Best Albums of 2024 (early-bird chat & playlist)
A year-in-music worksheet, a streaming playlist and a chatroom.
It’s that time of year in the Northeastern United States, when leaves are falling and music journalists — and folks with similar inclinations — start compiling Best of the Year lists. To be honest, I start mine in January, so as not to forget early faves, which can include December LPs from the year prior, always missed by the chronically-premature legacy media lists that drop between late November and mid-December.
At risk of compounding timeline creep, but also to pull the curtain back on a critic’s process and give you catch-up time on excellent records you might’ve overlooked or underplayed, I’m posting the latest rough draft of my year-end list, and as a bonus for paid subscribers, a streaming mixtape of choice cuts + a chat thread. Let me know what records are going to top your lists — I know I’m missing things here.
But first: a new + old music message from the fine Georgia-based band R.E.M. — you might have heard of them? My fellow Americans, please vote Tuesday, and make sure your friends, relatives, and neighbors do the same. It’s a dead-serious moment in this country.
I haven’t numbered things yet, but it’s in roughly hierarchical order. Some of these will be no surprise to regular readers. But many I haven’t yet had a chance to write about.
Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood
MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee
Rogê - Curyman 2
Rosali - Bite Down
Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future
Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - Woodland
Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us
Charli XCX - Brat
Nia Archives - Silence Is Loud
Reyna Tropical - Malegría
SML - Small Medium Large
Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter
Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch
Sierra Ferrell - Trail of Flowers
T Bone Burnett - The Other Side
Porridge Radio - Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There for Me
Arooj Aftab - Night Reign
Alan Sparhawk - White Roses, My God
Billy Strings - Highway Prayers
Johnny Blue Skies (Sturgill Simpson) - Passage du Desir
Mercury Rev - Born Horses
Nala Sinephro - Endlessness
Khruangbin - A La Sala
Carlos Niño & Friends - Placenta
Mdou Moctar - Funeral for Justice
Etran De L’Air - 100% Sahara Guitar
Lo Carmen & The Great Beyond - Transatlantic Light
Hurray For The Riff Raff - The Past is Still Alive
Morgan Wade - Obsessed
Brittany Howard - What Now
Illuminati Hotties - Power
Cassandra Jenkins - My Light, My Destroyer
There will be more to come. Re: the playlist below, some songs are not represented by albums here, and it’s obviously missing titles not on Spotify etc., notably Cindy Lee’s brilliant and beautiful Diamond Jubilee — which as of last week, is available for vinyl preorder and digital download at Bandcamp. But it’s a solid 4+ hour mix of bangers, weepers and floaters — put it on shuffle for a different spin — and I’ve added a link to the original YouTube post of Cindy Lee’s LP. Happy listening, and listing. — Will
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