All right. Time to start giving some 2024 albums some love.
Black Midi frontman Geordie Greep's 2024 solo effort The New Sound, one of the year's wildest and weirdest releases, leads our latest batch of fourteen additions to our rankings, which also includes Christopher Owen's thoughtful solo outing I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair, Nada Surf's delightful Moon Mirror, Kendrick Lamar's GNX, Goat's reliable trancy and jammy self-titled 2024 release, and a pair of Lou Reed retrospectives, one, Why Don't You Smile Now a wonderful compilation of his formative efforts while a staff-songwriter for Pickwick Records, the other, The Power Of The Heart: A Tribute To Lou Reed, a decent collection of covers.
And keep checking back for more, McQ's Best Of will be updating these best of 2024 album rankings throughout 2024 and 2025, as well as updating which albums are in the listening pool below.
Highest Recommends
1. Tiger's Blood - Waxahatchee
2. Brat - Charlie XCX
3. Letter To Self - Sprints
4. Cowboy Carter - Beyonce
5. Prelude To Ecstasy - The Last Dinner Party
6. Diamond Jubilee - Cindy Lee
Strong Recommends
7. The Past Is Still Alive - Hurray For The Riff Raff
8. Postindustrial Hometown Blues - BIG SPECIAL
9. I Got Heaven - Mannequin Pussy
10. Poetry - Dehd
11. Passage Du Desir - Johnny Blue Skies (aka Sturgil Simpson)
12. Wild God - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
13. Short n' Sweet - Sabrina Carpenter
14. Only God Was Above Us - Vampire Weekend
15. Filthy Underneath - Nadine Shah
16. CHROMAKOPIA - Tyler, The Creator
17. Songs Of A Lost World - The Cure
18. Hit Me Hard And Soft - Billie Eilish
19. Mahashmashana - Father John Misty
20. People Who Aren't There Anymore - Future Islands
Solid Recommends
21. Romance - Fontaines D.C.
22. All Born Screaming - St. Vincent
23. No Name - Jack White
24. Manning Fireworks - MJ Lenderman
25. What Now - Brittany Howard
26. Alligator Bites Never Heal - Doechii
27. lechyd Da - Bill Ryder-Jones
28. The New Sound - Geordie Green
29. Redd Kross - Redd Kross
30. My Light, My Destroyer - Cassandra Jenkins
31. I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair - Christopher Owens
32. Cartoon Darkness - Amyl and The Sniffers
34. Where's My Utopia - Yard Act
35. Rack - The Jesus Lizard
36. Imaginal Disk - Magdalena Bay
37. NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
38. Moon Mirror - Nada Surf
39. Big Sigh - Marika Hackman
40. She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She - Chelsea Wolfe
41. GNX - Kendrick Lamar
42. Here In The Pitch - Jessica Pratt
43. Absolute Elsewhere - Blood Incantation
44. The Tortured Poets Department - Taylor Swift
45. Goat - s/t
46. Audio Vertigo - Elbow
47. Rome - The National
48. Why Don't You Smile Now - Lou Reed
49. Phasor - Helado Negro
50. Playing Favorites - Sheer Mag
51. Small Changes - Michael Kiwanuka
52. Interplay - Ride
53. Bright Future - Adrianne Lenker
54. Harm's Way - Ducks Ltd.
55. Acadia - Yasmin Williams
56. Charm - Clairo
57. This Is How Tomorrow Moves - Beabadoobee
58. Cutouts - The Smile
59. Keep Me On Your Mind/See You Free - Bonny Light Horseman
60. WOOF. - Fat Dog
61. This Could Be Texas - English Teacher
62. Real Power - Gossip
Mild Recommends
63. Glasgow Eyes - The Jesus And The Mary Chain
64. Little Rope - Sleater-Kinney
65. Funeral For Justice - Mdou Moctar
66. White Roses, My God - Alan Sparhawks
67. Wall Of Eyes - The Smile
68. Radical Optimism - Dua Lipa
69. 3+5 - Melt-Banana
70. Lives Outgrown - Beth Gibbons
71. In Waves - Jamie Xx
72. The Power Of The Heart: A Tribute To Lou Reed - Various Artists
73. EELS - Being Dead
2024 Albums In The Pool (# listens in/• strong early impressions)
3AM (LA LA LA) (1) - Confidence Man
All Hell (2) - Los Campesinos
As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again (2) - The Decemberists
Big Ideas (2) - Remi Wolf
Bite Down (1•) - Rosali
Blue Lips (1•) - Schoolboy Q
Brat and it's completely different but also still brat (1) - Charli XCX
Britpop (1) - A.G. Cook
Cascade (2) - Floating Points
Cool World (1) - Chat Pile
Dark Matter (1) - Pearl Jam
Endlessness (1) - Nala Sinephro
Eternal Sunshine (1) - Ariana Grande
Fearless Movement (2•) - Kamasi Washington
Heaven :x: Hell (2•) - Sum 41
Humble As the Sun (1) - Bob Dylan
I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU (1) - JPEGMAFIA
If I don't make it, I love u (2) - Still House Plants
JPEG RAW (2) - Gary Clark Jr.
Live Drugs Again (2) - The War On Drugs
Look To The East, Look To The West (1) - Camera Obscura
Loss Of Life (1) - MGMT
Love In Constant Spectacle (1) - Jane Weaver
My Method Actor (2) - Nulufer Tanya
Night Palace (2•) - Mount Eerie
Night Reign (2) - Arooj Aftab
Nobody Loves You More (1) - Kim Deal
Orquideas (2) - Kali Uchis
Patterns In Repeat (1) - Laura Marling
Poptical Illusion (1) - John Cale
Pomp And Circumstance (1) - Lunch Box
Proxy Music (1) - Linda Thompson
Roll With Me (1) - Duke Robillard
Sentir Que No Saves (1•) - Mabe Fratti
Sniff More Gritty (1) - Du Blonde
Tangk (2) - Idles
Ten Fold (2) - Yaya Bey
The Art Of The Lie (1) - John Grant
The Bed I Made (1•) - The Softies
The Cleansing (1) - Peter Perrett
The Collective (1) - Kim Gordon
The Forest Is The Path (2) - Snow Patrol
The Thief Next To Jesus (1) - Ka
Two Stars & The Dream Police (1) - Mk.gee
Untame The Tiger (1) - Mary Timony
Up On Gravity Hill (1) - Metz
Woodland (1) - Gillian Welch
You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To (1) - Knocked Loose
Last Updated 06.25.24
Previous Updates
08/27/24 - Dublin punk quartet Sprints blitzkrieg of a debut Letter to Self, the most cathartically uplifting (and hook-filled) noise rock album I've heard in ages and Future Islands sometimes non-distinct but likable and always listenable latest People Who Aren't There Anymore are the latest addition to our 2024 rankings.
09.02.24 - Two new additions to our 2024 rankings. The less sophisticated but way more fun of the two is the unexpected collaboration between Oasis's Liam Gallagher & Stone Roses master guitarist John Squire. It's nothing particular original or inspiring on a songwriting/lyrical front, but Gallagher's vocals are strong and it's always a pleasure to hear the far to rarely active Squire, one of the very best guitarists rock and roll has produced since 1985, cut loose.
09.02.24 - Two new additions to our 2024 rankings. The less sophisticated but way more fun of the two is the unexpected collaboration between Oasis's Liam Gallagher & Stone Roses master guitarist John Squire. It's nothing particular original or inspiring on a songwriting/lyrical front, but Gallagher's vocals are strong and it's always a pleasure to hear the far to rarely active Squire, one of the very best guitarists rock and roll has produced since 1985, cut loose.
Far more cerebral but ultimately was less engaging is Radiohead offshoot the Smile's Wall Of Eyes. The band is definitely honing in on a unique vibe that values texture above all else, but unfortunately, after the lovely ambient double hit of the title track and the even better Teleharmonic, there's little else on the album beyond maybe penultimate track Bending Hectic that interests me. Not one I will be eagerly going back to.
As far as 2024 titles recently added to the listening pool, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Wild God and Fontaines D.C.'s Romance are the most significant. Both contain a pair of songs that really excite me, but overall, on first impression, neither album strike's me as compelling as their previous efforts. Actually surprised both are sitting as high as they are right now in the Album of the Year/Metacritic rankings, because neither feels truly exceptional. But several listens to go on each, this opinion could definitely change.
On the other hand, on first listen Nadine Shah's Filthy Underneath sounds positively badass in a PJ Harvey gone clubbing kind of way.
10.19.24 - Five new additions to our year-end rankings with this 10.19 update. Beyonce's Cowboy Carter is the best of the bunch, and one of our favorites of the year. It may not be the Queen Bee's best album, but in many was it's her most interesting. A deep dive into black country influences and genre-free sonic design, it's as unpredictable as anything she has done, and fantastically produced. More of a sprawling White Album than an a tight Revolver, it does have lesser patches, but the dynamic sense of adventure is more than worth the trade.
Also excellent is post-punk quartet Mannequin Pussy's I Got Heaven, by far their most nuanced and restrained album - the shoegaze-dominated first half is to die for.
Two appealing and accomplished but not knock your socks off good albums would be Brittany Howard's eclectic, Prince-like latest What Now and Choral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones latest solo release of restrained chamber pop lechyd-Da.
Elbow's latest Audio Vertigo is a perfectly solid effort, but compared to the bulk of the band's discography, definitely middle of the pack. Couple really nifty tracks though, and livelier than other recent efforts.
And the only semi-disappointment of the bunch, Sleater-Kinney's Little Rope, which finds the band returning to the hard-hitting psychedelic sound of The Woods and No Cities To Love, but not nailing the late-60s instrumental magic this time out (though the lyrical effort is quite strong).
And speaking of psychedelia - seriously enjoying portions of Goat's self-titled latest. It's a jam.
11.10.24 We've got two new additions to our year-end rankings. First, the much better of the two, Billie Eilish's intense, at times fun, at times emotionally naked Hit Me Hard And Soft. Three our four exceptional songs on this release.
Much less exciting (even though it's getting monster reviews) is Niger guitarist Mdou Moctar's Funeral For Justice. For me the album is a classic case of the last album was great, so we're just gonna call this one great, too. It's not. The guy's a whale of a guitarist, and there's definitely some choice jams (Imouhar is my personal fav. But the vocals are the probably the least engaging of any Saharan blues album I've heard over the last ten/fifteen years, just no great melodies to grab onto, so just a mild recommend from me.
And creeping into the listening pool, The Cure's compelling, Distigration-ish Songs Of A Lost World (can't imagine closer Endsong not making my best of mix in may), Alan Sparhawk's bizarre White Roses, My God (I have no idea what I think of this one yet), and new releases from Confidence Man, Laura Marling, and cellist Mabe Franti.
03.05.25 - Waxahatchee's super grower Tiger's Blood takes over our 2024 top spot and leads nine new additions to our 2024 rankings. Besure to Tiger's Blood it multiple listens: an album that really sinks its claws in. Also added to our Highest Recommends list, Cindy Lee's Diamond Jubilee, possibly the best true low-fi recording in a decade, though Mount Eerie's Night Palace has offered up some serious competition.
On top of that several fine additions to the top of our solid recommends list, including Fontaine's D.C.'s more arena-friendly Romance, St. Vincent's reliably excellent and Bowie-esque All Born Screaming, Jack White's lively, hard rocking No Name, and MJ Lenderman's excursion into Neil Youngish garage-folk Manning Fireworks.
04.01.25 - Two excellent additions to our 2024 rankings, Nadine Shah's consistently engrossing Filthy Underneath, arguably the moody art-rocker's best album to date, and The Cure's epic return to form, Songs Of A Lost World, which finds the band returning to the slow, lugubrious textures of their '89 classic Distegration to tackle the ennui, doubt, and and sense of impermanence that comes with advancing age.
05.30.25 - Tyler, The Creator's very creative CHROMAKOPIA leads our latest batch of 3 additions to our rankings.
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