My 20 Favorite Albums of 2024

Dishonorable Mention: Chromakopia & the Tortured Poets Society

I have to mention these two albums real quick - and I have to mention them together because they suffer from the same flaw. I like both artists well enough. Tyler has been on a generational 3 album run before this, and what can I say about Taylor’s success that hasn’t been said already? Midnights was good and I’ll ignore the horrors that are the re-releases (an exaggeration, despite her crimes against humanity in other facets of her life). The reason why I am so upset by these albums is because both artists have become way too comfortable. Tyler leaned into his current sound all the way back in 2017, and excluding a few tracks on Igor, he hasn’t evolved since. There’s been plenty of great music from him, but he needs to take a break after this one and surprise us in 4 years. I think Taylor needs to work with new producers, amongst other self-examination. I never subscribed much to the idea that she mostly writes break-up songs, but having an album this long and this depressing about her split with Joe Alwyn is a miserable experience, especially coming off the backs of the more poppy Midnights and 1989 re-release, which I enjoyed. I would say that while I see these albums somewhat equally, Tyler had more range. That said, the highs of songs like “St. Chroma” and “Sticky” are directly undone by some of his worst songs ever like “Judge Judy”. Jesus christ I hate that song.

Honorable Mention: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess - Chappell Roan

I'm the type to keep things limited to the year they came out in, but I seem to be the only one doing that for this album so I give in. If it actually came out in 2024, it would be top 10.
You're probably aware of how unprecedently good it is by now so I don't need to tell you what you already know. Here's to another 50 years of Chappell Roan having a chokehold on gen z.

Honorable Mention: Eternal Sunshine - Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande had a wild year, even for the insane career she’s had. The controversy surrounding this album is hard to describe without making her sound like a horrible person, but it can’t be ignored. Eternal Sunshine’s rollout was overshadowed with her cheating scandal (or should I call it Ethan Slater’s cheating scandal) in which she painted herself as a heartless woman with no regard for other relationships. The album was clearly a vehicle for her to double down on her actions and to give a “fuck you” to anyone who dares to question her. And you know what? She stuck the landing. The lead single “Yes and?” served no purpose other than to tell people “Yeah I did that. Don’t come for my head because it’s none of your business” knowing full well that nobody cares enough about Slater to actually make a meaningful dig at him that his ex wife hasn’t made already. I must say that I don’t care for Ariana. She has an undeniably great discography, but the egregious blackface persona she pulled out in the late 2010s won’t be leaving my mind anytime soon. That said, I would call this her third best album behind Sweetener and Positions. Whatever. Favorite song: Yes And?

Honorable Mention: AWE - XG

2024 was the year that I finally figured out Kpop. I’ve always been aware of it, latching on to a few songs by LOONA back in the day while also following their controversy, but I saw the genre as being overwhelmingly dominated by loud, overproduced slop with nonsensical lyrics at best, soulless lyrics at worst. My ears physically rejected groups like BTS and Blackpink, who in my opinion were the most prolific contributors to both this style and the genre’s popularity. But as the years went by, more and more artists made their way into my playlists. Suga, Lim Kim, and the aforementioned LOONA, all had a seat at the table. However, the thing that was holding me back from wholeheartedly accepting the genre was the fact that the music took a backseat to the act as a whole. It was never about the songs, it was about the idols. Their look, fashion, dancing, were all more important than anything they had to say in their songs. In fact, it’s abundantly apparent that 99% of Kpop songs have no meaning to the artists themselves. The artists were models with a talent for singing and dancing, but that’s it. All creative decisions, nay, all decisions were made by invisible people in suits. Unfortunately, this is still the case with XG. The reason why it’s on the list, though, is because they did it well enough for me to look past the corporatism and see the real purpose of Kpop: simple dopamine secretion. I have to shoutout a couple other acts. XG was not the first group to allow me to unlock the secret behind Kpop - that honor goes to NewJeans and Le Sserafim. Sadly, NewJeans didn’t release a full project this year, otherwise they’d probably be on the list as more than an honorable mention. LeSserafim did, but I’ve become more of a fan of the idols versus their music. Another victim of the label’s evil plan. That’s my tangent about Kpop. As for the album itself, I have to commend it for blending so many genres so well. You could say that about lots of albums, but the way XG balances angelic pop vocals with hard-hitting rap is both mind-blowing and essential to their brand. Jurin can hold her own against any rapper on this list barring Kenny.

Favorite song: Woke Up

Honorable Mention: Ten Days - Fred Again

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this album compared to what I can say about Fred Again as an artist. His Actual Life series is the best compilation of dance music I’ve heard in my life while also being so profoundly emotional and personal - something a lot of dance/electronic artists struggle with balancing in my experience. Ten Days continues that trend, but to a lesser extent. This is by no means bad - it deserves a spot in the top 20, but it’s a step down from Actual Life. I can’t put my finger on why, as the novelty hasn’t worn off for me. Perhaps it’s my own growth as a person compared to where I was in 2022/2023. Just asking those questions speaks to how Fred’s music makes me feel, and that’s why I still rate it as highly as I do.
Favorite song: Ten

Honorable Mention: No Hands - Joey Valence & Brae

An obvious homage to the Beastie Boys and 90s pop culture as a whole, you know exactly what you’re getting from this album as soon as you throw it on. While it doesn’t exactly bring anything new to the table, succeeds in what it’s going for and fucking hits.

Favorite song: No Hands

Honorable Mention: Short n Sweet - Sabrina Carpenter

Pop! Perfection!
I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the most streamed album of the year behind Kendrick and Taylor, and it’s deserved. Outside of the lead singles, I can’t predict the longevity of this album for me personally or audiences globally, but I will say that it’s the type of album that turns artists into superstars. You can smell the money behind it, but that’s Ok - it has more soul than any of the Kpop on this list. A low bar, maybe, but that’s pop in a globalist world.

Favorite song: Good Graces

Honorable Mention: Super Real Me & I’ll Like You - Illit

Illit’s the new kids on the block in Kpop, and they killed it. It’s bubble pop. It’s great. Beep boop music. You’ll be satisfied. Head go brrrrrrr as they say. I majored in writing in college so I should articulate this better, but fuck it. Illit’s music is meaningless and that’s fine. Worth checking out.

Favorite Song: Magnetic & Tick-Tack

15. Mika's Laundry - Matt Champion

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If you know anything about my favorite artists, you’ll know that I’m a top 1% Brockhampton fan. The stars aligned for me in 2017 as they were releasing their Saturation trilogy, which locked me in until their disbandment in 2022. Since then, each of the members have slowly begun rolling out solo projects, with Matt Champion being the 2nd major album to drop after the frontman, Kevin Abstract. Matt’s contributions to Brockhampton have ranged from smooth R&B choruses to threats of violence against abusers, but he’s most known for chill rap verses with an IDGAF attitude. This could not be further from the songs we get on Mika’s Laundry which have him singing, primarily over short form and heavily interpretable poetic lyrics. Excluding the oddly-included but hard-hitting “gbiv”, the album paints the picture of a guy seeking a sort of nostalgic, almost childlike love which is fitting as he got engaged to his long time partner later in 2024. Mika’s Laundry is not the most exciting or listenable album of all time, but I got a lot out of it as someone who was simply excited to see a Matt Champion solo project. If you don’t know him or don’t care about Brockhampton, you’ll still get a detailed portrait of how he sees the world if you listen to this album, and it’s extremely pleasant.
Favorite song: Slug

14. 2093 - Yeat

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If you told me a year ago that I’d have fucking Yeat in my top 15, I’d call you crazy. Somehow though, Yeat managed to pull out one of the most futuristic, cinematic dark dystopian and visceral albums of the year. You throw on the first track and you’re instantly transported to the year 2093 - it’s honestly magic. Yeat isn’t trying to say anything profound with this album. It’s filled with albums about fucking, driving g-wagons, getting money, and killing opps in between other lyrics that you can hardly make out. It’s also 70 minutes which should have been cut by about a third. Despite this, it’s the setting of the album that makes these otherwise overdone themes come back to life, and I find that really unique. I’ve said it already but I have to say it again, this is music from the future.
Favorite song: Psycho CEO

13. Charm - Clairo

Despite being a day 1 Clairo fan, her last couple albums didn’t stick with me too much. I liked the lead single “Bags” off 2019’s Immunity and I couldn’t name a song off 2022’s Sling despite listening to it (“Amoeba” is fire upon re-listening as I rewrite this). That said, she really stepped up her game with Charm while keeping the same sound she’s been running with since 2015. This and Russell Boring are the two albums here that are the most sonically cohesive. Charm, in particular could even be remixed into one long song without much editing. I say that in the nicest way possible, because despite each song’s similarities, Claire knocks it out of the park with each having their own unique catchy melody. Really nice album. You’re probably not going to walk away from it seeing life from a new perspective, but maybe it’ll speak to you and offer an ounce of comfort like it did for me.

Favorite song: Juna

12. King of the Mischievous South - Denzel Curry

Denzel Curry has proven himself album-after-album to be in the top 20 of all time conversation, and anyone who says otherwise is stuck in the 90s. Excluding, maybe, 2019’s ZUU, he has never put out an album under an 8/10. It speaks to this discography in which I say that this is still only his 5th best album in my opinion (Taboo, Imperial, MMESMF, Unlocked) and yet it was still extremely enjoyable, if not easily in my top 5 most listened to albums of the year.
Good raps. Catchy hooks. Amazing, and I mean amazing features. What more is there to ask for?

Favorite song: Black Flag Freestyle

11. GNX - Kendrick Lamar

If you told me a year ago that I’d put Kendrick Lamar below the top 5 I’d call you crazy, yet here we are outside the top 10. Needless to say, I’m a big Kendrick Lamar fan. TPAB is probably my all time favorite album, and Mr Morale, Damn, Good Kid MAAD City, and even Black Panther are all not far behind. Kendrick has had a legendary year due to his slaughter of dr*ke, but I’ll keep my comments focused on GNX for now. GNX has very high highs and some lows, and I’ll get the latter out of the way first. For starters, the first half of this album is straight up boring. “Wacced out Murals” has its purpose and is a good opener, but goes nowhere. It sets the tone, but doesn’t surprise like say, “Blood” or “Wesley’s Theory” does. “Squabble Up” starts out exciting, but is ruined by the Debbie Deb “When I Hear the Music” sample which comes out of nowhere (no disrespect to the source). Track 3, “Luther” gets a lot of praise and is undeniably beautiful, but I could take it or leave it. Should’ve been a solo SZA song in my opinion. “Man at the Garden” is an interesting one, because it makes the album criticism proof (shoutout Matrix Resurrections which deserves its own essay). In it, Kendrick essentially tells the listener that they don’t deserve a masterpiece just because he’s done it before. At least, that’s all I remember because the rest of the song is a snoozefest. I appreciate the sentiment though. That line alone did a lot of carrying for the album. “Hey Now” caps off the first half of the album with what feels like a throwaway track about getting money - I know Kendrick is not the type to gloat in that way, yet I don’t see a whole lot of self reflection, obvious sarcasm or criticism. The lyrics are still really well written despite the content. This song also has one of the worst choruses in Kendrick’s whole discography. The second half of the album still has some duds, but is significantly stronger. Track #6 “Reincarnated” sees Kendrick mimic Tupac, over a Tupac beat, and rap from the perspective of older black musicians who have been beaten down by the pressures of the music industry only to reflect on the same pressures he’s faced as a musician today. The concept alone is incredibly ambitious, but the performance and instrumental makes this arguably a top 10 Kendrick Lamar song. This is followed closely by another banger “TV Off” produced, obviously, by DJ Mustard. This song is one that speaks to the overarching theme and message of the album, being that Kendrick isn’t focused on appeasing naysayers or even his fans; he’s rapping for himself. “Dodger Blue” and “Peekaboo” are two other duds in my opinion so I’m going to skip them. That leaves “The Heart Part 6”, “GNX” and “Gloria”. “The Heart Part 6” tells the story of how Kendrick built his music career on the backs of his friends in the industry. It’s nice. “GNX” has a beat that sounds like it was made by a 5 year old who opened fruityloops for the first time. “Gloria” is probably my second favorite song on the album behind “Reincarnated” because of the SZA chorus and the twist at the end. No spoilers.

This is the first Kendrick album since Overly Dedicated where there are more mid songs than not, in my opinion, and yet I must recognize that I’m only talking as much shit as I am because I am cursed to compare  it to his previous work. If I try to separate it from his discography, it’s deservingly on this list. I bashed “Wacced Out Murals” and “Man at the Garden” for being boring, but if any other artist put out those songs, I’d be really impressed by their maturity and message. Peekaboo has some lyrics I can’t take seriously, but it’s catchier and better mixed than most of the rap songs I’ve heard this year. Hell, “Hey Now’s” message was lost on me but its lyrics are more articulated, unique, and interesting than anything on 2093. 
GNX is an album I will be returning to for years to come. Even though it’s not as impressive as any album of Kendrick’s prior to this, he’s the only one that we expect to possibly live up to that standard. <br>

Favorite song: Reincarnated

10. Brat Remix - Charli xcx

Upon review, the difference between albums in my top 10 versus 11-15+ is that the top 10 albums have a concept and message that is clear, understandable, and relatable to me in some way - checking all three boxes. I don’t think Brat on its own is the best album ever made or as good as critics and audiences have been saying it is, but its influence and impact have made it more than just that - it’s deservingly deemed a phenomenon. Kamala is Brat. Anyways - the Brat Remix adds features to every song and changes their structures a bit. Any complaints I had with the original were fixed with this one. Downright incredible stuff.

Favorite song: Talk Talk w/ Troye Sivan

9. Russell Boring - Joba

Another Brockhampton member, Joba was known as the wildcard of the group. He could do it all. If you want an example, listen to “J’ouvert” and compare it to “No Halo”. “The Light” is his peak in my opinion. Despite the range he’s capable of however, Joba opts for a much more constrained, personal, and cohesive sound on his first solo album. It’s easily my least listened to album on this list, and for good reason. A theme that overshadowed his contributions to Brockhampton’s last “normal” album (Roadrunner) was his reaction to his father’s suicide. You can tell he’s still dealing with his grief on Russell Boring, alongside what appears to be one or two tough breakups and general political disillusionment. I might be eating my words when I called this cohesive, as the range of what he chooses to sing about varies widely. Take the lead single “American Fever” which has lyrics including “United tonight Run for your life The stars and the stripes are coming for ya Damned if you do Willing to die Just a Day in the life In This Americana” and compare it to “People Need Me” which I took as a list of reasons to live. Jesus.

Favorite song: Gospel of the Moon

8. Drive Home - Portraits of Tracy

This album is a special one that I caught at the very end of 2024. Extremely underground, but I doubt you’d be able to tell. This album is insane. There’s very little information on the internet about it, but based on what I know about the artist and my own interpretation, I think it’s a trans coming out metaphor. It’s an incredibly narrative driven album, with a handful of the songs on it are straight up sketches that link together. It follows a male artist who brings their groupie girlfriend home to meet his parents. The mother reject him after seeing the influence she’s had on his music, and his mother later passes away. Interpret that how you will. It’s not not on-the-nose but it’s presented incredibly well to the point where I thought both characters were different people until I found out Tracy was trans. The instrumentation on this album is god-tier. That’s all I’ll add.
Please listen to my favorite song: The Afterparty (Disco Remix).

7. Underdressed at the Symphony - Faye Webster

Underdressed at the Symphony is the album on this list that I’m struggling to describe the most. I enjoy it as much as I do for two main reasons: It’s mixed perfectly, and it’s an incredibly soft and comfortable album that still manages to surprise you. Take for example, the lead single “Lego Ring” featuring Lil Yachty. It makes no sense from any angle, it’s 4:4 but it doesn’t sound like it, Yachty and Faye don’t overlap musically individually, but you won’t be able to stop thinking about it because it has such a unique sound. Contrast this with my second favorite song on the album, “Lifetime” which has Faye repeating the same line for most of the song yet somehow manages to convey the feeling of love lost decades after the fact. I could go track by track and tell you how it surprised me, but I have a lot to write here. I will say that upon re-listening, I could have swapped this, or put it closer to the #6 spot, but that’s just me comparing soft rock. This album is so good. Favorite song: Lego Ring

6. Baby I'm the Wolf - Ha Vay

I’ve been conscious of listening to more women artists, but Baby I’m the Wolf is an album that made me realize I’m still not giving women in pop their due. Damn I love this record. Ha Vay, which means Summer Grace in their family’s dialect, is a new-ish singer songwriter from California whose song “Moon Girl” came up on my discover weekly when I was on a bike ride this Summer along Lake Champlain. I immediately had to put on the whole album and I was in awe of the tone and messages she curated. This is primarily an album about love for the sake of love, and more specifically, love of nature. Ha Vay often both personifies and plays the role of mother Earth and ties nature motifs into almost every verse. There’s obvious occult and Kate Bush influences that she wears on her sleeve, and it’s intoxicating. Honestly, I think that summarizes the whole album for me. I loved it. That said, it definitely won’t hit as hard for some as it did for me - many people out there will see right through the wannabe witchyness and I get that. I think it’ll come across much differently if you listen to it in the Winter as well. I guess you just had to be there.

Favorite song: Fragile

5. I Got Heaven - Mannequin Pussy

I wish I had more punk energy but I admit, I have trouble getting into punk music. I don’t know what it is - maybe I can’t take certain white men seriously, maybe it’s often mixed too crunchy for my taste, maybe it’s just not for me altogether. I was introduced to this group when their least punk song “Loud Bark” came on in a shuffle one day. I thought it was really profound, and swore I’d come back and listen to the whole album. I didn’t return to it for about 6 months, but man I’m glad I did. This album goes fucking hard.

Favorite song: I Got Heaven

4. The New Sound - Geordie Greep

You can’t talk about Geordie Greep without talking about Black Midi. I wasn’t the biggest Black Midi fanatic, but 2019’s Schlagenheim was an album that I often returned to just to make sure I wasn’t crazy when I remembered it as being as good as it was. I could also tell that they had more in the tank, so when I heard that Geordie was leaving Black Midi, I wasn’t too upset. I did not think that his first solo album would exceed my expectations of his innovation. In The New Sound, Geordie is as much of an actor as he is a musician. Realistic and deep, eccentric characters are scattered throughout the album who will often disgust, impress, and incapsulate themes of toxic masculinity, sex, love, and despair, amongst countless others. No song expresses this more than the lead single “Holy Holy” which you just have to listen to to believe. Yeah this album is a treat, even if it’s not making it into constant rotation.

Favorite song: Motorbike

3. Escaper - Sarah Kinsley

Escaper is an album that I wouldn’t expect myself to normally enjoy. Sarah Kinsley is a singer songwriter from New York who’s been making music for a few years now, only popping off slightly with the minor tiktok hit “Kings”. This is her first album, and it’s mostly filled with ballads about love lost. I try to avoid sad music at all costs, but the tone Sarah crafts in each song along with some absolutely drop dead gorgeous songwriting made this album stick. I should contextualize that I was not introduced to this artist randomly. Shortly after I got into Ha Vay, I caught that she was opening for Sarah in my city in a few weeks. I immediately bought tickets just for the opening act, only to find out that she had to cancel due to illness. Despite my distress, I wasn’t letting $25 go to waste. Needless to say, I’m glad I went to the concert. What is there to say man. Every single song on this album could be another artist’s best. Zero skips, all cry worthy whether happy or sad tears. Stupidly profound lyrics across the board. That’s all I got. Give it a listen.

Favorite song: Sublime

2. Imaginal Disk - Magdalena Bay

Internet beep boop postmodernist pastiche of 1998 but add a museum dose of psilocybin. Endlessly entertaining. Good album - nothing else like this duo.

Favorite song: The Ballad of Matt & Mica

1. I Lay Down my Life for You - JPEGMAFIA

I first heard JPEGMafia in 2017 shortly after the release of his 2nd album Veteran. The lead track “1539 N Calvert” immediately entered and stayed in my top songs of all time list. The rest of the album is worth listening to, but it’s mostly an intentionally difficult listen due to his unique, chaotic production style. He followed it up a year later with All my Heroes are Cornballs which was definitely more listenable, but more melodic which in my opinion didn’t mix well with his production style. I’m also not the biggest fan of his singing voice. 2 years later he released LP! which was his best work yet - catchy, hard hitting, rap-focused, and best of all helped refine his signature sample heavy production. I Lay Down my Life for You is JPEGMafia perfected. Cohesive, narrative, provocative, beautiful at times, well structured, and metal as fuck.
Favorite song: Sin Miedo

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