My Top 20 Favourite Albums Of 2024

Here are my 20 favourite albums of 2024. What were your favourites?

What an action-packed year for music! I still haven’t caught up with all the albums that I wanted to listen to. But if I delay this list any long it will be 2026 by the time it’s published.

I’m quite proud of how musically diverse this year’s list is. It’s even got some country on it (kinda), and I’ve never been a country fan. Every genre was on it’s A-game. Congratulations to all the music genres!

As always, if you love lists, make sure to also check out my favourite tracks of 2024 too, as well as my list of worst songs.

20. Tidal Memory Exo – Iglooghost

UK electronic producer/singer Iglooghost mixes choppy industrial percussion and swirling moody synths to create an album with a unique atmosphere that truly feels like it’s being recorded from the middle of the ocean.  

Favourite tracks: ‘Coral Mimic’, ‘Geo Sprite Exo’

19. Half Divorced – Pissed Jeans

Pennsylvania punks Pissed Jeans deliver a selection of songs that are hilariously grim as their band name. The guitars are ferociously raw and the lyrics are uncompromisingly sardonic.

Favourite tracks: ‘Killing All The Wrong People’, ‘Sixty-Two Thousand Dollars In Debt’

18. Hyperdrama – Justice

Hyperdrama sees French EDM duo continuing to fine-tune their fun cocktail of menacing futuristic techno and bubbly retro disco. It’s got an excellent choice of guests too.

Favourite tracks: ‘One Night/All Night’, ‘Saturnine’

17. Tangk – Idles

Idles continue to move away from angry provocative punk songs in favour of mellow experimental love songs. I’m excited to see where the UK band go next!

Favourite tracks: ‘Grace’, ‘Jungle’

16. Blue Lips – Schoolboy Q

LA rapper Schoolboy Q delivers skilful flows and reliably badass beats on his new album Blue Lips. It alternates from mature and soulful to dirty and outrageous.   

Favourite tracks: ‘Yeern 101’, ‘oHio’

15. I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed – Thank

This underrated album from Leeds noise rock band Thank comprises of playfully chaotic instrumentation and some of the funniest sprechgesang vocals I’ve encountered.

Favourite tracks: ‘Woke Frasier’, ‘Writing Out A List Of All The Names Of God’

14. Cowboy Carter – Beyonce

Pop queen Beyonce delivers a barrage of barnyard bangers. Okay, it’s not strictly a country album, however it is an exciting exploration into new sounds for Bey.  

Favourite tracks: ‘Bodygaurd’, ‘Alligator Tears’

13. My Method Actor – Nilufer Yanya

My Method Actor has a truly unique r&b sound – a mixture of captivating Sade-like vocals and almost grungy guitars. It’s my first exposure to British singer-songwriter Nilufer Yanya and I want to hear more!

Favourite tracks: ‘Like I Say (I runaway)’, ‘Call It Love’

12. Nothing – Louis Cole, Metropole Orkest & Jules Buckley

A lot is happening on Nothing. US multi-instrumentalist and singer Louis Cole builds upon his funky and jazzy sound by working with an orchestra. The result is some unashamedly maximalist music.

Favourite tracks: ‘Life’, ‘These Dreams Are Killing Me’

11. Brat – Charli XCX

The album that spawned ‘Brat Summer’ is an array of hyperpop anthems featuring ridiculously catchy vocals from British singer Charli XCX and bubbly production from A.G. Cook.

Favourite tracks: ‘B2B’, ‘Mean Girls’

10. Cool World – Chat Pile

Oklahoma City sludge metal band continue to deliver harrowingly heavy songs on their new album Cool World, which they describe as an ‘anti-war statement’.

Favourite tracks: ‘I Am Dog Now’, ‘Funny Man’, ‘Camcorder’

9. Dark Times – Vince Staples

The new album from West Coast rapper Vince Staples, Dark Times, plays with interpretation – challenging you to see the light through the gloominess – while also throwing in plenty of sticky choruses.

Favourite tracks: ‘Black&Blue’, ‘Etouffee’, ‘Nothing Matters’

8. Below The Waste – Goat Girl

London art rock trio Goat Girl keep developing their signature sound – consisting of sighed-out vocals over a mishmash of instrumentation ranging from skronky guitars to cool synths.

Favourite tracks: ‘ride around’, ‘motorway’, ‘sleep talk’

7. Empathogen – Willow

Willow Smith drifts way from pop-punk, instead gravitating towards jazzy prog-rock. The instrumentation is wild and the US singer explores the full range of her impressive voice.

Favourite tracks: ‘ancient girl’, ‘run!’, ‘b i g f e e l i n g s’

6. I Lay Down My Life For You – JPEGMAFIA

Baltimore rapper/producer JPEGMAFIA introduces elements of heavy metal into his frenetic experimental hip hop style. It’s challenging and addictive.

Favourite tracks: ‘I scream this in the mirror before I interact with anyone’, ‘it’s dark and hell is hot’, ‘JPEGULTRA!’

5. This Could Be Texas – English Teacher

Leeds post-punk band English Teacher have put out an almost perfect debut album here. It’s just the right balance of poignant, humorous, unhinged and catchy.

Favourite tracks: ‘The World’s Biggest Paving Slab’, ‘I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying’, ‘R&B’

4. Carousel From Hell – LustSickPuppy

NYC artist LustSickPuppy’s Carousel From Hell lives up to the name. It’s a thrillingly fast-paced fairground ride of speedy rapping and aggressive digital hardcore beats. Death-Grips-meets-Azealia-Banks.

Favourite tracks: ‘Off This’, ‘Empathy Reserved’, ‘Ketchup Mustard’

3. Chromakopia – Tyler, the Creator

..and now into the top 3! Producer/rapper/singer Tyler the Creator delivers some of his most vibrant and varied production and his most dynamic vocals, while tackling heavy personal themes of distrust and parenthood. It’s his most mature and self-critical album, but it also contains its fair share of braggadocious bangers. Is it outrageous to say that I think this is a better album than Igor?

Favourite tracks: ‘Hey Jane’, ‘Sticky’, ‘Like Him’

2. Love Heart Cheat Code – Hiatus Kaiyote

Hiatus Kaiyote’s fourth studio album Love Heart Cheat Code is quite possibly the best neo-soul album released this decade. I discovered it quite late in the year and it’s had more replays than any other record released in 2024 – which is largely a result of the band’s ability to write songs that are instantly beautiful and infectious, while also being musically complex and technically impressive.  

Favourite tracks: ‘Telescope’, ‘Love Heart Cheat Code’, ‘Cinnamon Temple’

1. Imaginal Disk – Magdalena Bay

For the third year in a row, my album of the year has gone to a guy-girl duo. Whereas Jockstrap were art-rock and Knower were jazz-funk, US pair Magdalena Bay are a synthpop duo. Mica Tenanbaum’s Kylie-meets-Grimes vocals are ridiculously catchy, while Matthew Lewin’s shiny production is intricate and unpredictable. It’s both nostalgic and futuristic in sound. And it’s all tied together by a narrative with motif melodies repeated throughout. It ticks all the boxes for me!

Favourite tracks: ‘Image’, ‘Death & Romance’, ‘Tunnel Vision’