The best albums of 2024, as selected by bands and artists
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(Credits: Far Out / Press)
How best to define the indefinable 2024? Other than a smattering of excellent albums, finding a throughline through the melee of the whole thing is nearly impossible. Once again, music was beleaguered by the powers that be, but this year, more so than ever, it became clear that independent artists refused to be forced into any form of submission. The indie world soldiers on.
In fact, it was recently announced that the UK music industry blossomed in some respects. According to new research by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), sales and streams of music rose 9.7 per cent to the equivalent of 200.5 million albums in the past year, marking a full decade of uninterrupted growth. While there are naturally still questions about the equity of the distribution of that growth and whether the live scene has seen the same positive turn, now is not the time to piss on the proverbial bonfire—that starts next week.
Defining this period of small, defiant wins against the goliaths of this world is the modern trend of artists keenly heaping praise upon each other. Long gone are the days of the Gallagher brothers blasting insults at all of their peers—well, at least we thought they were long gone—and now, there is a sense of mutual support—of artists collectively striving for change.
So, over the course of the year, when we’ve asked artists to pick up their favourite records of 2024 as part of our quick-fire questions feature, we’ve had no shortage of answers. So, in keeping with that celebratory spirit, we’ve compiled the list of responses for each time we posed that particular question. Thus, from Chastity Belt to Tess Parks, these are the artist’s choices for the best albums of 2024.
The best albums of 2024, as selected by bands and artists:
Chastity Belt: “Gonna need my Spotify Wrapped to come out to tell you that for me… joking… BRAT… also joking, though I do love it… Psychotic Spew by Black Ends.”
Hang Linton: “It’s either King Of The Mischievous South Vol 2 by Denzel Curry, or You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To by Knocked Loose. Both albums are packed with undeniable energy and unique production – qualities I admire and aspire to in my own music.”
Yasmin Coe: “Prelude to Ecstasy by The Last Dinner Party or Brat by Charli XCX.”
Dopamine: “I think the new Fontaines DC album is really good; I’ve been listening to that a lot.”
The Oidz: Summer: “Infinity on High.” Ben: “Animation Cel by Billiam or What’s Wrong With New York by The Dare.”
Andrew Bird: “The Room by Sam Gendel and Fabiano do Nascimento.”
Scions: “It’s been a good year for music. Clarissa Connelly’s World of Work has stuck with me all year – she combines pop form and pre-modern Celtic folk music and its magic. Just magic.”
Lots of Hands: “We have been binging the Tapir catalogue this year, as they are good friends of ours and amazing, amazing writers in the UK scene.”
Zebedee: “I loved the long-awaited ORB album Tailem Bend. Good band from Australia. We are simply just the best.”
Pushpin: Adam: “We must pay homage to Brat, of course. But in terms of sheer number of plays, I have absolutely loved Ritual by Jon Hopkins. Ambient music with just the right amount of bite. Laurence and I heard it at 1am in a field at Glastonbury, and it was just bliss.”
Party Dozen: “Kim Gordon – The Collective. I could listen to her name bathroom shelf items all day long.”
Psychic Lines: “That two-hour Cindy Lee album Diamond Jubilee is pretty wild. My Psychic Lines bandmate Dann Baker just released an amazing album last week called Cool Fires with his group Eljin Marbles. It could almost be a companion piece to Sunset on Sunset as California-themed albums made in Brooklyn.”
Gladboy: “Liam Bailey – Zero Grace.”
Volk Soup: “Numero Group’s You’re Not From Round Here compilation or Panda Bear ft. Sonic Boom and Adrian Sherwood – Reset in Dub (technically 2023, but the physical release was this year…).”
Ellen Reid: “Night Reign by Arooj Aftab.”
Tess Parks: “The Smile – Wall of Eyes, Amen Dunes – Death Jokes, Black Market Karma – Wobble.”
Eden Rain: “It’s got to be Bright Future by Adrianne Lenker.”
Hataałii: “I’m not sure. I’ve been listening to the same 100 songs since I was in middle school, and I don’t really pay attention to anything else. The Drake/Kendrick beef was kind of cool. But I think I’ll just go with Richard Hawley’s new album.”
Personal Trainer: “I think for the last 15 years I’d have a top ten ready for you, but I’m a little surprised to realise I don’t really know! I think I’ve been listening to some older music? Dutch artists Keenan Mundane and Beatrix put out cool EPs. Callahan and Witscher are going to drop a fire album I think, the singles are awesome.”
Camille Jansen: “I’d say Pretty Sick’s newest EP, Streetwise.”
Ambrose Kenny-Smith: “High in the Pitch – Jessica Pratt. I’ve listened to this record so many times already. When each single came out, I had them on repeat. I’ve had to give it a rest for the last few weeks cause I was playing it so much and didn’t want to get sick of it. I think it will be the album of the year for me for sure.”
Lucius: “We’ve been in the studio, so it’s been major tunnel vision for the last few months. From what I’ve listened to so far, my favourite would have to be Adrianne Lenker’s Bright Future. It’s brimming with gold.”
Ruby Duff: “All Born Screaming by St Vincent. I love everything from her visuals to her track intros and outros. They are unapologetically themselves and push boundaries in ways that are so refreshing for this day and age.”
J. Bernardt: “The Smile – Wall of Eyes.”
Pem: “I Got Heaven – Mannequin Pussy.”
Cola: Ben: “Souvenir by Omni.” Tim: “Laetitia Sadier’s newest LP [Rooting for Love] is unsurprisingly great.”
You can check out Far Out’s list of the 50 best albums of 2024 by clicking here.
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