9. favorite albums of 2024

Rounding out 2024 with a mix of favorite albums featuring Ravyn Lenae, Laufey, Foushée, Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges, and more.

Dec 22, 2024

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To add to the plethora of year end music lists that we will all browse and maybe skim a few albums from, then let pass away into the ether, I come to you with my personal favorites list of 2024. Halfway through writing this, I developed a strong sense of respect for every music publication and journalist that puts together such lists. This was my first time every really sitting down to think about my year musically, and it was a lot harder than I expected. It’s an interesting task to make myself go back and recollect what I even interacted to in this year that feels like a serious blur, moving straight from May to December at a high octane pace.

There is no particular ranking of these, nor is there any score or rating system. The only criteria for this was albums that were released in 2024, albums I kept coming back to, and albums I did not previously write analyses for on this blog (the presumption being that those are inherently included, as I felt compelled to write about them. I will link them in the footnotes for those who haven’t read them yet!).1 It is possible I may decide to do more in depth analyses of them in the future, but for now I felt as though I would be remiss to not give these albums their flowers in some capacity this year.

Laufey, Bewitched — Somehow, in the blur of this year, I forgot this album came out this year. I turned to it so frequently in the spring, and so many tracks became a glorified comfort blanket that my mind somehow now thinks this came out last December. (yes, the reissue came out this year and the original last September, but let’s just count it to include in my criteria).

Stepping into the jazz classical pop world of Laufey has been such a treat. Her slightly raspy old timey singing, paired with modern lyrics and classical and jazz tinted pop is the perfect soundtrack to a warm tinged sunset walking around New York City. I had a great time attending her concert in the spring, seeing her use Radio City Music Hall and all its classic glory and staging to accompany her work.

Favorite Tracks: Bewitched, California and Me

(to keep this slightly more in line with a 2024 release, I’ll share her beautiful haunting cover of Phoebe Bridgers “Savior Complex”)

Doechii, Alligator Bites Never Heal - I have all the words and none of the organization to devote a whole post to this masterpiece. I truly wanted to. I sat down multiple times, but got lost in my own thoughts and feelings about it. This album (mixtape? in her words) is just too good. It is so much fun to see an artist have fun with the historical styles of her genre but also make it sound fresh and new.

Her album breakdown and analysis on the Dissect podcast was a comprehensive and entertaining discussion that provides a great explanation behind the album and the lyrics. I also highly recommend her Tiny Desk Concert if you have not seen it yet. I love the way even the tiniest of musical details was paid attention to here — the interludes between tracks even being classic rap samples, the rearrangements of songs for a live band, the all female live band with classic nods to black styling and trends is just a really perfect encapsulation of everything Doechii is doing that is interesting, artistic, and intentional.

Favorite Tracks: Wait, Death Roll, Slide

Hyukoh & Sunset Rollercoaster, AAA — Two of the biggest indie bands to come out of East Asia in recent years coming together to make a super band and dropping a surprise album was not on my bingo card for the year. I had been waiting for a new album from Korean band Hyukoh since their last project (and cancelled world tour) in 2020, and had all but resigned myself to thinking nothing would ever come. Come to find out they paired up with Taiwanese powerhouse Sunset Rollercoaster?

This album is melodic, ambient, atmospheric, and a true beauty in bringing together the two styles of indie rock both bands make.

Favorite Tracks: Y, Antenna

Maggie Rogers, Don’t Forget Me — An early 2024 release, but not a forgotten one, I came back to this album repeatedly throughout the year. Lyrically pieced together like journal entries about a group of friends living out their lives, there’s songs that can connect to all walks of life. Sonically, the album serves almost like a soundtrack. You can picture each song beautifully in your mind, accompanied by Rogers’ vocals and the songs’ pumping melodies, taking you on a journey along with their stories.

Favorite Tracks: I Still Do, So Sick of Dreaming

Ravyn Lenae, Bird’s Eye — Touted as alternative R&B, Ravyn Lenae’s second album is so much more than one genre. She explores a variety of genres woven together like a soft mosaic, pieced together under her soft, dream like vocals. While I was newer to her music this year, I found myself coming back to this album at random times, almost in a type of auto mode, as if it just solidified itself as a staple after one listen. There is something nostalgic in the way she sings, yet fresh and mind bending in how she pairs her vocals musically.

Favorite track: Pilot

Foushée, Pointy Heights — I first discovered Foushée a few years back when she featured on Vince Staples’ self titled album, as well as in a featuring on a French rap track. Come to learn she was on The Voice, and putting together her career slowly through various link ups and interesting and different collaborations, I was curious.

On her second album, Pointy Heights, the melange of alt rock styles, Jamaican sounds, and R&B comes together seamlessly in a perfect package. I love the way the music literally sounds like it’s bending into itself on some tracks, like she’s playing with the way the sound interacts with her voice, while also driving along with the melodies down tempo stylings.

Favorite Track: Flowers

Jordan Rakei, The Loop — While I did include a little bit of this album in a live write up, I don’t think it was afforded the same amount of attention as other pieces previously published. The instrumental layering throughout the album is cinematic, vibrant, almost even glorious, yet Rakei’s vocals and melodies are still the main figure of every song.

Favorite Track: Flowers

Vince Staples, dark times — On his last album with his major label, Vince Staples delivers his usual mid to low tempo introspective rap with a new lens towards how his life has taken shape after experiencing celebrity. One could argue that there’s nothing particular new being done with the music or production on this album, but there is also something comforting in the expectation of what Staples will deliver every time.

Favorite Tracks: Etouffée, Little Homies, “Radio”

Brittany Howard, What Now — Brittany Howard always reminds me of what music is. Originally known more for her rock sensibilities, her solo work has always, and this album in particular, deftly explored more punchy, dancey, funk driven songs. As Claire Shaffer for Pitchfork writes, “Every song here, even the slow stuff, feels giant and propulsive—a grand celestial tour of rock and R&B, guided by one of the few singers and multi-instrumentalists with the range and intuition to pull it off.”2

The way Howard brings music together is so colorful, and not just because the album cover makes you invoke that image. Her instrumental layering, techniques, and vocal prowess are all inherently emotional, and coming together in each song you can really sense every intention and emotion she meant to put into the track.

Favorite Tracks: I Don’t, What Now

Leon Bridges, Leon - A more pristine production and fantastical approach to Leon Bridges’ 1970’s-esque motown soul sound accompanied my fall season seamlessly. This album was the perfect sound to bring in the cold weather and relish in the last moments of heat and warmth in the air.

Favorite Tracks: Perfect Place, Laredo

Baby Rose & BADBADNOTGOOD, Slow Burn EP — One of my favorite candles from the company anecdote is called Bonfire Blaze, described as “flickering flames and drunken disclosures, with nods of whiskey and chestnut.” This beautiful R&B Jazz fusion album was a standout for me this year, and invokes the same level of comfort as that candle. Listening to it creates a warmth inside, with Baby Rose’s immaculately soulful vocals coursing through. Finding out One Last Dance was recording through a near vocal freestyle blew my mind. Being the standout track for me, the emotions that come through really sit with you. The first time I listened to it I couldn’t fully believe it was the final track on the album, with the way it lingered and sat in my mind.

Favorite Track: One Last Dance

Kendrick Lamar, GNX — what really is there to be said that hasn’t been said about this album, and the year that Kendrick has had. People can debate back and forth about where they rank this album in his discography, but one thing that cannot be denied is his artistry, musicality, and commitment to craft. One standout aspect of this album is that every track is quite short, yet doesn’t feel like anything is missing. In the streaming era of music where songs are clocking in under 3 minutes, and feeling like incomplete projects relying on hooks and choruses to go viral and propel popularity, every song on this album feels intentional and crafted perfectly to be punchy and get the artistry across.

Favorite Tracks: luther, dodger blue

There are still many albums I did not even get to listen to this year. I’ll slowly make my way round to them, while also enjoying whatever 2025 has in store. What are your favorite albums of the year? Comment below!

Thanks for tuning in. See you in 2025.

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