Listen up: How many of my top 10 albums of 2024 have you heard?
No. 1 hails from Down Under, and I daresay all of my favorites love to blur genres. When it comes to music, hard to classify can mean easy to love.
It’s been a volatile year, as if I need to remind anybody.
I assume you’re getting enough hand-wringing, pontificating, righteous indignation, and political prognosis from every corner of the Internet, including Substack.
Let me offer you a humble musical holiday gift as distraction: my top 10 favorite albums of the year.
For those who don’t already know, I spent (or misspent) part of my early journalism career as a pop music critic. Believe it or not, it was a viable discipline in the era before rampant algorithms and smartphones, when compact discs were the music industry’s cash cow.
Music has been a tremendous therapeutic force in my life. If it was up to me, I might try promoting music listening as heavily as we advertise pharmaceuticals and see if that paid off with a measurable uptick in overall public health.
Before I dole out my recommendations, a reminder: I always encourage music fans to support artists through their direct revenue streams (such as their own websites and concert merch), as well as your local record stores (in Des Moines that includes ZZZ Records, Rogue Planet Music, Vinyl Cup Records, and Ratt’s Underground Records).
That said, I also stream music. If you’re still seeking a holiday soundtrack, check out my “Ultimate Happy Holidays Playlist” with more than 4,000 songs on Spotify.
If you’re looking for another blog post or newsletter featuring Charli XCX and all the artists you’re likely to see on every other year-end top 10 list, I apologize in advance.
I’m just not that “brat.”
10. Ronnie Stone, “Ride Again”
I love to make my 10th album a curveball—a curiosity that clings to the bottom of the list. Then again, this is a valid reflection of my year: By chance, with zero knowledge of New York synth-pop musician Ronnie Stone, I witnessed him perform as the headliner of a bizarre club gig in downtown Portland, Oregon. The dude can sing and doesn’t lack conviction. He also looks like he stepped out of a nightclub scene from the original 1984 “Terminator” movie. He may have been born wearing leather. Yet Stone got the last laugh: My “Spotify Wrapped” roundup revealed that he eked his way into my five most-streamed songs.
9. Ani DiFranco, “Unprecedented Shit”
Technically, this is the most “brat” pick on my list. I’ve admired Ani DiFranco since the ‘90s but paid scant attention to her recent output. This year she debuted on Broadway (in “Hadestown”) while also releasing this oddball electro-folk album. “Unprecedented Shit” was produced by BJ Burton, known for his work not only with Charlie XCX but—more to the point here—Sylvan Esso, Low, and Bon Iver. On some days I love nothing more than a veteran artist reinvigorated by a fresh approach to their craft.
8. Tyler, the Creator, “Chromakopia”
This one was influenced by my son. He and I occasionally swap hip-hop recommendations from our respective generations. While I’ve always been intrigued by Tyler, the Creator, this eighth album to my ears sounds like a step up for him into an even grander, weirder rap realm. Narrated by Tyler’s mother and rooted in his childhood, “Chromakopia” rattles and booms and thumps and soars and even sounds downright playful in spots. While I grew up in the golden age of hip-hop and always will cherish that era, I admit Gen Z gets it right with a view of hip-hop that knows no bounds.
7. Vampire Weekend, “Only God Was Above Us.”
This New York band’s five official studio albums in 16 years add up to one of the most impressive indie-rock streaks: No duds so far, despite lineup fluctuations and all the passing fads that have swirled around these Columbia University classmates. Vampire Weekend always has promoted a unique and catchy brand of refined effervescence, and “Only God Was Above Us” is no exception, from lead single “Capricorn” to hypnotic eight-minute album-closer “Hope.”
6. 2nd Grade, “Scheduled Explosions”
Twenty-three songs in 38 minutes, an average of about 1:40 apiece: No song on “Scheduled Explosions” reaches 3 minutes, let alone overstays its welcome. As for the sound, this blender-set-on-puree Philly pop band led by melodic wizard Peter Gill crams every second with harmonies, handclaps, and hooks. The sound tends to be sweet, while the lyrics frequently are full of dread. 2nd Grade earns extra credit without breaking a sweat.
5. boycalledcrow, “eyetrees”
One of my favorite random streaming discoveries of pandemic seclusion was the acoustic ambient experiments of English musician Carl M. Knott. His new album as boycalledcrow, “eyetrees,” apparently was inspired by time spent in the woods with his wife and their young children. If uncategorizable music makes you only more curious, here’s your first pick on the list.
4. Wishy, “Triple Seven”
I love the rock subgenre known as “shoegaze”—bands that sculpt dense layers of richly textured guitars but somehow still find a way to let a good melody cut through all the noise. Wishy, a relatively new band from Indianapolis, sometimes gets tagged as shoegaze, sometimes “dream pop.” Whatever you call it, this quintet built around the songwriting partnership of Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites released one of the year’s most instantly catchy albums.
3. Bright Eyes, “Five Dice, All Threes”
Conor Oberst, the indie-rock oracle of Omaha, released a new album largely co-written with Alexander Orange Drink (Alex Zarou Levine) of New York punk band the So So Glos (also worth checking out). The result sounds like a rejuvenation of the Bright Eyes sound. Oberst let his friend bunk with him in Los Angeles during the winter of 2023, sparking the project. Alexander fought cancer while the album was being recorded, and Oberst delayed his tour until 2025 to rest his ragged vocal cords. Well wishes to both musicians; they’ve gifted us 13 songs to help everybody feel better in the New Year.
2. Jack White, “No Name”
Few musicians craft an anthem as ubiquitous as “Seven Nation Army.” The White Stripes had no idea in 2003 that the song’s monster riff—a discarded attempt to write a James Bond theme—would become an international sports stadium staple. While not quite on that level, this year’s “No Name” solo album from White recaptures much of the raw, casual magic of his finest bluesy garage punk.
1. Grace Cummings, “Ramona”
Australian singer-songwriter Grace Cummings’ third album was produced by Jonathan Wilson, known for his studio work with Father John Misty and time on tour as lead guitarist for Roger Waters of Pink Floyd. “Ramona” (the title inspired by a Bob Dylan song) surrounds Cummings with instrumental firepower to match the raw emotion of her thunderous alto. It was a “brat” year for the pop masses, but here on the underrated rock fringe I detect a generational talent in the soulful songs of Cummings.
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