About this guide
This is the pop and rock music quick guide. The main music research guide covers general topics. Related guides (listed in box at bottom right) cover other aspects of music.
Locate music books, recordings, scores, articles, & e-resources
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BartonPlus (Classic Barton catalog + e-resources)Searches Barton and most MIT-licensed e-resources, including full-text articles.
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Classic Barton (MIT Libraries catalog)To find specific materials owned by MIT.
Browse the shelves for books about pop and rock music of the U.S.: ML3470-ML3479, ML3561.P6, ML3561.R6
Rap and hip-hop: ML3531; ML3918
Biographies of performers: ML419-ML421
Find music journal articles
These sources may list articles not listed in BartonPlus:
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Music Index Online (journal articles)Indexes music articles in journals 1970-present.
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RILM Abstracts of Music Literature (journal articles and more)A comprehensive bibliography of writings on music serving the global music research community.
Online dictionaries and encyclopedias (MIT access)
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Oxford Music Online (includes Grove's Dictionary of Music)Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Grove Music Online, Oxford Dictionary of Music, and Oxford Companion to Music.
Many print-only dictionaries and encyclopedias are available in the library; see Ref ML102.P66.
Finding songs in collections
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The Fake Book IndexSearchable index of over 75 "fake books"
Songs in collections may not be listed in Barton; use print-only bibliographies and indexes to locate these songs. See Ref ML128.S3 and Ref ML120.U5.S5
Collections of songs by more than one composer can be found under call numbers M1495-M1998.
Music charts, lists of hits, lyrics
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Music Industry Data (MIT access)Statistical chart data across all music genres. Formerly Academic Charts Online (ACO).
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Charts All Over the WorldFrom the Latvian Academic Network.
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Joel Whitburn presents top R & B/hip-hop singles, 1942-2004Call Number: Ref ML156.4.B6.W25 2004
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Popular music, 1920-1979: a revised cumulation byCall Number: Ref ML120.U5.S529 1985
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Popular music: an annotated index of American popular songs.Call Number: Ref ML120.U5.S5291Continues Popular Music, 1970-1979; covers 1980-2002.
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The rock song index: essential information on the 7,500 most important songs of rock and roll byCall Number: Ref ML128.R6.P65 1997
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Variety music cavalcade, 1620-1969 byCall Number: Ref ML128.V7.M435 1971A chronology of vocal and instrumental music popular in the United States.
Streaming audio
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Music and Performing Arts (MIT access)Over 5 million tracks from Alexander Street Press: includes American Song, Classical Music Library, Contemporary World Music, Jazz Music Library, and Smithsonian Global Sound
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Naxos Music Library (MIT access)Over two million tracks of music.
Music and Media Program Head
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Related guides
Research guide: Theater Arts
Music quick guides:
- Electronic music
- Equipment available in the Lewis Music Library
- Jazz
- Music of the United States
- Musical theater
- Pop and rock music
- Social justice and music
- Songs
- World music