Tracks & Tales Listening City Chart - November 2026

The cities readers chose to spend time with this month — every listening bar guide on Tracks & Tales, ranked by organic readership and grouped by country. 126 cities. 43 countries. One measure: where people went to read about sound.

Kyoto holds first with four hundred and fifty-six views, nearly twice its October count. Osaka climbs from sixth to second on three hundred, and Tokyo from eighth to third on two hundred and thirty-six. Japan holds the whole top three. Taipei rises from seventeenth to fourth. Lisbon reads a little more than it did in October but falls to fifth, and Barcelona falls to sixth.

Readership across the atlas more than doubled, from three thousand two hundred and forty-five views to eight thousand and twenty-nine. The United States still leads by country, with two thousand one hundred and seventy-three views over fifty-eight cities, and Los Angeles now reads ahead of New York City. Japan passes eleven hundred. The United Kingdom rises from forty-eight to two hundred and eighty-four. Lagos climbs fifty-nine places, from eighty-third to twenty-fourth, and carries Nigeria from six views to ninety-three. Beirut goes from three to sixty-seven, and Marrakech moves from thirty-second to sixteenth.

Translated editions carried more than two-thirds of this month's readers, five thousand seven hundred and nine of eight thousand and twenty-nine. The Chinese edition carried the most again, with one thousand four hundred and ninety-seven. Copenhagen and Shanghai each gain a second guide. Hong Kong falls furthest, from thirtieth to eighty-ninth. A hundred and twenty-six cities, forty-three countries.

FAQs

How is this different from a city guide directory? It isn't a directory — it's a readership chart. Every city here is one readers actively sought out and spent time with this month. It measures genuine curiosity about listening culture, not editorial selection.

Can I read the full guide for any of these cities? Yes — every entry links to the full city essay. Click any city name to read it.

What is The Listening Club? A global membership built around the culture these cities carry — one album a month, heard properly. Join here.

Continue Exploring

All City Guides The Japanese Origins of Listening Culture Venue Essays The Listening Album Archive The 50 Best Albums for Deep Listening

Rafi Mercer writes about the spaces where music matters. For more stories from Tracks & Tales, subscribe or click here to read more.