The 10 Best Albums of 2024

Another year over, another mountain of music climbed. Today we’re going over the best albums we’ve covered from the last year in music.

It goes without saying that we can only cover so many albums, but we’ll try to cover anything and everything. And while this collection isn’t explicitly ranked, our absolute favourites gravitate towards the bottom of this article.

Jack White – No Name
Detroit, MI/Nashville, TN

Between more experimental and other acoustic/rustic ventures, Jack White had taken a minute before jumping back to his brand of garage thrashing. Best viewed as a career retrospective of every hue White has painted with between the White Stripes, Raconteurs and even the Dead Weather, No Name doesn’t always pack its own voice, but it’s certainly bringing a greatest hits of White’s writing prowess. You can feel the grinding fury between the likes of “Rough on Rats” and “That’s How I’m Feeling,” and a more devious darkness on “Tonight (Was a Long Time Ago).” There’s shuffling drums, sliding twang and warped vocals throughout, showing White’s urgency to refine everything and remix even himself.

Aurora – What Happened to the Heart?
Stavanger, Norway 

Norway’s Aurora has always felt like a nature-wielding sorceress commanding music out of the earth itself, but she’s managed to weave a larger picture with her latest album. Vocally dancing through complex arrangements like “The Conflict of the Mind” and “Echo of My Shadow,” Aurora never loses her place in the layered instrumentations, and often manages to outdo herself with some of her most unusual and inspiring vocal takes to date. Her spritely dance flow hits new highs on “To Be Alright” as she drips out a mesmerizing chorus punch, and then gets into a funky kick on “Your Blood” right before roaring into another fiery chorus or bassy low-end vocal. There are tones of Kate Bush and Björk throughout, but Aurora has done such a good job asserting her own world that this record feels like a 16-track summation of that feeling. And the booming vocal cry on “Some Type of Skin” gives such a goose bump-inducing moment to rally behind on the record, that Aurora can safely say she’s found her place in the music landscape.

Tyler, The Creator – Chromakopia
Hawthorne, CA

Returning to the unhinged take on pop he was locked into on Igor, Tyler, the Creator is in fighting form on his late 2024 album. With eerie vocalizations flying on every end and explosive beats, you can’t ignore the gospel and rock flying between the likes of “St. Chroma” and “Noid.” “Thought I Was Dead,” and “Rah Tah Tah” on the other hand are just such frenetic listens, sending you to another dimension with their blown-out production and intensely aggressive delivery (and drums for that matter). But while all that classic Tyler attitude and laugh-inducing wordplay are amazing, it’s the more touching and vulnerable tracks that cement this as one of Tyler’s most personal and unique.

Sofi Tukker – Bread
New York City

Sofi Tukker had done such a good job knocking out singles in the past decade that their one setback seemed to be nailing a cohesive album sound, but that’s over. Blending their Brazilian bossa nova influences with their pop powerhouse production, and a unique mix of wholesome and debaucherous writing, this duo made all the write shifts to give a record that flows from beginning to end without a dull moment, or hollow banger. The mix of acoustic guitar tones really add a textural depth to their sound on the record, with “Bread” and “Throw Some Ass” feeling equal parts high and lowbrow, feeding your mind, soul and body in one infectious swing. Meanwhile, Sophie Hawley-Weld’s linguistic capabilities in Portuguese are constantly pushed to their apex across the record, and amazingly taken to polyglot extremes with the cheeky French and German lines woven in on the earwormy “Woof.” But just as you could write a novel about the sultry power between “Cafuné” and “Jacaré” that lean into their Latin influences the most, the beauty in the friendship-celebrating “Hey Homie” is so stunning it can make you cry.

Clairo – Charm
Atlanta, GA

Another artist taking acoustic leaps that were hard to anticipate but easy to love, Clairo gave one of the year’s best 70s-influenced releases this year. Blending rustic tones, hip hop-inspired beats, and singular melodies that feel completely of her world, this record brings a colour all her own that begs to be enjoyed both dancing, and with a blanket and soothing tea. With all the unique timbres at play on “Nomad” there’s a romanticism in the air that makes you want to dive into this world, and then the spectacular piano tones and pop of “Sexy to Someone” gives you an addictive track to instantly reward that with hook after glorious hook. All the layered harmonies give “Terrapin” a vintage sheen, but for its atypical synth and decisive hook, “Juna” is this album’s calling card, able to catch any ear in its area and leave you on the floor from its sonic wizardry.

Charli XCX – Brat
Cambridge, England

While Chappell Roan might have had THE pop album explosion of this year, her album in fact came out in 2023. Charli XCX however, had the dance album wave that defined an entire summer and then some. The bouncy party energy of “360” and “Club Classics” celebrated unhindered hedonism, ecstasy and cutting loose, with hard lean into club sounds over Charli’s previous rounded pop. The ground swell of Brat Summer paved the way for a lot of the year’s dance pop to go even bigger, and even earn the album expanded and remixed releases that have garnered equal acclaim, and that’s before we even start on the epic SWEAT tour. The power of sublimely produced bangers like “Apple,” Von Dutch,” and “Guess,” turned this into an album that kept on coming back. While it may not even be Charli’s best album overall, the effect of the singles and energy of Brat as a whole has finally allowed Charli XCX to ascend to her place in pop royalty after a long-overdue wait.

Idles – Tangk
Bristol, England

Idles are one of the rare bands that have managed to really say something potent in their music while also riding just enough catchy writing in their punk sphere to appeal on a broad scale, so they’ve earned the room to experiment deeper than ever before. There’s a jagged edge to the likes of “Gift Horse” that cuts sharper than they’ve managed in the past, and “Dancer” manages to tie that same razor-like riffing into a swinging chorus with vocals courtesy of LCD Soundsystem that somehow fit perfectly. And while further punkier tracks like “Hall & Oates” could easily fill out a fun record for them, the band pushes out into more explorative, noise pop that never feels out of place. There’s an eviscerated feeling to the likes of “Grace” and “Gratitude” that will cause you to lean in but also feel the weight of the emotion at hand, but somehow always landing in a place that weaves in the right level of melodious writing to centre the sound. Joe Talbot’s versatility as a vocalist is especially noticeable on the record, as he commands the same intensity across all of these songs, as do his ever-dazzling bandmates.

Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk
Miami, FL/Los Angeles

From the outset, it’s easy to hear the jump in production that Magdalena Bay made on their latest record, and it’s one that set them miles ahead of many of their contemporaries this year. Whether you’re getting lost in the bass or demented production of “Killing Time,” or falling down the smoother-than-smooth aesthetics of “Image,” it’s hard not to obsess over the actual sound and feel of this record. They manage to match and occasionally leap frog the likes of Chairlift & Caroline Polachek in tracks like “Death & Romance” as they delve between funk and glossy highs, and then merge this sound in more kaleidoscopic pop on “That’s My Floor” to great effect. Whatever brought them to this sonic moment, we only hope they can keep evolving from here.

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers (Original Score)
New Castle, PA/London, England

Given the overwhelming emotion of their elevated symphonics for the score to Luca Guadagnino’s Queer, among other recent scores, this cinematic pair made their strongest statement in Guadagnino’s tennis-romance epic (itself a contender for movie of the year). Full of indie sleaze goodness that blends tones of rave, house, LCD Soundsystem, Chemical Brothers, the Dare, and more, this is an unexpected left-field dance pivot for artists known for strings and the angry electronics of Nine Inch Nails, and we’re oh so thankful for their change of pace. And it hits its dance notes so far out of the park that it creates a rare moment where a score works for crossover into daily playlists. Tracks like “Yeah x10” ooze James Murphy/DFA production with a cheeky edge to boost your mood, while ambient constructions like “L’oeuf” show off the pair’s knack for traditional soundtracks that can get weird at times. The album’s biggest strength is in its electronic ragers that incorporate a kinetic and tangible percussion that feel like they’re emulating the back and forth of a tennis match, while also matching the drama and sexual tension of the film itself. “The Signal” has this momentous rush to it, constantly building on top of its already funky movements, while “Brutalizer” and its sister track take a more brash approach by walloping you with bass and drum/tennis hits one after the other. And though “Compress/Repress” brings Nine Inch Nails to the pop sphere in the best way possible, “Challengers: Match Point” is the beast of the album, woven with a dozen glorious percussive choices, infectious synth stings and bass that makes you want to hit the court yourself. It’s a combination so explosive, one can only wonder what the usually morose-looking Reznor looked like in the studio as he finally nailed this track.

Confidence Man – Fabric Presents: Confidence Man
Melbourne, Australia/London, England

Despite releasing a full studio album (3AM (La La La)) that brought its own dancehall energy to the fold this year, Confidence Man had a special magic going on with their compilation album from this summer. Blending new tracks and features by the group with an intoxicating selection of their favourite tracks to spin in DJ sets, this mix was the perfect track list to drop for an amazing night out, an exhilarating workout or even a productive workday. The semi-psychedelic qualities of “Let Them Bells Ring” sets you off on a heady, groovy journey. Later, with the bass cranked and Janet Planet’s laughter bordering between sultry and scary, “Break It Down (On the Bassline)” brings the energy right back up into the album’s tail end. These originals also slotted perfectly into collection, while also providing a bridge between their two LPs that wouldn’t really fit on either. The sheer excitement of losing yourself within non-band tracks like “Electric City” and “Flex” were beautiful discoveries, always feeling within a step of the Confidence Man family, while the likes of “Positron ‘03” felt like as much of a nod to their recent influences as a great needle drop within the mix. Beyond the selection however, it was the seamless and finessed way that the 20-song run was crossfaded and mixed together (in the Mixed version for the uninitiated) that truly elevated the entire experience, often requiring an avid ear, or simply actual watching on a digital player to actually know when you’d changed tracks versus felt a song evolve. Plus, getting The Emanations closer with Janet Planet singing along the swirling pianos and demented bass created a one-of-a-kind listening experience I’ve not quite gotten out of a mix-record like this.

Honorable Mentions:

Molchat Doma, Peggy Gou, Donald Glover’s Atavista  & Bando Stone, Brijean, Fcukers, Justice, Molly Lewis, Blue Hawaii, Banggz, Cindy Lee, Amyl and the sniffers, The Okmoniks, & Kaytranada