2024 Top 40 Albums: #2-10
The ten best albums of 2024
Here they are: the ten best albums of the year! It took over a week to decide the order of the top four. They’re all so good!
The AOTY will receive a separate post which will go up five minutes after this one. So when you get to the bottom (assuming you’re reading and not just skimming) you should be able to just click the AOTY link and go right to it.
Thanks for joining me in running through this list. I’m still shocked anybody reads these posts (besides Mrs Versatone, anyhow). Please don’t forget to comment and let me know where our opinions differ; I’m genuinely curious to hear your thoughts and what your personal AOTY is.
10: Sturgill Simpson - Passage du Desir
This is, without a doubt, the best Country album I’ve heard in years. I cannot adequately express how well-crafted this album is. All it really lacks is a smaller delta between its best and worst songs — “Scooter Blues” and “Who I Am” are good, but…eh? Overall, four of the eight songs are markedly superior to the other four; though the four lesser tracks are still very good, I couldn’t clear the album for higher than a 9.5.
But Passage du Desir is deservedly high on my list of favorites for the year. It’s intelligent and emotive with deep and intricate instrumentation on most tracks.
Odds are good the album will make you cry (please see the original review for my TW concerning “Jupiter’s Faerie”); even if you don’t cry, you will feel something.
If you’re looking for genuinely good Country music, this is it. Period.
9: Eminem - The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace)
(Hip-Hop)
I will admit that my metrics for rating and ranking can skew the results at times; I guarantee that I will be listening to Kendrick Lamar’s GNX and Tyler, the Creator’s Chromakopia much more frequently than The Death of Slim Shady. Em’s newest masterpiece is just uncomfortable. There are moments in the first half of the album that make me physically recoil.
But I feel that it’s important, as an album reviewer, to judge albums for everything that they are. And, taken as a whole, I cannot deny that what Mathers has given us here is Capital-A ‘Art’.
The Death of Slim Shady (and, I should point out, Tyler’s Chromakopia) utilizes a sonnet structure for the album as a whole — there’s a turn at track 13, “Guilty Conscience 2”, where the narrative peaks. Without breaking character, Mathers takes ownership of all the shitty things that he has said as Slim, saying that it’s no excuse, and kills off his alter ego.
The first half of the album, as uncomfortable as it is, needs to exist in order for the turn — the apology — to make sense. The role of Art, conceptually, is to make us think about the world we live in in new ways, especially if that promotes moments of discomfort.
That, of course, all ignores the fact that all of the album’s songs are straight fire. Even the uncomfortable bits.
I can’t help but to find the album, at large, beautiful.
8: Mothica - Kissing Death
(Electropop | Dark Pop | Synthwave | Alt Rock)
Mothica’s moody and atmospheric blend is one of my favorite new discoveries of the year. Kissing Death is an addictive and insightful dissection of mental illness, especially of suicidal ideation. The album discusses Mothica’s history of depression and depicts Death as a seductive lover — thus the album’s cover art and title.
The album’s tone is decidedly dark, but blissful and poppy. This is music which is best with headphones or speakers which fill a space — if you don’t feel like you’re swimming in it, you aren’t doing it right.
If you’re looking for something poppy, but different, start here.
7: Paris Paloma - Cacophony
(Folk-Pop | Indie Pop | Indie Folk)
Cacophony is the highly-anticipated debut LP for Paris Paloma. It’s filled with dark and moody Indie Folk-Pop which is, in turns, enigmatic and anthemic. The album is suffused with feminist rage, which is anchored in the beloved “Labour” (see below), but extends either overtly or subtly into most of the rest of the tracks on the album.
Paloma is an artist who I was very excited to get a debut album from. I’ve been watching her for a few years now, and oh man did it pay off.
There isn’t a lot of true energy here — the album’s overall vibe comes off as steady determination. And it is a vibe — one that has been playing near-constantly in the Versatone household. This is an incredible debut.
6: Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft
(Whisperpop | Synth Pop)
Synth and Whisperpop are a perfect pairing. Hit Me Hard and Soft is the best music Eilish has produced to-date — atmospheric lo-fi vibes, deeply emotive, and still filled with energy and momentum, even at its lightest moments.
One of the album’s biggest strengths lies in its subtlety. If you aren’t actively listening, even with headphones, you’ll miss so many little details. The mix has an incredible amount of depth; Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, struck gold with whatever new production philosophy they utilized.
Every song here is incredible. Full stop.
Hit Me Hard and Soft is also a breakup album with a crystal clear arc; definitely one of the best breakup albums in the last few years, though it falls just short of Kacey Musgraves’ star-crossed.
5: Beyonce - Cowboy Carter
(Pop Country | Folk-Pop | R&B | Americana | Country)
Last Appearance: Renaissance (2022); 15th
I was dubious when I heard Beyonce was putting out a Country album, but I’ll be damned if she didn’t pull it off.
This album is a love letter to Country music, at large, and pays tribute to the black musicians who fueled the genre in its early days (and features some of today’s black Country artists — not that Nashville acknowledges them). Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton make appearances, as well, which serves to ‘legitimize’ Bey’s step into the genre.
The album is lengthy, too, with 27 tracks spanning 78 minutes. Many of these (six or eight, depending on whether you count “Flamenco” and “Desert Eagle”) are skits or interludes, but all of the songs are phenomenal. The album is not, of course, strictly Country, with each song utilizing various genric elements and blends.
This album deserves a lot of love, and clearly the Country establishment isn’t going to give it. If you haven’t given this album a listen yet, I highly recommend it.
4: Cries for Colour - Yellow Sands; Or, Eight Tales of Pixie Mischief
(Progressive Rock | Psychedelic Rock | Post-Rock)
If you love seeking out true indie projects, you’re gonna wanna sit down for this one. Cries for Colour is the brainchild of Canada’ Quinn Downton (who also has a Substack, by the way), and this is the second album that the project has produced. It sits somewhere between the low-key technicality of Porcupine Tree (I’m not including their two Metal-leaning albums here) and the all-consuming atmospherics of Sigur Ros.
Yellow Sands is a study in the beauty of madness and mortality, being inspired by the paintings and persona of Richard Dadd. I elaborated on this connection a bit in the original review, and there is also a companion essay. The album is also layered with deeply personal loss, as Downton’s partner was diagnosed with advanced-stage throat and lung cancer in mid-2023. The result is an album which illustrates why it is so important for artists to be in touch with their emotions — they can’t help us to explore ours if they keep theirs separate from their work.
While Cries for Colour is very much a one-man project, Downton did pull in a lengthy supporting cast of musicians for the recording process. Right at the top of that list is former Porcupine Tree bassist Colin Edwin (who also has a Substack!).
Yellow Sands is a vibe. Put it on, let it go, and just float away.
3: Dvne - Voidkind
(Progressive Metal | Sludge Metal | Post-Metal)
Last Appearance: Etemen Aenka (2021); 29th
Dvne (pronounced “Dune”; they’re book nerds) provides here the heaviest single album in this year’s Top 40; even Opeth only made the extended Honorable Mentions. But there’s something truly special about Dvne. They go hard, but their focus is always on the story they’re telling, and the songs form around it.
Voidkind is a notable step forward for the band, specifically in terms of their mixing. Because, yes, they’re Sludge, but the genre doesn’t have to sound muddy. The mix here has a newfound sense of clarity without losing the Sludginess, which is impressive. And the songs have an unstoppable amount of energy and momentum — when you hit play, be prepared to just jam for a while.
The vocals here are mixed, with a solid percentage of lines delivered in harsh vox. But it works; it never feels forced or unnecessary. I suspect the genric blend of Sludge and Post, which pulls the vocals back a bit, helps them to blend with the rest of the instrumentation and make the harsher moments more palatable.
Whatever it is, Voidkind is an awesome ride.
2: Sabrina Carpenter - Short n’ Sweet
(Pop)
This has been nothing short (ha) of a breakout year for Sabrina Carpenter.
And it’s about damn time!
I’ve always felt Carpenter had the talent, but it took time for everything to really come together. She’s finally really come into her own as a songstress, and has found an incredible songwriting partner in Amy Allen, who also released a very good debut album in 2024 which made my Honorable Mentions. I really hope this partnership lasts, because every song on this album is a gem.
Every hook, every melody makes perfect use of Carpenter’s range and worms right into the ear. Allen’s Indie sensibilities help to ensure the songs don’t feel too plastickey. Meanwhile, Carpenter’s brand of suggestive lyricism includes plenty of innuendo and some incredible zingers; I cannot overstate how funny and clever some of these lines are.
“Espresso” and “Taste” have been everywhere this year, so you’ve likely heard some of them.
Short n’Sweet does everything a Pop album needs to and more. It’s fun, boppy, and at points hilarious. The disco elements heighten the danceability when present. But Carpenter also uses her voice to speak her mind on several songs; she defies the ‘ditzy blonde’ stereotype at every turn.
2024 was an incredible year for Pop; I’m shocked at how high entries in that space have rated and ranked. I know I’ve had Taylor win AOTY, but she’s always been the exception that proves the rule when it comes to Pop.
And here’s Sabrina almost taking the crown. But there’s one album she just couldn’t quite beat…
AOTY | #2-10 | #11-20 | #21-30 | #31-40 | Honorable Mentions