Here is a list of my favorite albums of 2024 presented in order but without supporting evidence. I compiled the list differently this year so read the bit at the bottom if you're curious.

50. Waxahatchee Tigers Blood (ANTI-) 49. 2nd Grade Scheduled Explosions (Double Double Whammy) 48. The Cheap Cassettes They'll Never Forgive You for Pop (Rum Bar Records / Cassettes on Records Records) 47. Bad Moves Wearing Out the Refrain (Don Giovanni) 46. Chime School The Boy Who Ran The Paisley Hotel (Slumberland) 45. Shehehe Namedroppers (SAY-10 Records) 44. Trust Fund Has It Been a While? (Tapete Records) 43. Still Animals Still Animals (Slovenly) 42. Personal Trainer Still Willing (Bella Union) 41. Ben Lee This One's For The Old Headz (self-released / Weirder Together) 40. Onsloow Full Speed Anywhere Else (Tiny Engines) 39. Karate Make It Fit (Numero Group) 38. The BV's Taking Pictures of Taking Pictures (Shelflife / Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten) 37. Class A Healthy Alternative (Feel It Records) 36. Jr. Juggernaut Another Big Explosion (Mindpower Records) 35. Public Opinion Painted On Smile (Convulse Records) 34. Young Scum Lighter Blue (Jigsaw Reocrds / Pretty Olivia) 33. The Reds, Pinks & Purples Unwishing Well (Slumberland) 32. Hoverborg The Good Stuff (self-released) 31. The Decemberists As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again (self-released) 30. The Peawees One Ride (Spaghetty Town / Wild Honey Records) 29. Wut Mingling With The Thorns (HHBTM Records) 28. Best Bets The Hollow Husk Of Feeling (Meritorio Records) 27. 45 Adapters Unstoppable (Pirate Press Records) 26. Mean Jeans Blasted (Fat Wreck Chords) 25. The Roseline Keystone of the Heart (self-released) 24. Tamar Berk Good Times for a Change (self-released) 23. Still Ill Rituals (self-released) 22. Paul Kelly Fever Longing Still (Universal) 21. The Chisel What A Fucking Nightmare (Pure Noise Records) 20. Daniel Romano's Outfit Too Hot To Sleep (You've Changed Records) 19. The Umbrellas Fairweather Friend (Slumberland) 18. Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men Up and Out of It (Jem Records) 17. Cock Sparrer Hand On Heart (Pirate Press Records) 16. Sharp Class Welcome To The Matinee Show (Of The End Of The World) (self-released) 15. Guidon Bear Internal Systems (Antiquated Future) 14. Zatopeks Loitering and Sauntering (Stardumb Records) 13. Artificial Go Hopscotch Fever (Feel It Records) 12. Loose Articles Scream If You Wanna Go Faster (Alcopop! Records) 11. Extra Arms Radar (Setterwind) 10. Gimp Fist Losing Streak (Sunny Bastards) 09. Dreamist Shouldn't Be (self-released) 08. Vicious Dreams Turn Off My Brain (Dirt Cult Records) 07. Shellac To All Trains (Touch & Go) 06. The Soundcarriers Through Other Reflection (Phosphonic) 05. Amyl and the Sniffers Cartoon Darkness (Virgin Music International) 04. The Reflectors Going out of Fashion (Neon Nile) 03. Fred Thomas Window in the Rhythm (Polyvinyl Record Co.) 02. Early Riser Big Life (Asbestos Records) 01. The Cure Sons of a Lost World (Universal)

BONUS: EPs

5. Wifey Just a Tease (Mt Crushmore Records) 4. Gene Champagne Let's Get (Yeah Right / Rum Bar Records) 3. Visual Learner 2024 Demo (self-released) 2. Civil Rats Don't Get It (self-released / Dummest Records) 1. Hasty e.p. (Bloated Kat)

BONUS: FAVORITE DIGITAL-ONLY (for now?) RELEASE

Arson Class Expansion Plan (self-released)

So is this list useful? I'm not sure. To make my list in Decembers past I relistened to every album. It was a HUGE undertaking. I liked the results but not the process. This year I wrote a program that read my assigned ratings of songs to generate this list. The result is not my favorite albums today, but rather represents how I felt about the album in the weeks after I got it. That's a different thing, but still useful and a lot less stressful. Looking at the list I see a few albums that I evidently loved when I got but now don't do as much for me, while I don't see a few others I've grown to love. So YMMV.

Finally, for those who want the math, this year I added 328 releases to my library. That's 328 items I bought either physically or downloaded through Bandcamp or another service. I don't use streaming services. 145 of those were full-length albums, released physically, in 2024, weren't re-releases or compilations of already released tracks, tribute albums, or Christmas albums. It's that subset that was ranked above.

For a run down of my favorite songs of 2024 visit Top Songs of 2024.