2024: The Year In Music

2024 – Donald Trump wins the US presidential election (somehow), defeating Kamala Harris to earn his second term. Before that, he is convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, becoming the first former US president to be convicted of a crime. Trump also survives an assassination attempt – he had quite a turbulent year. Keir Starmer replaces Rishi Sunak as prime minister of the UK. Legendary American producer and composer Quincy Jones dies at age 91. Bashar al-Assad is ousted as leader of Syria. Blimey, that was a rollercoaster of news … so let’s see if the music can bring us back to earth!

I’ll be looking at the popular and highest-rated songs / albums of the year, giving my opinions on their musicality and longevity as well as an overall verdict for the year as a whole.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

2023: The Year In Music

2021: The Year In Music

Top 10 Albums of the 1970’s

“Getting Killed” (Geese) – Every Song Ranked

Billboard Top 10 (Popular) Singles

Source: Wikipedia

10 – Too Sweet (Hozier)

I wasn’t expecting Hozier to still be making hits over a decade after “Take Me To Church”, but here we are.

“Too Sweet” is a simple guitar groove but the soulful vocals sell it. On the whole it’s not very exciting.

9 – I Remember Everything (Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves)

This was a far better Country-Pop duet than I was expecting. That being said, my expectations were incredibly low.

Both Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves have some lovely, tender voices. The lyrics also have more thought than the average Pop song.

8 – MILLION DOLLAR BABY (Tommy Richman)

Whoa. This is not the kind of song I was expecting to chart well.

I can hear elements of Vaporwave and Eighties Pop in “Million Dollar Baby”, but with a modern production sheen. I was very impressed.

7 – Espresso (Sabrina Carpenter)

I remember “Espresso” being an absolutely huge hit in 2024, so I’m surprised to see it as low as seventh. I can only assume it’ll make a belated surge up the charts for 2025’s list.

It’s produced well, but it’s a little mind-numbing for my personal tastes.

6 – Not Like Us (Kendrick Lamar)

The Kendrick-Drake feud was (and still is) easily one of the best things to happen during this decade in music. All of Kendrick’s diss tracks were lethal.

I prefer “Meet The Grahams”, but “Not Like Us” has a catchy hook and some scathing lyrics.

5 – Lovin on Me (Jack Harlow)

A Rap song with a hefty synth bass. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but I’m not a fan of Jack Harlow’s lazed delivery.

4 – I Had Some Help (Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen)

This is the kind of Country-Pop I don’t like.

I hear shades of autotune in “I Had Some Help”, and the chorus doesn’t do it for me.

3 – Beautiful Things (Benson Boone)

“Beautiful Things” starts off slow, and then the chorus is too big and broad. Basically, it fails in both camps.

It’s not a trainwreck, but it’s not memorable. At least Benson Boone can backflip – he’ll always have that.

2 – A Bar Song [Tipsy] (Shaboozey)

Oh for the love of … it’s another Country-Pop song. It’s one of my least favourite genres – I don’t remember it being this popular in 2024.

“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is the kind of song the Americans can keep.

1 – Lose Control (Teddy Swims)

Teddy Swims’ name, face and voice don’t match at all. But hey, it’s a helluva voice.

I wasn’t wowed by “Lose Control” but I can feel its power.

FAVOURITE – “MILLION DOLLAR BABY” (Tommy Richman)

LEAST FAVOURITE – “I Had Some Help” (Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen)

Top-Rated Songs

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

10 – Favourite (Fontaines D.C.)

“Favourite” is the closing song on “Romance”, and it’s probably the most palatable / commercial song on the whole album.

It has nostalgic riffs and some softly-spoken vocals. All in all, a really solid end to the album.

9 – tv off (Kendrick Lamar)

Spoiler alert – Kendrick’s “GNX” didn’t make the top five highest-rated albums of the year. That might be considered a snub.

“tv off” sounds too similar to “Not Like Us” – a song released slightly earlier in the year. The synth stabs are fun but nothing special.

8 – Nothing Matters (The Last Dinner Party)

The Last Dinner Party are one of the great female bands of our era. I love their airy, sometimes dark Rock style.

“Nothing Matters” is a real and sensual look at love. The chorus is simple but it gets stuck in your head.

7 – reincarnated (Kendrick Lamar)

I was a bit disappointed by “tv off”, but “reincarnated” is another Kendrick classic.

That piano hook is ethereal and divine (almost like a videogame, weirdly), and Kendrick’s lyrical flow is unmatched.

6 – Holy, Holy (Geordie Greep)

It’s easy to see “Holy, Holy” as a perverted and misogynistic song, but I think a lot of people fail to realise that this is a critique of toxic masculinity and the Andrew Tate culture.

I love Greep’s crazed songwriting and vocal delivery, and the the production is all-out bonkers from start to finish.

Incredibly, “The New Sound” didn’t make the top five albums – even though it would probably be my album of the year. I guess general audiences found the frantic Jazz style too off-putting.

5 – Cry For Me (Magdalena Bay)

In an album full of high-intensity Synth Pop songs, “Cry For Me” seems a bit slow and lethargic on a surface glance.

Magdalena Bay’s production is as perfect as always, however, and the more sombre tone can be quite enchanting at points.

4 – Death & Romance (Magdalena Bay)

“Death & Romance” is exactly the kind of bright, synth-heavy, well-produced Pop that I wish we heard more on radios.

That piano and drum part interweave so seamlessly.

3 – Bending Hectic (The Smile)

The Smile is comprised of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood as well as a third member, Tom Skinner. It’s no surprise, therefore, that The Smile sounds Radiohead-esque.

I think Radiohead fans have flooded the vote and pushed this one up to third, as there’s no way “Bending Hectic” would’ve ranked this highly otherwise.

It’s five minutes of a slow but pleasant song followed by three minutes of louder Rock. Greenwood’s guitar sound is massive but otherwise there wasn’t much for me to latch onto.

2 – Endsong (The Cure)

“Endsong” is, funnily enough, the last song on “Songs Of A Lost World”. It’s also the longest song on the album by far, clocking in at over ten minutes – but every second is worth it.

The first six minutes is a glorious crescendo, and the rest of the track brings the album home with dark and harrowing lyrics. This is just as good as some of The Cure’s most iconic songs.

1 – Image (Magdalena Bay)

God, Magdalena Bay are so weird. I love it.

“Image” has some of the freshest production of the year. More so than any other Magdalena Bay track, this sounds like a song from the future. That bass at the end hits like crack.

BEST SONG OF 2024 – “Holy, Holy” (Geordie Greep)

Top-Rated Albums

Source: http://www.besteveralbums.com

5 – Romance (Fontaines D.C.)

I’d heard a lot of good things about Fontaines D.C., but “Romance” is the first album of theirs I’ve listened to.

They sit in a dark pocket of widely-accessible Rock, and I was immediately won over by the one-two punch of “Romance” and “Starburster”. The rest of the album didn’t live up to the highs of those first two in my opinion, but it was still a fun album from front to back.

4 – Only God Was Above Us (Vampire Weekend)

I was just as surprised as anyone when Vampire Weekend released an album in the 2020’s. I was even more surprised when it ended up being one of the best albums of the year.

I love the eccentric production on “Only God Was Above Us” – Vampire Weekend are a fearless band who make the songs they want to make. My favourites were probably “Capricorn” and “Mary Boone”.

3 – Songs Of A Lost World (The Cure)

If I was shocked to see Vampire Weekend make a top five list for 2024, you can image my sheer disbelief when legendary 80’s band The Cure snuck in … above Vampire Weekend, no less.

“Songs Of A Lost World” is an album comprised of eight tightly-constructed songs, all of which bring something new to the table. Opener “Alone” is one of the most atmospheric songs I’ve heard in ages, and closer “Endsong” is a sweeping, grand finale which ends the album with aplomb.

2 – Brat (Charli XCX)

Charli XCX has been at the forefront of Pop for many years now, but I don’t think anyone was expecting “Brat” to be as good as it was.

This is a perfect, genre-bending Pop album. Charli is just as comfortable with the big ideas as she is with the small ones. The production and mixing goes crazy at points.

1 – Imaginal Disk (Magdalena Bay)

Magdalena Bay’s Spotify profile says “Synth Pop straight from the simulation”. Yep, that checks out.

“Imaginal Disk”, like “Brat”, is a perfect Pop album for the modern era. The production is flawless throughout – I especially loved how a lot of the songs build their layers as they grow towards their climaxes. This is the kind of album that I imagine will still sound fresh by the decade’s end.

BEST ALBUM OF 2024 – “Imaginal Disk” (Magdalena Bay)

Final Thoughts

2024 was a better year for music than I remembered. The hits could be forgettable but there were some gems, and the high-rated songs and albums had real quality.

Overall Grade: B+

Aaaand that’s my list! If you liked this post and want to support me, please consider giving me a one-time donation. Even a few pence (or whatever currency you use) is fantastic! I’ve never monetized this blog before, but it would be great if I could do this comfortably and not have to worry about the yearly website domain costs. Thank you so much!