It’s that time of year again. Time to pause our doomscrolling and reflect on what kept us going through yet another year of relentless absurdity. Spoiler: it wasn’t world peace or political stability—it was music. Against all odds, 2024 gave us albums worth celebrating, proving that even in the darkest times, someone’s still writing a killer chorus.
For nineteen years now, compiling this list has been a labor of love. Here are the previous ones:
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
It’s neat to go back and see how many of my previous “favorite” albums are still in my listening rotation. Quite a few, actually.
OK, enough stalling. Here we go. No excuses. No explanations. Just my favorite albums from the past 12 months:
10. Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk
With Imaginal Disk, Magdalena Bay straddle pop worlds, bringing together a maximalist dance club atmosphere and ecstasy-laced, burning Wicker Man euphoria, all filtered through a dial-up computer dream of the pop future.
[AllMusic]
9. Cindy Lee – Diamond Jubilee
The sprawling and spectacular Cindy Lee album is an essential trove of music. Each song is like a foggy transmission from a rock’n’roll netherworld with its own ghostly canon of beloved hits.
[Pitchfork]
8. Geordie Greep – The New Sound
Soaring to new heights on his solo debut, Geordie Greep delivers on his brief of crafting a ‘New Sound’ that is somehow bolder, stranger and more accessible than his work with Black Midi. Considering that band’s place at the vanguard of experimental rock music over the past five years, this is a remarkable feat.
[Loud and Quiet]
7. Beyoncé – COWBOY CARTER
Clever, sexy, angry, soulful, witty and fantastically bold, Beyoncé stirs up the western and puts the you know what into country. I think it’s a masterpiece, but don’t expect to hear it at the Grand Ole’ Opry any time soon.
[The Telegraph]
6. Jack White – No Name
If it was simply Jack White sounding like good old Jack White then that would make for a timely rocket to blast a noteworthy wreckage amid in today’s pixelated musical landscape, but it’s Jack White in a signature vein that timelessly revitalises the medium of the blues with each stabbing chord.
[Far Out Magazine]
5. Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us
Frankly, every song on Only God Was Above Us is worth waxing rhapsodic about. None of these songs feel dispensable, or feel like any other song on the record. Yet, it still feels like a cohesive collection of songs, its peaks and valleys carefully planned.
[Spectrum Culture]
4. The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy
The Last Dinner Party has artfully crafted an album that distinguishes itself in the musical landscape. It’s not merely an album; it’s a piece of art that resonates with the subtleties and complexities of the human experience.
[Northern Transmissions]
3. Fontaines D.C. – Romance
The Dublin quintet’s fourth LP is an essay of mosh-pit guitars careening into baggy desires and stringed visions of mercy, arriving like a stroke of violence that stretches itself around the cinema of living.
[Paste]
2. Billie Eilish – HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
For the first time, Billie sounds wonderfully satisfied with herself on this record. The lyrics are full of warm internal rhymes and evocative stories, brother Finneas’ production is outrageously good (Jack Antonoff watch your back), and the vision is executed boldly with a salivating grin.
[Still Listening]
1. Charli xcx – BRAT
BRAT is frighteningly addictive and self-assured as Charli struts expertly through surprisingly intimate lyricism and irresistible dance numbers to deliver a nuanced picture of modern womanhood.
[Still Listening]
Honorable mention:
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Aaron West & The Roaring Twenties – In Lieu of Flowers
Father John Misty – Mahashmashana
MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
Mk.gee – Two Star & The Dream Police
Charles Lloyd – The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow
Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet
Andrew Bird Trio – Sunday Morning Put-On
Gracie Abrams – The Secret of Us
Michael Kiwanuka – Small Changes
If you want to listen to all Top 20 Albums, one after the other, then this is the playlist for you:
What did I get wrong? What did I miss? What is your favorite record from 2024? Leave me a comment and let me know!