Every week, I check the schedule of new albums coming out and listen to the ones that catch my ear. Then I make a note throughout the year of the ones that made a strong impression. And then to finalize my Best Albums of 2024 list, I re-listened to everything on that shortlist to confirm whether or not I did in fact like them enough to enshrine them among the crème de la crème.

As for my favorite new songs of the year, they can be hard to find, since I live in a city with reliable public transportation, and thus rarely drive, and thus rarely listen to the radio. So I hope that I’ll encounter some good ones on the albums that I seek out, or that they otherwise reach me via pop cultural osmosis. Also, I try to stick with songs that were released as singles, but it’s okay if they weren’t.

Anyway, here’s the music that happily stuck with me in 2024:

ALBUMS

1. Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet: Sabrina is from the same county in southeastern Pennsylvania as me, but I’m sure I would’ve loved this album even if she were from Neptune.
2. St. Vincent, All Born Screaming: This may be just my favorite album from Ms. Vincent since Strange Mercy.
3. Sleater-Kinney, Little Rope: These ladies just keep on pounding away.
4. Charli XCX, Brat: Obviously I took a hit of the lime.
5. Jack White, No Name: I’ve come to the conclusion that Jack White is simply filled with an endless bounty of songs.
6. Kim Deal, Nobody Loves You More: A journey through unique soundscapes from the former Pixie.
7. The Cure, Songs of a Lost World: As heavy as an opera.
8. The Smile, Cutouts: The Smile’s new album is likely to make you smile because of the weird but enjoyable noises it has to offer.
9. Lauren Mayberry, Vicious Creature: The Chvrches frontwoman is as vulnerable and fiery as ever on her solo debut.
10. Future Islands, People Who Aren’t There Anymore: I guess those people aren’t there anymore because they’re too busy staying home and listening to the new Future Islands album.
11. Father John Misty, Mahashmashana: I love album titles that sound like you’re trying to get a baby to eat bananas. (The songs are good, too!)
12. Dhani Harrison, Innerstanding: (According to Wikipedia, this came out in October 2023, but I’ve seen other sources that say February 2024. Either way, I didn’t listen until 2024.) Out there and heavy, but also strangely calming.
13. Kim Gordon, The Collective: Scuzzy banging.
14. Tori Kelly, Tori.: Tori K. dove even deeper into her R&B roots.
15. Camila Cabello, C,XOXO: Camila’s just having fun, y’all.
16. Snoop Dogg, Missionary: A pretty ambitious effort as Snoop-a-Loop assumes a new position.
17. Justice, Hyperdrama: Pretty good, but also makes me wonder: what if the entire album were a team-up with Tame Impala?

SONGS

1. Kacey Musgraves, “Cardinal”: Kacey’s ode to a lost friend brought more than one tear to my eye.
2. Lenny Kravitz, “Human”: Q: Are we not human? A: We are Kravitz!
3. Tommy Richman, “Million Dollar Baby”: When I first heard “Million Dollar Baby,” I thought “What is this?” Because I loved it so much!
4. The Beaches, “Edge of the Earth”: I get chills whenever I hear Jordan Miller confess what she has to say in this confessional classic.
5. Justice ft. Tame Impala, “Neverender”: French DJs + Kevin Parker = Party Time
6. Sabrina Carpenter, “Taste”: Every lyric in this song has me replying, “Sounds good to me!”
7. Future Islands, “King of Sweden”: Not what I imagine when I think of Scandinavia, but I suppose song titles can be whatever you want.
8. Alice Merton, “run away girl”: True to its name, this is the type of song you need to be playing as you sprint to your destiny.
9. St. Vincent, “Big Time Nothing”: Annie C. revs up another winner.
10. Pharrell, “Piece by Piece”: It was all leading up to this.
11. Jack White, “That’s How I’m Feeling”: Chances are, you’ll be feeling the same as Jack by the end of it.
12. Sleater-Kinney, “Say It Like You Mean It”: The sort of song that convinces you to take the advice of its title.
13. St. Vincent, “Sweetest Fruit”: Delicate voice, heavy guitars, random bouncy noises: the St. Vincent formula is still alive and well!
14. Sabrina Carpenter, “Please Please Please”: One please was enough to convince me to love this song, I guarantee it.
15. The Black Keys, “Beautiful People (Stay High)”: Revenge of the Na Na Na Na Na
16. Pharrell, “Double Life”: I’m duty-bound to boost original songcraft from the Despicable Me-a-verse.
17. Lauren Mayberry, “Something in the Air”: I think that “something” is Lauren’s beautiful voice.
18. Tenacious D, “…Baby One More Time”: Wanna feel old? Po the Panda is older now than Britney Spears was when she released the original version of “…Baby One More Time.”
19. Reneé Rapp and Megan Thee Stallion, “Not My Fault”: Still Mean after all these years.
20. Cage the Elephant, “Good Time”: Musical odes to having a good time are eternal, so why not just call it simply “Good Time”?
21. Ariana Grande, “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)”: Indeed, let’s all wait for the love that we deserve, but let’s not wait for a great song from Ariana Grande.* (*Because she’s already given us plenty!🤪)

Great Songs That Came Out in 2023 That I Didn’t Hear Until 2024:
-The Beaches, “Blame Brett”
-The Last Dinner Party, “Nothing Matters”
-Milky Chance, “Living in a Haze”
-Chris Stapleton, “White Horse”

The Best Song From Even Earlier Than 2023 That I Didn’t Discover Until 2024:
Fever Ray, “If I Had a Heart”