Top Albums of 2024

Another year of going to many live concerts [I went to 25 as of this writing] And 2 bands I saw live this year have albums on this years list.

Almost all of these albums on this year’s list are from my iTunes library. I use YouTube Music as my paid streaming service for those albums I didn’t get on CD or digital from Amazon.

As was the case last year, this year was particularly challenging in picking an album for spot number 10. I had a least 3 to choose from.

And with that intro, here are my top 10 albums released in 2024.

10. Jerry Cantrell “I Want Blood”

    
    – Most know Jerry as the lead guitarist for Alice In Chains. Even less know him as the harmonizing vocalist for that same band. This is Jerry’s 4th solo album and I think it’s his best. Songs like “Echoes of Laughter” and “Held Your Tongue” are so good and powerful. My favorite is “Off The Rails” which has that harmonizing mixed with his guitar. While there will be another Alice In Chains album at some point, for now us long time fans are held over with this solo collection of songs.

9. Green Day “Saviors”

   
   – The first few listens of this album really grabbed me and made me all like “It sounds familiar” and so I went and listened to some songs from 1995’s “Insomniac” and said “That’s It!!” My favorite song is “Corvette Summer” and “1981” is a close second. There is enough difference in Billy Joe’s guitar strums and lyrics to make this new album sound fresh. But it’s a nice return to the original punk sound, compared to the power pop/punk days of “American Idiot” and “21st Century Breakdown” which don’t get me wrong – they are great albums, but Green Day punk roots are fun to hear again.

8. Pet Shop Boys “Nonetheless”

   
   – This duo has never failed on being able to create new music and have it be great on so many levels. And this being their 15th studio album, it’s got all of the sounds, hooks and vocals that all of us have come to love with Pet Shop Boys. My favorite songs are “Loneliness” “Dancing Star” and “New London Boy” which samples “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. A must listen for any fan of this band who are still making new music 38 years after the release of their debut album “Please”

7. X “Smoke & Fiction”

   
   – The 9th and self described last studio album from this Los Angeles punk band is a nice send off. There are some standouts like the opening track “Ruby Church” and the lead single “Big Black X” that have those legendary harmonies of Exene Cervenka and John Doe. All original members are present and rocking on the album closer “Baby & All”. For a band that’s been around since 1977, they still have a sound that is punk and forms into some great songs. I’ve seen this band a few times – including this year – and they are just as great live – maybe even better – than on record.

6. The Smile “Wall Of Eyes”

   
   – This band that consists of Thom Yorke and Jonny Greewood from Radiohead and drummer Tom Skinner, released two albums this year. “Wall Of Eyes” in January and “Cutouts” in October. I am going to double down and say that their music is very different than Radiohead. While Thom’s vocals are unmistakably familiar, his range is different enough that it makes the songs on their first 3 albums more eclectic. Yeah, that is very possible. “Read The Room” is my favorite on “Wall Of Eyes” and “Bending Hectic” is so wonderfully constructed that it makes me get all of the feels each time I listen to it. “Bodies Laughing” is my favorite on “Cutouts” with it being the album closer. “Eyes & Mouth” is the most active. I saw them live in July 2022 in Lisbon Portugal and they were amazing. Can’t wait to see them live again to hear the new songs.

5. Foster The People “Paradise State of Mind”

   
   – What a change 7 years makes. The more alternative and pop sounds off 2017’s “Sacred Heart’s Club” shifted to late 70’s and early 80’s disco grooves. The one exception is “Lost In Space” which sounds more like a Foster The People song than anything else on this 4th studio album. The other 10 songs on this album have some similar sounding parts as well, but for the most part, it’s mostly experimental. Mark Foster takes his creative genius to different decades. The album ends with “A Diamond To Be Born” which brings a somber groove that is more in line with that Foster The People song construction.

4. The Airborne Toxic Event “Glory”

   
   – This band has been a favorite of mine for many years. They were one of the bands I saw live this year. The new album is really great with songs that have that sound they have created on their previous 6 studio albums. Mikel’s vocals on the first two tracks “”Our Own Thunder Road” and “Hole in my Heart” are as strong as ever. My favorite track on this album is “Note To Self” which lyrically has some personal reflection on what I went through recently with a relationship ending. The title track “Glory” is a soulful song that really is enjoyable to listen to multiple times. This is the first album with new violinist Mimi Peschet after Anna Bulbrook left the band in 2019.

3. Judas Priest “Invincible Shield”

   
   – I have been a Judas Priest fan since the mid-1970’s and have seen the band live a few times over the years. When this new album came out in March, I had high expectations as it had been 6 years since the last album “Firepower” came out, which was a good album, but ended up as number 8 on the 2018 list. After just a few listens, “Invincible Shield” easily was so much better. The songs on this new album were well produced and there were several that got played many times like “Sons Of Thunder” which is my favorite. “Devil In Disguise” has a killer guitar solo showing off Richie Faulkner’s epic skills. And “Gates Of Hell” where Rob Halford proves he still has the vocal chops in his later years.

2. The Cure “Songs Of A Lost World”

   
   – When you go 16 years between albums, it better be an epic album with songs that just meld into what we all love about The Cure’s music. And all eight tracks did exactly that. Almost all of this album was written and recorded in 2019 as it was intended to be released that year. The first three songs “Alone” “And Nothing Is Forever” and “A Fragile Thing” were performed live, which I got to hear when I last saw The Cure in concert in 2023. The songs show that Robert Smith hasn’t lost any of his songwriting or his voice. “Drone:Nodrone” has that harder edge bass by Simon Gallop. And the albums closing track “Endsong” contains the long intro and gives Reeves Gabrels his studio album debut to really shine. Roger O’Donnell returns to the keyboards after he rejoined the band in 2011. This would have moved into the number 1 spot had it been released earlier in the year. But it showed up the first day of November and didn’t get more than 15 listens from start to finish. Even still, it is a great album and one of The Cure’s best of their 14 studio album career.

And now, for my top choice of album that came out in 2024….







1. Pearl Jam “Dark Matter”

   
   – This was an easy choice for number 1. When this album came out in April, I knew from the first few listens that it was going to stick around and be played often – over 100 times from start to finish as of this writing. From the opening track “Scared Of Fear” to the ending song “Setting Sun” there is not a single sleeper on this album. Of note, there are two songs that borrow parts from other bands. Aroubd the 1:00 mark in “Upper Hand” is the familiar and unmistakable opening of U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name”. And then we have “Got To Give” where there is that opening start to “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie that kicks in at around the :45 second mark, and repeating it a few more times throughout the song. My favorite songs are “Waiting For Stevie” “Won’t Tell” and “Running” which is probably the most punk song on this album.

   – The closing song “Setting Sun” hits me hard as it’s about a relationship ending. It’s a beautiful song, but the chorus is where I get emotional:

   Had dreams to you I would belong
   Had the dream you would stay with me ’til kingdom come
   Turns out forever has come and gone
   Am I the only one hanging on?

   – The last time a Pearl Jam album came in at number 1 on my top albums list was in 2013 with “Lightning Bolt”. And while 2020’s “Gigaton” made the number 3 spot on my top albums that year, this album just had so many parts to it that cemented its place as the best Pearl Jam album since 1995’s “Yield”. Yes, it is that great. And if you haven’t listened to it yet aside from the title track, go play it. You might be surprised.

Ending

Sometimes my album choices don’t always match what my readers like (I’m lucky to get a couple of matches), so if you have something to add, speak up below in the comments below. Give me a shout out on anything you like on my list. What I might have missed this year, I can always go listen to see if it would have made my list.

Top Albums – Previous Years

Top Albums of 2023