@Da'Miyah Johnson

Whether it’s a weekday morning or Saturday night, get going with this personalized set of upbeat music. Refreshed every Monday.

Songs to help you relax and unwind. Updated every Sunday.

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

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

The songs you can’t do without. The more you use Apple Music, the more essential they become. Refreshed every Tuesday.

The ’90s was a revolutionary time in R&B: Not only had the mature, quiet-storm-oriented sound evolved to its most sophisticated state, you started to really hear the influence of hip-hop—a shift that changed not only R&B, but the sound of modern pop in general. From neo-soul to new jack swing, the classic-sounding to the more cutting-edge, these are the tracks that shaped R&B in the ’90s and early 2000s. Our editors update picks regularly, so if you hear something you like, take a minute and add it to your library.

Neo-soul’s emergence in the late 20th century happened slowly but deliberately. Artists like the restless belter D’Angelo and the shrewd songsmith Maxwell tested the boundaries of R&B’s future while luxuriating in the ideals—extended instrumental jams, off-the-charts vocal performances, rugged lyrics—that had made ‘70s albums by the likes of Al Green and Isaac Hayes classics. In the 21st century, a vanguard of artists dove headfirst into soul music’s next wave by honoring its past. The genre grew in wild, varied directions, with Erykah Badu imbuing her psychedelic explorations with hip-hop candor, Janelle Monáe taking the idea of “robo-funk” to high-concept heights, and Anderson .Paak saluting Stevie and Dre with his sweeping, genre-bending depictions of California life.

There are rare talents, and then there is Michael Jackson. Yes, the Indiana-born musical prodigy's albums sold like kitchen appliances in the ‘80s, but more importantly, the lifelong showman sang as if every breath were his last. He out-discoed disco. He used elements of R&B, soul, funk, blues, rock, and gospel to turn sonic emotion into genre set pieces, like how “Thriller” morphed fear into horr-opera. MJ even invented his own onomatopoeic language—“Hee hee”; “Chi-ooh!”; “Ow!”—all of which instantly conjure a snapped fedora. Even among the Greatest of All Time, the King of Pop stands apart.