The past thirty years have seen musical genres splinter, creating a world of new sounds and hybrids. During the past five years alone, the advent of mp3 players, Napster, and digital downloads has subdivided even albums themselves. We've entered a period in which individual songs are more popular than full albums, where a single mp3 can turn a band into tomorrow's next big thing.

The Pitchfork 500 includes lively, insightful reviews of the 500 most important songs released between January 1977 and December 2006. Beginning with the birth of punk and independent music, it will document the post-boomer era of music that has spanned from such acts as Nirvana, The Clash, Radiohead, and U2, along with hip hop, indie, pop, metal, electronic, and experimental music. Equal parts serious music criticism and pop culture candy, this is the essential music guide of our time, one that considers the changing nature of the modern music landscape, while bringing the changes of the past three decades into focus.