Humanities Music Department

Memphis Public Library has a lot to offer the music lover. This web page and the library’s in-house music collection is a virtual gold mine through which the curious explorer can get acquainted with a broad range of musical genres. In conjunction with the Popular Library, the Humanities Department houses some of Central Library’s core music collections. In the Popular Library, you will find newly released albums on CD as well as a variety of choices in rock and roll, jazz, contemporary gospel, country, rhythm and blues.  

The Humanities Department features instrumental music such as classical, baroque, ballet, opera, symphony and more. You could take a virtual tour around the globe with music from our World Music Collection, or you can stay close to home and check out a CD from the Memphis Music Section, which includes Memphis legends and new Memphis musicians, as well as compilations from Sun, Stax, Hi, Goner, and Ardent recording studios. The whole collection is available for check out, but be sure to listen to WYPL 89.3 FM every night from 8 to midnight to hear highlights from the Memphis Music Collection.

In addition to Memphis music, Humanities music collection features a wide variety of instrumental and vocal music, including classical composers, chamber music, choral music, international music, and Broadway musical soundtracks. Humanities also collects sheet music and guides to help you learn to play that instrument gathering dust in your closet.

Classical

• Gramophone - The UK’s classical music magazine.
• Classical Net - Learn about classical music through articles about composers, movements, and classical masterpieces.
• Schirmer - Rent and license classical sheet music.
• Africlassical - African American Heritage in Classical Music

General

• All Music - Genre hop at All Music and find more to like than you ever thought possible.
• Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia -  Dive deep into the Library of Congress's incomparable collection.
• National Jukebox - Historic music recordings presented by the Library of Congress.
• The Internet Broadway Database - A searchable database for all your broadway information needs.

Opera

• Opera Glass - Opera information directory
• Opera News - Learn about the latest in the world of opera.
• Opera Base - Opera Base has been collecting worldwide opera data since 2006. An invaluable resource for opera fans and professionals.

Rock, Hip Hop and Popular Music

• Rolling Stone - The rock and roll news and review magazine.
• Billboard - Today's top pop and rock hits and reviews.
• Spin - Music reviews and articles on the edgy side of rock and hip hop.
• Hiphop Archive - The Hiphop Archive strives to give the scholarly treatment to hiphop's poetics through documentation and research.

Jazz, Blues and Soul

• Downbeat - The leading jazz and blues magazine.
• Jazz Times - News and reviews from the frontlines of jazz.

Memphis Music

• Stax Museum
• Memphis Rock n’Soul Museum
• Sun Studio
• Hi Records
• Ardent Studios
• Goner Records
• Live From Memphis
• Elvis
• OperaMemphis
• Memphis Symphony Orchestra
• Buckman Performing and Fine Arts Center
• Memphis & Shelby County Music Commission
  
• Hi-Tone Cafe
• Minglewood Hall