All this week, we’ll be counting down our editors’ picks for the Best Albums of 2024 and, just like we did last year, we’ll be taking ’em on one chunk of the alphabet at a time. Next week, our genre columnists weigh in with their picks for the year’s best records. And you can get a jump start on your holiday shopping with our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide.
December 2: Best of 2024: A – F
December 3: Best of 2024: G – M
December 4: Best of 2024: M – R
December 5: Best of 2024: S – Z
December 6: 2024’s Essential Releases
Angélica Garcia
Gemelo
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
On Gemelo, L.A.-based pop singer Angélica Garcia rises from the ashes of a breakup to deliver an alchemical, superb third album. Bouncing her versatile voice between loops, layers of electronic percussion, and spectral cumbia beats, Garcia creates a glossy, tough-as-nails sound. It is easy to return, again and again, to upbeat, breakout tracks “Paloma†and “Color de Dolorâ€; but Gemelo’s power—all fantastic feminine energy and soaring vocals—is just as potent in the slower, introspective cuts, like “MÃrame†and “Intuición.†The album’s cinematic atmosphere shows just how far Garcia—who has been rightly described as a “fucking firework showâ€â€”can go. “My time has come, the time for my test†(Aqui ha llegado mi tiempo/ La hora de mi prueba) Garcia roars in “El Queâ€â€”if Gemelo was a test, she passes with flying colors.
–Maria Barrios
Read our feature on Angélica Garcia.
Galliano
Halfway Somewhere
2 x Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD), Bag
Despite stepping back into the studio a full 25 years after their last album, London collective Galliano didn’t miss a beat on their welcome return. Tapping into a wide range of inspirations, from hip-hop, to dub, jazz, soul, and beyond—with members of the original super-tight band—Valerie Etienne sounds as supremely soulful as ever, while partner Rob Gallagher’s musings on modern urban life and the ghosts of dance floors past never grow old. Proof that when you’re halfway somewhere, it’s good to remember where you came from—and aim for wherever sounds good next.
–Andrew Jervis
Listen to an interview with Galliano on Bandcamp Weekly.
Skylar Gudasz
COUNTRY
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Atmospheric folk meets an arresting art pop sensibility on Skylar Gudasz’s COUNTRY. Like the gentle undulations of a cool mountain spring, Gudasz’s voice runs through her windswept landscapes with a refreshing clarity and a balmy ease that belies the record’s more existential themes. On “Fire Country,†sweeping images of wildfires and vast seascapes give way to eternal strawberry-summer dreamscapes in songs like “Mother’s Daughter†and “Truck.†Meanwhile, the cruising, strummy “Atoll†delivers a poetic critique of U.S. imperialism amidst the swaying palms and blue lagoons of the Pacific. Refreshingly inventive soundscapes and cinematic storytelling makes COUNTRY a place you’ll want to return to again and again.
–Stephanie Barclay
Joy Guidry
Amen
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Amen is the sound of Texas-raised, NYC-based bassoonist Joy Guidry returning to her Southern roots. Created with an ensemble of musician friends and singers, including fellow southerner Niecy Blues, on Amen, Guidry creates a healing balm for herself and her community by mixing gospel with spiritual jazz and ambient music. The album opens with a “Psalm,’ setting Guidry’s plaintive bassoon on top of a resonant hum not unlike the organ swells of Alice Coltrane. From there, we move through the meditative ambiance of “It’s Okay to Let Me Go†to the soaring gospel of “Angels,†and finally to the album’s pinnacle: A spine-tingling transcendent version of Max Roach’s “Members Don’t Get Weary.†The end result is a beacon of resistance that’s raw, true, and all-powerful.
–Andy Thomas
Hooksarthur
Hundred Hand Hooks
In an episode of The Renaissance Show that dropped in October of 2023, New York rapper and producer Hooks Arthur is giving a rundown of his discography to date, describing the way each project sounds. When he gets to the then-forthcoming Hundred Hand Hooks, though, he pauses. “I don’t even know what to say it’s gonna be,†he finally says, “You’re just going to have to listen to it and find out for yourself.†That, as it turns out, was the perfect description. Hundred Hand Hooks exists in a kind of weird, animated dream world—a vast landscape of melting mountains, trees, and houses, through which strolls Hooks, dishing out rapid-fire stream-of-consciousness bars, every line densely packed with meaning. Hooks creates surrealist Saturday morning cartoon soundtracks, heavy on organ and marimba, all of it perfectly smeared—like you’re looking at a far-off castle through a foggy window. The whole experience is weirdly dreamlike, anchored in vivid, meticulously crafted wordplay that perfectly complements the music’s hypnotic feel.
–J. Edward Keyes
Josh Johnson
Unusual Object
Compact Disc (CD), T-Shirt/Shirt, Vinyl LP
Sometimes starkly minimalist, sometimes overflowing with oddly angled ideas, West Coast sax scientist Josh Johnson’s second album under his own name is a solo project in every sense of the word. Unusual Object requires only multi-tracked saxes and subtly deployed electronics to make its message understood. Johnson, who’s been an MVP for everyone from Meshell Ndegeocello to Makaya McCraven, transcends the need for border-patrolling tags like “jazz†and “electronic music†on an album so individualistic, he could probably use it as proof of identity at the airport.
–Jim Allen
Allysha Joy
The Making Of Silk
Vinyl LP, 2 x Vinyl LP
“Love crawls in, stumbling/ Pulling down the curtains on its way down,†sings the Melbourne-based, jazz-funk-R&B artist Allysha Joy on “Silk,†an obvious highlight from her stunning The Making of Silk. This is jazzy R&B music enshrouded in a glitzy funk haze, designed to soften the blows of the daily grind—or as Joy puts it on “Raise Up,†to fix all our broken inner children. Accordingly, while the soundscapes hearken back to her analog past—particularly funk and ’90s hip-hop, the latter of which comes through in the staggered, J. Dilla-esque drums—the lyrics chart a path to a brighter future: “I want to see you grow tall/ Just as far as the sun,†she proclaims on “Hold On.†These silky compositions are balms for the broken heart with serious crossover appeal, confirming Joy’s destiny as one of soul’s most capable torchbearers.
–Thomas Hobbs
Listen to an interview with Allysha Joy on Bandcamp Weekly.
KRM & KMRU
Disconnect
2 x Vinyl LP
Imagine a centuries-old transmission from a distant solar system delivering an apocalyptic account of a long-defunct world’s final days. It’s not tough to imagine that posthumous communiqué sounding something like Disconnect. Born of the mutual admiration between British electronic composer/producer Kevin Martin and Nairobi-born sound artist Joseph Kamaru, the album ostensibly operates like ambient music, but it’s far too commanding to simply slip into the background. Kamaru’s electronically massaged vocals—from wordless moans to spoken-word snippets—blend with subterranean drones in a eulogy for post-industrial ghosts.
–Jim Allen
Read our Album of the Day on Disconnect.
Lava La Rue
STARFACE
2 x Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
“Gen Z deserves a lesbian Bowie,†Lava La Rue told NME this year upon the release of Starface. To that end, this is Ziggy Stardust for the TikTok age—a concept album about an alien who crash-lands on Earth and begs us to hear their solution for our fucked-up world before it’s too late. (Spoiler: it’s love.) They filter this through a freakishly fun mix of R&B, funk, hip-hop, and new wave by way of audacious moments like a quasi-“Genius of Love†needle-drop and Courtney Love doing Glengarry Glen Ross. Yes, really.
—Mia Hughes
Read our Album of the Day on STARFACE.
Les Amazones d’Afrique
Musow Dance
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
Inspired by the historic Dahomey Amazons and founded by three of the biggest powerhouses in African music, Mamani Keïta, Mariam Doumbia, and Oumou Sangare, Les Amazones d’Afrique have been using their voices to advocate for women’s rights since their 2017 debut. The group has never shied away from mashing up tradition and technology, but on Muskow Dance, with the endlessly inventive production of Jacknife Lee, they lean heavily into an almost entirely electronic sound, turning up the energy several notches with booming 808s, dramatic synth slides, and bursts of vintage disco. But none of these additions ever overshadow the true soul of the music, instead amplifying the already formidable voices of Les Amazones d’Afrique’s ever-evolving lineup.
–Megan Iacobini Di Fazio
Read our feature on Les Amazones d’Afrique.
Nyesui Loe & Loman
THE BALLAD OF LOESPERADO
Cassette
Just over a minute into “4EVA23,†the show-stopping number that arrives about halfway through THE BALLAD OF LOESPERADO, Nyesui Loe’s voice cracks. Up to this point, the song has been a measured recollection of the day his brother died, Loe rifling through memories like someone going through old photos they stashed in a shoebox. But in that moment, when Loe seems to choke back a sob as he confesses, “It’s been tough on me,†the fourth wall collapses and the distance between artist and listener evaporates. That kind of heart-on-sleeve directness defines LOESPERADO, even in moments where Loe isn’t digging deep into his personal history. He kicks off album opener “The Big Payback†by admitting, “I used to think that I would die young/ Now I pray that they don’t open up the gates until my time comes,†and on the title track, he turns what could be standard-issue hip-hop braggadocio into something that feels earnest and deeply felt. By the time the album wraps, you feel like you actually know the person who made it. Loman’s production throughout is a perfect match: humid, sepia-toned, soundtrack-y musical backdrops that mirror Loe’s reflective bars. Other artists compete for attention with gimmicks. Loe does something far riskier, but much more rewarding: He leads with his heart.
–J. Edward Keyes
Rosie Lowe
Lover, Other
Compact Disc (CD), Vinyl LP
On Lover, Other, Rosie Lowe delivers bold dynamism alongside spacious minimalism. Co-produced by Harvey Grant and D’Monk, the album presents a wide-roaming range of R&B, spiked with choral elements and dance music flourishes, all topped with Lowe’s soulful vocals. Lowe’s aim for the album was that it “not sound like one thing,†and that wide reach comes across throughout. The vibe shifts constantly, from the sultry “Mood to Make Love†to the upbeat “In My Head†to gospel-tinged “There Goes The Light.†The album’s longest track, “Something,†seamlessly combines an ambient intro, with groovy breakbeats and a flourish of piano. Lover, Other thrives in its playfulness, and Lowe revels in every moment.
–Sonia Chien
Lukah & Real Bad Man
Temple Needs Water. Village Needs Peace.
On 2022’s RAW EXTRACTIONS, Memphis rapper Lukah asserted that he is “in tune with the beyond.†On Temple Needs Water. Village Needs Peace. he offers support for that claim. The album feels like a newly discovered sacred text—a divine guide to living on an elevated plane, one where truth, justice, and peace are not just aspirational but attainable. Lukah is the wise sage holding court around a campfire, offering parables and insight to his troubled flock. L.A. production team Real Bad Man is in top form, enlisting musicians like Shabaka Hutchings and Adrian Utley to create a swirling, organic soundscape that draws from dub, spiritual jazz, and Memphis soul.
–Dash Lewis
Read our Album of the Day on Temple Needs Water. Village Needs Peace.
NÃdia & Valentina
Estradas
Vinyl LP
Both Valentina Magaletti and NÃdia have spent their entire careers exploring the possibilities of rhythm, the former in both her solo work and her role in groups like Moin and Vanishing Twin, the latter in her string of increasingly adventurous, mind-warping records for the Lisbon label PrÃncipe. So it makes sense that the two of them would eventually join forces, and the result is as iconoclastic as you’d expect. Magaletti and NÃdia have no interest in simply blowing through nine hard techno tracks and calling it a day; instead, they explore the idea of rhythm as melody in richly textured songs that wind their way patiently from start to finish. On the title track, a creepy-crawly marimba tiptoes across a shuffling rhythm; “Sicilia†is measured and moody, tiny droplets of electronics trickling across steady rolling percussion. “Ta A Bater Ya,†one of the few feints toward conventional song structure, loosens the screws on its batida rhythm so it wobbles unsteadily beneath a meandering synth line. Magaletti and NÃdia seem to disappear into one another, and in the end, Estradas is the perfect product not of them individually, but of their combined, adventurous sensibilities. It’s a wonder.
–J. Edward Keyes
Magdalena Bay
Imaginal Disk
Compact Disc (CD), 2 x Vinyl LP, 7" Vinyl
With their smart, sugary, synth-prog bops about aliens and human consciousness, Magdalena Bay pushed their surreal world-building into overdrive this year, conjuring a retrofuturist vision that somehow makes the present feel more palatable. For Imaginal Disk, the L.A. duo drew inspiration from a host of sources—Star Trek: The Next Generation, ABBA, the plays of Jean-Paul Sartre, and Lacanian psychoanalysis—and wound up with an SNL debut and an appearance from Grimes on a remix of “Image.†They’ve been the pop underground’s best-kept secret for years. 2024 was the year the rest of the world started to take notice.
–April Clare Welsh
Read our Album of the Day on Imaginal Disk.
Mildlife
Chorus
Vinyl LP, T-Shirt/Shirt
Imagine: It’s 1981. You’re at an underground dance club, grooving to edgy, experimental funk and electro by the likes of Liquid Liquid, ESG, and Kraftwerk. In a rare quiet moment between songs, the guy next to you says, “You know, in 43 years, the cutting edge of this music is still going to be about refining the same ideas you’re hearing now.†Stunned, you simply watch until 2024, when Chorus proves he was right. But how fresh Mildlife makes it sound! Incorporating jazz fusion, ‘70s pop, and 21st-century synths, Chorus is simultaneously retro and original as hell.
–Michael J. West
Listen to an interview with Mildlife on Bandcamp Weekly.
