BREAKING: One entry among the 2025 inductees, the Nimrod Workman Collection, includes an album made available by its keepers as pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp for a limited time only.
"This is a journey ... into sound." - Geoffrey Sumner, "Train Sequence"
Since 2002, the Library of Congress has been gathering a list of audio recordings that demonstrate America's heritage for their aesthetic, cultural, or historical significance. Many form important parts of the recorded history of humanity; others are obscure yet fascinating works of music or sound. Some are well-known albums or singles that can be purchased or streamed on all major platforms; others exist only in archives, severed from the Internet and sometimes from the Library itself.
This website strives to collect information regarding the history and availability of all 625 recordings, whether they be singles, albums, compilations, or collections, and to present statistics gleaned from, but not immediately revealed by, the Library's master listing, in a way that makes each entry of accessible interest.
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