2024: The Year for Music (Playlist Included!)

Music lovers ate well this year.

When beloved riot grrrl band Sleater-Kinney released Little Rope on January 19, I took it as an exciting preview of what was to come. For those familiar with the band, the album represented a new era, albeit rougher.

Members’ personal lives have historically overshadowed their significant contributions to music and Little Rope is no exception. Halfway through recording the album, Carrie Brownstein’s mother and stepfather were killed in a car accident. Instead of hitting pause, Brownstein finished the album with bandmate Corin Tucker, injecting new emotion to weave into the existing material.

“I don’t think there was ever a question that we would stop recording,” Brownstein told The Guardian. “I really needed to keep going.”

Diving into creativity during grief is an incredible healing mechanism. Tucker even remarked on its power when writing the album’s heavy second half.

“I guess it felt like praying,” she said.

As a spiritually bankrupt woman (read: atheist) with religious trauma, my outlook toward religion and spirituality is often more black and white than gray. With her quote, Tucker painted gray over my black-and-white thinking.

Looking back on a year filled with hit after hit for me, Tucker’s words put the last 12 months into perspective. Art was my religion in 2024. Painting and music were how I centered myself when life felt so out of control. They were how I held onto the self-confidence life tried to rip away.

In a year of ups and downs, music was easily 2024’s shining spot. Not just for me but culturally. This year is particularly special because seeing performances from seasoned professionals packaged as “new” artists. In 2024, artists who have been in the game for a decade who broke through, showing the difference between an artist who grinds and an artist who is groomed by labels.

While artists like Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo are exciting to see break out almost immediately—and both have shown significant growth since—it’s more exciting to see artists you’ve followed for years finally get the respect they deserve.

I could easily write 10 entries about 2024’s richness, whether that’s pop radio’s resurgence, women dominating hip-hop or a burgeoning rock revolution by way of the U.K. (What else is new?)

Throughout my person trials and tribulations, I’ve had music. To listen to, to analyze, to write about and to read about. While this love letter to an exciting musical year is in no way a comprehensive list of what 2024 had to offer—or even my full list—I feel it still represents the fresh spirit in music this year.

I hope you discover a new artist or song today!

LP’s top 2024 songs

As a reminder, this is a very truncated list. I’m coming out of a five-day migraine and ran into some pain that caused me to cut this list short. Please save the “WhAt AbOuT sO-aNd-So” comments and make your own list if you don’t like it!!

Warmduscher, “Top Shelf”

I discovered this song later in the year and it has become a serious addiction. It perfectly matches my brain’s wavelength and the amount of chaos swirling inside. When I listen to this song I feel “locked in,” as the kids (and Scott Stapp) say. The horns and percussion could be interpreted as distracting overkill, however, frontman Craig Higgins’ perfectly deadpan lyric delivery balances the chaos.

Kesha, “Joyride”

What a win for women, what a win for pop. After a decade trapped in an abusive (and that’s describing it lightly) recording battle, Kesha is FREE! Music’s No. 1 party girl celebrated by releasing “Joyride,” a pop punch that’s a welcome addition to this year’s fresh sounds.

Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”

Thank you Kendrick Lamar for giving us a deliciously petty distraction while the entire country was losing its soon-to-be-lost hope in Democrats’ ability to do anything. For a few sunny weeks, we forgot our political strife and gathered to support Kendrick in absolutely annihilating one of pop’s most overhyped artists. I loved that for us. Can’t wait to do it again when I watch the Eagles or Lions win the Super Bowl.

Lana Del Rey and Quavo, “Tough”

Lana Del Rey is an artist I can’t quit. I mean, it’s not like I’ve tried but I will quickly recognize what an out-of-pocket human she is. (And maybe that’s part of my addiction.) Whether asking a question for the culture, posting an album-cover rant apropos of nothing or marrying an alligator tour guide, she is always doing the most. And I am seated for it all. Luckily, like Lana, “Tough” is a song that also does the most. Thank you, Lana. Thank you. Quavo.

St. Vincent, “Broken Man”

ANNIE CLARK IS BACK, BABY!

Lord, when I first heard “Broken Man” I nearly wept. The distorted guitars were back, Clark’s beautiful black mane was back, her look-at-me choreography—all that makes her great, it’s all there.

St. Vincent is an artist who has rock in their heart (Halsey is another, we’ll get to them later) and is best when she surrenders to rock and roll. I mean Jesus Christ, look at that performance she gave on Jimmy Kimmel.

I understand why Clark made specific creative choices during her Daddy’s Home era and I respect that. But I am so unbelievably thrilled we are done with that era. There are just some people meant to play rock music.

Magdalena Bay, “Image (Grimes Special)”

Grimes, the woman who recently turned to Christianity to quit vaping (don’t ask), took an already perfect song and made it even more exciting. Of course, I have many, mostly negative, opinions about Grimes, however, I am quick to admit she is an incredible producer. Listen to Art Angels if you don’t believe me.

Doechii, “CATFISH”

Watching Doechii close out 2024 on a strong note excites me to see what’s next from the refreshingly animated and hilarious rapper. (I mean, just watch her Genius Open Mic with Issa Rae.) While Doechii got a boost from a Katy Perry feature earlier this year, it was—similar for Chappell Roan—her NPR Tiny Desk Concert that brought her to the mainstream. A well-thought-out and technically tight performance, Doechii made her mark on the internet and our hearts. I am very eager to see what she does next.

Lady Gaga, “Disease”

I know “Die with a Smile” is the Lady Gaga track we’re all supposed to like this year but I need y’all to remember I am an O.G. Little Monster who LIKES THINGS CREEPY AND WEIRD. Let’s remember, Lady Gaga did not become a star for being normal.

“Disease” scratches that weird-Gaga itch, using imagery and sounds reminiscent of her industrial rock-influenced Born This Way. (“Heavy Metal Lover” FOREVER, btw.) In my opinion, this is Gaga at her best, however, the general public often doesn’t agree with my Lady Gaga takes—like how ARTPOP is her best album.

Real ones know.

Beyonce, “Daughter”

Choosing a top Beyonce song this year was a monumental task. It was up against “Daughter” and “Most Wanted II,” and “Daughter” ultimately won* for the visceral reaction it gave me. I sobbed on the first listen and I have yet to get all the way through without tears. The song is beautiful and torturous for daughters estranged from their fathers. Beyonce perfectly touches on what it’s like to see her father’s most unsavory traits in herself, something I constantly wrestle with.

These lyrics??

“Say I'm nothin' like my father
But I'm the furthest thing from choir boys and altars
Double cross me, I'm just like my father
I am colder than Titanic water”

FUCK.

Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, “Afterlife”

I have nothing profound to say other than I have been head over heels in love with this woman for more than a decade. The kindest musician I have ever interviewed in my career, I just melt thinking about her. I am so very excited to see what her new project, Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, will bring in 2025.

Sabrina Carpenter, “Espresso”

I’ve been a casual Sabrina Carpenter fan since 2019, so it’s rewarding to see her music reach the heights it has. Listening to her 2018 single “Paris” happily reminds me of summer afternoons walking through my old South Philly neighborhood, so seeing her ‘make it’ this year warms my heart.

This heartwarming feeling is exemplified knowing that her career is now louder than her unfairly earned reputation as “the other woman” in Olivia Rodrigo’s personal life. While Short n’ Sweet didn’t make the kind of impact on me that it made on the zeitgeist, I owe it to Carpenter to reference her work as some of 2024’s best. She’s someone that truly deserves it.

Yard Act, “We Make Hits”

Love is a heavy theme in music, so when a catchy song that swaps love for cheekiness comes across my radar, I surrender completely. “We Make Hits” is that song, a matter-of-fact statement to why Yard Act makes the music it does. They’re just two broke millennial men biding time between existential crises! They bounce around onstage because the Earth is on fire! I may not relate to Sabrina Carpenter’s aggressively straight content but I DO relate to THIS.

Fontaines D.C., “Death Kink”

Rock and roll is on the brink of a comeback and Fontaines D.C. is easily the catalyst. The Irish post-punk band debuted in 2019 with its debut album, Dogrel, and has been fine-tuning its sound since. Romance, Fontaines D.C.’s fourth album in five years, channels the alt radio days of the early-to-mid ‘90s while holding onto the sound that gave them so much momentum. In addition to Romance, frontman Grian Chatten has established himself as one of the very few musicians to loudly condemn Israel’s genocide. Now that is rock and roll.

Sleater-Kinney, “Hunt You Down”

Thanks to this piece’s intro, you know how I feel about this album. It’s the first to connect with me in 2024 and I consider Little Rope the album to kick off 2024’s strong year. I’m willing to fight anyone who disagrees.

Amyl & The Sniffers, “Me and The Girls”

Oh, I am just tickled with rock music’s direction this year. I mean, it has been BAD for a decade. I didn’t want to listen to stomp-clap rock, I didn’t want to listen to whatever the Black Keys were doing and, up until now, I have not wanted to listen to the same rotating four bands that debuted 35 years ago.

Amyl & The Sniffers represents one of the many rock bands making the genre, particularly punk, relevant again. Frontwoman Amy Taylor is a firecracker who is irresistible to watch onstage. Every track on Cartoon Darkness is a blast but “Me and The Girls” is my choice for most fun.

The Cure, “Drone:Nodrone”

Wait. What was that thing I said about bands from 35 years ago?

I’M SORRY!! I’m so sorry!!!! I take it all back if it means we got The Cure in 2024.

The Bug Club, “Lonsdale”

I first heard of The Bug Club when Spotify recommended “Marriage” and I couldn’t get it out of my head. A few weeks later, Iggy Pop flagged the band as one to watch on his BBC Radio program. As a general life rule, I listen to Iggy Pop (and his cockatoo, Biggie).

Jack White, “Archbishop Harold Holmes”

After releasing two albums filled with more experimental work, Jack White returns to his White Stripes roots on No Name, and that includes the delightful “Archbishop Harold Holmes.” With No Name, White—now considered Motor City royalty among the likes of Bob Seger, Eminem and my guy Iggy Pop—proves we truly never know his next move, even if it’s one we already know.

Halsey, “Arsonist”

When Halsey began releasing photoshoots from their playful promo for The Great Impersonator I was so disappointed in the people who made fun of the concept. I loved watching an artist evolve into their inspirations and, as someone who has many inspirations themselves, I was excited to listen to such a unique concept album.

Like Sabrina Carpenter, Halsey was always a casual artist for me—until they collaborated with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, a concept album about pregnancy and childbirth. This album proved two things true: Halsey is an incredible rock artist and one who knows how to make a concept album.

The Great Impersonator ups the ante from their previous album. Halsey weaves through genres and styles inspired by favorite artists while facing their mortality. It’s an album that is extraordinary for its circumstances. What kind of art would you make if you were dying?

I have a big soft spot for The Great Impersonator because of its similarities to Blackstar, David Bowie’s last album. Blackstar introduced me, and many others, to once-in-a-lifetime art—art that confronts death head on by the person actively dying. Art that would not be created under any other circumstance. The Great Impersonator picks up where Bowie left off when he passed.

Out of a big, incredible track list I chose “Arsonist” because it was inspired by Fiona Apple, who is right behind Bowie in my favorite artist lineup.

Charli xcx, “365”

Did I save the best for last? Absolutely.

By now it’s established that no artist had a better 2024 than Charli xcx, and for good reason. After the boundary-pushing pop artist put effort into creating a commercial album (Crash) that the industry still did not accept, she said ‘Fuck it’ and put her energy into following one recipe: her own. brat was born.

I believe the industry’s refusal to accept Charli xcx as a legitimate artist is what made her (or at least brat) become a household name in 2024. Longtime fans loved seeing their favorite artist fully realize herself and new fans loved the heavy beats that broke through pop’s more subdued phase.

Thanks to “365,” cocaine has become one of 2024’s many stars, with “Bumpin’ that” now part of our modern lexicon. During one substitute teaching stint, I actually had to stop myself from dropping a cocaine reference in front of a child because for a split second I forgot it was a cocaine reference. Prior to June 2024, that would’ve never happened, not even during my Pusha T phase. Our Charli bb did that.

Songs I would’ve liked to write about but didn’t have it in me to continue

Chronic pain blows. We know this.

Remi Wolf, “Soup”

Kim Deal, “Crystal Breath”

Brittany Howard, “Prove It To You”

Mannequin Pussy, “I Got Heaven”

I have enough energy to tell you this whole album is unreal.

Ethel Cain, “Punish”

Royel Otis, “Foam”

Nilüfer Yanya, “Like I Say (I runaway)”

Hurray for the Riff Raff, “Buffalo”

Tove Lo & S.G. Lewis, “Busy Girl”

IDLES, “Gift Horse”

Destroy Boys, “You Hear Yes”

Addison Rae, “Diet Pepsi”

Pouty, “Virgos Need More Love”

We do!! We’re tired of holding it all together all the time!!

Chappell Roan, “Good Luck, Babe!”

Megan Thee Stallion, “HISS”

Kim Gordon, “BYE BYE”

*To protect my emotional wellness, I swapped “Daughter” for “Most Wanted II” on the playlist. Why? Because I want to listen to my playlist while I’m working and prefer to not have an emotional breakdown while crafting social media posts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!