My albums of the year, 2024
Here, for you, same as every year, my albums of the year. I thought it was a good year, lots to listen to and enjoy. Of course, time will tell if these releases live long in the memory. It's funny when I look back at old lists and see which long players stayed in rotation.
Here's a Spotify playlist with a song from each (with the exception of two that weren't on Spotify, so I have put a song from #41 and #42 on to make up the numbers).
And here are the charts for years going back to 1987. Can I make it to 40 years of charts?
1 IMAGINAL DISK - Magdalena Bay
2 RONG WEICKNES - Fievel Is Glauque
3 NIGHT PALACE - Mount Eerie
4 CHARM - Clairo
5 WORLD OF WORK - Clarissa Connelly
6 BELOW A MASSIVE DARK LAND - Naima Bock
7 PAINT A ROOM - Chris Cohen
8 PAUL BUNYAN'S SLINGSHOT - Liquid Mike
9 THE PILGRIM, THEIR GOD, AND THE KING OF MY DECREPIT MOUNTAIN - Tapir
10 PEGASUS - Sex On Toast
11 DOGGIE PADDLIN' THRU THE COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS - Psychic Temple
12 LOOPHOLE - Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band
13 MANNING FIREWORKS - MJ Lenderman
14 LIMITS OF LANGUAGE - Field Music
15 ONE MORE AGAIN - Dylan Moon
16 WEIRD ROOMS - The Black Watch
17 HERE IN THE PITCH - Jessica Pratt
18 LATE SLAP - Dana Gavanski
19 BOX FOR BUDDY, BOX FOR STAR - This Is Lorelai
20 WHO'S A GOOD BOY - Bory
21 MALAGROTTA - Augie March
22 A DREAM IS ALL WE KNOW - Lemon Twigs
23 SCHEDULED EXPLOSIONS - 2nd Grade
24 THE OPTIMISTIC WRENCH EP - UV-TV
25 GRAVITY STAIRS - Crowded House
26 SEED OF A SEED - Haley Heynderickx
27 SOUVENIR - Omni
28 HEX - Jon McKiel
29 IMAGINARY FRIENDS - The Junipers
30 FOR EVERY SET OF EYES - J. Mamana
31 LA FLEUR - Kelly Stoltz
32 DIAMOND JUBILEE - Cindy Lee
33 ETHEREAL ESSENCE - Cornelius
34 EELS - Being Dead
35 MY LIGHT, MY DESTROYER - Cassandra Jenkins
36 HOWL - Daisy Rickman
37 BIG FOR YOU - Zsela
38 TAPED OVER EP - Novelty Island
39 INFINITE SKY EP - Twen
40 CATCHING CHICKENS EP - Nourished By Time
Comments (20)
I loved imaginal disc! Def my fav after Brat
Wow, I usually manage to recognize a handful of your year-end album picks, but you have shut me out completely this time. Well done!
I know the feeling. I know that I’m out of touch, but I only guess that these lists aren’t some kind of low-key Allison joke because I usually recognise one or two names. And this year, because I missed the Crowded House entry on a first scan, I didn’t even manage that.
I think the Clairo album may be my favorite of the year. So good
I thought you might have made them all up, but eventually I did recognise some names! I don’t listen to music as much as I used to.
I love these lists, thank you
I look forward to this so much!
Love to see Nourished By Time show up on a best-of list
I’ve listened to Peter Gabriel’s I/O many times thanks to your list last year, though it was only an honorable mention if I remember rightly. I hope I can find something similarly surprising that meshes with or expands my taste this year!
Yes, very enjoyable but just a bit too late arriving to make a dent in my chart.
a few years back, you did an “albums of the year” comic in the style of this magazine where the writers had a silly photo next to their review and some quip — you used your own characters, of course. i’ve been wracking my brains trying to remember what magazine that was, do you recall? are there strips up somewhere?
It was Zzap!64! They're not up anywhere now.
I'm always amazed at how fractured the non-mainstream music world is. Reading down the list I started to wonder if you were making up the band names as a lark, but finally, at #25, there's Crowded House, a name I remember fondly from, uhh, 1987... I'm sure that my list, consisting mostly of indie extreme metal, would be similarly incomprehensible to John, or anyone else not steeped in the minutiae of metal.
Yes, it's funny, isn't it! I'd love to see your list though, Dirk. I love knowing the names of bands in genres I don't listen to, because that can become a character in the comic's taste even if it isn't mine.
Where’s the skramz????????
I'm compiling a separate skramz chart
The majority of the entries on your list sounded to me as if they were invented, but a few googles set me straight. Thank you for confirming my oldness and my lack of connection to current pop music.
New music discovery is a hobby in an of itself, and it is definitely my hobby
It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Can't wait to listen. Hope you're doing well, John!
You too David!