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The best folk and roots music of the year, from quiet acoustic solo records to stomping shout-alongs, focused on community, elements of ancestry and stories that unite us.

Peso Pluma is YouTube's most viewed artist of the year in the U.S. The Mexican music phenom beat out Taylor Swift, Drake, YoungBoy Never Broke Again and Bad Bunny for the top spot.

Also: New bride, four other women die in California limo fire; jury resumes deliberations in murder trial of Philadelphia abortion doctor; cooler weather helps in fight against California wildfires; and the Senate is expected to OK internet sales tax legislation.

Also: Suspect in ricin letters described as conspiracist and Elvis impersonator; North Korea "sets conditions" for return to talks; and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords expresses her anger after gun bills fail in Senate.

It's been a year of complacency deferred and sleeping giants roused. So it's only natural that much of 2017's best music would reflect that tumult, albeit in radically different ways.

Also: Osama bin Laden's son-in-law due in Manhattan court; the two Koreas ratchet up rhetoric; Catholic cardinals expected to set date for start of conclave; Northeast braces for more snow and flooding.

Though the gap between spending and revenues has narrowed, it has stayed above the $1 trillion mark.

Also: International Monetary Fund warns of greater risk of global recession; Romney gets boost in Pew poll; security tight as German chancellor visits Greece; Felix Baumgartner's record skydive on hold.

In terms of pop hits, the shadow of 2013 fell over most of 2014. But for NPR Music's Stephen Thompson, there were plenty of winners this year as well.