Rock & Roll Globe’s 30 Best Albums of 2024

The news is in: Being cool is over.

Who are you trying to impress? At this stage, we are looking down the path of an uncertain future that your music choices really are secondary to the question of whether or not you’re a decent human being.

You could have the coolest record collection in the world and be a complete tool, like that dude from that one podcast.

Rock & Roll Globe isn’t trying to be cool. We are naturally cool, because we don’t follow. We are here just doing our thing, listening to what we want, because it feels good.

So here are the albums from a most tumultuous 12 months that we feel exemplify the best of what 2024 had to offer.

 

30. Various Artists

TRA​И​Ƨ​A (Red Hot Org)

For nearly 35 years, the Red Hot Organization has been releasing some of the most important and innovative music compilations on the market. But TRA​И​Ƨ​A might be the nonprofit’s most crucial since Red Hot + Blue kicked off the series in 1990. Released at a time when the rights of trans and nonbinary people in America are threatened by the incoming Trump Administration, this 46-track compilation — produced inside of three years with over 100 artists contributing — takes a stand through fearless creativity and sonic innovation. Whether it’s Jeff Tweedy and claire rousay’s interpretation of William Blake’s poem “How Sweet I Roamed,” Moses Sumney and ANOHNI covering the crucial SOPHIE composition “Is It Cold In The Water?,” André 3000’s 26-minute instrumental meditation, Ezra Furman and Sharon Van Etten mourning Sinead O’Connor with a stunning version of “Feel So Different” or Sade Adu singing proudly of her trans son with “Young Lion,” TRA​И​Ƨ​A is an important, life-affirming treasure chest of new sounds constructed for a noble cause. And while it’s only available digitally now, you can preorder the six-LP vinyl box set, which will be shipping in the spring of 2025. – Ron Hart

 

29. Pearl Jam

Dark Matter (Monkeywrench Records)

On their first album with producer Andrew Watt, Seattle’s most resilient rock band raised their collective vibration to craft their most powerful album since Lightning Bolt. The 33-year-old Watt captures the essence of PJ’s early years with the same live-in-the-studio energy that imbued the first three albums, albeit with a sense of ragged glory that comes with being on the cusp of 60. Long may they run. – Ron

 

28. Nada Surf

Moon Mirror (New West Records)

There are virtues in consistency which would be a mistake to overlook. Nada Surf is a prime example, amassing a strong body of work in almost a quarter-century removed from being on a major label. Moon Mirror does nothing to detract from the canon, showcasing the band’s usual gifts — a knack for melody marrried to songs destined to produce smiles even at their most bittersweet, tied together by the core trio — singer/guitarist Matthew Caws, drummer Ira Elliott and bassist Daniel Lorca (augmented well by keyboardist Louie Lino) — having decades of accumulated chemistry.For a discography without a misfire, its one of the strongest entries. It’s full of songs that would fit right in on a future Best of Nada Surf compilation: the warm hope of “New Propeller,” the subtly dramatic “The One You Want,” “Losing” with its lovely accents of shoegaze guitar, the jangling roar on “In Front of Me” and the buzzworthy drive of “Open Seas.” For those who haven’t overlooked Nada Surf, Moon Mirror is a sparkling new gem. For those unfamiliar, it makes a fine introduction to a group worth exploring. – Kara Tucker

 

27. Shellac To All Trains (Touch & Go)

It’d be difficult to make a case for Shellac as one of the most influential bands in recent memory, because no one has ever managed to approach the steely, seething minimalism that’s characterized their recordings — a simultaneously invigorating and enervating blend that reaches its apex on this, their final album. Steve Albini was notoriously meticulous when recording his own band, making sure no extraneous bits of sound made it into the mix, and there was plenty of wiggle room between his guitar, the drums of Todd Trainor and the bass of Bob Weston — who, as often as not, emerges as the lead instrumentalist. While the dark and stormy To All Trains is, technically, a posthumous album (it came out just days after Albini’s sudden passing by heart attack), it can’t be filed neatly alongside collections like David Bowie’s Lazarus, since the frontman wasn’t aware of death’s looming specter — at least no more than he was on any other day of his adult life. Death and mortality do end up being recurring themes here, notably on the desperate-sounding “Wednesday” and the closer, “I Don’t Fear Hell,” on which Albini weighs his afterlife options and chooses to push the elevator’s “down” button, saying “the floor show would be incredible.” On the other hand, the all-too-short album — it clocks in at 29 minutes — also packs plenty of biting humor, as on “Scabby the Rat,” an ode to the inflatable rodent that shows up when unions are being busted in towns like Shellac’s Windy City home base. Not only does Scabby watch over workers, he also “makes the whole room pregnant,” as we hear in the song’s transient random bursts of scree. But about that death thing: Albini leaves us wrestling with it, dancing with it, embracing it, even, by ending To All Trains with typical ambivalence, speak-singing “Something something something when this is over/I’ll leap in my grave like the arms of a lover/If there’s a heaven, I hope they’re having fun/Cause if there’s a hell, I’m gonna know everyone.” – Deborah Sprague

 

26. Various Artists

Kampire Presents: A Dancefloor in Ndola (Strut Records)

Kampire Bahana’s very existence is political as a queer woman living in extremely homophobic Uganda, and that defiance colors her art. But these 72 heavenly minutes hearken back to her Zambian upbringing and deliver what the title promises. Floating East African guitar vamps mesh with bassy log-drum simulacra on uncovered DJ manna like V-Mash’s bratty “Naughty Boy” and Di Groovy Girls’ three-chord synth-pop throwdown “Ririmi Rotsombela.” You’ll never want your playlist curator of choice to go without African House Party Project’s absolute classic “P-Coq” ever again. It won’t be a surprise that they’re predominantly fronted by women. If you’re completely new to dance music in African languages, Kampire’s bulletproof ear will serve as a reminder that there’s so many jams left to discover if nothing else. – Dan Weiss

 

25. Lenny Kravitz

Blue Electric Light (BMG)

This is the first Lenny album I’ve bought with my own money since Are You Gonna Go My Way?, and it was worth every cent. No bells, no whistles. Blue Electric Light is pretty much Kravitz and his longtime collaborator Craig Ross on everything, getting back to the essence of those first four albums while bringing their distinctive sound into the now. It’s a most welcome return to form. – Ron

 

24. Tierra Whack

World Wide Whack (Interscope Records)

“I’ve been trying new things / Mama said she tired of my mood swings” is how Big Whack opens her first-ever album following six years of salivating brought on by 2018’s Whack World, a candidate for the most original hip-hop debut of all-time. Those 15 songlets in 15 minutes with stunningly kaleidoscopic visual accompaniment cannot be improved on. So she expands on them instead with 15 more in 38 minutes, not sounding terribly different from her patented first-take-best-take ethos and inimitable singsong. She just repeats the choruses a few more times, an effective tactic when they’re as hyped up as “Chanel Pit” or dripping with psych-soul like “Imaginary Friends.” I just hope she never stops outrunning impulses like “when I grow up I want to hang from a ceiling.” Now that the real André 3000’s retired to flute business, she’s happy to fill the shoes. – Dan

 

23. Hurray For The Riff Raff

The Past is Still Alive (Nonesuch)

Alynda Segarra’s father passed away shortly before recording was due to begin, but rather than extensively rework material, they went with their original plan. The difference was that the songs, which connected tales and snapshots from Segarra’s past to their current sense of self and overall worldview, were recorded with less fuss. “Snake Plant (The Past is Still Alive)” hearkens back to the days when Segarra, not yet 18, lived life off the grid and traveled surreptitiously by train. “Hawkmoon” goes to the New Orleans Segarra settled in when she stepped off those trains. This isn’t just a trip down memory lane, as songs like “Buffalo” and “Ogallala” have feet firmly planted in the present while “Hourglass” and “The World Is Dangerous” detail the personal. A vital, moving work, it’s a fitting tribute to Segarra’s father and those who impacted them, as well as a strong statement of who they’ve become. – Kara

 

22. Jack White

No Name (Third Man Records)

He can do it, he just didn’t want to. That’s evident from No Name, the sixth album under Jack White’s own name and easily the best (and most garage) record he’s made since the White Stripes’ swan song Icky Thump. The secret isn’t just the simulated spontaneity he locks into with any session bandmate at his command but the simplicity his ex-wife Meg always championed. Few artists reach their deepest self in the midst of rocking out but he is one of them, just check the blunt-force momentum of “Tonight (Was a Long Time Ago)” or the Clash-homage “Missionary” or the MC5 blare of “Bombing Out.” You won’t hear a better slide-guitar riff this year than “Underground.” Maybe you won’t hear a better riff at all. – Dan

 

21. Kali Uchis

Orquídeas (Geffen)

The label suits didn’t want Uchis, a Colombian American, to record her second album in Spanish. When she did anyway, the label refused to promote Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞, which kept it from charting. But fans on TikTok had other ideas, turning the luscious “Telepatia” into a massive viral hit, putting her in the Top 40 for the first time. Uchis moved on to a new label, recording two albums back-to-back, releasing the solid English-language Red Moon in Venus last year, with Orquideas (the orchid being Colombia’s national flower) dropping at the start of 2024. The result is a musical platter of everything she does well, with plenty of dreamy pop in the vein of “Telepatia” (the retro gorgeousness of “Heladito”) before branching out into a number of Latin styles — powerful bolero (“Te Mata”), turn-it-up reggaeton (“Labios Mordidos”),irresistible merengue (“Dame Beso // Muévete”) and more. Uchis’ blend of bad-ass empowerment and real vulnerability is even more fully realized. She’s better than ever vocally, charismatically never getting subsumed by the well-chosen, well-performed guest appearances (Karol G, Rauw Alejandro, Peso Pluma, El Alfa, JT). Confident, smart, sexy and funny, Orquideas is a strong statement for the artist knowing themselves better than a label could. And if you live in a neighborhood with a sizable Latin presence, it’s exactly the kind of thing you don’t mind blaring from a car stereo outside your window. – Kara

 

 

20. DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ Hex/Sorcery (self-released)

This mystery mistress of the turntables offers pure euphoria across two double albums loaded with life-affirming pulses that fall somewhere between house music and dream pop. With both Hex and Sorcery, she delves even deeper into her influences by way of her “carboot-sale drum machines and charity-shop synthesizers” to create four hours of nonstop homegrown bliss. – Ron

 

19. Chat Pile

Cool World (The Flenser)

I don’t know what to do with the undercooked Model/Actriz, Mandy, Indiana, or the rechristened Gilla Band. But these downtuned Oklahoma City sickos make crossover noise-rock as intended: equidistant from paint-peeling Jesus Lizard screech and thrashing-in-place nü-metal lurch. Hooks crawl off their eerie guitars and steel-driving bass bends no matter what Raygun Busch is screaming — try Luther Manhole’s runaway riff on “The New World” — but the deciding factor is his lyrics. Debate at your peril whether or not they’re metal, but they convey external horrors better than most metal bands, like the meltdown “Tape” has over the “worst I ever saw,” left open-ended so you can fill it in with your nightmare, whether it’s the Palestinian genocide or the attempted coup in South Korea or the realization that any of it happening here is closer than we ever could have imagined. “I screamed about it all night,” mutters Busch over the darkwave sludge he called “Milk of Human Kindness.” Sounds about right. – Dan

 

18. Bob Vylan

Humble as the Sun (Ghost Theatre)

One can count on the UK duo to be consistent in many things — their protection of their personal privacy (singer guitarist Bobby Vylan and drummer Bobbie Vylan keeping it kayfabe with their stage names), the passionately honest sociopolitical worldview and their staunchly DIY approach. Their blend of punk and grime remains forcefully intact on Humble as the Sun, married to urgent words. The rapid fire rhymes and thrashing riffage of “Hunger Games” put across an intense portrait of poverty and the moral compromises that create it. “GYAG (Get Yourself a Gun)” puts the listener squarely in the middle of a neighborhood where landlords view buildings as property without the slightest hint of care for the residents or the neighborhood. “Right Here,” a statement of musical independence uses the same sample of Angela Bassett from Kathryn Bigelow’s underrated 1995 film Strange Days that Fatboy Slim used on “Right Here, Right Now.” Here, it’s in more appropriate fashion given the context of the movie’s dialogue (where Bassett’s character is shaking Ralph Fiennes’ to snap out of it and live in the present). But the album is also full of determination and wit (that “Misses the days when he could count on Clarkson, May and Hammond/Now it’s only mediocre gear that he can get his hands on” line in the toxic masculinity takedown “He’s a Man.”). Bob Vylan has plenty of machinery to rage against, but the album cover photo of a smiling Bobby also hints at the undercurrent of hope that’s part of this album’s DNA. It’s made clear when this stellar album closes with the proud, defiant “I’m Still Here,” showing that smile is well-earned. – Kara

 

17. Jeff Parker ETA IVtet

The Way Out Easy (International Anthem/Nonesuch)

When Jeff Parker joined Tortoise in 1996, he helped bring the group closer to the jazz thing they were working towards with his disciplined yet freeing method of guitar playing. Nearly 30 years later, he’s leading his own group, the ETA IVtet, in crafting some of his most imaginative music yet. Named after the Los Angeles venue where they held a weekly residency until it closed in late 2023, The Way Out of Easy is as much as testament to the space it was created in as it is of the performers, rounded out by saxophonist Josh Johnson (SML, Meshell Ndegeocello, Leon Bridges), bassist Anna Butterss (SML, Jason Isbell, Phoebe Bridgers) and drummer Jay Bellerose (Robert Plant, Allen Toussaint, Joe Henry). May the IVtet thrive on despite their temporary displacement. This is music you want to experience live in your face. – Ron

 

16. Mdou Moctar

Funeral for Justice (Matador)

Moctar burst onto the scene with 2021’s Afrique Victime, introducing his fiery brand of tishoumaren. A new guitar hero for the modern age, Moctar’s skills are the delivery system for a passionate message, delivered in his native Tamasheq language. Between the ongoing effects of colonialism in his home country of Niger, the unstable political situation there (a coup that left the band stranded in the U.S. last year) and the lack of access to basic needs, Moctar still has a lot to write about. France may have ceded control of Niger over 60 years ago, but has retained a pernicious influence — only closing the last of its military bases there last year. French interests still control the uranium industry there, funneling profits out of the country, leaving vast portions of the nation without electrical power and poisoning water supplies. At the beginning and end of the title track, Moctar sings words that translate to “Dear African leaders, hear my burning question/Why does your ear only heed France and America?/They misled you into giving up your lands/They delightfully watch you in your fraternal feud/They possess the power to help out but chose not to.” It’s on his mind throughout, whether it’s the risk of his native language losing ground to French among younger generations (“Imouhar”) or the overall harm (“Oh, France”). But while he calls out colonialism and his own country’s corruption, there is also a resilient spirit and love, evidenced in songs like “Tchinta.” Moctar’s lyrics are worth paying heed to, but the music itself makes for a dazzlingly potent delivery system — a tight band firing on all cylinders, impressively fluid riffs and solos, the ability to be fiery and quiet with equal strength, the knack for fusing Western musical influences while remaining utterly true to the musical heritage that precedes him. – Kara

 

15. Halsey

The Great Impersonator (Columbia)

The patchwork quilt is a uniquely American art form, and one of our most moving, given its ability to tell multiple stories at once – creating a warm and enveloping whole. That’s also the case with The Great Impersonator, Halsey’s most moving, least immediate album to date. At first, it’s easy to wade into the mix of country-pop, classic rock and acoustic introspection and feel like you’ve gone past the breakers. But once you get your bearings, everything starts to cohere. Jersey’s favorite daughter didn’t make any attempt to disguise the fact that she was drawing from a number of wells here, going so far as to dress up as Bruce Springsteen and Dolly Parton (among others) to explain the genesis of individual songs like “Letter to God (1983),” which channels the Boss in both its delivery and its borderline-cheesy instrumentation (do they still even make those drum machine settings?). Elsewhere, she conjures a lovely evocation of Rumours-era Stevie Nicks on “Panic Attack” and a dose of Polly Harvey-like drama on “Dog Years.” But beneath the disguises, there lurks an album that depicts a woman teetering on the verge of total emotional collapse — understandable, given the daunting physical issues she faced while making it. In fact, there are moments that we’re privy to that collapse actually occurring, but ultimately, The Great Impersonator is an album of triumph, sometimes exhausting, but, in the end, positively revelatory. – Deborah

 

14. Gouge Away

Deep Sage (Deathwish, Inc.)

Another alt-hardcore synthesis outfit; keep them coming. On Gouge Away’s first album in six years, Mick Ford and Dylan Downey play Lee and Thurston on competing noises darker and grungier than their Sonic Elders, while Christina Michelle cuts the stage in half with thrashabouts like “The Sharpening” that wouldn’t have done the second side of In Utero wrong. There’s melodies, too, garnished from all corners of the punk-metal axis, from Pixies (“Maybe Blue”) to some bastard child of Fugazi’s The Argument and Tool’s Undertow (“Idealized”). And If you’re still not convinced they’re the band we need now, for that 2024 touch they go out on a two-part shoegaze epic. – Dan

 

13. Kim Deal

Nobody Loves You More (4AD)

Deal has never been accused of being excessively prolific — five Breeders and one Amps album over the past 34 years. So it’s no surprise that it’s taken until now for her to release her first solo album. It’s also no surprise that it often turns out to be a delight. There’s plenty of the spiky charm Deal brings to the Breeders, but also plenty of twists and touches that mark different paths, starting with the ’60s orchestral flourishes on the title track and the mariachi horns on “Coast.” More strings and late night strumming on the lovely “Summerland” suggest a fondness for classic Europop. Considering we’re talking about the same lead singer and primary songwriter, there are also plenty of moments familiar to Breeders fans (like the cigarettes-and-honey hug of “A Good Time Pushed”), albeit with tweaks. “Are You Mine?” is a more languid countrypolitan stroll through the turf explored on that “Drivin’ on 9” cover, the electronic base to “Crystal Breath,” the fact that there are no left turns to the classic rock of “Disobedience.” It’s also noticeable that Deal is more personal. For example, with its title and tone, “Are You Mine?” could have been written as a love song, but the reality is that the title question was asked by Deal’s mother, years into Alzheimer’s, when the two passed each other in the hallway at home. Nobody Loves You More is years in the making. It started with writing over a decade ago, resulting in songs released as solo 7-inch singles and worked into the Breeders 2018 album All Nerve. Much of it came from writing sessions during the pandemic, when she was stuck in Florida. Working with musicians familiar (two-thirds of the Breeders, the late Steve Albini, who also recorded much of the album, former Breeder Britt Walford) and new to Deal projects (Josh Klinghoffer, Raymond McGinley). It may have taken a while for Deal to feel right putting out a solo album (and one with her picture on the cover), but that comfort shows. This is utterly assured and engaging, an album that belongs in the discussion of her best work. – Kara

 

12. Peter Perrett

The Cleansing (Domino Recording Co.)

Nobody really imagined Peter Perrett would be capable of releasing one of the most gripping, most intense, most moving albums of 2024. Heck, very few people imagined the man would be alive in 2024, a concept he addresses with remarkably clear-eyed alacrity on “I Want to Go With Dignity,” a look into the abyss that ranks with those previously conjured up by Warren Zevon and David Bowie, wrapped in the same sneeringly nasal vocal delivery that Perrett used to such great effect with The Only Ones decades ago. But while he’s well aware of the walls closing in — especially evident on the none-more-black “Less Than Nothing,” he’s not simply waiting for the inevitable collapse. Instead, he’s trying to knock the whole structure down from his side, sawing with razor-like guitar lines and (on “Women Gone Bad”) threatening the foundation with rumbling synths that would make Suicide’s Martin Rev nod in appreciation. Earlier in his life, Perrett sounded weary when telling his audience “All that glitters is not gold, and even serpents shine.” He echoes that worldview at several points here, but decades of self-imposed drags through the gutter have added another layer — an unexpected one. Yes, he’s set to go — but the bitter is far overwhelmed by the sweet that he’d like to bequeath to those he’s leaving behind. – Deborah

 

11. LL Cool J, The FORCE (Def Jam)

The story’s a heartwarming one. Embarrassed by reactions to “Accidental Racist” a decade ago in an America that’s changed unfathomably for the worse, the 56-year-old who invented pop-rap stardom strove to have something to say. So he takes on racial extremism on “Spirit of Cyrus” and the beauty of life in a Black family on “Black Code Suite.” Some things never change; he’s sexy as ever trading comelies with Saweetie on “Proclivities.” James Smith holds his own throughout, but the astonishing art-funk beats are now a third bid in ten years to nominate Q-Tip as the best producer in America, after Tribe secured a Billboard number-one with the greatest reunion LP of all-time and Danny Brown found a musical voice to match his red-hot MCing on uknowhatimsayin?. Nearly 35 years after his previous masterpiece I think you can go ahead and call it a comeback. – Dan

 

10. Kim Gordon The Collective (Matador)

Only the second solo album of Gordon’s career, six years after the first, she teamed up with producer Justin Raisen again. Gordon and Raisen were interested in making music more beat-driven, something that his discography, which includes names like Charli XCX, Lil Yachty and Drake, had him more than ready for. Indeed, “BYE BYE” (one of the standout tracks) began as a beat for Playboi Carti before Raisen and his brother decided it was too out there for the rapper. Gordon meets the more hip-hop driven sounds on those terms while putting her stamp on it with her own industrial clamor and scrawl. All the while, she delivers the lyrics in either sprechesung or Autotuned fashion. As a whole, Gordon’s trip through Soundcloud soundscapes contains nary a whiff of cultural tourism. Rather, even the words that seem most free associative, are well chosen to create an engaging snapshot of connection disconnection and in a time where social media and real life creates uneasy alliances within people and their identities. Plenty of highlights follow — the scalpel-sharp “I’m a Man,” the beat-driven “BYE BYE,” the study in disconnection “Psychedelic Orgasm,” the clang and roar of “Tree House.” As much as Gordon prefers to think of herself as an artist rather than a musician, The Collective makes a strong case for her continued musical strength. – Kara

 

9. Slash

Orgy of the Damned (Snakepit Records)

On his best solo album since the second Slash’s Snakepit LP, the GNR guitar great succeeds in keeping the blues alive for at least another year with this impassioned collection of genre standards with the help of such prolific pals as Chris Robinson, Chris Stapleton, Billy F. Gibbons, Paul Rodgers, Brian Johnson and Demi Lovato among others. By the near-end of the album after a fiery version of Albert King’s “Stormy Monday,” Beth Hart sounds like she had an orgasm. That’s the power of this Orgy. – Ron

 

8. Sabrina Carpenter Short n’ Sweet (Island Records)

Chappell Roan’s great and all but I’ve been rooting for Sabrina ever since she managed to neatly tuck the word “catastrophizing” into 2022’s quietly excellent Emails I Can’t Send. No one else was funnier, sexier or smarter than the pop breakthrough of 2024, which among other things freshened up Jack Antonoff’s synth work immediately following Taylor Swift’s most labored album. Dolly Parton herself would have a ball with “Slim Pickins,” but “Bed Chem” would’ve fit on Aaliyah’s One in a Million, too. With a real-life fuckboy for a comedic foil, Carpenter takes a neverending supply of fodder to new realms, dissing Leonard Cohen fetishists even harder than Boygenius did on “Dumb & Poetic” or swiping the tune from “I Touch Myself” for the I-hit-it-first triangling of “Taste.” No one else in pop worked harder to dream-came-true it for ya and her casually merciless, intermittently horny kiss-offs prove she need not sugarcoat her own experiences to provide everyone else’s candy-colored entertainment. Is it that sweet? I guess so. – Dan

 

7. The Cure Songs of a Lost World (Polydor)

It’s not as if the Cure have been in seclusion since last releasing an album 16 years ago — numerous festival gigs and a well-received U.S. tour where they avoided rote setlists by performing nearly all of the 100-plus songs they’d rehearsed for it by its end. What wasn’t necessarily expected was a return to form in the studio, as their three albums this century received mixed reviews. But that’s what happened. Robert Smith & Co. may not be revisiting past pop glories, but they instead deliver a lush, languid world of atmosphere that is unmistakably Cure without sounding like a tired rehash. For an album full of life, mortality makes its presence known, whether in the close distance (“Nothing Lasts Forever”) or in the present, as in “I Can Never Say Goodbye,” where Smith channels his grief over his brother Richard’s quick, unexpected death. As odd as it is to think of 68-year-old Reeves Gabrels as the new kid in the band, this is his first chance to put his own stamp on the band’s sound. Already a welcome addition live over the past 12 years, he contributes to the atmosphere, throwing in some squall, dissonance and, in the case of “Drone: No Drone,” emphatic wah-wah. One can hardly begrudge Smith’s stated plans to retire in five years, but there’s so much life in Songs of a Lost World, one can also hope he reconsiders. Contrary to what he sings on the immersive closer “Endsong” (and, frankly, what he might have sung when there was nary a gray hair on him), he absolutely belongs here. So does The Cure. – Kara

 

6. The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis (Impulse!) Though drummer Brendan Canty says we could never rule it out, there’s a slim chance that Fugazi are ever getting back together (though I remain hopeful). Thankfully, however, we have this incredible ad-hoc outfit to serve as a fitting substitute, as Canty and bassist Joe Lally — along with their Messthetics partner Anthony Pirog on guitar — come together with young master tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis to craft the most punk album on the Impulse! Records imprint since Archie Shepp’s Fire Music. – Ron

 

5. Beyoncé Cowboy Carter (Parkwood/Columbia)

Beyoncé got the hype train going almost a year ago with a Super Bowl commercial teasing the release that night of the first two songs off the album.The reveal was that the second in her trilogy of albums exploring genres informed by Black culture picked up from the dance-filled Renaissance and set its boots in the country. This produced predictable harrumphing through the year, with some bloviators aghast that a Black woman, especially this one, would even think about tackling country music. By year’s end, minor cultural footnote Oliver Anthony, who answered the question, “What happens if you order Jelly Roll from Wish?” pathetically sniped at her as “cringe,” completely ignoring his godawful lyric about Fudge Rounds. Swipe away the discourse and detritus and what remains is a pretty entertaining work. If not strictly country throughout, it is informed by it, and not just in the name checks and guest appearances of Black country performers. There are plenty of keepers on Cowboy Carter — “16 Carriages,” “Daughter,” “Ya Ya,” “Texas Hold ‘Em,” “American Requiem,” “Amen,” “Riverdance” and the covers of “Blackbird” and “Jolene,” for starters. If Renaissance was a deeper immersion in a genre itself, Cowboy Carter feels more like reaffirming connection points in that genre to Beyoncé’s body of work. Her talents and artistic reach undimmed, she remains undeterred. If the double album feels a tad too long, there’s more than enough here to recommend it, not to mention whet the appetite for the third volume — be it blues, rock, jazz or some combination of things set to entertain again. – Kara

 

4. Doechii

Alligator Bites Never Heal (Atlantic Records)

I admit, my standards are unfair and my favorite type of star makes a big deal of how they can do anything. Anyone who witnessed Doechii’s Tiny Desk Concert or her instantly legendary Colbert performance will tell you that star right now is Jaylah Hickmon, who matches the peerless breathlessness of the two most talented rappers of the last decade: Kendrick Lamar and Nicki Minaj. Her debut “mixtape” whirls through history from Roxanne Shanté (the jaw-dropping “Denial Is a River”) to Azealia Banks (“Nissan Altima”) and never gives up trying on flows and guises for 19 tracks. Ever since she leveled the viral channels with “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” in 2020, the “Black girl who beat the statistics” has yet to find a ceiling. She’s just getting started. – Dan

 

3. Willow

Empathogen (Three Six Zero/Gamma)

While her dad is out there smacking defenseless comedians at award shows, Willow Smith continues to tastefully distance herself from the tabloid exploits of her family with her music. And Empathogen, her sixth album, is by far her best yet — an impassioned excursion into futuristic jazz pop with a style that encompasses shades of both Esperanza Spalding and St. Vincent, who guests on “Pain for Fun” here. Jon Batiste and Kamasi Washington guest, too. This one was a big surprise from an artist that has been full of them since bursting onto the scene with “Whip My Hair.” – Ron

 

2. Charli XCX

Brat (Atlantic Records)

People talk a lot about paradigm shifts in popular music, but in reality, they’re astonishingly rare. Brat is one of the biggest of this century, having had a profound impact on not just the current pop spectrum, but the overall culture — think of it as a dance-pop analog to Nevermind, a work that’s blown up everything from fashion to political discourse. Personally, I don’t remember Cobain, as great as he was, getting much traction in electoral politics, although he did unwittingly change the landscape by getting supermodels dumpster diving for schmattas to festoon themselves with at the height of grunge. As much as it’s shaped the look and feel of the last half of 2024 (not just Brat Summer), the album imprinted itself on our collective consciousness via Charli’s knowing-yet-genuine blend of queer culture and old-school decadence (she’s regularly shouted out Lou Reed and the Velvets). There aren’t many “nice list” moments on the set — the churning “Mean Girls” delivers exactly the vibe you might expect from that title, while “Girl, So Confusing” channels diva rivalry into a thoroughly irresistible cocktail of bitchiness and vague insecurity. Charli delves into that latter vibe often enough on Brat — the bewildered ballad “I Might Say Something Stupid,” for instance — that you can come away wanting to offer her a cuddle and a cup of tea (or a glass of something stronger). In the end, she manages to convey both vulnerability and fierceness, and that’s the mark of great 21st century pop. – Deborah

 

1. Redd Kross

Redd Kross (In The Red)

It’s been a busy year for the McDonald brothers, with the release of a documentary and a memoir, not to mention the first double album in a career that began in the late ’70s.

Since Redd Kross returned from an almost 15-year hiatus in 2012, they haven’t cranked out new material at a blistering pace, but they have a strong batting average with the new self-titled release strongly following Researching the Blues and Beyond the Door.

At this point in their career, Redd Kross isn’t about reinventing the wheel, it’s about refining it to get maximum mileage, which they certainly do throughout this self-titled effort. Put this album on shuffle and chances are you’re going to hit something with hooks — the Lennon/McCartney rooming in 1991 Seattle “Stunt Queen,” the harmonies on the crunchy “Terrible Band,” the “Longview”-echoing verse on the way to Top of the Pops on “I’ll Take Your Word For It,” the raucous “What’s In It For You?,” the fuzzy “Candy Coloured Catastrophe” and the sharp closer “Born Innocent” (finally using the title of their 1982 debut album for a song).

Lest one think this is all power pop with the guitars turned up, the band also delivers in less aggressive moments. There’s a retro, get out your lighters charm to “The Witches Stand.” The brothers’ voices meld beautifully on “Main Attraction,” which sounds like the wider audience hit that eluded them a generation ago. It didn’t take long for the McDonalds to advance from being punkier, pop culture-obsessed teens into men with clear love of the craft, a good thing since the world doesn’t need any more Charles Manson covers. As strong lyrically as it is musically, Redd Kross is an embarrassment of riches. Its peaks are able to stand proudly with the best of the band’s 90s output and what they’ve done previously in their comeback years. Sounding as energized as they ever have, the McDonalds with the able assistance of guitarist Jason Shapiro and producer/drummer Josh Klinghoffer (filling in for Dale Crover, who was out with emergency spinal surgery, on the latter) have put out arguably the most consistent album they’ve done in 45 years. – Kara