2024 has been one of the most interesting years for popular music. It felt like nearly every major artist has released something this year. Even artists that it wasn’t expected like Tyler the Creator or Kendrick Lamar. This was an exciting time for pop music as Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Billie Eilish all released some great projects. This year is also when Chappell Roan started to become a huge name in the industry. I first heard of her when it was announced that she would be the artist featured in Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS Tour, and I’m so happy that she’s making it big. And Charlie XCX has released her biggest, most culturally impactful album yet, BRAT. This album was everywhere for a while and was definitely worth a listen. Not to mention the social media sensation that was the rap beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. With all that being said, it’s hard to come up with just 5 favorite albums of this year, as there were a ton of great releases. But after a lot of thought, consideration, and listening, this was the list of favorites I came up with. Also keep in mind that these are my FAVORITES, not in any way the objective best or most popular.
- Short n’ Sweet- Sabrina Carpenter
Sabrina Carpenter has always been a major artist in the industry, but this album made her a MAJOR artist in the industry, basically a household name, she even had her own Netflix Christmas special just a few weeks ago. The popularity of the song “Espresso” probably had a lot to do with that. Not to mention the “Taste” music video with Jenna Ortega, or the TikTok trend around “Juno”. A lot of songs off this album became a pretty huge deal, but at the same time, I feel like the popular songs overshadow just how good of a pop release this really is. Songs like “Sharpest Tool”, “Lie to Girls” and “Dumb & Poetic” are incredibly underrated and I feel like deserve more recognition. I’m glad “Juno” became more popular due to the TikTok trend because that song has easily been my favorite since when the album was released. But what holds this back is how it works as an album. It’s an incredible collection of songs, but that’s the issue, it feels like a collection, rather than a complete piece of music from start to finish. A great album works both as a collective whole and as the parts that make it up. But even with all that being said, this is easily one of the best releases to come out this year and any big pop fan should listen to this if they haven’t already. I can’t wait to see what Sabrina does next now that she’s such a big name.
Favorite song: “Juno”
- GMX- Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar surprised everyone this year with a new album release. And surprise surprise it’s an amazing album. This isn’t in any way Kendricks best but it’s still very impressive. This is the most consistently high-energy album he’s put out. I’ve heard some people say this is basically “Not Like Us” the album, and I can kinda see where they’re coming from but at the same time not at all. All the songs stand out in their own unique way, especially “hey now” and “reincarnated”, which are two of my favorites. As per usual Kendrick’s vocals, flows and lyrics were incredible. This album because it’s so recent I haven’t had time to really connect with all the songs but every time I listen it grows on me more and more. Definitely another great addition to Kendrick’s discography and worth a listen, easily the best rap release this year, only competed by CHROMAKOPIA.
Favorite song: “reincarnated”
- Hit Me Hard and Soft- Billie Eilish
This to me is Billies best release so far. Every single song here is incredible, and listening to this for the first time front to back was an insane experience. This is an album that in my opinion works best if you listen to every song in order. It’s more than the sum of its parts. When this was announced, just seeing that cover and tracklist for the first time was enough to tell me this was gonna be a masterpiece, and it absolutely delivered. This is an album that hooks you on the first song and never lets go, it never gets boring and the quality never dips. Songs like “THE GREATEST”, “L’AMOUR DE ME VIE” and “BLUE” are in my opinion some of the best songs of Billie Eilishes career, and I wish so much I could listen to these for the first time again. And the biggest hit of the album “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” deserves its place in the charts, it’s beautiful both vocally and lyrically, like the rest of this project. Even if you’ve never taken an interest in Billie Eilish, give this one a listen. I feel like this is the album that best captures her unique vocals and shows them off the best.
Favorite song: “THE GREATEST”
- Found Heaven – Conan Gray
Yeah, this album didn’t make it to number one despite what I may have said in a previous article. However, this album was easily the one I was most hyped for this year and is the one I listened to the most on this list. It’s heavily 80s-inspired in both its sound and vibe, and I loved that a lot as I grew up listening to 80s music. This album also had an incredible rollout. Every single stuck out and it was so exciting when a new one came out. I particularly loved the track “Winner”, it was my favorite single and is even better when you listen to the album from start to finish with it as the final track. Out of all the major pop releases this year, this one was incredibly underrated and is my favorite. Conan Gray consistently releases great music, and even though this release wasn’t as well received or as popular, I can still say that this is on par with all his other music. Cannot recommend this enough if you haven’t listened to it already.
Favorite song: “Winner”
- Imaginal Disk- Magdalena Bay
This to me is the best album released this year. Everything about this album is perfect to me, it’s beautiful and emotional, it makes me wanna dance, and makes me wanna cry. This album reminds me of why I love music so much. It’s a project that hasn’t left my mind from the moment I first listened to it, I still find myself listening to it over and over and over. When I saw the hype around this album I initially ignored it but eventually I just decided to see what the hype was all about. And this album deserves all the hype it gets. It’s a synth-pop masterpiece, with amazing production, and beautiful vocals, and it’s so endlessly creative with its sound. It manages to be both experimental and accessible. Songs like “Killing Time”, “Watching TV” and “That’s My Floor” are really good examples of the creativity shown in this album. And “Cry For Me” is singlehandedly the best song released this year. Without a doubt in my mind. Honestly, this is one of my favorite songs ever. Its build-up and eventual climax is such an insane listen, and if you listen to anything from this project, that’s the song I would recommend. I could write a book on this album, every single song is good, and even the interludes aren’t a skip. The songs work individually but when listening to it front the back it works even better, especially the way they all lead into each other. I love it when albums do that, it adds to the sense that this is one project, meant to be listened to from start to finish. And the story this album tells through its art, lyrics, music videos, and live shows is an artistic masterpiece. Not to mention the MUSIC VIDEOS. This shouldn’t be a factor when rating albums but I have to bring them up because of how cool, unique, and creative the imagery is. It also is such a good showing of Magdalena Bay’s progression as a duo. They always outdo themselves and this is my favorite project they’ve made yet, and I can’t wait to see what they do in the future. This album is incredible and is easily my favorite album of 2024, everybody should take the time to listen to this because I would kill to hear this thing for the first time again.
Favorite song: “Cry For Me”
