JosephLikesMusic Top 10 Albums of 2024
First of all, apologies for not being super active anymore :< I've just been busy with school and personal life so this blog just hasn't been a major priority for me. I did want to end off this year with a list of some of my favorite albums that have come out this year, and wow what a year it's been for music. This list doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of all the great music that came out this year, just the ones that stood out the most to me.
#10: Clancy - Twenty One Pilots
Honestly, my biggest disappointment with this album is that I didn't give it a listen sooner. I've never gotten super into the band, but I have a lot of fond memories of hearing their hits while growing up. Clancy proves that Twenty One Pilots is just as capable of writing catchy hits as they ever had, from Next Semester to Navigating, this project has some great songs that played on loop in my mind for days after I first listened to it.
#9: No Normal - Kill Lincoln
As a huge ska enjoyer, this album just had to make the list. I found Kill Lincoln a few years ago and they've been my favorite modern ska band ever since. This album does everything but disappoint, with such a fun and upbeat vibe that I feel perfectly encapsulates the feel of their live shows. With this being the band's fifth studio album, I am so excited to see where they go from here, especially since they have been releasing such consistently great music.
#8: Only God Was Above Us - Vampire Weekend
I got really into Vampire Weekend early this year, with their fun pop songs that have a hint of rock influence. Only God Was Above Us demonstrates everything that I love about the band, from the experimental instrumentation to the beautiful vocals. Capricorn definitely stood out the most to me, the lyrics immediately hooked me in and I just love how the simple production slowly gets more murky and dissonant is the cherry on top. Re-listening to this album while making this list really made me wish that I had listened to it more throughout the year and that my Vampire Weekend phase wasn't so short.
This album almost sounds straight out of the 1970's with easily some of the best blues music that's been written since the turn of the century. I constantly hear people complaining about how people just don't make music like Led Zeppelin and other bands of the time used to, and my new response to that is to point them to this project. It is kind of amazing to me that I haven't seen this album discussed more, but regardless it is easily one of the best rock albums released this year.
#6: HIT ME HARD AND SOFT - Billie Eilish
It is insane to me just how amazing of a songwriter Billie Eilish is when she's not even five years older than I am. Hit Me Hard and Soft is one of the most vulnerable and introspective albums that I've seen released in the last decade or so. Songs like LUNCH still have the classic Billie feel to them, but in a much more mature sense than her past albums. This maturity is what I think makes this album stand out so much in a year full of incredible pop albums. I really think that this project has something for everyone, even if Billie's last albums weren't for you.
#5: CHROMAKOPIA - Tyler, The Creator
This entire list took a lot of narrowing down, but these next three spots were the hardest to decide. Ultimately, I decided to give my #5 spot to Tyler. This album had hook after hook after hook, and watching the entire roll-out take place in less than two weeks was just so crazy from a cultural standpoint. While I don't think that this is Tyler's best album, CHROMAKOPIA is just undeniably catchy. I just have so much fun listening to this project that there was no way it wasn't making the top 5.
Like I said for CHROMAKOPIA, this top 5 was just so difficult to narrow down, and it is completely possible that if I were to remake this list a year from now that I would place this album below Tyler's or above my number three. Just when I thought that the 12 day roll-out of CHROMAKOPIA was crazy, the surprise drop of this album just a few weeks later blew my mind. After the incredible summer that Kendrick had, such a catchy album really secures 2024 as his year. Similar to what I said about Tyler, this definitely isn't Kendrick's best album, but with tracks like squabble up and tv off, I really can't talk shit about this album. If anything, this album only made me even more excited to watch Kendrick's performance at the upcoming Super Bowl in February.
If any of my picks this year were to surprise someone, I think that this is it. Ultra Q is far from a household name, yet I am still placing their latest album over well established artists and bands. Am I crazy? Maybe. But at the same time, maybe everyone else is crazy for not giving these guys the attention they deserve. Songs like Beep Boop and You and Me in Dreams demonstrate incredible songwriting skills from the still young Jakob Armstrong as well as amazing musicianship from the rest of the band. I had the pleasure of seeing these guys live a few months ago (and already have tickets for their next US tour), and it was genuinely one of the best shows I've ever gone to. I even got to talk to the band after the show, and they are just so sweet. If I were to try to convince you to listen to any album off this list, it would be this one. Not only does it deserve the most attention, but it is just a remarkable album.
Brat summer brat summer brat summer blah blah blah. There isn't much I can say about this album that hasn't already been said. Not only did Charli have incredible marketing, but she had the music to back it up. Brat is the kind of pop album where you just know how influential it is the moment that it's released. I'm not going to call it the Rubber Soul of the 2020's but I'm also not NOT going to call it that. There's no way that the phenomenon that this album sparked won't change how artists both create and release their work. If I had to predict how 2025's pop music would sound, I would say that there's going to be a chunk of artists trying to ride the wave that Charli has created, and another chunk of artists actually inspired by the fact that such an experimental album was able to sell the way that it did. Regardless, this album defined 2024 and if my favorite band of all time didn't also release an album this year, it would be a clear number one.
There's a reason that this list is my personal favorite albums and not a subjective list, and it's this album. Green Day has been my favorite band for well over five years at this point and I couldn't not place this album at number one. After the commercial failure of Father of All.. I was a little worried about this album, but Saviors is such a rebound after that disaster. I could ramble all day about this album, and while most of my love for it is rooted in my love for the band, I do think that this is their best album since 21st Century Breakdown way back in 2009. While this album isn't for everyone, songs like Bobby Sox and Dilemma are so catchy and I had a blast seeing both live (although I'm still salty that 1981 debuted the DAY AFTER I saw them live last summer). This album is just pure fun, and I am so glad that we got this instead of Father of All 2.
As I mentioned in the intro, 2024 was a great year for music. There are so many more albums released this year that I didn't place on this list that just barely missed the cut. This doesn't even include albums like The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan, that while released last year, helped to define the musical atmosphere of this summer. If there's one thing I can say for sure about this year, it's that good music is so back. 2024 was really a turning point in the industry, and I really think that when we look back on the music of the 2020's, this is the year that will define the decade.
