Like every year, 2024 was a great year for music, for anyone willing to look and listen. There are more people releasing more music than ever before, and I could feel despair over the fact that I’ll never have the time to hear all the incredible music that I might love. But I think it’s a good problem to have. I’m exposed to so much magic so frequently that I have to share the best of it just to keep track. That’s why I’m here, and why I’m always posting on twitter and now bluesky too. Algorithms have been nice for finding stuff that’s similar to what you already like, but lately they seem as broken as everything else that seemed so futuristically convenient a decade ago. All these services we’ve begun to rely on have eroded, often in line with mass layoffs at the companies that provide them. The human element is leaking entirely out of the corporate music infrastructure. So I think it’s more important than ever that regular people who are tuned in spread the word about the best new (and old) music they encounter.
So, here I am with the annual big album list. I couldn’t settle on just fifty again, or even sixty, so I’m dropping eighty great albums made in 2024 that I think you should really hear. Twenty of them are singled out at the end as the best of the best – especially masterful, poignant, mindbending pieces of music that touched me deeper than anything else I heard this year. Every album is listed with its record label and a link to check it out.
As always, I know I missed a ton of killer music. I’m only one guy with so much time on my hands, so please let me know about stuff you’d recommend in the comments or on twitter @funkentechno or bluesky. I’ll never catch up, but it’s always fun to try. Here we go, in the order I heard them, plus my best of the best top twenty at the end:
• • •
Gerycz Powers Rolin – Activator
12XU
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Burial – Dreamfear / Boy Sent From Above
XL
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Rafael Toral – Spectral Evolution
Moikai
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Florian T M Zeisig – Planet Inc
STROOM.tv
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
DJ Anderson do Paraiso – Queridão
Nyege Nyege Tapes
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Nick Millevoi – Moon Pulses
Island House
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru – Souvenirs
Mississippi
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Arushi Jain – Delight
Leaving
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Shabason, Krgovich, Sage – Shabason, Krgovich, Sage
Idée Fixe
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
NUG – Bong Boat
West Mineral Ltd
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Still House Plants – If I don’t make it, I love u
Bison
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Water Damage – In E
12XU
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Yirinda – Yirinda
Chapter Music
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Adam Wiltzie – Eleven Fugues For Sodium Pentothal
Kranky
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Marine Eyes – To Belong
Past Inside the Present
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Kevin – Laundry
Motion Ward
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Oren Ambarchi – Ghosted II
Drag City
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Naemi – Dust Devil
3XL
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
H TO O – Cycle
Wisdom Teeth
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Contrahouse – Contrahouse
ULYSSA
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Joy Guidry – AMEN
Whited Sepulchre
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Greg Foat & Gigi Masin – Fish Factory Sessions
Strut
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
G.S. Schray – Whispered Something Good
Last Resort
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Black Decelerant – Reflections Vol. 2
RVNG Intl
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Mabe Fratti – Sentir que no sabes
Unheard of Hope
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Rich Ruth – Water Still Flows
Third Man Records
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Ghost Dubs – Damaged
Pressure Sounds
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
SML – Small Medium Large
International Anthem
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Nubo – Planetary Vision
Western Vinyl
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
• • •
Li Yilei – NONAGE
Métron
Listen and buy on Bandcamp.
Optimistic Underground 
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great list, thx david j! lots to dive in..
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like every year, it’s a treat to go through this well thought list and discover fantastic records. Thank you so much!
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Incredible stuff, as always! I’d love to see what else is on the list that didn’t make the cut! And I have some recommendations, too.
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My favourite end of year list, you’ve put me on to so much amazing music David and for that I am eternally grateful
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are these ranked in order or just tiers? is Discipline your favoirte album from last year?
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