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The Top Five Favorite Albums of 2024
All of our regular album reviewers chime in with their most-spun favorites
December 11, 2024 at 1:00 PM
Once again, we've sourced "best albums of the year" opinions from five of our regular album review contributors — and the diversity of their choices represents the diversity of their individual tastes, offering a wide variety of genres. Everything from smash pop hits to solemn singer-songwriters, indie hip-hop to sludgy heavy metal, and punk rock to grunge nostalgia are represented in the following lists. Here in the online version of this article, we've included a custom made playlist featuring a favorite track from each album. Happy listening!
1. Charli XCX // Brat
2024 has been Charli XCX's chartreuse-colored oyster. We have just been living in it.
2. Adrianne Lenker // Bright Future
No matter if you stop at the first song or the last, this album's beautiful acoustics and cracked vocals will leave an impression on you.
3. Father John Misty // Mahashmashana
Part-mass exodus. Part-musical culmination. All Father John Misty.
4. Britney Howard // What Now?
Transcending her trademark folk sound toward psychedelics, the singer-songwriter continues to stun.
5. Chat Pile // Cool World
This sludge-coated wall of noise is the perfect place to scream about our current world.
EXTRAS:
Geordie Greep // The New Sound
Vampire Weekend // Only God Was Above Us
Magdalena Bay // Imaginal Disk
Tyler, the Creator // CHROMAKOPIA
The Last Dinner Party // Prelude to Ecstasy
1. Hovvdy // Hovvdy
A defining double album from the indie-pop duo that splits the difference between country-leaning acoustic guitars and electronic percussion, landing on something that feels instantly familiar and comforting.
2. Mannequin Pussy // I Got Heaven
Cult-favorite punk rockers expand their palette to incorporate the sounds of riffy alt-rock, blistering hardcore, and gorgeous dream-pop on their most interesting and accessible album to date.
3. Porches // Shirt
Synth-pop's pretty boy leans even further back towards his guitar-rock roots, folding medieval occult motifs into a record that blends beauty and darkness as well as it does distorted guitars and indie-pop songwriting.
4. Molly Lewis // On the Lips
A cinematic debut LP from professional whistler Molly Lewis, which uses horns and other serene, jazzy textures to conjure the surreal worlds of visual artists like David Lynch and the Coen brothers.
5. Billie Eilish // Hit Me Hard and Soft
The transformative pop pioneer sheds her Top 40 shackles in favor of her most mature album to date, managing to create something completely cohesive despite spanning her most varied styles, themes, and vocal performances yet.
EXTRAS:
Chat Pile // Cool World
Father John Misty // Mahashmashana
DIIV // Frog in Boiling Water
MJ Lenderman // Manning Fireworks
Spirit of the Beehive // You'll Have to Lose Something
1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds // Wild God
Nick Cave ages into Leonard Cohen territory with poignant lyrics and slower tempos in Wild God — wherein he preaches about finding peace in a world full of chaos. This is the first record to feature writing credits beyond Cave and Ellis, including the entire Bad Seeds group, since 2016's Skeleton Tree, giving it a familiar yet fresh feel.
2. The Cure // Songs of a Lost World
If your favorite Cure album is their masterpiece Disintegration, then Songs of Lost World is its companion. Returning with atmospheric tones, fuzz-covered psychedelic guitars, and drone rhythms, this album will take you back to 1989.
3. The Jesus Lizard // Rack
With grunge music making a comeback, these underdogs of the alternative era have returned with their first album in 24 years. The Jesus Lizard haven't slowed down with age, instead they pick it back up with the same blistering sound that made them a must-see live band in the '90s.
4. Redd Kross // Redd Kross
After playing together for over 40 years and fresh off the heels of their documentary, Redd Kross delivers a bubblegum pop-punk record that has so many tasty riffs and sweet hooks that you have to see your dentist after a listen. Blending the Osmonds with Black Flag, it's no wonder that they are the Cheap Trick of the punk scene.
5. The Messthetics, James Brandon Lewis // The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis
The collaboration of The Messthetics (featuring the rhythm section from Fugazi) and saxophonist Brandon Lewis sees jazz entering into punk territory. These artists first collaborated on the single "Fear Not" in 2022, followed by a tour (including a stop in Erie), then decided to come together for one of the most unique releases of 2024. This instrumental record is perfect for a quiet evening in or a few sixers in the garage with friends.
EXTRAS:
Guided By Voices// Strut Kings
Grateful Dead // Duke '78 (Live)
Judas Priest // Invincible Shield
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard // Flight b741
CNTS // Thoughts & Prayers
1. Dan Reeder // Smithereens
What happens when the angel food cake on one shoulder and the deviled eggs on the other both share the same philosophies and every idea seems like a decent proposal? Dan Reeder happens.
2. Sierra Ferrell // Trail of Flowers
Grandma always said you can't polish a turd, but you can bedazzle a busker. Once the prettiest girl on the street corner with a guitar case full of change, she is now one of the reigning queens of Appalachia.
3. Billy Strings // Highway Prayers
Your pizza delivery boyfriend pulls up in his black Camaro, blaring a Doc Watson/Eagles mixtape. He says, "Jump in! We're gonna do some mushrooms at the Crosby, Stills, & Nash laser light show."
4. Shellac // To All Trains
You never realized how spot on and hilarious the irritating smart-ass kid sitting behind you in physics class was until he just wasn't there one day. Years from now, you'll find the well-honed, encouraging quip he buried in your yearbook. Rest in peace, Steve Albini.
5. High Llamas // Hey Panda
In the dappled sunlight of Pet Sounds, an optimistic Obilio wanders with his trusty dog Trans-vocoder. They join forces with sage Caetano Veloso in search of a most mellow Sheila E.
EXTRAS:
Charley Crockett // Visions of Dallas
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats // South of Here
Kim Deal // Nobody Loves You More
Guided by Voices // Strut of Kings
Joan Armatrading // How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean
1. St. Vincent // All Born Screaming
Seemingly an amalgamation of all of her past identities, this album eases between dark and tender art-rock, screaming industrial, neo-psychedelia, and new wave polyrhythms without ever losing the point
2. Jahari Massamba Unit // YHWH Is Love
Captivating and meditative, this album lands so high on the list thanks to its pure listenability, even if it's sometimes in the background. Let Madlib and drummer Karriem Riggins take you on a laidback, spiritual journey from start to finish.
3. Charli XCX // Brat
While it's probably my fourth-favorite album from the British dance diva, it's undoubtedly her most important. Not much else needs to be said about this cultural phenomenon and instant classic.
4. English Teacher // This Could Be Texas
This astonishing debut from the Leeds quartet is a wildly inventive blend of indie pop and post-rock. Quirky, angular, hypnotic, and extremely intelligent, it's a gift.
5. Cassandra Jenkins // My Light, My Destroyer
With the ability to elevate art-rock to fine art, Cassandra Jenkins can create a dreamlike atmosphere like none other. The airy poetry, lilting melodies, and sophisticated instrumentation are beautiful and perplexing.
EXTRAS:
The Last Dinner Party // Prelude to Ecstasy
Sprints // Letter to Self
Ducks, Ltd. // Harm's Way
Bolis Pupul // Letter to You
Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties // In Lieu of Flowers