@Alicia Akinola

The tracks you can’t get enough of lately, all in one place.

While an early name-check from Justin Bieber brought Madison Beer into the public eye at age 13, she’s since matured into quite the pop provocateur. Collaborations with K-pop superstars (K/DA and (G)I-dle on “POP/STARS”), house-music giants (Jax Jones & Martin Solveig on “All Day and Night”), and hip-hop hitmakers (Offset on “Hurts Like Hell”) prove Beer’s impressive range, but so does her solo work. On her 2021 debut album, <I>Life Support</I>, she slips seductively into a Lana Del Rey-like reverie on “Blue,” sizzles atop a dark dance-pop beat on “BOYSHIT,” and shows off her rich, sultry soprano on the hushed heartbreaker “Selfish.”

“Hey Siri, play the Relax playlist.”

“Hey Siri, play the Laidback playlist.”

Change is good, but a lot of the best R&B points back to the source. Focusing on current stuff with some classics sprinkled in, this playlist highlights grown-up R&B tunes with hints of the classic tradition: relaxed new sounds with the same old soul. Our editors are always switching things out, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.

There may be no genre that encompasses the hues of romance better than R&B. Love Letters is a celebration of that legacy: You can hear the butterflies here, that rush of a new crush, alongside fully grown love, that lived-in kind of commitment. Whether these songs take you back or ground you in the current moment with that special someone, there’s something for everyone. The artists here, past and present, provide the language for love that’s eternal. If you hear something that hits those heartstrings, be sure to save it to your library.