Apologies that this list is later than I would have liked. 2024 was a difficult year on many fronts, to say the least, and when I knew I was running late, I decided that this list needed the extra time to be as expansive as possible. I wanted this to be as cohesive a dissection of the year as I possibly could create. In one form or another, I have been making these lists since 2006 in this very way. This is the second year doing so on this site and this rundown is actually much larger than the one I did last year. There is plenty to enjoy here. While this list maybe won’t go as far, readership-wise, as my work once did, this list remains of the utmost importance to me.

Please listen to and support these artists. Streaming doesn’t necessarily pay the bills. This is true even for artists who are signed to the majors. Please buy music whenever necessary. In spite of what Daniel Ek from Spotify says, music costs money to make and artists should be able to live off of their work. This allows them to live more fufilled lives and create more art. It is a cycle.

For those of you who think there isn’t any good music anymore, you are wrong. There is ALWAYS excellent music out there. You just need to know where to look. While the mainstream fluctuates with what is popular, you can bet that just about any niche genre you like is just about always thriving somewhere. The mainstream always thrives the most when the weirder and more experimental work gets past the gatekeepers. While we may not be experiencing one of those times right now, the barriers for breaking into the music industry are lower than ever, even if the algorithmic systems are still rigged to help the majors. That means that while radio is losing its power, someone in a room somewhere could be making music that you will love. Even if that person only has seven fans, they can still reach you in some way or another in today’s market. That’s pretty amazing.

Anyway… You didn’t click on this to read my musings on music industry trends. Here are my picks for the fifty best albums of 2024.

**BEABADOOBEE – “This is How Tomorrow Moves”** Album cover artistic detail.

50.. BEABADOOBEE – “This is How Tomorrow Moves” On her third record, Filipino-British singer Beabadoobee continues to scale back the alt-rock fuzz and sonic experimentation that was the backbone of the many of the highlights on her first two records. “This is How Tomorrow Moves,” is definitely an increasingly more mainstream record, although all the elements present here were present on those earlier records, as well. It appears she is just stripping back her sound.

In this case, the wonderful “California,” “Post,” “One Time” and “Beaches,” are the tracks where this album rocks the hardest Her sweet voice always fits well behind an enveloping wall of fuzz. Elsewhere, this just a more intimate record. Soft, sparse back moments like “Real Man,” “Everything I Want” and “Coming Home” work with a really stripped-down approach, with winning results. “Girl Song,” in particular, is an effective, quiet piano ballad.

There may be another key reason why this record has what feels like an increasingly minimalist approach. It was co-produced by Rick Rubin, who is famous for suppodely just walking around and “producing” on vibes. This is a great record but one wonders if he was just somewhere half asleep on a couch, barefoot in the control room. I may be wrong, and hearing interviews from Rubin, himself, I actually doubt his contributions are are minimal as even he claims.

Beabadoobee has song chops. “Take a Bite” is an excellent song and now considering Rick Rubin’s involvement, with its semi-blues rundown, it might be a great third in a playlist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Dani California.”

There are some moments where you can hear cool studio echo on “A Cruel Affair.” “The Man Who Left Too Soon” has some odd circus-like orchestral sounds used as sonic accents.

I’d really like to hear what she would do if she were to make a record with someone who specialized in grungy rock. I’d like to see her next record produced by Gil Norton (known for work with Pixies, Foo Fighters, etc.) or someone similar. Even Dave Fridmann (known for his work with the Flaming Lips and others) or Sarah Tudzin (from Illuminati Hotties) might be good choices.

In any case, “This is How Tomorrow Moves” often feels almost twee in its approach as it sands away some edges. However, it delivers some real standouts and shows Beabadoobee really continuing to grow as a performer and a writer. In the end, it is a great record with some strong standout moments.

Listen to “This is How Tomorrow Moves” on Spotify

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**JAKOBS CASTLE – “Enter: The Castle”** Album cover artistic detail.

49. JAKOBS CASTLE – “Enter: The Castle” Genetics are funny and amazing sometimes. Jakob Nowell is the son of late Sublime frontman, Bradley Nowell, who died in 1996, when Jakob was just a baby. Jakobs Castle (Yes, there is no apostrophe…) is the younger Nowell’s musical project and the most amazing thing about it is that his voice is a near perfect echo of his father,

As a songwriter, he has inherited what he needed to in order to be able to write hit records. Just listen to the opener, “Supervillain,” and it is clear that the hooks are there. Even better is the stunning standout “Close Enough,” which sounds like a lost vintage nineties radio hit worthy of multiple repeat listens.

Nowell, however is more than a mere carbon copy of his father. The glitchy hyper-pop of “Motel Radio” and the pitch-shifted vocal weirdness of “Lights Out,” prove this to be a more modern endeavor and a product of 2024. The sonic stew of influences, though, is very similar. The punk, pop, reggae and hip-hop elements come together very appealingly much like they did on the Sublime records. There’s so much drive in the sunny sounding, yet sadly worded, “My Machine,” while “Catch Me,” is a well-executed bit of eighties-style pop. The reggae-flavored, “Time Traveler,” is cowritten with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong, which makes me wonder how often Sublime and Rancid ever crossed paths in the nineties.

Again, Jakob Nowell is his own man. It isn’t necessarily fair to compare him so closely with his father. At the same time, he seems to be alright with carrying the mantle bestowed by his genes. In 2024, he got together with Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh (the surviving members of Sublime) and officially joined the band, making them very much a present-tense act, giving them more authenticity than Rome Ramirez could on the “Sublime with Rome” records. (Those records aren’t bad. The first one, “Yours Truly,” is actually quite decent.) So, now, not only is he singing songs his father wrote, he is also releasing new music with his dad’s band, dropping new single, “Feel Like That,” which actually features the voices of both generations of Nowells.

In addition to any Sublime work that may be in the future, Jakobs Castle’s “Enter: the Castle,” is in its own right, a nicely scrappy and experimental singer-songwriter record that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Listen to “Enter: The Castle” on Spotify

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**SCHOOLBOY Q – “Blue Lips”** Album cover artistic detail.

48. SCHOOLBOY Q – “Blue Lips” A stylistically-forward-thinking record, full of dense production and a variety of grooves. ScHoolboy Q’s latest is a huge step forward. There is often a jazzy abstraction going on here. Listen to his flow on the Mac Miller-tribute, “Blueslides.” Conversational in tone. Compare that to the rapid-fire, low-rumbling of “Yeern 101” or the calculated crawl of the Devin Malik-assisted “Back n Love.”

On “Cooties,” Q says, “Mass shooting, when will they stop it? / ‘Nother kid gone for unlimited profits. / Rather keep my kid home before you f__k up the process. I’d rather die and lose it all before they don’t get the knowledge.” It is as pointed as it is a necessary complaint. How the hell are we still here as we approach 2025?

Q’s approach is unfiltered. The Rico Nasty-assisted “Pop,” may be too much for some, but it is strangely awesome for its sonic experimentation. (Again, if this isn’t for you, it isn’t. That’s OK.) Q and Rico attack this beat with a punk-like aggression. It is unapologetic.

On “oHio,” Q is joined by Feddie Gibbs over a smooth, deep groove, with a jazzy piano-bar switch-up.. If it isn’t clear, this is the kind of record that needs to be listened to at TOP volume on a good set of speakers. That being said, it is a record that firmly EARNS its parental advisory sticker, so there definitely is a time and a place (and a context) for this record.

The interestingly rhythmic, “Foux” pairs Q with Ab-Soul. Again, the beats and the flows on this record put it at another level. This collection on the whole finds ScHoolboy Q often in search of creating something artistically striking, over the pursuit of easy to digest hooks. “Blue Lips” is definitely a unique trip.

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**WAXAHATCHEE – “Tigers Blood”** Album cover artistic detail.

47. WAXAHATCHEE – “Tigers Blood” It is sometimes really funny (and often times, downright arbitrary) what makes something finally click and turn a negative into a positive. I have LONG been a champion of Katie Crutchfield’s Waxahatchee records. “Cerulean Salt” was my pick for the best album of 2013. However, a few years back when the album “Saint Cloud” was championed by the rest of the music press, I didn’t get it at first. I loved the tight, intimate, slightly fuzzy, slightly lo-fi indie rock of “Cerulean Salt” and “Ivy Tripp,” but as Crutchfield began to morph into more of a slow-paced country and Americana artist, she left me feeling a bit sleepy.

When “Tigers Blood” dropped in March, it was set to continue that trend. I felt that way until a few weeks ago when I saw a brief clip on Instagram of Crutchfield doing a live performance of “Right Back to It’ with MJ Lenderman. I don’t know what it was about that (literally seconds long) clip, but it had me rethink and re-explore the album that I was too quick to initially dismiss. This is a slow-burn record that requires close listening and it shows that Crutchfield deserves to be championed in equal amounts in both indie-rock and country circles. When the bits of fuzz fleetingly return on “Evil Spawn” and ”Bored” you get hints of the past while moving forward. When the harmonica-drenched “Burns Out at Midnight” hits you deeply in your soul, it is clear that Crutchfield is a multi-faceted talent.

Any music critic who thinks their initial takes are always right, needs to gain some humility. From start to finish, “Tigers Blood” is a nuanced, exceedingly well-crafted record that deserves deep and focused attention. Do I wish the title didn’t accidentally bring to mind Charlie Sheen during his most unhinged period? Yes. Sadly, that is just the way the pop-culture circus is my brain works.

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**BAT FOR LASHES – “The Dream of Delphi”** Album cover artistic detail.

46. BAT FOR LASHES – “The Dream of Delphi” Inspired by the 2020 birth of her daughter, Natasha Khan’s sixth album under her Bat For Lashes moniker, is a warm, lush, woozy, synth-driven offering.

“Letter to My Daughter” sounds like a middle-ground between Kate Bush and Bjork, while “The Midwives Have Left” bridges the gap somewhere between ambient and classical influences. At times, this collection feels like a somber, yet quietly celebratory score piece. Single, “Home” is a noticeable high point that wouldn’t sound out of place on an Imogen Heap record. Mostly, this collection is a hushed endeavor, retaining some of the mystical energy from her last offering and career best, “Lost Girls,” from 2019 and repurposing the mood with some chilled after-party vibes. I mean this in the best way, but “Breaking Up” brings some vintage “smooth jazz” energy.

Mostly, this is an ideal record for either deep contemplation or a comedown after a party. It seems fitting that as a companion piece, Khan also dropped an EP of harp-driven versions of some of these tracks and more, with harpist, Lara Somogyi. While this isn’t the most pop-friendly Bat For Lashes album, it shows that even at her least commercial and most cerebral, Khan can summon some magic. This is a loving ode to motherhood and yet so much more.

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**CLAIRO – “Charm”** Album cover artistic detail.

45. CLAIRO – “Charm” On, “Charm,” Claire Cottrill’s third album as Clairo, she really puts her craft into full gear. Fusing her “lo-fi” whispery pop style with a seventies “soft rock” sound, she progresses into more sonically mature territory. Perhaps aided by producer, Leon Michels of the El Michels Affair, this album’s retro sound is further fleshed by the presence of Michels’ fellow Daptone alumni.

From the beginning, with the one-two punch of “Nomad” and “Sexy to Someone,” the growth is evident. While Clairo nearly constantly sings at a near whisper, these songs have heft. There’s a relaxed California coolness about “Second Nature,” “Thank You” and “Juna.” This really does feel like a time warp. Was she listening to vintage Albert Hammond records? Perhaps exploring other delicate 2000’s-era indie rock, like Jason Schwartzman’s Coconut Records project? “Echo” sounds like a bedroom-pop answer to Stereolab.

It's hard to tell the exact inspiration, but with “Charm,” Clairo delivers a set that is both intimate and gently enveloping. This is a softly groovy collection with delicate orchestration. Here Clairo fully realizes the sound she hinted was on the horizon on her first two albums.

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**ALIEN ANT FARM – “~mAntras~”** Album cover detail.

43. ALIEN ANT FARM – “~mAntras~” I can feel your questioning me through the screen. “Alien Ant Farm, you say?” Hell, yes! If you are questioning me, that means you have probably only heard their famous cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal,” a cover, which, while hugely popular, did their legacy a massive disservice. You should know their landmark 2001 album “ANThology,” for standouts like “Movies,” “Attitude” and “Summer.” Instead, “Smooth Criminal” came along and overshadowed the rest of the album. That record and its nearly equal 2004 follow-up, “truANT,” showed them to be a skilled, under-rated band somewhere in the middle between Incubus and Deftones. Like those two other bands, they got kind of accidentally lumped into the “nu-metal” bin when in truth they were much more nuanced than most of the bands associated with that movement.

So, why is “~mAntras~” here? It’s here because it is the band’s best work in twenty years and they deserve a massive cultural reassessment. Sure, moves like consistently stylizing everything to highlight the word “Ant” can get in their way, but then you listen to a song like “Last dAntz,” after you groan a little at the forced title stylization, you realize that with a more minimalist approach, this song could almost be a lost track by the Police, with its reggae rhythms and its emotional drive.

“Fade” sounds like a lost alt-rock hit from the late nineties or early 2000s. The same can be said for “Storms Over,” “So Cold” and “Prosperous Futures.”

Later in the album, they try to repeat old tricks by covering Wham!’s “Everything She Wants” only… (oh Jeez… Here we go again… ) stylizing the title as “Everything She wAnts.” This is no longer as glaring an issue as it was when they covered “Smooth Criminal.” One, they are now more of a known (if perhaps misunderstood) commodity. Two, while the original was a big hit in the eighties, it’s not nearly as large a pop behemoth as “Smooth Criminal.” Repeating this strategy tells me that they are probably alright with the career they got after covering “Smooth Criminal.” I think they would probably be in a better place if someone in 2001 had told them to remove it from the tracklist of “ANThology.” They’d be seen as the strong band they are and not as a joke-y “one-hit-wonder.” If you doubt me, listen to this record and then go back and give “ANThology” and “truANT” another listen with new ears.

In the year 2024, Alien Ant Farm can still mix muscular metallic guitar-lines with appealing pop hooks. From the tone of the experimental greatest hits mash-up on the title track, maybe they are firmly comfortable with their legacy as it stands. As a band, they deserve more respect.

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**“The Collective” (Deluxe Edition)** Album cover artistic detail.

42. KIM GORDON – “The Collective” (Deluxe Edition) I didn’t have it on my 2024 bingo card that Kim Gordon would come back with a vengeance with her most important post-Sonic Youth release. It is fun to be surprised. Only Gordon can turn a massive laundry list of items into an art-rock, trap-beat banger like she does on “BYE BYE.” On the whole, this sounds both like the eclectic history of New York City art scenes colliding and like a vision of the future. “I Don’t Miss My Mind” sounds like nothing you have ever heard and yet it also sounds like something Jean-Michel Basquiat’s band might have been playing at the Mudd Club in the early eighties. “I’m a Man,” with its vacuum cleaner noise sheen also stirs the senses.

Dare I say that this is the strongest, most unquestionable offering from any member of Sonic Youth since their break-up. People looking for pop hooks, may find this collection confounding. This is more about clever sonic assaults with drum machines and a sea of feedback. (How is this record so consistently engrossingly visceral?) Here, Gordon and her collaborator, producer, Justin Raisen mix sounds together with an appealing sense of abandon.

“The Collective” plays best in its “Deluxe” form. Bonus tracks, “Bangin’ on the Freeway” and “ECRP,” should have made the standard album cut.

Like David Bowie and Tom Waits before her, Kim Gordon is an eternally cool, utterly singular figure. This is every bit as biting as the records she was making four decades ago. She will never not be on the cutting edge.

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**JAPANDROIDS – “Fate & Alcohol”** Album cover artistic detail.

41. JAPANDROIDS – “Fate & Alcohol” Hyped as their last album after reportedly drifting apart personally, Japandroids’ first album in seven years shows no audible signs of strain between the guitar and drums duo. Musically speaking, Brian King and David Prowse sound as connected as ever. If you enjoyed their previous collections of hard-hitting power-pop sing-along anthems, standouts like “Eye-Contact High,” “D&T,” “Chicago” will also be shout-ready. Even making cheeky jokes with titles like “A Gaslight Anthem” and “Positively 34th Street,” seem sharply on the money. The tempo-shifting groove of “Upon Sober Reflection,” is one of the duo’s most powerful sonic-statements to date.

While their connection as a creative unit may have been fractured, musically speaking, this still sounds as fresh and as raw as ever. Simple power-chords and shouted choruses are all around, here. Here’s hoping that this isn’t actually their last record and in a decade or so, they can resummon the magic again and realize that they really captured something intangible over their four studio albums, one compilation and one live album. This is rock in its most stripped down and yet arena-ready form. The built-in nostalgia on closer, “All Bets Are Off,” seems fitting. You can taste that something has been lost. If this is the end, boy did they leave on a high note.

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**LEON BRIDGES – “Leon”** Album cover artistic detail.

40. LEON BRIDGES – “Leon” On his fourth studio full-length, Leon Bridges continues to grow as a soul singer and sonic craftsman. His 2015 debut presented him to be a modern answer to vintage soul love balladeers like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. As he modernized his sound on that album’s follow-up, “Good Thing,” it was initially an awkward transition before he confidently regained his footing on 2021’s “Gold-Diggers Sound.” Not only does “Leon” shoot him further into the modern age, right from the first few bars of opener, “When a Man Cries,” it is evident that he’s giving us something with some pensive emotional weight. Stylistically, this really builds. It is as if this is fusing the sonics of Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” through the modern sonic lens of Zero 7’s “Simple Things” album.

If R&B radio had as much of a mainstream presence as it did twenty or thirty years ago, Leon Bridges would be a much bigger star. (The guy doesn’t do badly, but man, he deserves more.) The smoothness of “Loredo” and “Panther City,” indicate that there may be some Jim Croce and America records in his collection. Bridges is continuing to bring elements from the sixties and seventies into the modern age. It all just sounds so utterly natural.

“Ain’t Got Nothing on You” verges on country-tinged “soft rock” in the best way possible. There’s a comforting serenity to “Peaceful Place” and “Can’t Have it All.” “Ivy” sounds completely organic and yet modern. There is so much brewing in Bridges’ sonic stew. He’s likely to be painted into an R&B balladeer corner but with closer listens, this is a nuanced offering combining elements from various genres and subgenres from the last six or seven decades. “Leon” is a bold and satisfying artistic achievement.

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**BILLIE EILISH – “Hit Me Hard and Soft”** Album cover artistic detail.

39. BILLIE EILISH – “Hit Me Hard and Soft” While Billie Elish’s third full-length album doesn’t quite hit the high mark of her eclectic last record, “Happier than Ever,” it still packs quite a punch. A nuanced, whittled-down, ten-track collection which spends a lot of focused time on some lush bossa nova-style balladry. “Skinny,” “Wildflower” and “The Greatest” showcase this signature sound well. The upbeat sexual awakening of “Lunch” and the glossy radio-friendly boom of “Birds of a Feather,” both add some sense of variety, as does the interesting electro and new wave switch-up during the second half of “L’amour de ma Vie,” and the entrancing closing track, “Blue.”

More than any record she has previously released, this feels like a cohesive, singular sonic statement. While it demands focused listening for all of its charms to become fully evident, it remains a mature, enveloping statement. With each passing year, Billie and her brother, Finneas continue to hone their skills together. While this is unquestionably a pop record, there’s an unapologetic, admirably dense quality to its contents. These tracks are given plenty of space to breathe and expand where needed, sometimes into multiple movements. Softly, this collection benefits from its musical subtlety. “Hit Me Hard and Soft” often brings some heavy emotion in a quiet package.

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**LINKIN PARK – “From Zero”** Album cover artistic detail.

38. LINKIN PARK – “From Zero” When Linkin Park announced they were re-forming with a new co-lead vocalist and a new drummer, people were cautiously optimistic. Chester Bennington casts an immense shadow. Replacing him with Emily Armstrong from a technical standpoint makes perfect sense. She can sing as beautifully as he could while also delivering blood-curdling screams the next moment. When it was discovered that Armstrong reportedly has deep family ties to Scientology and a questionable past because of it, it put a dark cloud over the record. Armstrong didn’t help things by not distancing herself from the seemingly cult-like organization. While that may make “From Zero” a tainted no go for many previous Linkin Park fans, especially considering the organization’s views on issues concerning mental health, “From Zero” is on its face, actually a very strong record. For many (and I include myself in this) that sadly makes this album equally conflicting and thrilling. This will remain an issue (whether spoken or unspoken) for many fans until Armstrong follows other celebrities who in recent years have cut ties with Scientology, especially in the wake of the organization’s role in protecting Danny Masterson. (Armstrong isn’t even the only person on this list with potential Scientology ties, but upon the announcement of her joining the band, this became a point of discussion… Given the band’s lyrical focus is often on mental health, it makes sense that this became a topic point.)

That ugly issue aside, objectively speaking, based purely on the music, itself,, this is an undeniable Linkin Park record. Standouts like “The Emptiness Machine,” “Heavy is the Crown” and “Two Faced,” show that band is leaning back into the core sound they had during the “Hybrid Theory” and “Meteora” days. This is understandable, considering this era was their commercial peak, even though, honestly, I, personally connect more deeply with their last album, “One More Light,” especially since Bennington’s death. (That album, in combination with Mike Shinoda’s solo record, “Post Traumatic,” really hit hard for me.) Nevertheless, it is good to see this band revitalized and relaunching from their core. The title is a pun, considering the band’s name before Linkin Park was actually Xero.

Speaking of Shinoda, I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves. He is and has been the band’s consistent leader and while Bennington was seen as the band’s “lead singer” by some, Shinoda’s voice was heard pretty much just as often. It helps that that vocal interplay works somewhat in the same way between him and Armstrong.

At 31 minutes, this is rather brief, but it re-establishes the band in the right way. “Over Each Other” even finds Armstrong delivering an effective ballad, forging a new path ahead. “From Zero” may not be a perfect second start, but it indicates that there is a decent and promising artistic path forward. In the wake of tragedy, this is a new beginning.

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**EVE 6 – “Dream Fist”** Album cover artistic detail.

37. EVE 6 – “Dream Fist” On their sixth album, Eve 6 begin to sound a little bit more like themselves. You can hear the bright pop sound of their major label albums seeping back into the mix. The darker, more punk, wonderfully sleazed up sound on their last two offerings, 2022’s “Hyper Relevisation” and its 2021 companion EP, “Grim Value,” is still there, but it is receding, giving way to a brighter sound. Max Collins is witty as always. It is weird and kind of cool that the title-track almost sounds like their response to the Flys’ hit, “Got You (Where I Want You),” while “No Time At All” is a refreshing bit of bright rawness. The deep grooves of “I Don’t Wanna Know” and “No Better,” show that this trio are as tight a unit as ever.

As a band, they have evolved nicely into something more organic, without losing their keen pop sensibilities. Sure, this is a brisk 33 minutes, but it is packed with earworms that you’ll want to revisit time and time again. I don’t know if a major label would have allowed them to blossom in quite the way they have because a record executive would no doubt get in the way asking for more sonic polish. (I can just picture an unqualified, clueless suit asking,“Can’t you make another “‘Here’s to the Night?’” )

With each successive release, Eve 6 are unveiling a new layer. It wouldn’t surprise me if their best albums are still ahead of them. Right now they are basking amidst a very cool renaissance in their career, somewhere between crusty pop-punk and “indie sleaze.” If hits like “Inside Out” and “Promise” just re-emerged from a dark back room of a club, they might sound like this.

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**HAPPY ACCIDENTS – “Edit Undo”** Album cover artistic detail.

36. HAPPY ACCIDENTS – “Edit Undo” This is either Happy Accidents’ fourth or fifth album. (That all depends if you consider their 2022 release, “cgwarmth” an EP or an album.) Here the duo of Rich Mandell and Phoebe Cross do what they do best, delivering tender, often heartstrings-tugging tunes over sonically diverse backdrops.

Maybe the best moments here come when the guitars swell up to near shoegaze levels on tracks like “Infinite Possibilities” and “Dog Day.” It is as if in these moments, they studied the guitar textures during the chorus of Radiohead’s “Creep,” and thought, “Let’s add a dash of that!” I’m convinced that had it been released thirty years ago, the Mandell-led, “Infinite Possibilities” would have made this duo left-field “Brit-Pop” stars, while the same could be said for the Cross-led “Dog Day,” as it evokes a moodier, slightly grungy answer to the Sundays. Both of these singers have such differently expressive voices that really work well together.

Even when the sonic environments shift to more electronic realms, like on the lo-fi, synth and beat-driven “Forgive Me,” or the atmospheric “All Around,” these two show themselves to be exceptionally versatile.

Both Mandell and Cross are also members of the band Me Rex and Mandell is a key producer in the British indie-rock scene, producing tracks for the likes of Fresh, Supermilk and others.

“Edit Undo” shows Happy Accidents deserve more attention, particularly here in the United States. This is a warm and winning record. It sounds focused and purposeful at every turn, in heavy contrast with the mistake its title implies. Give a listen to “Makes No Difference,” and tell me you can’t imagine it gaining massive traction with fans. If you don’t know Happy Accidents, you are in for a treat.

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**SHERYL CROW – “Evolution (Deluxe)** Album cover artistic detail.

35. SHERYL CROW – “Evolution (Deluxe) Back in 2019, Sheryl Crow said she thought her album, “Threads,” would be her last. I’m glad she changed her mind.

“Evolution” has Crow sounding revitalized, harkening back to peak records like her self-titled album and “The Globe Sessions.” The 2024 “acid rock” burn of “Alarm Clock” hits pretty hard, while still being pop-radio-ready. The existential crisis and new age searching on “Do it Again,” suits Crow’s classic style well. Other tracks like “You Can’t Change the Weather,” the title track and “Where?” all sound like they could stand well next to Crow’s biggest hits.

“Broken Record,” with its cheeky but pointed tone is a real star on the set. It serves as a takedown of people with bad manners in the social media age, particularly aimed toward the dangerous MAGA and “alt-right” trolls. (When she sings, “We were buds but now I’m unfriending,” one can’t help but wonder if she is talking about Kid Rock.) Always politically aware and not to be afraid to be outspoken, this kind of track has always been in Crow’s wheelhouse. This song stings after the November election. When she sings “Love wins,” at the end of the track, there is a tinge of sadness. Love didn’t win. Hate and bigotry with a dose of grifter-fueled greed won. The world needs more damn empathy.

The deluxe edition adds on an utterly jaw-droppingly stupendous cover of Peter Gabriel’s “Digging in the Dirt.” Peter Gabriel is even with her on the track! She must have rightfully thought highly of this cover because instead of being tacked onto the end of the record like you see with most “deluxe” versions, this is up near the front, at track two.

“Evolution” is an album we needed in 2024. Crow is an evergreen talent and more than thirty years after “Tuesday Night Music Club,” she is still dropping gems. She effectively ignored what she said in 2019. Let’s hope she continues to do so. “Evolution” is the career-reaffirming proof that the world needs her to continue to release albums.

Listen to “Evolution” (Deluxe) on Spotify

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**WILLOW – “Empathogen”** Album cover artistic detail.

34. WILLOW – “Empathogen” To say that Willow Smith’s new album is a huge step forward is a radical understatement. Honestly, “Empathogen,” is a musically complex, jazz-influenced offering. Always a shapeshifter, she really surprises on this one. One listen to dense, constantly propulsive tracks like “Symptom of Life,” the brief, yet intense “No Words 1&2,” the slyly funky “Run!” and the Jon Batiste-assisted “Home,” it is hard to believe that just a couple years ago, she was experimenting with pop-punk. This is in many ways the polar opposite.

This album is at times baffling in its musical complexity, putting the normal simplicity of most modern pop records to shame, without sacrificing hooks. “Between I and She” is a really boldly catchy track, even with its tempo-shifts and side-trips.

The deluxe version of this album is the one you should really hear, retitled as “Ceremonial Contrafact (Empathogen Deluxe.) This deluxe version just feels like it should have been the standard record. At 39 minutes instead of 32, it just flows well from beginning to end. The bonus tracks don’t feel tacked on. They feel like the natural progression of the cycle. I know that acts are releasing supposed “Deluxe” editions of records to increase and reinvigorate streaming numbers, since platforms now dictate the norms, but honestly, as a fan who collects albums in physical form whenever possible, it is a colossal pain when an album is released and then a couple months later (or sometimes even sooner) a “deluxe” edition just appears and it really just makes the whole thing sound more complete. If you are a musical completist, having to sometimes buy a record twice to get the whole picture is terrible. If artists thought more about their actual fans instead of streaming numbers, it would be better, but as someone who has music on the platforms, myself, I get it. The new norm asks for a lot of work from the artists with little to almost no financial reward. As we all know, the streaming royalty structure needs a massive overhaul so artists get paid what they deserve… However, that soapbox discussion is probably better suited for another time.

“Empathogen” is truly impressive. It is a big reminder that Willow can really deliver any kind of music she wants and she shouldn’t be underestimated merely based on who she is. This is the work of someone who thinks about music very deeply, with intense focus.

Listen to “Ceremonial Contrafact (Empathogen Deluxe)” on Spotify

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**LAUREN MAYBERRY – “Vicious Creature”** Album cover artistic detail.

33. LAUREN MAYBERRY – “Vicious Creature” Much like her work with her band Chvrches, on her solo debut album, “Vicious Creature,” Lauren Mayberry continues to impress, while widening her sonic scope beyond the electro-pop sound that made her famous.

“Something in the Air” is equal parts euphoric pop and stunning psychedelia. (It sounds like the unexpected sonic offspring of Maggie Rogers’ “That’s Where I Am” and Alanis Morissette’s “All I Really Want.” Those are great places to take bits of possible influence!) “Are You Awake?” is a tender piano ballad. “Crocodile Tears” sounds like it pairs 2024 lyrics with an instrumental transported from 1986. “Anywhere but Dancing” is a slick dose of alternative-folk-pop. “Change Shapes” is either about having to put on different disguises to function in the world or a confession of manipulation. (Probably the former, or a little bit of both, since the world is full of grey areas and compromises… Anyway, it definitely prompts some thought-provoking discussions.) The Greg Kurstin-produced “Sunday Best” is a club-ready, sonically bright pop banger again packed with lyrical importance.

I fear Mayberry doesn’t get the credit she deserves. She’s a singular voice who makes important pop records. Counting the four Chvrches albums, this is her fifth great record in a row. Rest assured, there will supposedly be more albums from Chvrches, but this is a momentary but necessary side-step. On her own, she can move the needle just as much as she does in her band.

Listen to “Vicious Creature” on Spotify

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**ILLUMINATI HOTTIES – “Power”** Album cover artistic detail.

32. ILLUMINATI HOTTIES – “Power” Sarah Tudzin’s third proper Illuminati Hotties album is her catchiest, bounciest and most engaging to date. Tudzin built her name as an impressive producer and engineer, working on records by the likes of Pom Pom Squad and Boygenius. If you look at her credits, it is a long list, so it is nice that “Power” even exists in a world where she is obviously in demand as a studio pro.

“Can’t Be Still” begins the sets in a wonderfully off-kilter way before it bursts into a bright bit of power-pop. “I Would Like, Still Love You” is an anthem about um…er… unconditional love. “Falling in Love with Somebody Better” sounds like it belongs in an alt-rock-flavored rom-com. It is a dose of grungy sunshine. “Sleeping In” is an ode to waking up next to someone you love and the resulting euphoric feeling. “Didn’t” is a tight punchy rock duet with Cavetown. “What’s the Fuzz” brings some real 1995 energy in the best possible way.

I don’t think I noticed on previous records how much Tudzin’s delivery and approach reminds me of Juliana Hatfield. This album feels like a coincidental companion-piece to Hatfield’s “Only Everything.” Perhaps this is an argument for the two of them to someday work together.

“Power” is a wide-eyed, exciting and bright record. Even when she sings about heartbreak on “Everything Changes,” there is a warm glow present, perhaps the lost echo of positive memories. Firmly, this is an alternative rock record in the singer-songwriter vein with some mainstream hit potential. There used to be a time when the enveloping title-track would have been a gargantuan hit. If this all sounds good, find this record!

Listen to “Power” on Spotify

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**DOECHII – “Alligator Bites Never Heal”** Album cover artistic detail.

31. DOECHII – “Alligator Bites Never Heal” The line between “mixtape” and “album” has definitely blurred, but Doechii has really established herself this year as one of the newest voices in hip-hop to watch. The nineteen tracks here breeze by, each showing a level of excitement that occasionally brings back a vintage battle-rap cadence. Just listen to the intense storytelling on “Denial is a River,” and you get the idea. When she gets hyped, she is a force. Whenever she goes into her rasp, watch out.

On “Catfish,” she sounds like an authoritative and unhinged cross between the Roots’ Black Thought and Missy Elliott. So many tracks here have a straight-ahead low bass rumble that allows her enough room to let her flow cook. (See “Bullfrog” and “Boiled Peanuts”.) I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone sound so threatening one moment and laughing playfully in the next. It’s all a wonderfully theatrical game, fueled by pure skill.

She’s also a great singer, bringing some warm soul to “Wait.” On “Skipp,” she brings an Erykah Badu-esque vibe.

As a lyricist, she can really bring it and switch up her flow. You can tell she can pack a tight verse when she wants to and yet she can drop something more straight-forward and modern sounding without losing the momentum. When you see that she actually has a track called “Boom Bap,” and it seems to be mocking classic heads, it seems weird because, like her Top Dawg label-mate, Kendrick Lamar, she has found a happy middle-ground, where she has a flow enticing enough to please the hip-hop purists and modern enough to please the newer generation. I mean, something as lyrically intense as the fast-paced, raunchy romp, “Nissan Altima,” could never be pulled off by many of her peers.

This collection hits hard and is varied. It stuns and surprises over its dense 47 minutes. Strap in and enjoy the ride as it takes you to a surprising number of places. Does this deliver the bite that the title implies? Most definitely!

Listen to “Alligator Bites Never Heal” on Spotify

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**KASEY MUSGRAVES – “Deeper Well”** Album cover artistic detail.

30. KACEY MUSGRAVES – “Deeper Well” Getting even further from her country roots, “Deeper Well” has a distinct, sometimes, nearly psychedelic sound. Opener, “Cardinal,” sounds like it could be a lost seventies hit from the band America. Even the very audible Autotune doesn’t lessen the organic impact of the title track. Really, Musgraves has become a master at conveying a certain lovelorn brand of melancholia. “Too Good to be True” hits deeply. Again, this feels like vintage folk writing and not like the modern Nashville establishment.

Like on her landmark opus, “Golden Hour,” it sounds like Musgraves is perhaps taking cues from peak Neil Young records and Beck’s “Sea Change,” while putting her own spin on gentle, warm, moody odes to heartbreak.

If you are looking for more country fare, the closest you will probably get is the sweetly twangy, “Dinner with Friends,” while “Heart of the Woods” possesses a warm, haunted echo. These kind of tracks wouldn’t sound out of place on early Dolly Parton records. Certain guitar passages bring to mind Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers” era. The haunting “Jade Green” really hits a special spot, as does the sultry standout, “Lonely Millionaire.”

Like many other records this year, there is also a deluxe edition (subtitled “Deeper into the Well”) with seven more songs and 20 more minutes. Again, as someone who remembers when seventy-minute albums were the norm, not the exception, I wish these “deluxe versions” were the standard versions. Flooding the market with multiple editions just adds confusion and ultimately waters down the product. Even in the streaming era, this means some fans may miss out on the bonus material, especially if they don’t live off of the platforms and choose to go the physical route. This deluxe version, also is bolstered by some essential keepers, including duets with Leon Bridges and Tiny Habits. Again, in MOST cases, the “deluxe” editions should really be the standard versions. I mean, in this case, yes, “Nothing to be Scared of,” is a perfectly fine closer, but the “Deluxe” version closes with “Irish Goodbye,” which is even better.

End to end, this is a really stripped-down effort. It is never suffocating. It always feels like Musgraves is whispering in your ear, which gives this album a tender closeness. “Deeper Well” offers an intense, yet gentle, emotional ride.

Listen to “Deeper Well: Deeper Into the Well” on Spotify

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**LL COOL J – “The Force”** Album cover artistic detail.

29. LL COOL J – “The Force” LL is a legend, but let’s face it. The guy has a supremely uneven discography. Either the records are great, or they really aren’t. When I heard that his first album in eleven years was mostly going to be produced by Q-Tip, I knew it was going to be great. I was right. Q-Tip’s tight, often stunning production work is the right backdrop to bring back a version of LL you probably thought was long gone. Opener, “Spirit of Cyrus,” featuring Snoop Dogg, sets the set off right with a mystical bounce.

As was the case with the last Tribe record, and his production on Danny Brown’s “uknowhatimsayin¿” Q-Tip’s production style here is much more modern and futuristic in tone than his earlier work. When the title-track comes in, it has a computerized voice, with a continuous distorted (possibly) guitar tone, blossoming into a passage that sounds like a euphoric underwater scene from a vintage NES game. This heavily electro-infused beat, gives LL the perfect backdrop to deliver with his signature “Mama Said Knock You Out” intensity. As LL is dropping heavily freaky verses with Saweetie, Q-Tip’s beat manages to merge Gary Numan’s “M.E.” with LL’s classic, “Jingling Baby.”

Elsewhere on the record, the two manage to bring more high-profile friends to the party. Rick Ross and Fat Joe appear on “Saturday Night Special.” Busta Rhymes brings his signature, low bellow to “Huey in the Chair.” Eminem brings his rapid-fire lyricism to “Murdergram.” Nas drops a dense verse on “Praise Him.” This is in many ways, a peak-hip-hop summit.

Forty years after his debut, listen to the way LL flows on “Basquiat Energy.” He may have been gone for a while and released a couple of so-so records along the way, but on the whole, “The Force” is a surprising re-birth and a new statement of purpose from one of hip-hop’s original “golden era” pioneers.

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**SABRINA CARPENTER – “Short n’ Sweet”** Album cover artistic detail.

28. SABRINA CARPENTER – “Short n’ Sweet” To say Sabrina Carpenter was one of the greatest breakout pop stars of 2024, is a huge understatement. You literally could not escape her song, “Espresso,” which is perhaps the first major pop song built around Splice loops. Is this record cheeky and fun? Yes. Was it shoved down our throats everywhere we turned? Yes. It’s a fun confection, nonetheless.

It was Carpenter’s playful attitude that made her a winner this year. The country twang and the vintage synth sounds on “Please Please Please,” made for a winning formula. The nearly alterna-pop sheen on “Taste” is truly appealing, as is the gently crafted but playfully insulting “Sharpest Tool.” (The latter sounds like it would have gone well on Ryn Weaver’s underappreciated but excellent 2015 album, “The Fool.”)

Odds are, this is one of the records I don’t have to go over in excruciating detail, because you may have heard it on repeat. Here, Carpenter and her producers really know how to catch a vibe. Mainly, a summer vibe, vaguely out of somewhere from the 1980s. Like “Espresso,” “Bad Chem” and “Juno also sit firmly in this wheelhouse. It’s almost as if someone remembered “Lite” radio and decided to give that sound a modern, slightly racy makeover.

“Slim Pickins” is an interesting country meditation on how there aren’t any smart men around to choose. Carpenter’s wit is cutting, but her sarcasm is refreshing.

If you are only familiar with the singles, I’m here to tell you that the album on the whole pops. Speaking from experience, if you are initially on the fence about the omnipresent singles, within the context of the record, you could probably have your mind changed. The entire record presents Carpenter’s many musical sides in a very quick way. Two or three decades from now, this may be seen as a very important and nostalgic record for a lot of people. “Short n’ Sweet” is appealing and it firmly delivers on the promise of its title.

Listen to “Short n’ Sweet” on Spotify

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**NADA SURF – “Moon Mirror”** Album cover artistic detail.

27. NADA SURF – “Moon Mirror” After being dropped by Elektra in the late nineties, Nada Surf emerged as indie darlings. How great is it that in spite of being misunderstood by the myopic major-label system that 28 years later, “Moon Mirror” stands as their tenth proper studio album?

There is a definite, new spring in the step of Matthew Caws and company on the opening tracks, “Second Skin” and “In Front of Me Now.” Even as they head into more ballad-driven material on the title-track and “Losing,” there is a brightness under the groove.

The blistering and surprisingly punk-infused “Intel and Dreams” comes through with authority. I wish we heard more of this sound from them. When they turn up the distortion, their songs get a nice additional bite. “Open Seas,” “Give Me the Sun,” and the pogo-ready “X is You” possess this added element, as well.

“New Propeller” feels like it is the latest step in the progression that brought us key singles like “Inside of Love” and “Always Love.” A tender ballad delivered with care.

Indeed, Nada Surf have a renewed sense of pep on “Moon Mirror.” Like Spoon, they are nineties survivors who got dropped way too soon and in spite of it all, managed to drop a string of classic records. “Moon Mirror” is just the latest offering in a unquestionable solid discography.

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**POM POM SQUAD – “Mirror Starts Moving Without Me”** Album cover artistic detail.

26. POM POM SQUAD – “Mirror Starts Moving Without Me” Right from the first notes of “Downhill,” it is clear that Mia Berrin’s second Pom Pom Squad full-length is a more pop-focused effort than her last album, “Death of a Cheerleader.” Sure, this album isn’t quite as eclectic as its predecessor, but songs like “Spinning,” “Running From Myself,” “Everybody’s Moving On” and “Street Fighter” belong on the radio becoming modern pop standards between singles by Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, even if Pom Pom Squad is more rock oriented. If Olivia Rodrigo has a place in the highest places in the mainstream, so should Pom Pom Squad. In fact, maybe Rodrigo is the one who made it safe for a possible full-on crossover for Berrin and company.

Like Mitski, Berrin crafts songs that are often very intimate and personal while playing with a wide scope of sonic backdrops. Yes, this is a much more focused and safer album than its predecessor, but then you hear “Villain,” which volleys from hard-rock shouts to an angelic choir of voices. The fact that this record is such an obvious attempt at a rightful pop crossover, makes the moments that don’t easily stick to the formula stand out even more. The slightly grungy “Messages” feels like the excellent follow-up to the last album’s key standout, “Drunk Voicemail.”

At just over 28 minutes, this album is a tad too brief, but then again, Berrin says a lot during this brief timeframe. Still, if this were a 14 or 15 track record, instead of 11, maybe we would have gotten more of a range. Still, we get gems like “Montauk,” simultaneously an ode to disappointment, romance and uncertainty. Similarly, “Doll Song,” has a stunningly classical focus, before it interpolates bits of “My Favorite Things,” into the mix. When you strip away the cool rock sheen, Berrin does seem after all like the coolest of the theatre kids, easily handling a musical standard.

“Mirror Starts Moving Without Me” offers a new path for Pom Pom Squad. If you love modern pop with a rock edge, this is a record you shouldn’t miss.

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**CRUMB – “Amama”** Album cover artistic detail.

25. CRUMB – “Amama” New York indie psych-rockers, Crumb’s third record “Amama” is an frequently woozy little masterpiece. Leader Lila Ramani has dedicated this record to her grandmother and it is a versatile set. “Side by Side” sounds like it is equally suited for soundtracking Sunday brunch or long periods of spacing out. Can an album be comforting and simultaneously vaguely eerie? There’s something about Ramani’s whispery vocals mixed with the bits of musical dissonance on “The Bug” and “From Outside a Window Sill.” It’s a powerful concoction.

“Genie” feels like some off-axis dream-pop-y synth-wave. It is warm and welcoming but somehow a little uneasy. Perhaps it is that awkward and strangely perfect balance that this band achieves which makes them so appealing. It is such a delicate line. This is cool, chill martini party music with a few unexpected momentary minor-key turns. The tension in “Crushxd” has a similar feeling, with a touch of possible Stereolab influence. (Yes.. the second time I have mentioned them on this list.)

The appropriately-named “Sleep Talk” sounds like it is being delivered in a half-awake state, aided by its unexpected tempo-shifts. The way it transitions almost perfectly into the next song, “Dust Bunny,” shows the attention and care put into this set.

On the whole, “Amama” is an extremely hazy record, in the best possible way. At times, it feels like the instruments are coming from a closed door of a semi-distant next room. Put this record on to establish a new, half-dreamy sonic environment.

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**PHANTOGRAM – “Memory of a Day”** Album cover artistic detail.

24. PHANTOGRAM – “Memory of a Day” With each successive record, Phantogram’s Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter seem to boost their sound and just from the opening track, “Jealousy,” it is evident that they are continuing on a pleasantly explosive, stadium-ready path. Always mixing elements of alt-rock, dance-pop and trip-hop, they continue to hone their skills. “It Wasn’t Meant to Be,” sounds as fresh as early single, “When I’m Small.” They can even make a modern pop trope like syncopated handclaps sound oddly refreshing.

As always, Barthel is the star. She can deliver a gospel-y torch song like “All a Mystery,” and have you feeling every word. While not known as a belter, she has an uncanny and unique way of conveying emotion. The way she and Carter trade vocals on the jungle and drum-n-bass-flavored “Feedback Invincible,” displays exactly why this duo works together as a unit so well. (Seriously, why isn’t this track a club hit???) There’s just a keen synergy between them. Similarly, “Attaway” should be a pop radio hit.

Listening to records like this, you can tell that record labels are cutting their staffs to the detriment of their artist rosters. I mean, my god… This record is a stack of potential hits from beginning to end. If this were two or three decades ago, this would be the kind of album that would spawn six or seven long-charting singles. In the current environment, where A&R and promotion departments no longer exist the way they used to and artists are expected to promote their own material on social media, there is no way they can reach the same heights as previous generations. Part of it is the creation and increased proliferation of niche culture and the loss of “the mono-culture,” but, man, some of this is on the labels, themselves. Yes, I know this is the direct result of the industry being gutted by the Napster bros 25 years ago, but yeah, music can’t be free and you have to be able to pay artists to fuel the ecosystems that support them. Phantogram’s label, Neon Gold is distributed by Virgin, which is affiliated with Universal. Tracks like the ones I mentioned, along with “Ashes,” “Come Alive” and “Happy Again” should be more omnipresent. When people say there isn’t as much good music anymore, they are wrong. There actually may be more great music than ever being released… You just have to dig for it more now because the promotional structures have been dismantled in the quests for “convenience” and corporate greed… But I digress.

On “Memory of a Day,” Phantogram are as sharp as ever. Use the above rant as evidence for what the music here inspired. This is yet another strong album from a duo long on the cusp of a major mainstream breakthrough. That eventually needs to happen. Judging from their streaming numbers, “Black Out Days,” from their classic 2013 album, “Voices,” seems to be their biggest monster hit. “Memory of a Day” is just as tight as “Voices.” Like many other artists on this list, Phantogram deserve more.

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**MAGGIE ROGERS – “Don’t Forget Me”** Album cover artistic detail.

23. MAGGIE ROGERS – “Don’t Forget Me” Following the production-forward approach of 2022’s “Surrender,” Maggie Rogers strips things a little back for her third proper album, “Don’t Forget Me.” “Drunk” and “So Sick of Dreaming,” have a more organic, late-seventies/early-eighties “soft rock” radio vibe. (The spoken-word bit on the latter track had a lot of people talking. Definitely, an ear-catching move.)

Rogers may have initially gained fame with a viral YouTube clip where Pharrell had to practically lift his jaw off the floor because he was so impressed with her production and songwriting skills, but Rogers has always been an old soul, who takes influence from artists like Carole King and Joni Mitchell. You can hear the guitar strings hit every strum on “If Now Was Then,” which takes that older approach and fuses it with a newer, post-Taylor Swift pop approach. You can hear every instrument in the room. In the age where most artists work to a click-track and Autotune the hell out of everything, it is refreshing to hear something more natural.

“On & On & On” would have been a hit in a different time, with its bouncy, slight country twang and its groovy bassline. You can tell that Rogers is getting lost in the groove towards the end. The same thing can be said about “Never Going Home.” Has Rogers been listening to old Linda Ronstadt records? It definitely sounds like she is trying to recapture a certain brand of AM Radio pop from decades ago and recapture the same mood within a 2024 context.

In a fair world, the closing title-track to the record would be culturally seen as a career-peaking achievement. It burns and bristles with honesty at a time when there are too many fake people around.

At 35 minutes, “Don’t Forget Me” is a brief but vital offering. Rogers’ talent and skill levels remain indelible and timeless.

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**FONTAINES D.C. – “Romance”** Album cover artistic detail.

22. FONTAINES D.C. – “Romance” There is a weirdly dark magic to the music of Fontaines D.C. The Irish post-punk band can sound ominous one moment and deliver something serene the next. “Romance” definitely ups their game. They are definitely aiming and fine-tuning their sound to try to make a bigger splash. “Here’s the Thing,” for example, sounds like the sonic offspring of Oasis and Bauhaus. “Starburster,” on the other hand sounds like someone is taking someone down to “Strawberry Fields Forever,” to get supremely roughed up and mangled.

My gut tells me that this album has a warmer, less foreboding feeling in comparison to their last offering, “Skinty Fia,” but that could be purely psychological, based on the cool blue and pink cover art and the title “Romance.” Even with warm strings, somehow, the song “Desire,” sounds like a threat. I think part of this band’s appeal is the level of mystery around them. At least in the States, you don’t see a lot of interviews with them. In that way, they don’t feel overexposed here, so the records can stand without being tainted by the current personality-led culture. When “In the Modern World” washes over your ears, it sounds really hypnotizing.

There’s another element to their appeal, as well. They sound like the kind of band that would have emerged in the early to mid-nineties, that somehow time-traveled to the 2020s to remind us how it used to be done. Surely, I’m not the only one who listens to “Bug,” “Motorcycle Boy,” “Sundowner” and “Death Kink,” thinking that all of these tracks would have fit really well on an episode of “120 Minutes.” The band knows exactly what they are doing. It has to be a targeted sound.

Closing the album with something as uncharacteristically sunny as “Favorite,” is a wonderfully unexpected left-turn. “Romance” really gives you a lot to dissect and provides one hell of an enthralling trip.

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**ST. VINCENT – “All Born Screaming”** Album cover artistic detail.

21. ST. VINCENT – “All Born Screaming” Annie Clark’s latest offering as St. Vincent finds her yet again adopting another persona and exploring a new sound. While her last album found her paying tribute to Candy Darling and playing with vintage seventies-style sounds, “All Born Screaming” is some alternative rock, nineties-style with a sly sense of mystery and a slightly industrial edge. This is club music, but not necessarily in the partying sense. Dave Grohl drums on “Broken Man” and “Flea,” giving these songs an extra sense of sonic heft, while Clark weaves a new, continuously entrancing sonic web.

The influences are clear. At times, Clark evokes PJ Harvey. At times, she sounds not unlike Shirley Manson of Garbage. There are even moments when you wonder if Ruby’s 1996 album, “Salt Peter,” was an influence. “Hell is Near” is a good argument for her to work with Zero 7 someday. On “Big Time Nothing,” she rattles off a list that may or may not be a response to U2’s “Numb,” with a chorus that perhaps lovingly echoes Peter Gabriel, all as an expression of palpable, pure anxiety.

“Violent Times” feels like her tribute to Portishead, with a cool horn section in tow. “The Power’s Out” also has Portishead vibes.

Maybe it is all the reinvention, but there is a David Bowie-esque agility to this entire endeavor, reminiscent of his own semi-industrial reinvention, “Earthling,” from 1997. On “Sweetest Fruit,” when Clark goes semi-operatic, harmonizing with herself over a synth-line that sounds like it has been warped and runover by a steam roller, you can’t help but hear Bowie in her emotive howls, while the ending, descending piano line is surely a Nine Inch Nails homage.

“So Many Planets” has an unexpected electro-reggae groove, while the closing title-track finds her fittingly trading vocals with Cate Le Bon, over a backdrop that mixes African and dub influences, before it playfully disassembles into a Radiohead-esque electro jam.

In a move I definitely didn’t see coming, after dropping this album in April, in November, Clark dropped a complete Spanish-language version of this record. It is actually refreshing to hear this kind of approach being taken with an album that doesn’t particularly sound Latin in its initial form. The Spanish version is called “Todos Nacen Gritando” and it works really well. The version of “Big Time Nothing” (“El Mero Cero”) works especially well. The tight list of commands finds her having to make room for extra syllables, resulting in a more syncopated vocal cadence.

“All Born Screaming” is one of the strongest albums in St. Vincent’s discography. As usual, Annie Clark continues to surprise.

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Listen to “All Born Screaming” on Amazon Music

**SUPERMILK – “High Precision Ghosts”** Album cover artistic detail.

20. SUPERMILK – “High Precision Ghosts” The third proper Supermilk full-length follows up the more eclectic and expansive “Four By Three,” with a tighter, more intense collection. There is bottled up, punk-fueled tension here. This is the group’s first effort after as a full band and that new sense of interplay brings a new spark to the mix. It is also the first album recorded after the leader and founder, Jake Popyura was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease/A.L.S. Popyura has been very open about this and the new struggles it creates. Perhaps this is partly why this is now a full-band effort. (This move may have begun as a way to do live shows, as well.)

With this brisk 29-minute set, it feels like the group is trying to make the most of their time. As “Many Thanks” charges in, it runs you over with its hundred and three seconds of unflinching sense of bombast. There is a new angular quality here. Sure, there was always an element of quick-shifting tempos and rapid transitions in Popyura’s previous Supermilk work, but there is a new, near-Prog sensibility to the work on the Devo-esque “Robot Talk,” while “Patterns” sounds like it is a companion-piece to “Cease to Exist” from the last record.

“Sweat” can work any crowd into a frenzy, while there is sadness in “A City to Die For,” even as it hits its radio-ready crescendo. When Popyura sings about “another bruise from fists I’d rather forget,” it sounds understandably existential in nature. “Christine” sounds like it would have been a great track from Popyura’s previous band, Doe, and it brings an appealing signature drive. “Words of Affirmation,” again ramps up the intensity, before exploding into a sea of sing-along voices. When the album closes on the melancholy, yet dreamy, “To Sink a Ship,” the emotional weightiness is felt.

On the whole,“High Precision Ghosts” is the most singularly focused Supermilk record to date. The addition of a full band both boosts and cements this feeling. Add to that Popyura’s grappling with a presumably diminishing skillset thanks to a cruel and unforgiving condition and the end result can’t help but be packed with angst. Hopefully something can be done to stop the A.L.S. progression. In a perfect world, we’d be getting Supermilk records for decades to come. This is one hell of a record.

Listen to “High Precision Ghosts” on Spotify

Listen to “High Precision Ghosts” on Apple Music

Listen to “High Precision Ghosts” on Amazon Music

**PEARL JAM – “Dark Matter”** Album cover artistic detail.

19. PEARL JAM – “Dark Matter” Now twelve albums and thirty-three years in, you know what you are getting with Pearl Jam. “Dark Matter” shows the band doing what they do best, from the initially very Big Star-influenced, “Scared of Fear,” to the thunderous, stomping boom of the title-track. Eddie Vedder nearly raps his verses on the psychedelically-charged “React, Respond,” while “Wreckage” belongs in the band’s top-tier of singles, merging that whimsical “Given to Fly” side of their music with a late-period Tom Petty-esque sense of whimsy. “Running” is a blistering bit of rapid-fire, mosh-pit-ready punk.

As an album, this feels very much like the next logical progression after Eddie Vedder’s 2022 album, “Earthling.” My guess is that he and producer, Andrew Watt must have really hit it off, since Watt is back on board for this record. While many older fans would decry the fact that this band is morphing into something more introspective than what was heard on “Ten,” “Vs.” or “Vitalogy,” I would argue that there is a strong, singular core that covers their entire career. Sure, you probably couldn’t imagine something like “Upper Hand” on “Ten,” but that could possibly be because you are no longer fifteen.

If any of these songs had somehow wound up on earlier records, they would be classics now. I mean, “Waiting For Stevie,” is just as powerful a song as the band has ever delivered. Initially started as something Vedder and Watt worked up while they waited for Stevie Wonder to arrive for a guest spot on “Earthling,” it was later fleshed out by the rest of the band. Listening to this song, I wonder what would happen if Stevie Wonder actually chose to cover it.

All of Pearl Jam’s albums are good. Some are weirder than others… (Um…“No Code,” “Riot Act,” I’m looking at you.) This is a stunning record, showing them as the classic rock journeymen that they are. Yes, I said it. There has always been a “classic rock” element to Pearl Jam. They are continuing to evolve and change, without losing their focus.

Listen to “Dark Matter” on Spotify

Listen to “Dark Matter” on Apple Music

Listen to “Dark Matter” on Amazon Music

**THE LINDA LINDAS** Album cover artistic detail.

18. THE LINDA LINDAS – “No Obligation” The sophomore offering from these (mostly) teenage garage punks finds them once again volleying from brutal sounding hardcore, like the title-track, to catchy pop-punk like “All in My Head.” The range on here is astounding. While the title-track finds Eloise Wong bellowing a new anthem of non-conformity, there are also well-crafted bits of power-pop like “Once Upon a Time” and “Don’t Think.”

There is a definite pattern. Wong usually fronts the raw tracks, while if a song is sung by Lucia de la Garza or Bela Salazar, it tends to be more melodic and hook-driven. In this way, you get the best of both worlds as a punk fan. Drummer, Mila de la Garza is just 14 and delivers some amazing work behind the kit. This is mostly a family band. Wong is the cousin of the de la Garza sisters and Salazar is their friend. In addition, the album is produced by the de la Garzas’ father, Carlos de la Garza, a punk scene veteran, so it is definitely something in the genes.

The Salazar-fronted, “Yo Me Estresso,” is an effervescent bit of Spanish pop, which not only stands as one of the album’s biggest surprises, it also features “Weird Al” Yankovic, not on vocals or making jokes, but for his impressive accordion skills!

“Too Many Things” is a cool slice of new wave. “Nothing Would Change” finds a middle-ground between dream-pop and jangle-pop. “Excuse Me,” is a pummeling, politically-charged good time. “Stop,” verges on ska and makes you wonder if its subject of derision is a certain problematic cult-like American political figure.

“No Obligation” has the Linda Lindas maturing with their song-craft and continuing to expand their horizons. This band ininitally emerged with their song, “Racist, Sexist Boy.” We need this band now, more than ever! We need more bands with this level of ethos.

Listen to “No Obligation” on Spotify

Listen to “No Obligation” on Apple Music

Listen to “No Obligation” on Amazon Music

**“The Auditorium Vol. 1”** Album cover artistic detail.

17. COMMON & PETE ROCK – “The Auditorium Vol. 1” Somewhere along the line, Common became the biggest carrier of “consciousness rap” mantle. There’s just something about his delivery that seems like it is packed with wisdom that is generations deep. Joining forces with Pete Rock, one of the best beat-makers of hip-hop’s “Golden Age,” the two of them create a massive statement for hip-hop purists. Over 62 minutes, Common spits rhymes of political righteousness on “Dreamin’,” drops some smooth sex raps on “Chi-Town Do it,” and restates his life’s purpose on “This Man.” In many ways, Common still really is kind of like hip-hop’s answer to Marvin Gaye. Political sometimes, but also occasionally sensual in his approach, as well.

On “This Man,” Common proudly proclaims, “I’m rap’s James Baldwin.” Some may argue that he lacks certain qualifications to quite hold that title, but his point is taken. He is a poet. Like Nas, he is currently on a roll, as an older rapper, still dropping classic records.

Pete Rock’s crate-digging skills are as tight as ever, as well, finding the perfect elements to build his grooves. Mostly using old soul records to carefully craft beats that match Common’s smoothness. The way he uses Curtis Mayfield’s version of “We’ve Only Just Begun,” on “We’re on Our Way,” is a demonstration of his deep skills. His beat on “Wise Up,” brings some vintage “boom bap” energy. The same can be said for the constantly moving, “Stellar.” “All Kind of Ideas” is a classic DJ workout where Rock actually drops a verse!

There are also a lot of fantastic guests who show up along the way. Jennifer Hudson appears on the gospel-driven “A God (There is),” while Bilal comes in on the inspirational, “So Many People.” Posdnuos, from De La Soul is on “When the Sun Shines Again,” while singer, PJ, who was also on-board on tracks for Common’s “A Beautiful Revolution” series, shows up here on “Everything’s So Grand.”

“The Auditorium Vol. 1” delivers exactly what you expect when you see Common and Pete Rock’s names together. That comfortable consistency is what makes this album a joy. If you doubt what I’m saying, go listen to “Now and Then.” If that track doesn’t move you, I don’t know what to tell you.

Listen to “The Auditorium Vol. 1” on Spotify

Listen to “The Auditorium Vol. 1” on Apple Music

Listen to “The Auditorium Vol. 1” on Amazon Music

**TAYLOR SWIFT – “The Tortured Poets Department”** Album cover artistic detail.

16. TAYLOR SWIFT – “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” This was the most streamed album of the year and so I’m guessing you may have heard it. I will use this space to say that the full two hour “Anthology” version of the album should have been the ONLY version of the record. As someone who collects physical media, it is really frustrating to order an album to have the bait-and-switch pulled a few hours after the release…. As if to say, “Surprise! The version you just got isn’t complete! There’s a whole other disc worth of material…” Again, I realize it helps with streaming numbers, but there has to be a cool down of the “Deluxe Edition” culture. It waters down the market and keeps everything from seeming concrete…

That being said, I also had a realization listening to this record. The people who think Taylor Swift is “boring,” don’t get it. Her songs don’t work like traditional pop songs. They work like chapters in a novel or like episodes of a streaming series. If you aren’t on the Taylor Swift train, you won’t understand what everyone else hears until you hit that key turning point. I know, because I didn’t quite get the fuss until her 2019 album, “Lover,” and I haven’t turned back since. Some people may scoff at this comparison, but like Bob Dylan, the focus of Taylor Swift’s albums is often more lyrical than melodic. There is a huge story being told. You have to be invested in the ongoing body of work to fully understand her cultural impact.

“Fortnight,” with Post Malone is a perfect example of a modern pop ballad in 2024. This is a glorious deep dive of a breakup record, especially in its full deluxe version. The title track and “So Long, London,” alone speak volumes. There is just a warm sonic shimmer to everything here that makes tracks like “Down Bad” enticing. This element also lessens the negative impact of some of Swift’s hilariously on-the-nose titles like “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and “I Can Fix Him (Really, I Can)” Then again, these kinds of titles work in Swift’s favor in a way by personalizing these songs, while simultaneously winking at the audience. Swift’s ability to make her songs seem relatable to her audience is one of her greatest gifts.

**TAYLOR SWIFT – “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology”** Album cover artistic detail.

Both “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and “Clara Bow,” are key examples of how Swift has mastered a certain kind of ballad. Throughout this entire set, it remains clear that she has been able to have a connection with her frequent producers, Jack Antonoff and the National’s Aaron Dessner. There must be a deep creative entanglement between them by now, resulting in really strong work.

Again, I don’t know why this album was ever issued as a single disc. It’s not like the second disc is filler. It isn’t. “The Albatross,” for instance, is essential. This isn’t an easily digestible record for passive listeners, either. There’s nuance in the details, but it is all one miraculous piece of art.

Granted, the double CD album is a declining art form in popularity with most artists capping their records somewhere under forty minutes, Swift has given us this 122-minute opus! Again, considering this ONLY as a double album, it would probably join the ranks of great double records like The Beatles’ “White Album” and Smashing Pumpkins’ “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.” (I can imagine the comments right now… If you don’t understand or agree with this point, guess what, this album isn’t for you, and that is fine. To a whole generation of listeners, this album will have the same kind of hefty importance as those records.)

Swift is bubbling over with songs. It is refreshing in 2024 to hear an artist so compelled to write that she has such an overwhelming amount of material. I wish more artists could afford to have the kind of freedom that Swift has earned. I think we would get better records if artists were free to follow their creative muses and whims. “The Tortured Poets Department – The Anthology” demands repeated listens and it cuts deeper with each successive spin.

Listen to “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” on Spotify

Listen to “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” on Apple Music

Listen to “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” on Amazon Music

**MAXIMO PARK – “Stream of Life”** Album cover artistic detail.

15. MAXIMO PARK – “Stream of Life” Why the hell aren’t Maxïmo Park a bigger deal? Seriously! They have repeatedly made my list. Every time, I feel like I am letting people in on a secret when they are one of the most consistently thrilling bands to come out of England in the last twenty years. That being said, I feel like in the mainstream, we are getting fewer and fewer bands from England making a splash over here. I loved Coldplay’s first four albums, but we need less bands like Coldplay and the 1975 and more bands like Maxïmo Park, who deliver sharp, intelligently written angular rock songs that blend in some punk and new wave influences.

I mean, right from the beginning, this is undeniable. “Your Own Worst Enemy,” “Favourite Songs” and the Vanessa Briscoe Hay-assisted “Dormant ‘Til Explosion,” set the record off right. If you don’t know this band, imagine taking influence from the likes of Echo & the Bunnymen and the Smiths with a dash of late nineties Blur, with the high-tension tightness of peers, Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party.

Paul Smith has a cool, almost professorial energy. Not in a stodgy way. You can just tell from his lyrics and delivery that he takes this very seriously and has given every move a great deal of thought. This can be felt on ballads like “Armchair View” and on the sly and witty, off-kilter surf and jangle-pop-infused, “Quiz Show Clue.” You don’t write songs like “The Path I Chose” and “No Such Thing as a Society,” without a literary mind.

“Stream of Life” is a remarkably sharp set, often recalling the band’s 2005 debut, “A Certain Trigger.” If you don’t know Maxïmo Park, look them up. They may become your next favorite band.

Listen to “Stream of Life” on Spotify

Listen to “Stream of Life” on Apple Music

Listen to “Stream of Life” on Amazon Music

**FOUR TET – “Three+”** Album cover artistic detail.

14. FOUR TET – “Three+” “Three+” is obviously the deluxe version of Four Tet’s album, “Three.” Kieran Hebden has long been a master of chilled and experimental beats, thriving in ambient and IDM spaces. It is what has made him a great remixer. It has been what makes him a great artist.

Having made records since the late nineties, his grooves have just gotten deeper over time. Indeed, what is here is as abstract as it is dreamy and warm. You can hear this in the digital rainfall on “Gliding Through Everything,” and the warm pads of “Loved.” This is as much of a score-piece as it is a traditional album. “Storm Crystals” moves along with perhaps a natural analog hum, begging to either soundtrack your next cool dinner party or an art-house erotica film, while “Daydream Repeat” easily morphs from a hard-charging bit of techno to something much warmer and ethereal. When it volleys back into a scraping fuzz sound, the seesaw effect is quite effective. “Skater” has a goth-y new-wave vibe, as if it is a trip-hop fusion with the Cure, although the female backing vocals, deep in the mix bring something else fresh to the table.

There is a real singularity to this album as a conceptual peace. As it goes from the similarly drifting sounds of “31 Bloom,” into the minimalist sultry groove of “So Blue,” the connection of all these pieces is apparent. Even when the pace picks up on “Three Drums,” the traditional album’s closer, it fits the narrative, with its warm, downright Moby-esque synths. As the warm sonic wash increases, it provides a sense of conflict, like a suffocating hug.

Yet again, I must complain about the record industry’s “deluxe edition” culture. Yes, the traditional album is eight tracks in 44 minutes. I get that, especially in the age where vinyl is coming back again. (That’s somewhat of a perfect length to not have to be a double record.) The four tracks added to the end, continue the flow and sound like they belong. This is a necessary third side to the record. The distortion that begins “I’ll Miss the System Here,” echoes that heard earlier on “Daydream Repeat.” If you are discovering this record, the twelve-track version is the one you need, especially if you put on your headphones and let it bathe you in its glory.

Listen to “Three+” on Spotify

Listen to “Three+” on Apple Music

Listen to “Three+” on Amazon Music

**VINCE STAPLES – “Dark Times”** Album cover artistic detail.

13. VINCE STAPLES – “Dark Times” Vince Staples continues to expand his scope with his sixth album, “Dark Times,” an introspective record, full of honest rhymes, thick grooves and sadness. When he repeats, “Don’t forget to Smile,” on “Government Cheese,” you believe him, as if he’s trying to convince himself to be happy. When he sings the hook on “Black&Blue,” it is thick with emotion.

Ever since his first (classic) full-length,”Summertime ’06,” Staples has been a bit of an outlier. Sure, there have always been stories of his gangster past, but at the same time, he has never been afraid to be vulnerable and spell out the emotional tolls that have been taken on him and the streets around him. While here he is often unapologetic with his frankness, he’s often backed by smooth guitar-led beats, On “Shame on the Devil,” it sounds like he’s giving himself a pep talk when he declares, “I need direction.” There’s an inherent religiosity here, hoping for a guiding force.

Even when the pace picks up on “´Etoufée,” Staples keeps it gritty and unfiltered while dropping something for the clubs, connecting the experiences of his ancestors with the modern hustle.

On “’Radio’,” Staples gets nostalgic for the airwaves and the music that made him the man he is now. He misses the old morning show he heard every morning while waxing poetic on the life he has now, bringing in elements of religion to point out the redemptive qualities of great soul music.

In a sense, this album feels like it is about healing through music. Music as an escape is vital. When you hear a song with a title like “Nothing Matters” and it still has energy and bounce, the feeling is real. Throughout “Dark Times,” Staples is trying to put his thoughts in order and compartmentalize his life in a way that doesn’t drive him mad. He spends most of this album in a conversational mutter, thus making it all seem very personal, as if he is leaving voice memo recordings for himself to ponder later. The results are starkly unflinching and thought-provoking, illustrating an artist who is trying to improve his life through his craft.

Listen to the upbeat optimism in “Little Homies.” In the darkest times, there is always hope.

Listen to “Dark Times” on Spotify

Listen to “Dark Times” on Apple Music

Listen to “Dark Times” on Amazon Music

**SOCCER MOMMY – “Evergreen”** Album cover artistic detail.

12. SOCCER MOMMY – “Evergreen” I would say that Sophie Allison’s fourth studio album under her Soccer Mommy moniker, “Evergreen” is an ideal record for introspective teenage sulking in one’s bedroom. Then I remember that the Cure also released an album this year, so for 2024, this album may take second on that front.

Yes, this record wallows in a folk-y acoustic, yet dreamy space, particularly on its first two tracks, “Lost” and “M,” (interestingly titles that are coincidentally shared by Cure songs) before the album bursts open with the louder and more authoritative “Driver.” There is kind of an eerie dream-pop center to “Some Sunny Day,” and maybe that sense of unease comes from the track’s winding bits of minor-key sadness.

Like Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, Soccer Mommy makes records that are unapologetically personal, with a folk-y core. Listening to “Changes,” you can’t help but hear a bit of Elliott Smith influence, but there is also a bit of R.E.M. and Sheryl Crow-influence in the mix. Like her previous studio albums, this record has a bedroom-pop sense of intimacy, while at the same time, the production is purely radio-ready. As “Abigail” bursts in with a synth orchestra, it hits like a lost chart smash, while keeping the tenderness of the less bombastic tracks. Just under the surface, the bits of subtle shoegaze guitar textures add something to the mix, as well.

This isn’t necessarily the catchiest Soccer Mommy album, but instead it rewards the listener on repeated, intense listens. This isn’t a record about hooks. It is a record about feelings and once you lock into the groove of “Thinking of You,” it will grab you. (Am I crazy, or does the track subtly slow down a little for a few moments in the middle? Refreshing in an era when too many records are recorded to the grid.)

Allison knows how to write with authentic emotion. “Dreaming of Falling,” “Salt in the Wound” and the title-track are all key highlights, making “Evergreen” her fourth stellar album in a row.

Listen to “Evergreen” on Spotify

Listen to “Evergreen” on Apple Music

Listen to “Evergreen” on Amazon Music

**RAPSODY – “Please Don’t Cry”** Album cover artistic detail.

11. RAPSODY – “Please Don’t Cry” Rapsody’s fourth full-length album finds her looking inward. From the beginning, she is talking to a hair-stylist/therapist (played by Phylicia Rashad) setting up the entire album as an exploration of self. This expansive 22-track set leaves a lot for the listener to ponder. Right from the beginning, Rapsody makes two references to her idol, Lauryn Hill and how she essentially left the industry after just one landmark record. She begins the Hit-Boy-assisted, “Asteroids,” by saying, “First name: Marlanna. / Last name: Evans. /Underappreciated, but still I’m the most respected. / My insecurity is the fear of being rejected.” Yes. We get deep here. Rapsody is a real M.C., ranking among the best working today, not to be afraid to explore her feelings on record.

On the smooth “Stand Tall,” she talks about her sexuality and how people misread it because of the way she dresses. She talks about anxiety and being there for her friends. She’s just trying to keep it together in the face of all the modern drama.

“3:AM” has Rapsody (joined by Erykah Badu) spelling out a vulnerable tale of an incredibly charged relationship the burned too brightly and eventually fell apart. It’s a glowing, authentic love letter to an ex.

“Loose Rocks,” is an in depth exploration of someone who she loves, disappearing into the recesses of dementia. (Alex Isley guests to sing the hook.) It is moving. One can’t help but look at the current wave of honest, new hip-hop records that are taking issues of mental health seriously and contrast them with the days of old-school bravado. When you make a record like this, you aren’t looking for a hit, necessarily. You are looking to get something relatable off of your chest. Rapsody is eloquent as she spills out all of her pain.

A range of different emotions are explored here, going from “Diary of a Mad Bitch,” (which goes after a cheating ex, the industry and the killers of her peers) to the religiosity found on both “Never Enough,” “God’s Light” and “Faith.” Then there is the sexually frank, “Raw,” with Lil Wayne and Niko Brim. This continues with the ode to um… self-love, “Lonely Woman.” (This album really is about mind, body and soul. All areas are covered.)

There are so many tracks here. I won’t spoil the whole thing. We need more mainstream love for records like this. Why aren’t more of the same people who championed Kendrick Lamar’s “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers” giving this record a dose of mainstream love? Rapsody deserves your attention and “Please Don’t Cry,” while heavy in subject matter, does so with relatable ease. This is a record a lot of people need to hear.

Listen to “Please Don’t Cry” on Spotify

Listen to “Please Don’t Cry” on Apple Music

Listen to “Please Don’t Cry” on Amazon Music

**BETH GIBBONS – “Lives Outgrown”** Album cover artistic detail.

10. BETH GIBBONS – “Lives Outgrown” I suppose “Lives Unknown” is Beth Gibbons’ solo debut, after making three albums with Portishead and releasing one collaborative album with Rustin Man, the alias od Talk Talk’s Paul Webb. There’s also a three-track score piece that she did with Henryk Gorecki and the Polish National radio Symphony Orchestra. I suppose “Lives Outgrown” is the first time we have really heard Gibbons on her own and the mystique she has crafted over the last three decades remains intact.

There is an ethereal, rustic eeriness to these haunted folk songs. “Tell Me Who You Are Today” sounds like a song a hungry wolf sings to its prey to win its trust before devouring it. The winding guitar-line of “Floating on a Moment,” begs for a trip-hop remix, akin to Poe’s classic track, “Trigger Happy Jack.” Again, Gibbons seems to inhabit these songs like a character actress flexing a muscle. Her embrace of her material is not unlike Thom Yorke of Radiohead at his most cryptic and beguiling.

“Lost Changes,” perhaps nods to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.” “Reaching Out” finds Gibbons galloping along to a rabid vampire blues. “For Sale” creeps along with an operatic and orchestral sense of dread. Gibbons is one of the most engaging voices working today. She has such a distinct emotional imprint. It’s actually a shame that she hasn’t released more over the years. After all, we got the most recent Portishead album more than fifteen years ago. Even working at a mere whisper, she can convey multitudes of expression.

How would I describe this album? If it didn’t sound so uniquely British, I would say that it sounds like a new brand of Gothic Americana, with some Indian and Middle Eastern influences thrown in for an appealing mix. “Beyond the Sun” mixes a tabla-esque rhythm with a bonkers jazz solo.

Like many people, I want a fourth Portishead record. That may never happen. This album, with its uniquely stirring energy serves as a reminder of Gibbons’ gifts as a singer. It disturbs and comforts in equal measure. Supposedly this album came together over a lengthy period where she was contemplating her own aging. This sense of progression, along with an embrace of new realities and perhaps a hint of dread are all felt in Gibbons’ songs. “Lives Outgrown” is a wallop of a record, offering up some dusty campfire songs that will make you look over your shoulder. Even the lullaby-like closer, “Whispering Love,” has an uneasy undercurrent.

Listen to “Lives Outgrown” on Spotify

Listen to “Lives Outgrown” on Apple Music

Listen to “Lives Outgrown” on Amazon Music

**BEYONCE´ – “Cowboy Carter”** Album cover artistic detail. (Physical CD)

9. BEYONCE´ – “Cowboy Carter” For those racist idiots complaining about Beyonce´making a “country” record, slow your roll. Country, like 99% of all modern popular music genres, has African-American roots. Given the fact that Beyonce is from Texas, she should be allowed to make a country record. Is this a country record, though? Sort of. It’s actually more of a pop record with acoustic guitars, giving it country and folk inflections. It actually ends up sounding way more organic than most modern country radio, as if it is fusing pop R&B with Americana and what is now considered “alt-country.” Ironically, that somehow often makes it sound MORE country than what passes for country on moden “country radio.” Should “Texas Hold ‘Em,” be a country hit? Absolutely! However, the obvious influence on opener, “American Requiem” is Buffalo Springfield’s “For What it’s Worth,” which means that this record explores a nearly endless well of influences not previously tapped by Queen B.

This is a fascinating record. Beyonce´ covers the Beatles’ “Blackbird,” (over the original backing track, no less) which is fitting, since Paul McCartney wrote this song as an act of solidarity with the American Civil Rights Movement of the sixties. Beyonce´ also re-writes and updates Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” with a nod from Dolly, herself. Willie Nelson makes a couple appearances on interludes. “16 Carriages,” bangs and clatters with a natural, earthy, celebratory grit. On “Protector,” she sings a tender lullaby. “Bodyguard,” possesses warm, inviting summery swagger. It makes perfect sense that like a few other tracks on here, that it is co-written and produced by Rafael Saadiq.

Much to my disappointment, “Daughter,” is NOT a cover of the Pearl Jam song. (How awesome would that be??? That would actually really work!) Actually, though, what is this? A bit of “spaghetti western” opera? (No kidding!) Beyonce´ NAILS this!

Speaking of spaghetti… “Spaghetti” has Beyonce´ rapping, bookended by Linda Martell and Shaboozey. Martell was the first successful black female country star in the sixties, while Shaboozey scored a MASSIVE single this year with “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” a country hit that interpolates J-Kwon’s 2004 club hit into a guitar-driven sing-along. Essentially, Beyonce´ is joined by two real trailblazers. One from the past. One who could be the future. (This record is REALLY important! It really is a good thing to give a middle finger to the genre gatekeepers, who only do so out of reasons of bigotry. These dinosaurs need to be made as uncomfortable as possible!)

Speaking of people who defy genres, Beyonce´ is joined by Miley Cyrus on “II Most Wanted” and Post Malone on “Levii’s Jeans,” both of whom are up to the task.

When listening to “Ya-Ya,” pay attention to how Beyonce´ fuses together Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots are Made for Walkin’” and the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations,” into something new and soulfully commanding. This is an exercise that the music industry needs. Too much of the algorithmic system of the music streaming services is dictated to recognize music within the narrow confines of genres. It is great to kick that kind of myopic approach to the curb and throw it on its ear. Beyonce´ is the pop star just powerful enough to do this in the right way.

Honestly, once again, I have to give it up for long records. “Cowboy Carter,” in its full digital form, is a 78-minute, 27-track piece that is continuously engaging. This is a weighty experience. This is the kind of experience we used to get frequently before the record labels figured out they could maybe make twice the money by turning each eighty-minute record into two forty-minute records. In many ways, too, this is among Beyonce´’s best records, partly because of how stripped down some of its arrangements are, allowing her nearly unadorned voice to shine in all its glory. “Cowboy Carter” is a record I never knew I needed. This is as much of heartfelt history lesson as it is a low-key party.

Listen to “Cowboy Carter” on Spotify

Listen to “Cowboy Carter” on Apple Music

Listen to “Cowboy Carter” on Amazon Music

**CHARLY BLISS – “Forever”** Album cover artistic detail.

8. CHARLY BLISS – “Forever” On their 2019 album, “Young Enough,” after being radicalized by the influence of Lorde’s “Melodrama,” New York band, Charly Bliss pretty much ditched the power-pop grunge sound of their debut album to make a more pop-centered record. A long five years later, the band returns, honing the formula even more. The thing is, they are still very much a guitar band, only they seem to be making their guitars sound like synths, which is an interesting move.

This band is really ready for their pop moment. “Calling You Out,” thunders in immediately. “Nineteen” shows they can once again make a ballad as strong as their previous album’s title-track. “I Don’t Know Anything,” may be the best song of the album and one of the few songs where the guitars are allowed to really explode into a fuzzy oblivion. “I’m Not Dead,” mixes some possible Taylor Swift-influence, with some emo rock malaise, all with carpe diem message. “Back There Now,” is the best pop song 2024 has to offer this side of Charli XCX’s “Brat,” with its hindsight clarity. “In Your Bed” sounds like it could be a lost left-over track from Jimmy Eat World’s “Integrity Blues.”

Eva Hendicks has always been reliable to deliver personal, heartstring-tugging lyrics, but this record takes her to a whole new level. From beginning to end, this is an emotionally driving record without any low points. Part of me wishes that instead of a twelve-track record, they had made it a fourteen-track record, adding two singles they released between albums, “You Don’t Even Know Me Anymore” and “I Need a New Boyfriend” should be here. Both of those would have really worked on this album.

Somehow, Charly Bliss went pop without sacrificing any of the soul that made them stand out on their debut album, “Guppy.” Somehow, the pop direction increases the emotional importance of the songs. Is this a band that should be played next to Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde and Chappell Roan? Absolutely. Charly Bliss has MASSIVE crossover potential and the fact that “Forever” isn’t higher in the current pop-culture zeitgeist is probably only due to the fact that they are signed to an indie. Do yourself a favor. If you haven’t heard this band, listen to all their music. Charly Bliss is one of the smartest and most important bands to emerge in the last decade. Three albums and two EPs in, with zero weak spots.

Listen to “Forever” on Spotify

Listen to “Forever” on Apple Music

Listen to “Forever” on Amazon Music

**GREEN DAY – “Saviors”** Album cover artistic detail.

7. GREEN DAY – “Saviors” Few albums are as bad as Green Day’s 2020 album, “Father of All…” I’m not sure what they were thinking with the brief, 26-minute throwaway set. It would have been easy to write off the band after such a disastrous misstep, but thirty years after “Dookie,” and twenty years after “American Idiot,” Green Day have thankfully delivered another important record in their discography with “Saviors.”

Everything Green Day does well is on display here. The political punk of “The American Dream is Killing Me” and the fast, fun, dumb rock of “Look Ma, No Brains!” set the album off right, into the gender-fluid lovefest of “Bobby Sox.” “Dilemma” is about falling off the wagon, recalling their classic album, “Nimrod,” and its song, “Redundant.” “Goodnight, Adeline,” is a stadium-ready power-pop ballad. “Coma City,” with its call and response demands a large-scale live performance. “Suzie Chapstick,” like most great Green Day songs, sounds immediately familiar. Both “Strange Days are Here to Stay” and “Living in the ‘20s,” capture the political weirdness of our time. “Father to a Son” is a strangely touching ballad and not cheesy in its execution. The title-track has an Oasis-like sense of importance, but maybe the best moment on the record is the surprisingly adept “Fancy Sauce,” which takes the institutional imagery from “Basket Case” and turns it into something more deeply felt. As Billie Joe Armstrong sings, “Watching the evening news / ‘Cuz it’s my favorite cartoon,” it effectively captures the bizarre world of 2024, especially post-election. Listening in December, as opposed to last January, when the album was released, this takes on new meaning. Obviously, the American people seem out of touch with their own needs, the needs of others and too many people lack an overall sense of empathy.

This album is less on-the-nose than “American Idiot.” While that album effectively pinned down the George W. Bush years, this album is more vague in its targeting. Still, there is a brand of MAGA-era exhaustion felt throughout the set that makes it an appropriate barometer of the time. As we get more siloed into our corners and certain people in our lives get brainwashed with ulta-conservative misinformation, the so-called “American Dream” gets further and further away for many, in the face of incoming fascism, fueled by xenophobia, racism and misogyny. While the misinformed lead us to a path of ultimately possible destruction, in the quest to reclaim an era of “greatness” that never truly existed for everyone, “Saviors” serves as a perfect soundtrack while the oligarchs and grifters attempt to seize the country. Hopefully, we will survive.

If only this was a fantasy. Like the Clash before them, Green Day have slyly once again created something catchy with an undeniable political undercurrent.

Listen to “Saviors” on Spotify

Listen to “Saviors” on Apple Music

Listen to “Saviors” on Amazon Music

**KIM DEAL – “Nobody Loves You More”** Album cover artistic detail.

6. KIM DEAL – “Nobody Loves You More” After being famous for nearly forty years, with her bands Pixies, the Breeders and the Amps, Kim Deal now releases her solo debut, in a year where the Breeders served as an opening act for Olivia Rodrigo’s “Guts” tour. To say it has been a great year for Deal and that she is in a good place artistically is an understatement. The songs on “Nobody Loves You More” show, even in moments of sad reflection, that Deal is in top form. It isn’t all sunshine, however. There is a bittersweetness to this record after the sudden death this year of her frequent collaborator, Steve Albini. (This is one of the last records with Albini’s touch.) Still, it is fitting that even on her solo debut, there are appearances from members from every revolving Breeders line-up present. Kim Deal is an indie rock giant and here she really delivers.

Right from the title-track, with its lovelorn lullaby nature, it is clear that this is something timeless. As a horn section suddenly explodes in the track’s midpoint, it cements the indelible nature of the track. First single, “Coast,” is a similarly bright bit of easy-going pop, with an evergreen center.

“Crystal Breath” has a post-punk, semi-industrial core. “Are You Mine?” and “Wish I Was” allow Deal to re-record rough singles she originally released in 2013, giving them the care they deserve.

Sure, there are moments that defy this description, but for the most part, this album has a semi-Hawaiian sounding flare, mixed with some influence from Cass Elliot’s take on “Dream a Little Dream of Me.” Upbeat moments like “Disobedience” and “A Good Time Pushed,” are here, too but most of this album sounds like Deal is fleshing out the sound heard on the Breeders’ classic, “Off You.” Her unique rasp was meant for these kinds of tender torch songs and yet, this is among her most accessible work, this side of “Last Splash.”

Even when she stumbles into more experimental territory on “Big Ben Beat” and “Bats in the Afternoon Sky,” you are carried along for the ride. Such cutting-edge moments are expected for those who have followed Deal’s work. Like Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, who took a huge modern step forward on her album, “The Collective,” it is refreshing to see these indie and alt-rock veterans continuing to branch out.

One hopes that some of the kids who saw the Breeders open up for Olivia Rodrigo discover this album, as well, although sadly, the streaming numbers don’t seem to indicate that that is the case. “Nobody Loves You More” sounds like an equal cross between the classic “indie rock” of the eighties and nineties with classic Brill Building-esque orchestration, combined perfectly with a 2024 modern sheen. In a way, this is a classic singer-songwriter record, constructed with Kim Deal’s unique sensibilities. Listen to “Come Running,” if you want a perfect example of how this record rumbles and swoons with equal measure.

Listen to “Nobody Loves You More on Spotify

Listen to “Nobody Loves You More” on Apple Music

Listen to “Nobody Loves You More” on Amazon Music

**VAMPIRE WEEKEND – “Only God Was Above Us”** Album cover artistic detail.

5. VAMPIRE WEEKEND – “Only God Was Above Us” Vampire Weekend’s fifth album is intensely focused. A love letter to seventies and eighties New York with sharp edges and intense feelings. It also may be the band’s best work. Feedback-drenched and often unkempt in its approach, it muddies up the band’s normally clean signature sound, adding a much-needed punch of adrenaline. If the Strokes were in a sonic cage match with Paul Simon, it might sound like “Ice Cream Piano” or “Capricorn,” the latter of which is packed with unfathomable levels of instant nostalgia as it denotes that the people born in December of any year are born in a year that ends up not being their own.

Ezra Koenig has grown into himself as a lyricist. Listening to “Prep-School Gangsters” or “Gen-X Cops,” he has now become an adept narrator. “Mary Boone,” which gets its title from the name of a famous gallery owner, makes great use of a sampled Soul II Soul beat loop, while “The Surfer,” is built around a dubby bass-line and a rinky-dink piano. There is so much going on here. The junk shop quality of how these sounds just collide together on tape is what makes this record as compelling as it is and yet there is the same sense of fortitude present that made the band stand out when they initially emerged. The orchestral approach that made early standout, “Ottoman,” shine, is still present on “Classical,” “Capricorn” and “Hope,” even if here it is now covered in layers of fuzz. This album sounds like its predecessors’ grimy cousin.

“Only God Was Above Us” bristles with a potent and singular feeling. You sense every manipulated tape loop. You can get lost in every hint of amplifier hum. You can feel the keys of every off-kilter jazz piano solo. There’s something extremely tactile here, as if Vampire Weekend wanted to make their own answer to the kind of record they would have put out in 2001 had they been around for what is now known retroactively as the height of New York’s “indie sleaze” moment. The results then are both retro and futuristic in their scope and the truth is, with “Only God Was Above Us,” Vampire Weekend have crafted a record we really needed badly in 2024.

Listen to “Only God Was Above Us” on Spotify

Listen to “Only God Was Above Us” on Apple Music

Listen to “Only God Was Above Us” on Amazon Music

**KENDRICK LAMAR – “GNX”** Album cover artistic detail.

4. KENDRICK LAMAR – “GNX” Even before “GNX” was released, Kendrick Lamar had already won 2024 with the precision and ease that he easily slayed Drake with “Not Like Us,” a career-cementing diss track that made its multi-platinum target look like an increasingly problematic, opportunistic poseur.

Yes, with “GNX,” Kendrick comes in, charged up and ready to go with his pen as sharp as ever and his tone set for attack mode. There is no question that he is to many (myself included) the carrier of the torch of a certain kind of vintage, skill-based hip-hop lyricism. On the opener, “Wacced Out Murals,” when he says, “I never lost who I am for a rap image,” he says so with a seething tension in his voice. Kendrick is authentic. Don’t mistake his pointed drive for anger. He just firmly believes in himself. A poet, who isn’t afraid to be unpopular if he knows what he is saying is true.

“Squabble Up” samples Debbie Deb’s “When I Hear Music,” and delivers one hell of a lyrical workout. Kendrick’s personal and theatrical delivery makes what Drake passes off as a flow sound amateurish in comparison. Then again, Kendrick fans probably tend to be deeper into hip-hop ethos and history, while I get the feeling that like Eminem, Drake gets a lot of fans on the pop side who don’t know a lot about hip-hop and don’t necessarily “like” hip-hop, but they “like” him. (Interestingly, Eminem can also rap circles around Drake, so skill-level isn’t a pre-requisite, but at a certain level of cross-over, the pop side takes over and the hardcore “stans,” as they are, tend to lose the focus of the true purpose behind the music. That happens with all genres when they cross over. The “pop” audience just tends to be more passive and less engaged on a deeper level.)

Without a doubt, the starting seed to this record’s energy was “Not Like Us.” Puzzling that the track isn’t here. It should be. A jumpstarting catalyst of epic proportions. Even when the pace slows on the R&B SZA duet and Luther Vandross-sampling, “Luther,” there is still authority in Kendrick’s (singing) voice. On “Man at the Garden,” when Kendrick declares, “I deserve it all,” at a near conversational whisper, it has the impact of a shout. “Not Like Us” woke up something deep in him that truly lingers. The ominous battle rap energy continues on “Hey Now,” into “Reincarnated.”

At 44 minutes, by Kendrick standards, “GNX” seems more focused and concentrated than his other albums that mostly clock in at an hour or more, but one gets the feeling that this record came together in a rush of inspiration either during or just after the beef with Drake. Had this been a longer record, maybe it would wear out its welcome. Interesting that we get the origin story, “Heart Pt. 6,” here, continuing his series that a lot of the time isn’t part of his standard records. This time is obviously different.

While “To Pimp a Butterfly” remains as his career magnum opus, “GNX” still shows Kendrick Lamar at a point of potent reawakening. Would this album be better if “Not Like Us” served as the closing track? Yes, but at the same time, part of me understands why it isn’t here, especially with Drake’s lawsuits against the parent company both artists’ labels share surrounding the promotion of the song. (Plus, again, as I said, that track’s energy is all over this. Listen to the rabid bounce of “TV Off!” Sound familiar? It sounds like part two.)

If you want glowing proof that lyrically-focused hip-hop is far from dead, look no further than Kendrick Lamar.

Listen to “GNX” on Spotify

Listen to “GNX” on Apple Music

Listen to “GNX” on Amazon Music

**THE CURE – “Songs of a Lost World”** Album cover artistic detail.

3. THE CURE – “Songs of a Lost World” Before “Songs of a Lost World,” the last Cure album was “Dream 4:13,” way back in 2008. Robert Smith had been promising a follow-up ever since that album’s release, often saying that he had not one album on the way, but two. Years went by. No album. He’d be interviewed again and he’d say that an album was almost done. Occasionally, he’d repeat that there was not one album on the way, but possibly two. More years would go by… No album… The Cure would do live tours, release live albums, etc. At every turn there would be the promise of new material. It turns out, this record was indeed worth the wait.

Like “Faith” from 1981 and “Pornography,” from 1982, “Songs of a Lost World” is an eight-song collection, delivering a succinct mood. It plays more like a heavier, 2024 answer to the band’s 1989 classic, “Disintegration.” Long intros help this album really set the mood. Each track allows you to get lost in the lush sounds long before the lyrics start. Listening to “Alone,” “And Nothing is Forever,” or “A Fragile Thing,” and it is evident that we are in the Cure’s classic wheelhouse. “4:13 Dream” deserved more credit than it got, but in all honesty, this is the best Cure album since “Bloodflowers,” in 2000, a record that also frequently got downplayed in the press… Dare I say that this album really does share a lot of DNA with “Disintegration,” therefore being perhaps that album’s first fitting follow-up. Maybe there is a reason that Robert Smith sat on this record for so long. Maybe the version we would have gotten in 2011 would not have been as well-developed. Maybe it needed to be reworked to perfection.

Yes, 45 years after their debut, the Cure have handed in a classic for a new generation, in many ways delivering a record that offers an updated blueprint for their sound, evoking memories of their important records of the eighties and nineties, but delivering the perfect answer for 2024. “I Can Never Say Goodbye” easily stands among the group’s best.

If you have ever loved the Cure, there is plenty to enjoy here. In true Cure fashion, once again in interviews, Robert Smith is saying that there will be possibly two more albums before teasing a retirement when he hits his seventieth birthday. He’s 65 right now… We will see what the coming years bring. No matter what, “Songs of a Lost World” lacks duds or filler. Even at over ten minutes, the closing track, “Endsong,” makes the most of its run-time. This album is everything you could want in a top-tier Cure release.

Listen to “Songs of a Lost World” on Spotify

Listen to “Songs of a Lost World” on Apple Music

Listen to “Songs of a Lost World” on Amazon Music

**HALSEY – “The Great Impersonator”** Album cover artistic detail.

2. HALSEY – “The Great Impersonator” An amazing, tour de force of a pop record, Halsey’s fifth record is a sprawling, near-seventy-minute collection where the singer shapeshifts as if to pay tribute to influences. This is honestly jaw-dropping in its scope. Halsey always sounds still like Halsey, but right from the folk-driven “Only Living Girl in LA,” to the mid-nineties-hued grunge-light pop of “Ego,” the mission is clear. This is Halsey’s show and this is an unadulterated, unwavering exhibition of range.

“Dog Years” is PJ Harvey-esque goth-y folk. “Letter to God (1974)” captures what sounds like a raw, room-mic-ed rehearsal, complete with a piano that sounds like it is being played in a school auditorium, while its companion-piece, “Letter to God (1983)” is a fleshed out ballad that sounds like it takes its influence from Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.” The crowd noise helps cement the importance of the piece. “Panic Attack” sounds like “Rumours”-era Fleetwood Mac, perhaps with some influence of America’s “You Can Do Magic,” thrown in for good measure. (Wow… I mentioned the band America three times on this list… Insane!)

Throughout the record, particularly on the intimate, “The End,” Halsey discusses their health issues and fear of death. Indeed, this is linked to their recent diagnosis of both Lupus and a rare T-Cell disorder. No doubt this fuels the drive of this album. “I Believe in Magic” discusses parenthood. There’s a bit of uncomfortable uncertainty in the subtext about the future as Halsey sings, “Please tell my boy I love him so. / Please tell the world I have to grow before I go. “I may be reading into this, but that really reads like a future that may not be promised.

The medical scares continue on the moving, mid-tempo number, “I Never Loved You,” while “Hometown” flirts with country. “Lucky” nods to and interpolates elements of the Britney Spears hit, while “Lonely is the Muse,” may be the best slice of alternative-pop here, hitting like a slow-burning sonic eruption. “Arsonist,” on the other hand is a cleverly warping, whisper-laden bit of trip-hop.

“The Great Impersonator” is overflowing with creative juices. It is the epitome of what makes a great, constantly shifting pop record. It also playfully takes chances and violates rules of what should and shouldn’t be on a great pop record, when it needs to, in order to deliver the best experience. Its orchestral title-track, plays like an off-kilter bit of Broadway magic. Again, the worry sets in when Halsey asks “Does a story die with its narrator?” (Ooof…)

There is what appears to be a digital-only bonus track, with the upbeat and propulsive, “Alice of the Upper Class.” This is a would-be radio single… not suited to be just tacked onto the end. Again, this should have ended the traditional album… and on streaming services, it does…

Calling this lengthy, constantly engaging masterpiece, “The Great Impersonator,” almost does Halsey a disservice. This is not only Halsey’s fifth stunning album in a row, but this also implies a level of imitation that just isn’t there. Influence is everywhere. The clear, honest and brave voice heard throughout this set is Halsey’s alone. As a record, this should be seen as a career-crowning achievement.

Listen to “The Great Impersonator” on Spotify

Listen to “The Great Impersonator” on Apple Music

Listen to “The Great Impersonator” on Amazon Music

**CHARLI XCX – “Brat”** Album cover artistic detail.

1. CHARLI XCX – “Brat” / “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” The moment of truth has arrived and yes, I could tell you that the best album of 2024 is by some indie rock band you have never heard or some underground rapper who is about to be huge, but let’s be honest. No one ruled 2024 more than Charli XCX and “Brat,” with its brash, in-your-face, minimalist, yet also futurist electro-pop production. It was the standout album of the year. It isn’t even a debate. If you doubt me, just find the biggest speakers available to you and put on “360,” “Club Classics” or “B2b” at full blast.

The true impact of this record can’t quite be felt on streaming services. I feel like hearing this album directly through my old school stereo made the listening experience a million times better. Hearing “Rewind,” “Apple” and “Girl, so Confusing” at optimum audio levels with a near room-shaking clarity brought this album to life. Not only that, but (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) the way Charli and her producers use Autotune and vocoder effects, PERFECTLY suits the album and its inherently robotic sound, without sacrificing the undeniable humanity underneath. This is a club record for the ages. Someday it will either be a timeless classic or a booming time-capsule. (My guess is that it will be the former, since, no doubt, it will influence many records to come, both with its dynamic sound and the genius marketing around its stark cover art.)

Here, also, is probably the one case where I won’t complain about a deluxe edition… A few months after the release, Charli dropped a reasonably-priced deluxe edition that not only featured an expanded version of the original album but also a bonus disc with high-profile guests on every song! This expanded version is known as “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat.” (The run-on quality of that extended title just adds to the humor.) So, it is cool then to have these songs boosted by guests. The back and forth with Lorde on the new version of “Girl, so Confusing.” The playful flirting with Billie Eilish on the new version of “Guess.” How did Julian Casablancas from the Strokes end up on “Mean Girls???” (I don’t know, but it works.) The same goes for Bon Iver on “I Think about it all the Time.” Tinashe sounds at home on a revamped “B2b.” It also goes without saying that Kesha was meant to be on “Spring Breakers.”

**CHARLI XCX –“Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat”** Album cover artistic detail.

As someone who takes music VERY seriously… maybe TOO seriously… there is something thrilling about how free the music on “Brat” sounds. It just wants to be a party record. It has its introspective moments, so it isn’t quite as frivolous as Charli XCX might want you to believe it is, but that hint of a duality just further cements the record’s legacy. Let’s face the fact that for many, 2024 was a terrible and difficult year. “Brat,” even in its contemplative moments, is brimming with stress-relieving joy as it tears across the dancefloor and demands attention. Few artists bring the party in quite the way Charli XCX did on “Brat!”

May “Brat Summer” be eternal!

Listen to “Brat” on Spotify

Listen to “Brat” on Apple Music

Listen to “Brat” on Amazon Music

Listen to “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” on Spotify

Listen to “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” on Apple Music

Listen to “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” on Amazon Music

As 2025 promises to be darker and sadder, judging from the increasingly fascistic political and global landscape, let’s hope it will at least lead to some important, challenging records. Here’s hoping for many future masterpieces in the new year. In times of hardship, there is still the need for powerful thought-provoking records that will comfort and nourish with equal measure.

No one knows for sure what the future will bring. We can only try as hard as we can and hope for the best. Happy New Year!

ALLAN RAIBLE’S PICKS: The 50 Best Albums of 2024

Green Day’s “Saviors” ****1/2