The Top Five Favorite Albums of 2024

All of our regular album reviewers chime in with their most-spun favorites

lass="p1">Once again, we've sourced "best albums of the year" opinions from five of our regular album review contributors — and the diversity of their choices represents the diversity of their individual tastes, offering a wide variety of genres. Everything from smash pop hits to solemn singer-songwriters, indie hip-hop to sludgy heavy metal, and punk rock to grunge nostalgia are represented in the following lists. Here in the online version of this article,  we've included a custom made playlist featuring a favorite track from each album. Happy listening!

 

Nathaniel Clark

1. Charli XCX // Brat

2024 has been Charli XCX's chartreuse-colored oyster. We have just been living in it.

2. Adrianne Lenker // Bright Future

No matter if you stop at the first song or the last, this album's beautiful acoustics and cracked vocals will leave an impression on you.

3. Father John Misty // Mahashmashana

Part-mass exodus. Part-musical culmination. All Father John Misty.

4. Britney Howard // What Now?

Transcending her trademark folk sound toward psychedelics, the singer-songwriter continues to stun.

5. Chat Pile // Cool World

This sludge-coated wall of noise is the perfect place to scream about our current world.

EXTRAS:

Geordie Greep // The New Sound

Vampire Weekend // Only God Was Above Us

Magdalena Bay // Imaginal Disk

Tyler, the Creator // CHROMAKOPIA

The Last Dinner Party // Prelude to Ecstasy

 

Aaron Mook

1. Hovvdy // Hovvdy

A defining double album from the indie-pop duo that splits the difference between country-leaning acoustic guitars and electronic percussion, landing on something that feels instantly familiar and comforting.

2. Mannequin Pussy // I Got Heaven

Cult-favorite punk rockers expand their palette to incorporate the sounds of riffy alt-rock, blistering hardcore, and gorgeous dream-pop on their most interesting and accessible album to date.

3. Porches // Shirt

Synth-pop's pretty boy leans even further back towards his guitar-rock roots, folding medieval occult motifs into a record that blends beauty and darkness as well as it does distorted guitars and indie-pop songwriting.

4. Molly Lewis // On the Lips

A cinematic debut LP from professional whistler Molly Lewis, which uses horns and other serene, jazzy textures to conjure the surreal worlds of visual artists like David Lynch and the Coen brothers.

5. Billie Eilish // Hit Me Hard and Soft

The transformative pop pioneer sheds her Top 40 shackles in favor of her most mature album to date, managing to create something completely cohesive despite spanning her most varied styles, themes, and vocal performances yet.

EXTRAS:

Chat Pile // Cool World

Father John Misty // Mahashmashana

DIIV // Frog in Boiling Water

MJ Lenderman // Manning Fireworks

Spirit of the Beehive // You'll Have to Lose Something

 

Larry Wheaton

1. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds // Wild God

Nick Cave ages into Leonard Cohen territory with poignant lyrics and slower tempos in Wild God — wherein he preaches about finding peace in a world full of chaos. This is the first record to feature writing credits beyond Cave and Ellis, including the entire Bad Seeds group, since 2016's Skeleton Tree, giving it a familiar yet fresh feel.

2. The Cure // Songs of a Lost World

If your favorite Cure album is their masterpiece Disintegration, then Songs of Lost World is its companion. Returning with atmospheric tones, fuzz-covered psychedelic guitars, and drone rhythms, this album will take you back to 1989.

3. The Jesus Lizard // Rack

With grunge music making a comeback, these underdogs of the alternative era have returned with their first album in 24 years. The Jesus Lizard haven't slowed down with age, instead they pick it back up with the same blistering sound that made them a must-see live band in the '90s.

4. Redd Kross // Redd Kross

After playing together for over 40 years and fresh off the heels of their documentary, Redd Kross delivers a bubblegum pop-punk record that has so many tasty riffs and sweet hooks that you have to see your dentist after a listen. Blending the Osmonds with Black Flag, it's no wonder that they are the Cheap Trick of the punk scene.

5. The Messthetics, James Brandon Lewis // The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis

The collaboration of The Messthetics (featuring the rhythm section from Fugazi) and saxophonist Brandon Lewis sees jazz entering into punk territory. These artists first collaborated on the single "Fear Not" in 2022, followed by a tour (including a stop in Erie), then decided to come together for one of the most unique releases of 2024. This instrumental record is perfect for a quiet evening in or a few sixers in the garage with friends.

EXTRAS:

Guided By Voices// Strut Kings

Grateful Dead // Duke '78 (Live)

Judas Priest // Invincible Shield

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard // Flight b741

CNTS // Thoughts & Prayers

 

Melissa Sullivan Shimek

1. Dan Reeder // Smithereens

What happens when the angel food cake on one shoulder and the deviled eggs on the other both share the same philosophies and every idea seems like a decent proposal? Dan Reeder happens.

2. Sierra Ferrell // Trail of Flowers

Grandma always said you can't polish a turd, but you can bedazzle a busker. Once the prettiest girl on the street corner with a guitar case full of change, she is now one of the reigning queens of Appalachia.

3. Billy Strings // Highway Prayers

Your pizza delivery boyfriend pulls up in his black Camaro, blaring a Doc Watson/Eagles mixtape. He says, "Jump in! We're gonna do some mushrooms at the Crosby, Stills, & Nash laser light show."

4. Shellac // To All Trains

You never realized how spot on and hilarious the irritating smart-ass kid sitting behind you in physics class was until he just wasn't there one day. Years from now, you'll find the well-honed, encouraging quip he buried in your yearbook. Rest in peace, Steve Albini.

5. High Llamas // Hey Panda

In the dappled sunlight of Pet Sounds, an optimistic Obilio wanders with his trusty dog Trans-vocoder. They join forces with sage Caetano Veloso in search of a most mellow Sheila E.

EXTRAS:

Charley Crockett // Visions of Dallas

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats // South of Here

Kim Deal // Nobody Loves You More

Guided by Voices // Strut of Kings

Joan Armatrading // How Did This Happen and What Does It Now Mean

 

Nick Warren

1. St. Vincent // All Born Screaming

Seemingly an amalgamation of all of her past identities, this album eases between dark and tender art-rock, screaming industrial, neo-psychedelia, and new wave polyrhythms without ever losing the point

2. Jahari Massamba Unit // YHWH Is Love

Captivating and meditative, this album lands so high on the list thanks to its pure listenability, even if it's sometimes in the background. Let Madlib and drummer Karriem Riggins take you on a laidback, spiritual journey from start to finish.

3. Charli XCX // Brat

While it's probably my fourth-favorite album from the British dance diva, it's undoubtedly her most important. Not much else needs to be said about this cultural phenomenon and instant classic.

4. English Teacher // This Could Be Texas

This astonishing debut from the Leeds quartet is a wildly inventive blend of indie pop and post-rock. Quirky, angular, hypnotic, and extremely intelligent, it's a gift.

5. Cassandra Jenkins // My Light, My Destroyer

With the ability to elevate art-rock to fine art, Cassandra Jenkins can create a dreamlike atmosphere like none other. The airy poetry, lilting melodies, and sophisticated instrumentation are beautiful and perplexing.

EXTRAS:

The Last Dinner Party // Prelude to Ecstasy

Sprints // Letter to Self

Ducks, Ltd. // Harm's Way

Bolis Pupul // Letter to You

Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties // In Lieu of Flowers