Top 25 albums of 2024
A year in which new artists flourished and some familiar faces hit the A-list
I continue to become more and more of a Playlist Gay than an Albums Gay (maybe it’s my ongoing refusal to give in to vinyl), but!!! This year has been DRENCHED in exciting pop; and so after my annual Top 50 singles list yesterday, here now is a whistle-stop rundown of my very favourite albums. I have, as ever, omitted EPs; but honourable mentions in that department must go to ShyGirl, CATTY and Tove Lo/SG Lewis; thank you for your service.
A playlist featuring a recommended taster track from each album is here!
25. Radical Optimism - Dua Lipa
It may have felt more like radical floptimism for some (amirite folks!!) but while this can’t touch the highs of Future Nostalgia, there’s still plenty to enjoy. Dua remains a blockbuster popstar! Recommended taster: These Walls
24. TORI. - Tori Kelly
After last year’s exceptional lead single Missin U, this album is stuffed with very pleasing R&B-infused melodies and, more than anything else, capital-V Vocals. Recommended taster: Diamonds
23. Hot City - Bonnie McKee
You can forgive this one for feeling a bit dated: it was meant for release back in 2013. But it’s so good to finally hear Bonnie’s hard work in all its glory. There’s an alternate universe where she was the collaborator Katy Perry reconnected with for 143, rather than you-know-who. Recommended taster: Show You Mine
22. DOPAMINE - Normani
IT’S ABOUT TIIIIIME! Dopamine deserved so much more fanfare than it got, but is a really gorgeous little body of work that should cement Normani as a proper power player. Recommended taster: Take My Time
21. Light It Up - Will Young
I talk a lot about how Kelly Clarkson is still thriving 20+ years after Idol, but let’s not forget Will too: Light It Up is his first studio album of original material since 2019 and it’s a total beaut. Well-made, well-sung grown-up pop with lots of heart. Recommended taster: Feels Just Like A Win
20. Pages - Shaznay Lewis
From the moment first single Miracle was released back at the start of the year, it was clear Shaznay meant business. Pages felt a long time coming but very, very worth it. Recommended taster: Tears On The Floor
19. The Lost Ones - Florrie
An album that felt millennia in the making, The Lost Ones is a lush collection of emotive pop songs that excel both sonically and lyrically. Indie-pop heaven. Recommended taster: Never Far From Paradise
18. Digital Heartifacts - L Devine
After a few years of A+ EPs, L Devine’s first studio album is a total win; musically adventurous and utterly captivating. Queers stay winning! Recommended taster: On And Off
17. Deeper Well - Kacey Musgraves
It’s just so lovely, isn’t it? Like a big cuddle. Shout-out in particular to Sway, which should probably be prescribed on the NHS. Recommended taster: Sway
16. The Tortured Poets Department - Taylor Swift
Its sheer length might take it dangerously close to dreary, but there’s some all-time great Swiftian balladry here: Down Bad, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, loml and Guilty As Sin? are properly up there for me, and while there’s absolutely no need for it to take the whole thing to 33 tracks long, The Anthology has a handful of Evermorian treats on it, too. My 14-track edit is here. Recommended taster: Down Bad
15. Vicious Creature - Lauren Mayberry
Yaknow I nearly put Crocodile Tears on my singles list and I’ve literally just seen that Matthew Koma - Mr Hilary Duff; the man behind my favourite Kelly Clarkson deep cut - is a collaborator on that and several other bops on this album. What a world!! After over a decade making magic with CHVRCHES, it was so good to hear Lauren strike out on her own, and not hold back. Recommended taster: Crocodile Tears
14. In Search Of The Antidote - FLETCHER
Loud, angsty, queer guitar-pop designed to be blasted (and shouted along-to) at top volume. Can we now class Fletcher as the best thing to come from X Factor USA? Recommended taster: Pretending
13. It’s Nothing - Dolores Forever
Still so up-and-coming they don’t even have a Wikipedia, this duo’s knack for sharp, witty, emotionally rich songwriting is on full display on their first full album; anchored by gloriously anthemic singles like Someday Best and Split Lip. Recommended taster: Concrete
12. Access All Areas - FLO
Solid gold R&B girl-group paradise, Access All Areas may not contain the trio’s sensational early singles (Cardboard Box, Not My Job and Fly Girl are all MIA) but what’s here is still divine; 47 minutes of tight harmonies, smart writing and confident delivery. If tracks like Walk Like This and Check have caught your attention at all, you need to hear the full thing. Please God may they keep this momentum up!! Recommended taster: In My Bag
11. Elle - Dagny
Stubbornly I want to rank this lower just because of its audacity in only having eight (EIGHT) songs; but anything with In My Bones, Heartbreak In The Making and Same Again (For Love) can’t not be a classic. Shout-out as well to Dagny for one of my fave gigs of 2024. Recommended taster: In My Bones
10. Cowboy Carter - Beyoncé
Its epic length might mean it takes a while to fully ~click, but Cowboy Carter is worth your patience: The Queen delivers a deep, intelligent piece that nods to country music’s complex history while carving out a lane all of its own. From the calmer moments like Just For Fun and Miley duet II Most Wanted to the get-and-up-and-go rushes of Ya Ya, Tyrant and Sweet Honey Buckin’, it’s a record that reveals more and more treasures with every listen. Also, Dolly!! Recommended taster: Levii’s Jeans
9. Vertigo - Griff
While many of these songs had already been released one way or another, it was so good to finally hear a complete full-length album from Griff, who has quietly been providing emotive, almost Swiftian sadbops for a few years now. The production quality is the big star here, for which Griff herself deserves a lot of the credit: the layered vocals, intense choruses and big finales on songs like Anything and Miss Me Too are just other-worldly. Recommended taster: Tears For Fun
8. Hit Me Hard And Soft - Billie Eilish
She’s always been acclaimed, but it still feels like Billie’s winning over more and more people with every album; and this one - her third - is certainly my favourite of hers to date. Birds of a Feather is the centre-piece but all ten tracks deliver big emotional gut-punches in fairly understated ways. Recommended taster: Chihiro
7. Short n’Sweet - Sabrina Carpenter
Full of meme-ready lyrics and breezy production, Short n’Sweet is the blissful crescendo of the upward momentum Sabrina built up across her last few albums and this record’s own lead singles. Smart, silly and sexy (“This boy doesn't even know the difference between there, their, and they are, yet he's naked in my room”), it totally deserves its mantle as the year’s biggest Main Pop Girl album. Recommended taster: Juno
6. Pink Velvet Theatre - Benjamin Ingrosso
Honestly, Benjamin’s been absolutely smashing it in 2024 and my standom has gone from 0 to 100. Each and every one of the singles ended up on my On Repeat playlist, and the whole project - interludes and all - comes together extremely well. It’s ABBA-adjacent piano-pop that basically takes the best Harry Styles stuff and makes it a bit more gloriously… well, Swedish. Recommended taster: Angela
5. Venus - Zara Larsson
If Venus’s only mission was to provide rock-solid pure pop, it absolutely succeeded: Venus is stuffed with songs that deserve to be heard in arenas, all sung by one of the best vocalists in the game right now: More Than This Was is peak Scandi bliss, Escape sounds like a disco on a cloud, and You Love Who You Love is the big hit single that got away. This may not push the very boundaries of pop music as much as other stuff on this list, but it’s certainly my most-played. Recommended taster: More Than This Was
4. Eternal Sunshine - Ariana Grande
Well, well, well: what could have easily been a zero-fucks side-hustle while Ari worked on Wicked is actually a total triumph. Here she hones the skills she’s been building since her very first album: the writing, most of which comes directly from her, is water-tight; and the production around her is heavenly - from the gorgeous balladry of We Can’t Be Friends to the octave-jumping beauty of Supernatural and the slight tripiness of Imperfect For You. Megastar for a reason!! Recommended taster: Supernatural
3. Smitten - Pale Waves
The band leaned all the way in to their poppier urges on their fourth album, and I loooooved it. A dizzying rush of euphoric choruses made for motorway sing-a-longs, it’s an Avril Lavigne fan’s dream: Heather Baron-Gracie’s vocals are full of her trademark heartfelt playfulness, and some of these hooks are just massive. I am desperate to see it all live at some point. Recommended taster: Kiss Me Again
2. What A Devastating Turn of Events - Rachel Chinouriri
What’s clever about What A Devastating Turn of Events is it actually does have a devastating turn of events: it starts off relatively effervescent and poppy (Never Need Me hive rise) but soon gives way to much darker, deeper stuff - Rachel borrows influence from everyone from VV Brown and Lily Allen to Oasis to create something that both indie and pop fans can happily dive in to. These songs tackle everything from the suicide of a relative (WADTOE) to body dysmorphia (I Hate Myself) via relatable relationship woes (Dumb Bitch Juice); and it all threads together beautifully. May she continue going from strength to strength!! Recommended taster: Robbed
1. Brat - Charli xcx
‘Cultural reset’ gets thrown around a lot, but Brat really does feel like one. It’s so exciting when The Best Thing is also The Biggest Thing; an unmissable Event that permeates everything from radio playlists to news broadcasts to memes upon memes upon memes upon memes upon memes.
People have been gagging to tell you for years that Charli’s something of an auteur, and I can’t pretend to be one of them: I’ve been enjoying her work intermittently but never really became a capital-s Stan (look, at the end of the day the Charli gays just seem so much cooler than me!!!). But if the whole “sellout” Crash era was her turning a few more heads and getting anyone on board who just thought she was a bit of a racket, Brat is her showing those converts the full extent of her powers. It’s the perfect showcase for her ability to create properly big songs (Apple! Von Dutch! Guess!), serve up a few creative curveballs (Club Classics, 365, B2B), and also get deceptively ~deep (I Think About It All The Time, So I). And that’s not even touching on the remix project, which made multiple songs unrecognisable and, in some cases, even better. If she doesn’t clean up the domestic categories at the BRITs in a few weeks’ time, there’ll be words to be had.
Recommended taster: 365