Best music of 2024
The end of the year always brings a good opportunity to look back and appreciate the new things that came into our lives during it. This is also a great chance to see what others liked that might've slipped under our radar.
Below are my favorite albums from 2024. Beyond my favorite in each genre, they're listed alphabetically in no order of preference. I've omitted the albums I already wrote about on the library's music blog.
ALTERNATIVE
Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk
The IRL couple of singer Micah Tenenbaum and multi-instrumentalist Matthew Lewin return with their second LP. On this witty, retro futuristic sci-fi concept album about storing the human mind on disk, the group pushes into more adventurous sounds. It blends lush '70s ballads, '90s bubblegum pop, and elements of today's hyperpop and vaporwave into one of 2024's most unique and re-listenable disks.
More excellent 2024 alternative albums
- Future Islands - People Who Aren't There Anymore
- Beth Gibbons - Lives Outgrown
- Helado Negro - Phasor
- Hiatus Kaiyote - Love Heart Cheat Code
- Real Estate - Daniel
- The Smile - Wall of Eyes
- The Smile - Cutouts
- Smashing Pumpkins - Aghori Mhori Mei
- St. Vincent - All Born Screaming (Hoopla)
COUNTRY
Sturgill Simpson (as Johnny Blue Skies) - Passage du Desir
Sturgill Simpson's latest after several bluegrass and themed albums proves why he's still the standard bearer for classic country sound. Passage du Desir has no filler – these eight songs start easy but hit hard on loss and regret. With production filled with organ, string and horn sections, and a voice like Waylon, Simpon proves you can still make 'em like they used to.
More 2024 country
- Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter
- Zach Bryan - The Great American Bar Scene (Hoopla)
- Sierra Ferrell - Trail of Flowers (Hoopla)
- Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well (Hoopla)
- Willie Nelson - Last Leaf on the Tree
- Dwight Yoakam - Brighter Days
FOLK
Willie Carlisle - Critterland
Carlisle seemed to come out of nowhere this year with his collection of heartland poetry and humble tunes. In truth, he was born in Kansas and grew up in Arkansas. First or second-hand experience bleeds into this album on subjects of addiction, burying estranged parents, queerness and chosen childlessness. But his voice's earnestness and conviction make it more celebration than dirge.
Folk fans will also want to check out Billy Strings - Highway Prayers (Hoopla).
ELECTRONIC
Justice - Hyperdrama
The French DJ duo return to their heights in a world without former peers Daft Punk, claiming the crown on anthem power-driven electro funk. They keep their reverence for '80s synthesizers ever present. But their futuristic gloss mixed with a rock edge still sounds fresh as ever in '24, helped by Tame Impala, Thundercat & Miguel.
More 2024 electronic music
- Floating Points - Cascade
- Tycho - Infinite Health
HIP-HOP / RAP
Common & Pete Rock - The Auditorium, Vol. 1 (Hoopla)
While Kendrick and Drake's public feud made headlines, rapper (and sometimes actor) Common and DJ beatmaker (and sometimes rapper) Pete Rock collaborated for the most assured LP of old school hip-hop. These two legends remind us how they got that status, fusing Common's clear and relatable flows with the dusty record-sample mosaic of Rock's timeless instrumentals. The title refers to their intention for this to be a place for all people to share a story, space and experience.
More 2024 hip-hop / rap
JAZZ
Nubya Garcia - Odyssey (Hoopla)
A relative newcomer to jazz in 2017, Garcia has quickly made a name for herself outside the UK. While 2020's SOURCE showed a comfort branching out from her saxophone-fronted strengths, Odyssey tears down all genre barriers as she composes and arranges a band with cinematic scope and world music influence. Songs swell in epic waves of tension and elation, supported but never upstaged by occasional vocalists.
More 2024 Jazz to check out
- Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement
- Pat Metheny - Moondial (Hoopla)
MUSICAL
Lin-Manuel Miranda - Warriors (Hoopla)
America's top show-tune writer adapting a gangland cult classic into an audio-only musical wasn't on my 2024 bingo card. But it turns out the Broadway staple behind Hamilton & Encanto is the perfect choice to adapt the 1979 film. In this album hip-hop trades off with heavy metal, reflecting the culture clash at the core of the story. Truthfully, I feel like we'll see this eventually get a stage or screen adaptation.
NEW AGE
André 3000 - New Blue Sun
One-half of rap group OutKast, 3K defied all expectations by releasing this album of instrumental jazz flute. However, this isn't lounge music. It's abstract, chill grooves use flutes from around the world and even some with electric effects. This makes for an album that rewards active and passive listening equally.
R&B/SOUL
Tank and the Bangas - The Heart, The Mind, The Soul (Hoopla)
NOLA natives Tank and the Bangas first made a splash on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts in 2017. Their newest album showcases their jazzy soul, a bit less flashy, but no less catchy. Vocals are often spoken word but fluidly turn melodic and back. Its soulful mix of funk, jazz and rap reflects the Bangas' hometown.
ROCK
The Cure - Songs of a Lost World (Hoopla)
The longest lasting goth rock band returns with their first album in 16 years. They haven't missed a step in that time, sounding as assured as ever while still modernizing a bit. The album is characteristically heavy with songs of loss and heartbreak feeling truer than ever by a band of this vintage. But age hasn't tempered the roar of the guitars or beauty of the melodies.
Also check out David Gilmour's 2024 album Luck and Strange.
SOUNDTRACKS
Hans Zimmer - Dune, Part Two (Original Soundtrack) (Hoopla)
Frank Herbert's epic universe of the Dune books proved to be fertile inspiration for composer Hans Zimmer's film soundtracks. Having two movies to score doesn't hurt. Zimmer uses middle eastern instruments throughout honoring the original story's inspiration. But he brings the sound into the sci-fi future with original instruments made of real spacecraft alloys and more electronics than usual.
You'll also want to check out Brian Eno soundtrack Eno (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack).
WORLD
Kali Uchis - Orquídeas (Hoopla)
Kali Uchis's music on this and previous albums demonstrate the mixture of influences on the Colombian-American singer. She sings in fluent Spanglish, switching on the fly. Somehow, she makes going from cumbia to reggaeton, smooth R&B to dembow seem natural. Her dreamy, easygoing sound is assisted by current Latin superstars Karol G and Peso Pluma.
Another world music album to check out is Les Amazones d'Afrique's Musow Danse.
