My Favorite Albums from 2024

It’s that time again! Another year is nearly in the books, so that means it is time to take a look at my favorite albums from 2024. (Also see: 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023)

It might just be recency bias, but I feel like there was a LOT of good music this year. Almost every record in my top 20 spent a little time as favorite to be my #1 at some point this year.

Looking at my stats from Last.fm, this year I’ve listened to:

• 666 artists vs 645 artists in 2023
• 837 albums vs 825 in 2023
• 4,189 tracks vs 4,497 in 2023

That's a lot of music!

My main goal with this list is to find you something new to listen to and love. You (generally) won’t see the same recycled albums you see on every other list, as I do my best to not pay attention to what other music blogs think…

To help with this, I also instituted a basic/simple rating system to help sort the large number of albums I listened to and liked (to some degree) this year. If you are curious, the rating system pretty much came down to me giving a score  to each track on an album:

• 1, is a track I would probably never listen to again
• 2, is a track I would listen to again
• 3, is a track that would make a ‘best of’ song playlist

Then I just took the average of the track scores for the entire album and sorted high to low…thanks to the Collections app (macOS) for helping out with that task.

With that said, the scores generally came out in the order I had collected on Album Whale over the course of the year, so I feel validated – my first impressions were pretty accurate.

Let's dig into my favorites!

My favorite album of the year

This year’s favorite was Paul Bunyan’s Slingshot by Liquid Mike, a band from Marquette, MI fronted by mailman Mike Maple. A mailman who writes the most infectious power pop songs you've heard since Sugar and early Weezer.

Paul Bunyan's Sling Shot by Liquid Mike

Listen

Paul Bunyan[...] is Liquid Mike’s fifth studio album and it continues their tradition of 2 to 3 minute hook-filled songs, as it's 12 tracks last a grand total of some 25 minutes. This album absolutely deserves to be blasted at high volumes, during those summer days with your car windows down and sun shining on your face.

Do yourself a favor and head over to your favorite streaming service to give this gem a listen. Unfortunately the album is sold out, so getting your hands on a vinyl copy may be difficult and it definitely won't be a part of our year end record giveaway to members. Sorry!

Runner-Up

While Liquid Mike may be a summer record at heart, the runner-up is most definitely a colder weather record. My #2 is from a band I've been absolutely enamored with since discovering their 2021 release Entertainment, Death (which is also superb) – and that record is YOU’LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING by Spirit of the Beehive. 

Spirit of the Beehive, from Philadelphia, is a band that's hard to pin down but so damn cool. Parts indie rock, slowcore, dream pop, psych rock, and experimental rock. Sometimes all in one song. They are without a doubt some of the most interesting and exciting songwriters in rock music today.

My only ask is you dedicate the time to listen to the entire album, not just dip in and out for 20-30 seconds at a time while you skip from track to track. It will be worth it.

YOU'LL HAVE TO LOSE SOMETHING by Spirit of the Beehive

Listen

The rest of the Top 20

3. Romance by Fontaines D.C. (Listen)
   The Irish post-punk group incorporate more Irish/British/US alternative rock influences to create one of their best records yet. They are quickly becoming one of my favorite bands.
4. My Method Actor by Nilüfer Yanya (Listen)
   One of the best female songwriters in indie/alt rock, combining elements of indie rock with R&B/soul. Such a fresh, unique sound. Maybe if Sade were indie rock?
5. Guided Tour by High Vis (Listen)
   If Ned's Atomic Dustbin was a hardcore band, they would be High Vis. All three of their full length albums are top notch.
6. Watch Me Drive Them Dogs Wild by Merce Lemon (Listen)
   A new artist I stumbled upon this year. And this is my fave indie folk record for 2024. Lemon exhibits so much more confidence than her previous records. Can't wait to see where she goes from here...
7. New Last Name by Courting (Listen)
   My fave hyperpop, art/post punk band right now. I almost forgot about this release as it came out in January 2024. SO catchy, so good. They also have a new album coming out in early 2025, so keep your eyes peeled!
8. Manning Fireworks by MJ Lenderman (Listen)
   MJ Lenderman can do no wrong, it seems. Not only is his solo work excellent, his band Wednesday made my top list for 2023. He also worked with Waxahatchee this year (see below) and Indigo De Souza (see last year's list.) Southern/country-tinged slacker rock, like if Pavement was from the south.
9. GNX by Kendrick Lamar (Listen)
   Kendrick was busy this year. Beyond the diss tracks and war with Drake, he managed to sneak in a full album. And it's good. My hip hop album of the year.
10. I Got Heaven by Mannequin Pussy (Listen)
    One of my favorite live bands and one of their best records. Indie rock with a touch of punk and hardcore. So good...
11. Triple Seven by Wishy (Listen)
    Wishy isn’t just a straight shoegaze band, as you’ll hear power pop, indie rock, and emo influences. If you grew up in the late 80s and 90s (even early 2000s), Wishy is basically your favorite alternative bands all mixed together in a blender. I'm a big fan.
12. life till bones by oso oso (Listen)
    oso oso are one of my favorite bands going right now, combining the best elements of power pop and emo. The new album is definitely more refined musically (less raw, less loud) than prior albums, while retaining the catchiness and lyrical quality they are known for – making for their most well written, consistent album to date.
13. My Anti-Aircraft Friend by julie (Listen)
    An excellent debut full length album from this shoegaze band that adds aspects of grunge, Sonic Youth, and other 90s alt rock sounds. Much like English Teacher, they are generating a lot of buzz and it’s well deserved.
14. Only God Was Above Us by Vampire Weekend (Listen)
    Their fifth album is a return to the form of their earlier works, but through the lens of an older/more mature and better (technically) group of musicians. You’ll hear the bass flourishes, the pianos, the familiar drum patterns, and the catchy guitar leads you enjoyed on those early records. But you’ll also hear more orchestral elements, string & horn sections, and jazzy instrumental freak outs that come from more confident songwriters.
15. 444 by hemlock (Listen)
    Hemlock is the alt-folk project of Carolina Chauffe. Chauffe has released 9 albums as hemlock since 2018, but this is the first I've heard and it's everything I like about this genre. Very similar to one of my other faves Squirrel Flower and Merce Lemon.
16. This Could be Texas by English Teacher (Listen)
    A masterful debut from this Mercury Prize winning English post-punk band. Angular, poetic, eclectic. Such a talented group that makes music unlike anything you've heard.
17. Songs of a Lost World by The Cure (Listen)
    Everyone knows The Cure, so no introduction needed. What you do need to know is this is their best album in a while, probably since Disintegration.
18. Two Things at Once by Bendigo Fletcher (Listen)
    An indie rock/folk/Americana hybrid that writes super catchy songs. They are an excellent live band too, if you ever have the chance.
19. Letter to Self by SPRINTS (Listen)
    A fantastic debut full length from this Irish post-punk band that incorporates influences ranging from early Pixies, Bauhaus, Siouxsie Sioux, IDLES and Fugazi.
20. Nobody Loves You More by Kim Deal (Listen)
    It’s everything you love about her from Pixies and The Breeders, with added layers. Orchestral elements, noise, synth, ukelele, and more. So good.

And much more here on Album Whale.

My Song-a-Day Musical Journal

This year I also finished my third annual music journal as a playlist. Each day I add a meaningful song to the playlist: it could be a song I listened to during the day, a song from a new band I “discovered” that day, a song to represent something that i did (like going to a concert), or a song that was meaningful for other reasons (like my mom’s favorite song; she passed away in 2022.)

Each playlist contains 365 songs that help trigger lots of good memories when listened to — it’s pretty awesome. And it 100% fits with the spirit of Crucial Tracks.

If you end up taking on the project for 2025 and want to share your playlist, send it along and we’ll be sure to include it in future newsletters.

BONUS: Other Media Favorites

My favorite TV shows from 2024:

1. Slow Horses
2. X-Men 97
3. Shogun
4. The Penguin
5. Silo

Amazingly I didn't watch many movies in 2024, but I did enjoy:

• Alien: Romulus
• Dune: Part Two
• It's What's Inside

What did I miss? Did you discover any new favorites from my countdown? Hit us up on Threads/the Fediverse and let us know...