Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2024

This year has been an absolute hit in terms of music quality, and I’m grateful to have been able to share my thoughts on music with this publication. Here are my top 10 albums of 2024. 

10. Kamasi Washington- Fearless Movement (8.5/10)

Spiritual jazz, jazz fusion

12 tracks, 1h 26 m

Favorite tracks: Asha the First, Together, Prologue, Dream State

Least favorite track: The Visionary

Famed tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington’s newest project sees him embarking on a limitless spiritual and artistic revival. With his passionate and powerful style of playing, every note feels like it’s reaching out to touch your heart and soul. Every feature hits as well, whether it’s Thundercat, George Clinton, or André 3000.

9. Knocked Loose- You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To (8.9/10)

Metalcore, beatdown hardcore, hardcore punk, deathcore

10 tracks, 27m

Favorite tracks: Suffocate, Don’t Reach For Me, Blinding Faith, Sit & Mourn, Thirst

Least favorite track(s): Moss Covers All

Knocked Loose’s unflinchingly insane 3rd studio album also happens to be their most cohesive and well-written project yet. Featuring pounding breakdowns, viscerally emotional and well-written lyrics, and blistering features from Poppy and Chris Motionless of Motionless in White, respectively, You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To is an absolute must-listen for anyone who enjoys heavier music.

8. The Cure- Songs of a Lost World (10/10)

Gothic rock, alternative rock

8 tracks, 49m

Favorite tracks: Alone, Endsong, A Fragile Thing 

Least favorite track: N/A

The Cure’s first album in over 15 years is an excellent display of emotional lyricism and ethereal melodies, blending their classic chorus-laden guitar arpeggios and crushing soundscapes with modern-ish production and mixing. It manages to capture an incredible atmosphere of melancholy and bliss that makes last year’s Slowdive album sound bland. 

7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor- “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD” (10/10)

Post-rock, drone, chamber music

6 tracks, 54m

Favorite tracks: All (especially SUN IS A HOLE SUN IS VAPORS and BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD)

Least favorite track: N/A 

Released on the first anniversary of Hamas’ violent invasion, “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD” stands out as one of Godspeed You!’s most explicitly political albums yet, rich with emotionally striking orchestral compositions and seismic amounts of noisy droning to symbolize the lengthy, intense, and horrific power struggle between Netanyahu’s government and the Palestinian liberation movement.

6. JPEGMAFIA- I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU (10/10)

Experimental hip hop, hardcore hip hop, rap rock 

14 tracks, 41m

Favorite tracks: All (particularly JPEGULTRA!, i scream this in the mirror before i interact with anyone, Don’t Put Anything On the Bible, New Black History, don’t rely on other men, it’s dark and hell is hot)

Least favorite tracks: N/A 

Rapper and producer JPEGMAFIA, affectionately referred to as Peggy by fans, released his 7th and most weighty album yet this year. Featuring grinding metal riffs, punchy drums, obscure samples, constant Drake disses, and mind-blowing guest appearances from Buzzy Lee, Vince Staples, and Denzel Curry, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU is certainly a project that stands out amongst much of DeVaughn Hendryx’s discography.

5. Tyler, The Creator- Chromakopia (10/10)

West Coast hip hop experimental hip hop, neo-soul, neo-psychedelia 

14 tracks, 52m

Favorite tracks: All (particularly St. Chroma, Thought I Was Dead, NOID, Rah Tah Tah, Judge Judy, Hey Jane, Like Him, I Killed You)

Least favorite track: Balloon

Tyler’s first album since 2021’s CMWYGL is a bombastic return to form and a turning point in his career, with some of his most conscious and personal songwriting yet. Ranging from abortion and societal expectations of black women to internet beef, celebrity stalking, and Tyler’s abandonment by his father as a baby, his tear-jerking lyricism, combined with derivative instrumentals and wonderful features make for quite an emotional roller coaster. It wouldn’t be a Tyler album without a few club bangers though, with “Balloon,” “NOID,” “Sticky,” and “Rah Tah Tah" serving as some of his most aggressive and memorable songs in a while. It also wouldn’t be a Tyler album without frequent collaborator Lil Wayne, along with verses and background vocals from Sexxy Red, ScHoolboy Q (Playboi Carti on the vinyl release), Santigold, Daniel Caesar, and Teezo Touchdown, among others.

4. Mount Eerie- Night Palace (10/10)

Avant-folk, post-rock, indie folk, slowcore

26 tracks, 1h, 21m

Favorite tracks: Non-Metaphorical Decolonization, I Need New Eyes, Huge Fire, I Walk

Least favorite track: (soft air)

Night Palace, the newest LP from Mount Eerie, the solo project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Phil Elverum, is yet another amazing comeback record that came out this year. Atmospheric, slow, melancholic, and beautifully composed, it sees Phil incorporating more electric guitars into his extensive sound palette. His personal lyrical content is still strong and  It’s a reminder that his songwriting still holds up, even after 24 years since the release of his magnum opus, The Glow Pt 2.

3. Geordie Greep- The New Sound (10/10)

Jazz rock, progressive rock, art rock

11 tracks, 1h, 2m

Favorite tracks: Holy, Holy, The Magician, Motorbike, Blues, As if Waltz

Least favorite track: Bongo Season

Whether he’s maniacally yelling like a homeless man in a subway station or sensually crooning like Frank Sinatra, The New Sound is an excellent demonstration of Geordie Greep’s vocal talent. It has the intensity and drive of a BM album, but Geordie’s now-boundless creative input allows him to write some of his most twisted, fantastical, and monumentally brilliant works yet. 

2. Kendrick Lamar- GNX (10/10)

West Coast hip hop, trap, hardcore hip hop

12 tracks, 44m

Favorite tracks: all (specifically reincarnated, dodger blue, squabble up, heart pt. 6, tv off, and luther)

Least favorite track: gnx

Kendrick’s newest studio effort and first release since his bombshell trio of disses targeted at Drake, GNX is basically a 44-minute victory lap against Drizzy and the entire modern music industry. It also serves as an homage to African American culture as well as a tribute to some of the greats that rap has lost over the years, i.e. Pac and Biggie. With its fun production, hilarious adlibs, amazing features from a large host of underground and underrated artists, and a full-blown R&B duet, GNX stands out as one of the most derivative and memorable rap albums of this year.

1. Magdalena Bay- Imaginal Disk (10/10)

Synthpop, neo-psychedelia, alternative dance 

15 tracks, 53m

Favorite tracks: all (specifically Image, Death & Romance, Killing Time, Cry for Me, The Ballad of Matt & Mica, Watching T.V., Angel On a Satellite)

Least favorite track: Feeling Diskinserted? 

Consistently breaching Album of The Year’s top 100 highest-rated LPs of all time by user score, Imaginal Disk is an excellent example of a concept album done beautifully. Miami-based couple Matthew Levin and Mica Tannenbaum utilize lush production, sparkling and buzzing synths, polished drumming, Mica’s unbelievable vocals, and probably some of the most impressive production I have ever heard to create a mesmerizing and ethereal soundscape that might as well have been recorded in Heaven itself. Lyrically, Imaginal Disk follows the story of a girl named True, who has a device implanted in her skull that is intended to transform her into her “ideal self.” After the device fails, she embarks on a quest to discover her true (no pun intended) identity. Aided by the aforementioned gorgeous instrumentation and unbelievably powerful vocals, it’s a concept that’s executed perfectly. I highly recommend this if you want to cry.

Thank you all so much for reading! I can’t wait to continue writing for the Beat in 2025.