I was very impressed with the music coming out in 2024 and as someone that is trying to become more polyjamorous (honestly, I just wanted an excuse to use that word) and explore as many different genres of music as possible. I prefer listening to full albums rather than a playlist and there were so many great albums. I have not listened to every album released in 2024 and I can honestly say that while I did listen to around 150 albums, I still have a list of albums I missed ranging around 200. I am positive there were albums I would have really enjoyed, like Diamond Jubilee by Cindy Lee which I keep hearing rave reviews about but not streaming anywhere I consume music. I missed some big albums which I am not too bothered about like Moon Music by Coldplay or I Love You So F***ing Much by Glass Animals. I want to share some of my favourites from the year and please feel free to tell me what you loved. I keep track of all the albums I listen to, with a little review and a ranking over on AOTY but when putting together this list, I also considered just how much I listened to an album. While an album like NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD by Godspeed You! Black Emperor was such a great album, you can probably tell by the title it was not an easy album to keep coming back to. This is not in my top ten albums of the year just because it was far too depressing and while an important subject, Godspeed managed to convey a lot without saying anything, it’s not something I was blasting in my car or through my headphones frequently. Unlike these ten albums

The Crucible of Life by The Home Team

I only discovered The Home Team late into 2024, but this album was so much fun and I loved there blend of pop-punk mixed with funk rock. I don’t know how to explain this band but imagine Maroon 5 from Songs About Jane era doing more of a Fall Out Boy/Panic! at the Disco style of music. There is so much groove in their songs, and it is the kind of music to dance around in the car. I am surprised that this band does not have a bigger audience, if radios knew about this band, they would be playing songs like Turn You Off, Brag, Hell or Loud all the time.

 

Absolute Elsewhere by Blood Incantation

In all honesty, I was originally going to put The New Sound by Geordie Greep in place of this album, it’s a horny, yet creepy album, but there is something about Absolute Elsewhere that kept me returning. I am a big fan of progressive music; I love when an album or song takes me on a sonic journey, and this delivered on that front. I am not someone that listens to death metal normally but there is so many interesting elements happening on this album. While it is probably getting classed as progressive death metal or maybe technical death metal, there are elements of prog rock, space rock, electronica and so much more. There are two songs, both over 20 minutes long (though they are split into three different parts) and it is exploring the idea of battling for the human consciousness. This could be modern metal’s answer to The Dark Side of the Moon.

Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii

I was trying to pick if I liked Tyler, The Creator’s Chromakopia or Kendrick Lamar’s GNX for this list and then there was also an amazing album from JPEGMAFIA. However, there was one hip-hop album (or in this case a mixtape) that I kept going back to and that is Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii. The whole mixtape release often confuses me, but Doechii was stated that there was less pressure when creating a mixtape over an album. Honestly, it’s been a big year for Doechii, this mixtape has had some critical acclaim, it was even nominated for the Grammy award for Best Rap album and if you haven’t seen her Tiny Desk performance, go do that now. What I love about her music is the combination of wit, humour and honesty about her own struggles (with relationships and addiction).

Mahashmashana by Father John Misty

This might be the most recent album on my list, but this was difficult to ignore. In this album Josh Tillman explore the inevitability of life. Father John Misty always felt so open and honest in his music; he reminds me a lot of Sufjan Stevens but even that doesn’t seem to be a far comparison. The album is named after the Sanskrit word Mahāśmaśāna which means “great cremation ground” and Tillman has said that this was “an experiment in seeing what happens when I erase myself from my work”. With songs titles like Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose, Mental Health, Screamland and I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All, you can hear so much raw honesty in the lyrics.

 

All Born Screaming by St. Vincent

I have not listened to nearly enough St. Vincent in the past, but this might be her best. There is so much experimentation with her sound here; while it is indie pop/rock, there is some folk, prog rock and even industrial elements here. I know St. Vincent was trying to write a personal, self-reflective album but also  tried microdosing on psychedelic drugs during the writing process. The result seems to be something so raw, beautiful but there was some brutality there too. This is an album exploring depression and anxiety; it felt like this must have been therapeutically fulfilling for St. Vincent. Also did you knew before she became St. Vincent, Annie Clark was in The Polyphonic Spree?

 

BRAT by Charli xcx

There is no denying that 2024 was Charli’s year, it was not just a BRAT summer. When I first heard this album, I didn’t think much of it, but it stuck in my head and my love grew from there. I never knew much about Charli xcx before BRAT, but I know I will be going back and listening to all her other albums. There is an amazing blend of dance tracks and yet Charli gets very personal as well, with songs like “I think about it all the time” that explores the struggle of her career and the desire to become a mother. If anything, this album should be studied by people in marketing; from the simple but striking album cover, to the release cycle of songs and remixes.

 

The Last Will and Testament by Opeth

This was the year I discovered Opeth; I knew of the band, but I never really paid them much attention. It is hard to believe this is their fourteenth album, so I have a lot of albums to return to. Someone recommended me Ghost Reveries earlier this year (they also recommended Blackwater Park and Damnation) which I quickly fell in love with. When The Last Will and Testament came out, I was ready and waiting. This album is set just after World War I, and it explores the last will and testament of a patriarch of a wealthy family. Think Succession if it was a progressive metal album; it’s full of class warfare, family secrets and revelries. For all prog-rock fans, this album features Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull as the voice of the patriarch, and yes, he does break out the flute.

Lives Outgrown by Beth Gibbons

This is the first solo album from Beth Gibbons, the singer of Portishead. While this album feels very similar to what you expect from Portishead, Beth has abandoned the trip-hop style for something more akin to chamber folk. This is an intimate personal album exploring grief, anxiety, mortality, motherhood, and even menopause. This album was directly influenced by some deaths in her family and close friends. Nothing I can say can really explain just how gorgeous and moving this album is, and if you were a fan of Portishead from the 1990’s, you should really check out Lives Outgrown.

 

Prelude to Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party

This was my most played album of 2024, not just because it was released at the start of the year. Prelude to Ecstasy might be one of the best debut albums in a long time, it was so good that people kept accusing the band of being industry plants. However, when there is a pandemic lockdown, you have a lot of time to rehearse and hone your craft. At the end of 2023, they released their debut single “Nothing Matters” which was one of my favourite songs of that year, so I was thrilled to see that the album offered more of that baroque art-pop style. This band was clearly influenced by artists like Kate Bush, Sparks, Queen, Siouxsie and the Banshees and so much more.

 

Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay

If you know me, then you are probably not surprised to see Magdalena Bay at the top of my list. There is something so special about this album; I think what I love the most about Magdalena Bay is that I’m not sure what to expect from them. Sure, they are a great synth-pop, but it is those unexpected elements that keeps me coming back for more. This is a concept album exploring a girl named True Blue who discovers her true self when an alien doctor inserts a disk into her forehead. It’s a wild narrative but so much fun to listen to this album and those songs just stick in my head.

There is so many great albums I failed to mention, I have to give some honourable mentions to Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend, Submarine by The Marías, Older by Lizzy McAlpine, Bright Future by Adrianne Lenker, plastic death by glass beach and She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She by Chelsea Wolfe. These albums all could have made my top ten list if I compiled it on a different day. Stay tuned, there will be a top ten books, movies and tv shows list coming soon as well.