🎶 My favorite non-metal albums of 2024
It's that time again!
What follows is an unsorted list of all the albums I found in 2024 that have stood out to me. You can expect pop, indie, hip-hop, house, and whatever else that isn't metal. Hopefully you find something you like as well. Make sure you listen to everything and know that the honorable mentions are also worth your time.
Let's go!
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Cheekface - It's Sorted
[2024, Indie]
Cheekface once again find a spot on my AOTY lists. Their music is amazingly cheerful, funny (in a deadpan kind of way), and catchy. Pretty much everyone I play this for ends up with a smile on their face. Favorite tracks from the album are: Plastic, Largest Muscle, and Popular 2.
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The Chisel - What A Fucking Nightmare
[2024, Brit Punk]
I love me some punk, especially when it's as singalong catchy as this. Great chanting choruses, memorable melodies and a proper punk attitude throughout this massive (for its genre) record. Favorite tracks include: Cry Your Eyes Out, Living For Myself, Fuck'em, Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, and Those Days.
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Jack White - No Name
[2024, Blues Rock]
The fuzz on this record, my god! I haven't really been big on Jack White's solo material, but this album convinced me quite easily. The vibe is immaculate, the songs are groovy as hell, and much of it sounds like it was recorded back in the 70s but in a good way! Fantastic stuff. Some of my favorites are: Bless Yourself, Archbishop Harold Holmes, What's The Rumpus?, and Tonight (Was A Long Time Ago).
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Joey Valence & Brae - PUNK TACTICS
[2023, Hip-Hop]
This one actually came out last year, but for this I'm happy to be late rather than never. Clever and HARD old-school hip-hop with attitude, in the style of Beastie Boys et al. Amazing energy, phat beats, and cheeky pop culture references spread throughout the lyrics. Favorites include: Punk Tactics, Watch Yo Step, RN, Hooligang, and Club Sandwich.
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Medium Build - Country
[2024, Pop Rock]
I happened upon a live performance of this artist on a YouTube channel and was immediately impressed by the power of his voice. Of course I went straight for the latest album I could find, and lo and behold, it came out this year! The pop influence is strong here despite the obvious southern twang of Medium Build's voice, and I have a hard time describing this album as country overall. It's quite pensive in spots, and packed with great melody. Don't let the album title scare you. Give it a shot, it's really good! Some of my favorites are: Beach Chair, Knowing U Exist, Known By None, Hey Sandra and Stick Around.
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Mon Laferte - Autopoiética
[2024, Latin Art Pop]
Let me tell you right now, this album is a vibe. It's dripping with sensual energy, and is quite spellbinding at points. It's a very dynamic record as well, with great genre variation throughout ranging from psychedelic tango to straight up club bangers. I will not pretend that I understand any of these lyrics as I don't speak a lick of Spanish, but I can imagine it's pretty naughty considering the pretty prominent warning label on the cover. Make sure you listen to the whole thing cause like I said; The tracks can vary wildly in their sound and you might end up enjoying some even if you don't enjoy the others. My favorites are: Te Juro Que Volveré, Préndele Fuego, NO+SAD, Metamorfosis, Autopoiética, and Mew Shiny.
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Purple Disco Machine - Paradise
[2024, Disco House]
Good pure EDM albums are rare. They tend to get very repetitive and uninteresting to me, despite electronic dance music and all its subgenres being one of the big two I've listened to the most in my life (the other one being metal). This record has amazing grooves, hooks upon hooks upon hooks, and driving dancefloor beats throughout. There's a clear 80's influence going on as well with the instrumentation. Pretty much every track can light up a room with positive energy and spread smiles all around. The standout tracks for me are: Beat Of Your Heart, Dirty Pleasures, Paradise, Heartbreaker, All My Life, and Die Maschine.
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Remi Wolf - Big Ideas
[2024, Pop]
Here you have it guys, pop album of the year. Not every year gets one, so this one is definitely a notch above the rest. Here we have an album featuring great vocal hooks and indie instrumental stylings, yet it keeps its pop sensibilities front and center. Memorable hooks and great energy all around. Some of my favorites include: Soup, Toro, Alone In Miami, Pitiful, and Just The Start.
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Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us
[2024, Indie]
As I wrote in my recommendation earlier this year, "Vampire Weekend has released such a beautiful and melancholy record with Only God Was Above Us. Full of twinkling pianos, poetic lyrics, playful strings, and plucky electric guitars, the album also sounds reluctantly hopeful." A few of my favorites are: Ice Cream Piano, Prep-School Gangsters, Gen-X Cops, and Hope.
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Kouek - Apogee
[2024, Future Funk]
And this is it. The album I have listened to the most all year, across all genres and platforms, and the definitive album of the summer.
In my recommendation I wrote "The album consists of 14 tracks spanning a breezy 45 minutes, all infectious and memorable in their own right. In true future funk style, the majority of the album has pumping beats throughout, lots of filtering, and of course vocal and instrumental samples from the more obscure disco and funk music of yesteryear. The grooves are undeniable from the get-go, and I found it nearly impossible to keep my feet from tapping for almost the entirety of the runtime."
This might also be the most obscure entry this year. Kouek is sitting at a humble ~21,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, which is a crying shame. If anyone on this list deserves more attention for their music, it's this artist right here.
My favorite track from the album is probably Seventy Kinds Of Lovin', but honestly the entire album is fire!
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Honorable mentions
Amigo The Devil - Yours Until The War Is Over
The Lord of Darkness, Amigo, back at it again. This one doesn't quite reach the levels of nihilism and decadence of his two previous records, but there are a few good tracks here as well. I particularly like Once Upon A Time At A Texaco Pt. 1.
Ginger Root - Shinbangumi
This weird, funky, "elevator soul" music is hard to describe, but it's really cool. Check out the single No Problems.
Ka - The Thief Next To Jesus
Understated rap with amazing sampling of various gospel music, and great pensive lyrics about religion and black culture. The track Beautiful is quite pleasant.
Laura Marling - Patterns In Repeat
A great singer-songwriter album with songs about the experience of being a new parent, and a few things in between. The opener Child Of Mine and the sleeper track Caroline should be heard by anyone and everyone.
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That's it for this year. I hope you discovered something new to enjoy. Metal AOTY list is coming very soon. Peace! ✌️