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My Top 10 Albums of 2024

I managed to listen to a lot of albums this year (144 to be exact), and liked a lot of them. These are my favourites.

I spent a lot more time this year digging further into genres and discovered some things I don't think I would have otherwise, which feels great.

As always, I kept a playlist with my favourite track from each album I listened to here if you're curious.

For the numbers nerds, of the 144 albums I listened to I gave 3 albums a 10, 3 9s, 12 8s, and an average rating of 5.5.

And now, my top 10 albums of 2024...

10
Orville Peck - Stampede Country - Listen
Man could this guy read me bedtime stories. Not my usual genre of choice, but his voice, along with some great tunes turn it around for me. There are some big name features on this that certainly push its accessibility, but for my money Peck's best when he's on his own. He manages to make what I feel like can be a pretty stale genre new and interesting, without taking anything too seriously.
9
Laura Marling - Patterns in Repeat Alternative - Listen
This album took a couple tries for me to get into, but once I was in it was very hard to get it out of my head. I can't really say I have much to relate to the albums big themes of motherhood, but its emotion and honesty really work regardless. I love the stripped back instrumentals and straightforward sound of this.
8
Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God Metal - Listen
I've been listening to a lot more metal recently and spent a bunch of time zeroing in on what I'm actually looking for in the genre and this happens to be pretty much smack dab in the middle of what I like. Super technical, commanding vocals, and a drummer who is just absolutely pounding the drums. This album is full of crushing blast beats, intricate melodic riffs and the heaviest vocals.
7
Cheekface - It's Sorted Rock - Listen
This albums... just a lot of fun. It's quirky, it's weird, it's very hard to get out of your head. Where the death metal albums on this list are intricate, multi-layered, tours of force, this is an exercise in simplicity. A guitar, bass, drums, and a guy who barely even sings come together to make an album that just works.
6
Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future Country - Listen
This album feels like a Phoebe Bridgers album with 30% more yee-haw in all the best ways. The songwriting and emotion here are off the charts. Instrumentation is minimal and has a clarity and honesty to it that accompany Adrianne's voice perfectly.
5
Floating Points - Cascade Electronic - Listen
You know that gif of the cat just nodding its head back and forth? Yeah, that's this album for me. It's just an absolute vibe from start to finish. The energy is infectious, and while completely lacking in vocals there's never a dull moment.
4
Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere Metal - Listen
This album is absolutely incredible, these guys are easily my favourite group making metal today. Blood Incantation continues to show that not only can they play some incredible Death Metal, they're able to keep things interesting by bringing in elements of all sorts of elements of synth and psych rock to keep things interesting. The albums starts with an absolute onslaught of super technical intsrumentation and doesn't let up for nearly 2 minutes. The rest of the opening track alternates between these crushing death metal portions and space-y synths, leading into this absolutely out of left field feature from Tangerine Dream that somehow works perfectly. My only complaint here is the interludes, while I understand while they're there and do feel like they compliment the album, it does make it a little tougher on repeat listens, of which there have been many already.
3
Charli XCX - BRAT Pop - Listen
Few things make me as happy as seeing Charli finally hit the level of fame I think she's deserved for a long time on an album that feels much more like it was made on her own terms. It's even more impressive to me to see Charli sneak in some profoundly introspective songs - including ones about her relationship with the late, great, SOPHIE and her own relationship to fame, between a lot of tracks that seem to largely be amount how much she likes cocaine. The companion album of remixes including features with everyone from Billie Eilish (her first feature in 7 years!) to Yung Lean and Robyn gets even better.
2
Civerous - Maze Envy Metal - Listen
While I love Absolute Elsewhere for its ability to flit between death metal and synth odysseys, I'm even more impressed with Civerous' ability to start and finish at an absolutely relentless pace. This album is gritty, it's loud, and I can't get enough of it. Sure there are some slower parts, but they still manage to be so dense and enveloping they end up feeling like trying to catch your breath while still running at a break neck pace.
1
The Last Dinner Party - Prelude to Ecstasy Pop - Listen
This album is just banger after banger, and one I've come back to more than any other album this year. I had a hard time picking a favourite song from this one because I genuinely think there's 4 or 5 really solid choices. TLDP combines dramatic, theatrical vocals with some nice touches of catchy hooks and vocal harmonies that works really well to create an album that is both poppy and refreshing. The fact that this is their debut album and there really does feel like there's still room to grow is even more of a cherry on top. I can't wait to see what comes from them in 2025 and beyond.