Best Music šŸŽ¶ of 2024!

Nee Lewman said:
It is a good solid pop album. Gonna ruffle some feathers when it places over critical favorites though. Brat was one of the few hyped pop albums this year that I thought was worth revisiting.
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It is a critical favorite though. AOTY has it at ranked #5 with critic scores and #8 with user scores, and at #3 on RYM. There arenā€™t many ā€œcritical favoritesā€ that can be placed over it. This isnā€™t them giving any random tswift or Katy Perry album the top spot. I know itā€™s not you specifically but it really irks me every year when legitimately great albums get dismissed at AOTY time by music heads for not being apart of an approved genre for critical success
 
gaporter said:
brat could have been released directly into the bargain bin for all I care and it wouldn't change the fact it's a great album. Charli XCX has always been an acquired taste and I don't expect everyone to like her or brat but in reading a year-end list surely you have to expect you're not going to agree with every single choice? It just seems a bit unfair to me that an artist who has been putting out consistently good work for years is getting accused of only placing on year-end lists now due to stupid trends and hype rather than the simple fact that she put out what is arguably her best record this year.
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I do want to note my comment about her capturing the zeitgeist. I donā€™t think she did that due to trends, I think she did that by putting out a great album
 
gaporter said:
brat could have been released directly into the bargain bin for all I care and it wouldn't change the fact it's a great album. Charli XCX has always been an acquired taste and I don't expect everyone to like her or brat but in reading a year-end list surely you have to expect you're not going to agree with every single choice? It just seems a bit unfair to me that an artist who has been putting out consistently good work for years is getting accused of only placing on year-end lists now due to stupid trends and hype rather than the simple fact that she put out what is arguably her best record this year.
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I have no opinion on it at all! My comment was mainly giving reason as to why so many publications have it #1. Itā€™s a cultural phenomenon + itā€™s a critically adored album. If it was only one of those things it probably wouldnā€™t top so many lists.
 
Fleetwood-Matt said:
I do want to note my comment about her capturing the zeitgeist. I donā€™t think she did that due to trends, I think she did that by putting out a great album
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Agreed, and I feel like it's important to note that in a lot of cases the artists themselves don't always control how a project will blow up and the kind of impact it will have. I think we see a lot of attempts at forced virality in music these days (*cough*Katy Perry*cough*) that when something really hits and catches on in an organic way you can usually tell the difference. Audiences latched onto brat and started embracing the whole "brat summer" thing not because they were told to but because they wanted to (even though it did eventually get co-opted by the corporate machine, but what doesn't). I think the same thing is happening with GNX right now. Kendrick never told anyone to scream "MUSTAAAAARD" at the top of their lungs but when the quality is there, you don't have to, people will just naturally embrace it.
 
wokeupnew said:
I have no opinion on it at all! My comment was mainly giving reason as to why so many publications have it #1. Itā€™s a cultural phenomenon + itā€™s a critically adored album. If it was only one of those things it probably wouldnā€™t top so many lists.
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Sure, and apologies if my post came off as accusatory towards you in any way, that wasn't the intent. I think unfortunately a lot of people do (to borrow a phrase I've seen floating around lately) listen to music with calculators nowadays and tend to disregard the actual content of the work, so I understand where the frustration comes from when people see "popular" albums place over their favorite records on these year-end lists. I just don't think it's anything that anyone should get too wrapped up in, because at the end of the day these are just publications and tastemakers trying to stay on the ball and keep themselves relevant. The fact that "Best of 2024" lists are being published while there's still a whole month left to go is just proof that it's more about being the first to get it out as fast as possible than anything else, so I don't tend to put a lot of stock into them.
 
gaporter said:
Sure, and apologies if my post came off as accusatory towards you in any way, that wasn't the intent. I think unfortunately a lot of people do (to borrow a phrase I've seen floating around lately) listen to music with calculators nowadays and tend to disregard the actual content of the work, so I understand where the frustration comes from when people see "popular" albums place over their favorite records on these year-end lists. I just don't think it's anything that anyone should get too wrapped up in, because at the end of the day these are just publications and tastemakers trying to stay on the ball and keep themselves relevant. The fact that "Best of 2024" lists are being published while there's still a whole month left to go is just proof that it's more about being the first to get it out as fast as possible than anything else, so I don't tend to put a lot of stock into them.
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December is usually pretty lean on big time releases though. Sure, Kendrick, BeyoncĆ©, Dā€™Angelo have released some killer albums at the end of the year but itā€™s not a time when a lot of contenders are popping up. Plus first is one thing, but nobody really wants to read a best of list in March.
 
Nee Lewman said:
December is usually pretty lean on big time releases though. Sure, Kendrick, BeyoncĆ©, Dā€™Angelo have released some killer albums at the end of the year but itā€™s not a time when a lot of contenders are popping up. Plus first is one thing, but nobody really wants to read a best of list in March.
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It can always happen, though, like when Run the Jewels released RTJ3 around Christmas back in 2016. Then the next year a bunch of publications cheated by putting it on their best of 2017 lists because they had jumped the gun in getting their lists out the previous year. If I'm someone who cares about these lists being actually relevant, I feel like it's better to wait until at least the first of January to hit send just to make sure you don't miss anything and everything is accurate rather than having to spend the next year putting an album from the wrong year in your top 10 just because you wanted to get your list up as quickly as possible.
 
Fleetwood-Matt said:
They are putting it at #1 because it is the album of the year. itā€™s the best album released this year and no other album captured the popular zeitgeist this year like brat did
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I preferred the singles much more than the album as a whole but I completely understand why this is likely the consensus best album of 2024.

Personally, as far as Pop albums go, I spent much more time with Chappell Roan in 2024 than any other pop star but that album committed the biggest crime imaginable in that she dropped her album in late 2023 instead of 2024.
 
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ALBUMS:
Kendrick Lamar ā€“ GNX
Haley Heynderickx ā€“ Seed Of A Seed
Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru played by Maya Dunietz & String Ensemble ā€“ Live in Paris
Willie Nelson ā€“ Last Leaf On The Tree
Alva Noto ā€“ Xerrox Vol 5
The Cure ā€“ Songs of a Lost World
Simon Posford/Raja Ram ā€“ Improvisations For Piano & Flute
Michael Kiwanuka ā€“ Small Changes
Opeth ā€“ The Last Will & Testament
EPs:
The Cosmic Tones Research Trio ā€“ All is Sound
Chelsea Wolfe ā€“ Unbound EP
Pleasurewood ā€“ Heatwaves
 
Hereā€™s my penultimate top 20 most played for 2024. I wasnā€™t quite able to pull off the bracket thing I wanted to do for compiling my best of. I think most serious contenders (minus Kim Deal) are present in this list.
  1. Kelly Finnigan - A Lover is Born
  2. Johnny Blue Skies - Passage Du Desir
  3. Reyna Tropical - MalegrĆ­a
  4. Lake Street Dive - Good Together
  5. Billy Strings - Highway Prayers
  6. Sarah Jarosz - Polaroid Lovers
  7. Aaron Frazer - Into the Blue
  8. Kishi Bashi - Kantos
  9. Thee Sacred Souls - Got a Story to Tell
  10. Andrew Bird & Madison Cunningham - Cunningham Bird
  11. Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood
  12. Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings - Woodland
  13. Sprints - Letter to Self
  14. Amaro Freitas - Yā€™Y
  15. Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well
  16. Laurie Anderson - Amelia
  17. Max Richter - In a Landscape
  18. Sophie de BardonnĆØche - DestinĆ©es
  19. Shabaka - Perceive its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace
  20. Katia & Marielle LabĆØque - Phillip Glass/Cocteau Trilogy
For the purposes of thinking about a top ten best of list, I have omitted things I donā€™t view as new albums but were new releases (Jonny Cash - Songwriter and that new Hendrix box). I also did not count the Kidā€™s music (Bluey - Rug Island)
 
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1. DIIV
2. Fontaines DC
3. Bill Ryder-Jones
4. Nilufyer Yanya
5. Being Dead
6. MJ Lenderman
7. Big Bend
8. This Is Lorelei
9. Wild Pink
10. Los Campesinos
11. John Davis
12. Dua Lipa
13. The Cure
14. Waxahatchee
15. Starflyer 59
16. 22Ā° Halo
17. Wishy
18. Yard Act
19. 2nd Grade
20. Ducks Ltd
21. Vampire Weekend
22. Crowded House
23. Idaho
24. Liquid Mike
25. Nick Cave
26. Smashing Pumpkins
27. Christian Lee Hutson
28. Real Estate
29. The Smile (Cutouts)
30. Taylor Swift
31. Hovvdy
32. Merce Lemon
33. Kim Deal
34. LL Cool J
35. Chime School
36. Maggie Rogers
37. Redd Kross
38. Friko
39. villagerrr
40. Sam Evian
41. Cola
42. Jesus Lizard
43. Spirit of the Beehive
44. Lucy Rose
45. Johnny Blue Skies
46. Empress Of
47. PACKS
48. MGMT
49. Kacey Musgraves
50. Meatbodies

 
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Wes C. Attle said:
1. DIIV
2. Fontaines DC
3. Bill Ryder-Jones
4. Nilufyer Yanya
5. Being Dead
6. MJ Lenderman
7. Big Bend
8. This Is Lorelei
9. Wild Pink
10. Los Campesinos
11. John Davis
12. Dua Lipa
13. The Cure
14. Waxahatchee
15. Starter 59
16. 22Ā° Halo
17. Wishy
18. Yard Act
19. 2nd Grade
20. Ducks Ltd
21. Vampire Weekend
22. Crowded House
23. Idaho
24. Liquid Mike
25. Nick Cave
26. Smashing Pumpkins
27. Christian Lee Hutson
28. Real Estate
29. The Smile (Cutouts)
30. Taylor Swift
31. Hovvdy
32. Merce Lemon
33. Kim Deal
34. LL Cool J
35. Chime School
36. Maggie Rogers
37. Redd Kross
38. Friko
39. villagerrr
40. Sam Evian
41. Cola
42. Jesus Lizard
43. Spirit of the Beehive
44. Lucy Rose
45. Johnny Blue Skies
46. Empress Of
47. PACKS
48. MGMT
49. Kacey Musgraves
50. Meatbodies
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based
 
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