It’s the time of the season. The year end routine starts with the albums of the year. A good year of music again and even though the list is absurdly long, I still would have loved to be able to squeeze in another 50 or so. If a record is missing from this, it doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. I covered well over 600 albums on the new music weekly posts, so there’s a lot of really good music out there.
I did put the numbers there, but it’s totally arbitrary. Music is love, not a competition. Maybe first 10-20 at the top were somewhat obvious and my biggest favorites this year. After that it could have been alphabetical order just as well. I could move these albums up or down 20 spots and be just as happy with it. So the numbers are only there to give you a vague idea of what I loved the most, because everyone isn’t a music addict and willing to listen all 100 albums (actually 101, because I couldn’t decide which Rambling Nicholas Heron to include and therefore those share one spot on the list).
As usual, the list is totally subjective. I never try to make an objective list of the best albums or try to figure out what will stand the test of time. It’s just a snapshot of my taste in December 2024. Even my own list might look a lot different in two months. For example right now as I compile this, I’m maybe little less into country than earlier in the year. So I might easily look back this later pondering why the hell I didn’t include more country albums. I’m also just one man and there’s tons of stuff I haven’t listened enough or at all. Not to mention the hundreds of records that I didn’t even knew existed before reading other people’s aoty lists.
I didn’t write any blurbs, because I’m lazy and don’t have the time. And most would probably just check out what’s on the list anyway. There’s a Spotify and Tidal playlist if you are into such things. They actually have a lot more than 100 albums, because that was my draft for this. But I left them there as a giant bubbling under section. Maybe not wise because I know there’s stuff missing too. I didn’t add many Bandcamp / YouTube embeds, because if there’s a hundred of them the site will either crash or take forever to load. At least on mobile devices. It would make it easy to check out the records, but not worth it due to those issues. You’ll easily find them on Bandcamp, if you so wish.
100 FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2024
100. Rachel Love – Lyra (The Cat Collects)
99. GospelbeacH – Wiggle Your Fingers (Curation Records)
98. TJ Douglas – Dying (Team Love)
97. ROY – Spoons for the World (Idee Fixe Records)
96. Kaia Kater – Strange Medicine (Free Dirt Records)
95. Lindsay Reamer – Natural Science (Dear Life Records)
94. Jake McKelvie – A New Kind of Hat
93. Wren Kitz – The Thinker (Feeding Tube Records)
92. Kathryn Williams & Withered Hand – Willson & Williams (One Little Independent)
91. Lee Baggett – Waves for a Begull (Perpetual Doom)
90. Mary Timony – Untame the Tiger (Merge Records)
89. Ducks Ltd. – Harm’s Way (Carpark)
88. Jackie West – Close to the Mystery (Ruination Record Co)
87. Maya De Vitry – The Only Moment (Mad Maker Studio)
86. Humdrum – Every Heaven (Slumberland Records)
85. JP Harris – JP Harris is a Trash Fire (Bloodshot Records)
84. Styrofoam Winos – Real Time
83. Andre Ethier – Cold Spaghetti (Telephone Explosion Records)
82. The Pearlfishers – Making Tapes for Girls (Marina Records)
81. The Softies – The Bed I Made (Father / Daughter Records)
80. West of Roan – Queen of Eyes (Spinster)
79. Caleb Caudle – Sweet Critters (Missing Piece Records)
78. Bob Sumner – Some Place to Rest Easy (Fluff and Gravy Records)
77. Max Bien Kahn – Flowers (Well Kept Secret)
76. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Woodland (Acony Records)
75. Sinai Vessel – I Sing (Keeled Scales)
74. Jeremy Ferrara – Darkness is a Bright Sound (A for Effort Records)
73. Turner Cody – The Days of Duke and Nancy (Capitane Records)
72. Leyla McCalla – Sun Without the Heat (Anti)
71. Mr. Sam & The People People – Again! Again! (Tape Dad / Gar Hole Records)
70. Jon McKiel – Hex (You’ve Changed Records)
69. Pony Bradshaw – Thus Spoke the Fool (Black Mountain Music / Soundly)
68. Ned Collette – Our Other History
67. Kimmi Bitter – Old School
66. Jimmy Montague – Tomorrow’s Coffee
65. Wesley Fuller – All Fuller No Filler (Cheersquad Records & Tapes)
64. Mac Cornish – Never Made Much of a Lover
63. Laughing – Because It’s True (Meritorio Records)
62. Daniel Romano – Too Hot to Sleep (You’ve Changed Records)
61. The Reds, Pinks and Purples – Unwishing Well (Tough Love / Slumberland)
60. Kasey Anderson – To The Places We Lived (Nervous Kid Records)
59. Sierra Ferrell – Trail of Flowers (Rounder Records)
58. Scott Ballew – Rio Bravo (La Honda Records)
57. Jake Nicoll – Lonely Mission
56. Daniel Markham – Just Like a Dream (Velvet Blue Music)
55. Dorothea Paas – Think of Mist (Telephone Explosion Records)
54. Gabriel Birnbaum – Patron Saint of Tireless Losers (Western Vinyl)
53. The Secret Beach – We we’re born here, what’s your excuxe? (Victory Pool)
52. Charley Crockett – $10 Cowboy (Son of Day / Thirty Tigers)
51. Charlie Overman – Charlie Overman
50. Advance Base – Horrible Occurrences (Run for Cover Records)
49. St. Lenox – Ten Modern American Work Songs (Don Giovanni Records / Anyway Records)
48. Micah Schnabel – The Clown Watches the Clock
47. The Innocence Mission – Midwinter Swimmers (Bella Union)
46. Little Kid – A Million Easy Payments (Orindal Records / Gold Day)
45. American Aquarium – Fear of Standing Still (Losing Side Records / Thirty Tigers)
44. The Bird Calls – Old Faithful (Ruination Record Co)
43. Adam Remnant – Big Doors (Coiled Myth Records)
42. Adeline Hotel – Whodunnit (Ruination Record Co)
41. Luka Kuplowsky – How Can I Possibly Sleep When There’s Music (Next Door Records)
40. Vanessa Peters – Flying on Instruments (Idol Records)
39. Chime School – The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel (Slumberland)
38. Christo Graham – Music for Horses (We Are Busy Bodies)
37. Shabason, Krgovich & Sage – Shabason, Krgovich & Sage (Idee Fixe Records)
36. Andrew Bryant – Loosa Schoona (Sentimental Noises Records)
35. Shawn Hess – Wild Onion
34. Josienne Clarke – Parenthesis, I (Corduroy Punk)
33. Simon Joyner – Coyote Butterfly (BB*Island)
32. Beachwood Sparks – Across the River of Stars (Curation Records)
31. Eric Slick – New Age Rage (Slick Records / Thirty Tigers)
30. Michael Feuerstack – Eternity Mongers (Forward Music Group)
29. Hello Emerson – To Keep Him Here (K & F Records / Anyway Records)
28. Chris Acker – Famous Lunch (Gar Hole Records)
27. Rambling Nicholas Heron – Cinema Teotro / Manuel’s Dream: Gunmetal Clouds (Suitcase Studio & Shop)
26. Alex Izenberg – Alex Izenberg & The Exiles (Domino Recording Co)
25. Desiree Cannon – Radio Heat (Gar Hole Records / Long Road Society)
24. Fred Thomas – Window in the Rhythm (Polyvinyl)
23. Quivers – Oyster Cuts (Merge Records)
22. VanWyck – Dust Chaser (Maiden Name Records)
21. Haley Heynderickx – Seed of A Seed (Mama Bird Recording Co)
20. Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future (4AD)
19. MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks (Anti)
18. Rosali – Bite Down (Merge Records)
17. Jennifer Castle – Camelot (Paradise of Bachelors / Solstice Radio)
16. Hurray for the Riff Raff – The Past Is Still Alive (Nonesuch Records)
15. Myriam Gendron – Mayday (Chivi Chivi / Feeding Tube Records / Thrill Jockey)
14. Anna Tivel – Living Thing (Fluff and Gravy Records)
13. Adeem the Artist – Anniversary (Four Quarters Records / Thirty Tigers)
12. Frontier Ruckus – On the Northline (Loose Music / Sitcom Universe)
11. The Lemon Twigs – A Dream Is All We Know (Captured Tracks)
10. John Moreland – Visitor (Old Omens / Thirty Tigers)
9. Mt. Misery – Love In Mind (Prefect Records)
8. Eamon Fogarty – I’m an animal now (Orphean Kiosk Recordings)
7. St. Yuma – Country Sleight of Hand (Quietly Records)
6. Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch (City Slang)
5. Office Culture – Enough (Ruination Record Co)
4. Willi Carlisle – Critterland (Signature Sounds Recordings)
3. Melissa Carper – Borned in Ya (Mae Music / Thirty Tigers)
2. Richard Laviolette – All Wild Things Are Shy (You’ve Changed Records)
1. The Lostines – Meet the Lostines (Gar Hole Records)