The 10 Best Albums of 2024
Imagine this: You’ve been documenting your favorite albums throughout the year and you are ready to write your Top 10 list, but then that artist who never makes bad music decides to bless us with a surprise release in the fourth quarter.
In 2022 it was SZA and SOS, and it only took a few listens of that marvelous album to rise to No. 2 on my list, necessitating a rewrite. This year it’s Kendrick Lamar and GNX — a last-minute drop that easily made it to this year’s list, along with several other stunning projects that have been in heavy rotation in my AirPods and appeared all over my Spotify Wrapped.
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1. Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter
At 27 tracks, Cowboy Carter is more than an album. It’s supreme art that also serves as a history lesson. Reclaiming a genre created by Black people, Beyoncé tackles country music in her own way, with stunning results. She tag-teams with Miley Cyrus and Post Malone; she invites emerging Black artists on songs that have changed their lives; she takes classics from the Beatles and Dolly Parton and adds her own flavor while maintaining what made them great in the first place. She even gives us a whole-ass operatic moment on “Daughter.” There is nothing Queen Bey can’t do.
2. Billie Eilish, Hit Me Hard and Soft
It’s phenomenal that Eilish could release a debut as amazing as When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and follow it up with epic songs like “Therefore I Am,” “Happier Than Ever” and “What Was I Made For.” But then she does the unthinkable and creates the best album of her career so far. The 10 songs of Hit Me Hard and Soft hit deep. Some are fun and breezy, like “Birds of a Feather”; “The Greatest” and “Wildflower” are next-level; “L’Amour de Ma Vie” starts off jazzy and soft but goes into Super Saiyan mode in the best way. The nearly six-minute final track, “Blue,” ends with this line: “But when can I hear the next one?” Hopefully, that means more music is on the way.
3. Usher, Coming Home
This is Usher’s best album since 2004’s Confessions, and I’m bummed that more people haven’t listened to it. It’s A-level R&B that proves — like that Super Bowl halftime performance — why he’s one of the greatest of all time. It’s hard not to hit the repeat button on jams like “Please U,” “Kissing Strangers,” “I Am the Party” and “Bop.” Do yourself a favor and take a listen.
4. Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet
Carpenter knows how to make a pop smash but also shines when she’s tackling country on “Slim Pickins” and R&B on “Don’t Smile” and “Bed Chem,” the latter of which clearly borrows from Tamia’s late ’90s classic “So Into You.” My personal favorite? The banger “Good Graces.” At 36 minutes, Short n’ Sweet is just that — short and sweet — but it’s also satisfying, irresistible, catchy, cute and overall amazing. This album is full of good chem.
5. Ariana Grande, Eternal Sunshine
Grande couldn’t make a bad project if she tried. Following six near-perfect albums, Eternal Sunshine is a bright, multi-layered effort with the star’s glorious vocals at the center of it all. She gets personal and vulnerable on the 13 tracks, with standouts including “Bye,” “Supernatural,” “Don’t Want to Break Up Again,” “I Wish I Hated You” and the title track.
6. Tems, Born in the Wild
Tems’ music has been playing on repeat for years, and now she’s finally released her debut album. It doesn’t disappoint: The title track, which opens the album, is reflective and grand, while other songs, like “Wickedest” and “Love Me JeJe,” are undeniable, dance-inducing Afrobeat anthems.
7. Kendrick Lamar, GNX
A surprise album we all needed, GNX finds Compton-bred Lamar at the top of his game and proves he can do no wrong. “Luther,” one of two tracks featuring SZA, is soulful and addictive, while “Squabble Up” and “TV Off” are certified turn-up anthems. “Not Like Us” isn’t on the album and that’s okay — GNX is so good it doesn’t need the Drake-directed diss track.
8. Tyla, Tyla +
“Water” was the appetizer and this debut album is the full meal, showcasing that Tyla is not just a singles artist. The breakthrough performer gets it right on her self-titled release, thanks to satisfying and superb tracks like “Push 2 Start,” “Safer,” “On and On,” “Breathe Me,” “Shake Ah” and “Back to You.” And that doesn’t even include delightful singles like “Truth or Dare,” “Art” and “Jump.”
9. Kacey Musgraves, Deeper Well
As with 2018’s groundbreaking Golden Hour, Musgraves tugs at your heartstrings on Deeper Well. This is storytelling at its finest. Album opener “Cardinal” sets the mood in the best way: It’s dreamy, groovy, emotional and spiritual. The rest of the album follows suit, and while it’s hard to pick favorites, I’d highly recommend “Jade Green,” “Giver/Taker,” “Nothing to Be Scared Of” and the title track.
10. Shaboozey, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going
Beyoncé putting Shaboozey on two Cowboy Carter tracks was the alley-oop the rising star used to slam dunk with his third album. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is a major hit and has tied the record for most weeks at No. 1 in Billboard history — it’s inescapable. But Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going confirms that Shaboozey is more than a one-hit wonder. Press play on “Drink Don’t Need No Mix” and thank me later.
Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order by artist): Andra Day, CASSANDRA (cherith); Doechii, Alligator Bites Never Heal; Kali Uchis, Orquídeas; Muni Long, Revenge; Taylor Swift, The Tortured Poets Department
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