2024 has been a fantastic year for music, with some amazing releases from some amazing artists. Here are my top picks, in order of release.

Bright Future – Adrianne Lenker 

Big Thief are one of my favorite music groups, so I was excited to get into Adrianne Lenker’s solo work. She has consistently come out with fantastic albums, especially her 2020 release Songs (very straightforward name for an album). Bright Future further solidifies Lenker as one of the best modern songwriters of the present. This album made me realize she might be one of, if not my favorite vocalist. Her voice is so stunning on this album it completely floors me. I love everything about this.

Favorite Tracks: Fool, Evol, Real House

Only God Was Above Us – Vampire Weekend

You can immediately tell from the first track that this album is so sonically interesting. It feels so new and fresh, with complex arrangements that are so satisfying. It feels like a culmination of every album that leads up to it. It’s very experimental, but also weirdly comforting. There is definitely something very special about this album that hits in all the right ways. I am not familiar with much of their early work, but this album might convince me to listen to their previous records to see how they got to such a fantastic point in their discography.

Favorite Tracks: Ice Cream Piano, Connect, Hope

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT – Billie Eilish

Billie has been in the conversation to be one of the most talented artists currently, and this release is proof of it. It is a beautiful album that deals with themes of relationships, grief, self-image, and so much more. It is structured very cohesively, with each song being a step on the journey Billie has been on. It feels very raw, intricate, and personal. The songs have great metaphors with really incredible imagery. There is so much to love and take away from this album, and I am excited to see what she has next.

Favorite Tracks: SKINNY, BIRDS OF A FEATHER, THE GREATEST

Model – Wallows

I was very excited for this album to release, as the singles that preceded it really grabbed my attention. I was happy to find that the album is full of really nice, catchy, fun songs with some interesting instrumentation sprinkled in. It’s not vastly different from their previous records, but its different enough to where it has its distinct identity. It’s sequenced very well, and tries a lot of different things throughout the track list. One thing I’ve always appreciated about the band is how often they switch up their vocalist from song to song, and on Model they are no stranger to it.

Favorite Tracks: She’s an Actress, Your Apartment, Calling After Me

Submarine – The Marías

This is the second record from indie pop band The Marías, and sees them venture into dreampop. Per the name, the album really does feel like you are moving underwater, with a mix of dreamy, floaty songs that take you through their vision that they commit to so well. I was not completely sold on it after a first listen, but it suddenly grew on me and I was really able to take in all of the beauty. As usual, Maria Zardoya’s voice is mostly why. It is a step up from CINEMA, an already great debut album.

Favorite Tracks: Sienna, If Only, No One Noticed

Brat – Charli xcx

What is there to say that hasn’t already been said? There’s a reason “Brat summer” took over the internet. It’s because this album is really, really good. It’s some of the most experimental music I’ve ever heard for its genre, and I loved absolutely every minute of it. For an album with a 47-minute runtime, I found that it went by really fast. I can attribute that to how consistent the tracklist is. It’s diverse, it’s expansive, it’s brat. Give it all the Grammies.

Favorite Tracks: Sympathy is a knife, So I, Apple

Charm – Clairo

This third album from Clairo is easily her strongest work yet. It has such a district sound, filled from top to bottom with jazz-infused soft rock songs that feature some incredible instrumentation. The album feels really soulful, showing a side to her discography we haven’t seen before. The piano work is brilliant, and the tight drums give the tracks an upbeat feel while still remaining smooth and soft. The jazz undertones really give the album an identity that makes it stand out as her most cohesive body of work yet.

Favorite Tracks: Terrapin, Juna, Thank You

I Love You So F***ing Much – Glass Animals

Following the success of “Heat Waves” from their previous record, Glass Animals have released their fourth album this past summer. It features some of the most catchy songs from the band that were continuously stuck in my head even weeks after its release. I really enjoyed this album, despite it lacking the experimentality the band was known for with their previous records – especially their second album How To Be A Human Being, one of my favorite albums ever because of its experimental nature. But the storytelling and lyrics on this record still bring me home to a band that I love, and while it might be their weakest album, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a place in my heart.

Favorite Tracks: Show Pony, Wonderful Nothing, I Can’t Make You Fall In Love Again

Imaginal Disk – Magdalena Bay

This is hands down my favorite album of this year. It’s filled top to bottom with super expansive synthpop anthems that really push the boundaries of the genre. The songwriting and themes are excellent. Each song is so diverse from one another, and yet it still flows extremely well. So many fantastic moments with such thoughtful lyrics. I couldn’t recommend this one enough. It deserves all the praise.

Favorite Tracks: Watching T.V., Tunnel Vision, The Ballad of Matt and Mica

Like All Before You – The Voidz

This album certainly had one of the strangest rollouts, with some of its singles dating back to a year or two. I’m not sure if the group were even initially planning an album – at one point they just decided to put some of the singles together and create some new ones to make it a full LP. Despite its strange origins, I really enjoyed this one. Julian Casablancas really goes in with the autotune, which was definitely a deal-breaker for many fans, but I really welcomed it. While not as strong as their previous two albums, I think the instrumentation really shines here and the vocal deliveries on of some of these tracks are super cool. The album was understandably not very well received by fans, but it grew on me quite a lot. I embrace the change of sound they went for, and I’ve had so many of these songs on repeat since release.

Favorite Tracks: Square Wave, Flexorcist, When Will The Time Of These Bastards End

CHROMAKOPIA – Tyler, The Creator

Tyler has been on quite a good run with his last couple of albums. “Flower Boy”, “IGOR”, and “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST” have all proved that Tyler has become an extremely talented rap and hip-hop artist who continues to push the boundaries with his music. “CHROMAKOPIA” is no different. This is his most introspective work yet, as we see Tyler’s open up about his paranoia and uncertainty with his life that he tells us he hides under his strong and confident personality. This album is very reflective and personal in its songwriting. The songs are expansive, chaotic, and beautiful, and they all flow seamlessly.

Favorite Tracks: Like Him, Hey Jane, Darling, I

GNX – Kendrick Lamar

This release from Kendrick came out of absolute nowhere, with it only being teased the morning of its release – but I’m not complaining in the slightest. This album is really fantastic, as we see Kendrick diving into some really personal themes about his career, his fame, his family, and so much more. There are some really lyrically dense songs on this album that give so much insight into Kendrick’s current frame of mind in the place he is in right now. I was happy to see SZA and Daniel Caesar as features, along with a lot of others. Kendrick has had quite the year with his diss tracks in his feud against Drake that exploded in popularity (“Not Like Us” even ended up being nominated for a Grammy) and at the end of it all he comes out with a fantastic album to close 2024.

Favorite Tracks: man at the garden, reincarnated, Luther

There were so many albums to love this year, and I am looking forward to what 2025 has in store. Let me know your favorite album from this year in the comments!