz fuses Romani traditions with jazz harmony, creating a vibrant acoustic style born in 1930s Paris. Django Reinhardt's virtuosity and the Quintette du Hot Club de France defined a genre that...
Common Fender Jazz Bass Mistakes to Avoid
The honest rundown of what actually catches people out, straight from years of watching it happen at the merch stall and the second-hand counter.
The Best Future House Artists to Know
Three names anchor this genre more than anyone else. Here's an honest look at what each one actually brought to it, no tidy top-ten list required.
The Best House Music Artists to Know
House music was built by DJs and producers solving a practical problem: how to keep a room dancing until sunrise. These are the names behind that graft.
Billboard Too 200: What You Need to Know
The Billboard Too 200 tracks how albums perform across sales and streaming in the US. This is what the numbers mean, how the chart works, and where its limits are.
The Best Psytrance Artists to Know
No single 'best' list does this scene justice, so here's an honest map of who actually built it and shaped it, grouped by what they contributed.
A Beginner's Guide to Trap Music
Booming 808s, fluttering hi-hats and dark, sparse melodies — here's what actually makes trap music trap music, laid out plainly.
New Techno Subgenres, Explained
No snobbery, just the actual differences: a straight-talking guide to new techno subgenres and how to tell them apart by ear.
The Best Death Metal Artists to Know
Not an alphabetical list — the death metal names grouped by what each one actually did for the sound, from the founders to the melodic outliers.
The Best Baroque Pop Songs Right Now
The genre's essential recordings are spread across singles, album tracks and overlooked deep cuts. Here is a guide to the recordings that define the style.
Electro Subgenres, Explained
Electro subgenres genuinely diverged over the decades — here's how New York, Detroit, Miami and European electro actually differ.
Crunk Subgenres, Explained
Memphis crunk, Atlanta crunk, Crunk&B and snap music — the honest breakdown of how the genre actually split.
The Best Bedroom Pop Songs Right Now
Seven bedroom pop songs that do the most important thing the genre asks of any track: make you feel like someone is talking directly to you.
Americana Subgenres, Explained
Americana isn't one sound - it's several older traditions sharing a roof. Here's every subgenre named plainly, with no jargon left unexplained.
Westlife Christmas Number 1: What You Need to Know
In 1999, Westlife topped the UK chart at Christmas with a double A-side that sold over a million copies. Here's the full story behind one of British pop's defining festive moments.
The Best Witch House Songs Right Now
Forget weekly charts — here's the durable, essential run of witch house tracks that actually explain the genre, from King Night to today's artists.
Metalcore Subgenres, Explained
The word gets stretched over a lot of genuinely different-sounding bands. Here's a plain, no-nonsense rundown of the main branches and who to hear in each one.
Essential Surf Rock Albums Explained
The surf rock album canon is tight but defining. These are the records that established the sound and the ones that kept it going — from 1960 to the 1990s revival.
Funk Music Subgenres, Explained
A no-nonsense breakdown of P-Funk, funk-rock, jazz-funk, boogie and more, and what genuinely separates one from another.
Breakcore Subgenres, Explained
Nobody agrees on a tidy subgenre list here, and anyone who hands you a rigid chart is overselling their own certainty. Here's an honest map instead.
What Sarah Collins covers
Country Music
Country music combines storytelling lyrics, melodic hooks and acoustic-led band arrangements.
1 topic
Cover Songs
Practical music gear for rehearsal, gigging and storage, with reliable options for artists and bands.
Fender Jazz Bass
Fender jazz bass models deliver comfort, clarity and versatile low-end tone for rehearsals, recording and live gigs.
1 topic
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine-inspired instruments and production gear for expressive songwriting, layered sound and dynamic...
Grunge
Grunge blends heavy guitars, raw vocals and dynamic songwriting for an intense, unpolished rock sound.
14 topics
Heavy Metal
Heavy metal combines powerful riffs, heavy drums and dramatic vocals for a loud, precise rock sound.
2 topics
House Music
House music delivers steady club rhythms, soulful grooves and adaptable electronic production for DJs and producers.
Metal Hammer
News, interviews and reviews for heavy music fans, covering metal releases, live shows and the wider scene.
