Here is the Too Much Rock Top 35 Songs of 2024. Compiling this is both a fun and stressful exercise for me each December. As always, my list is augmented by three bonus 2023 tracks that I didn't pick up until after last year's list was complete.
Top 35 Songs of 2024:
The wiry guitar and bold bass line make this post-punk tune feel slinky and smart. Welcome back Karate.
The guitars layer so brilliantly in this rocker. Listen, you'll agree.
The balance between chugging guitars, a torpid rhythm, and vocal urgency is amazing. This is a study in tension and release.
Nick Piunti has a knack for catchy power pop songs that are both gutsy and sweet. This heartland rocker hits all the right notes.
When you've written an infectious six-word chorus like this, I suggest you start the song with it and revisit it at least twice more, even if the song is only 2 minutes long.
It's amazing that the band can still create such delicate and dreamy works of art 40 years after its founding. Luxuriate in this one.
A not-quite all-star collaboration of garage punk wonderment that proves raw doesn't have to be prosaic. Listen to that guitar and vocal interplay!
This tune taps into the rich history of urgent rock & roll that has made skateboard wheels roll and legs pogo for 50 years.
Night Court slows things down to let those guitar leads really sing out on this one, and it's a better world for it.
A delightful sepia-toned tune that remembers Van Halen, stolen beers, and getting to second base.
In an alternate universe Adam Schlesinger produced this power pop dity and the original cast of American Pie starred in the video. It's so adorably stupid.
Oliver Orton's Rickenbacker brings all the mods to the yard for this slick "Oops! All Hooks" song.
There's a cinematic quality that sucks me into this song's effortless cool. Even at 4 minutes it's still too short.
I'm glad you'll never see the embarrassing dances that I've done to this quirky post-punk number.
In my mind Colin Halliburton wrote this on a late-night tour bus between Nashville and Dallas. He didn't, but he could have.
I like big dumb riffs, cowbell, and singalong choruses so this power pop song is a bullseye. My favorite Green Day in decades.
This twang-perfect honky-tonk should be filling dance floors at every roadhouse between Bakersfield and Taos.
Who thought we'd get such tender advice from these aging oi-sters? Melodic punk can't get better than his.
Punk rock doesn't get old, but punk rockers do. This one makes me want to rage and then take an Advil and maybe have a soak.
Rage bubbles under the band's jagged post-punk. When the band snaps, we all win.
That bright and sunny keyboard riff that leads off this track sets my heart aflutter. The bubble gum is strong in this indie pop act.
Smart song craft and beautiful jangle make this one a timeless delight regardless of (or possibly in spite of) the band's past twee reputation.
Who can blame the band for crowding in all those lyrics when they're this good? Listen carefully and choose your own adventure.
Revisit this buoyant indie pop treat whenever summer vibes are needed or medicinal kitchen dancing is required.
This is oi. Just a simple message delivered during a gang chorus that is going to get stuck in your head.
There's no better way to lose yourself than this sparse and literate indie epic. Take the time and enjoy the ride.
The DC act slams in 1001 hooks during this blast of indie/power-pop agitprop.
Australian Americana that could have come from anywhere anytime in the last 60 years. A Hammond organ and acoustic guitar will always feel like home.
Wicked Cool finally brings this Asbury Park rocker to the masses. This one is stickier than a boardwalk toddler with cotton candy.
This song is lo-fi to the point of frustration but then that chorus blossoms and everything is right in the world.
The Chisel first tapped into oi nostalgia and then it outdid the progenitors. This one is simple, catchy, and makes me want to run into strangers and smash things.
It's cold, motorik, and entrancing yet it still sizzles with energy. Every time I hear this, I want to start another band.
The tumbling guitar is elegant, the string adornments are inspired, and the lyrics are haunting. Thank you for coming back to us Ellis Jones.
Robert Smith has returned with the most gloriously depressing song that I've ever heard. Let's all cry and melt away to this masterpiece.
I've never driven an Aston Martin on the hills above Monaco in 1962, but I'm sure it would make me feel like I do when I hear this song. It's sexy, sophisticated, cool, and the best song of 2024.
And here are three tracks that came out in 2023 but I didn't get in time for last year's list. There was a lot more that I missed, but these were the very best.
On some days, this urgent and melodic tune is the only reason to get out of bed. Thank you.
At only 48 seconds, this is the shortest song in the countdown, but I dare you find one thing it's lacking. You can't, because it's perfect.
Nick Frater's flawless songwriting transports me to a better timeline every time. This is swoon incarnate.
How I make this countdown is admittedly weird. A song is in contention if it was released on any physical media in 2024. Covers are excluded. As are songs released on retrospectives or reissues. This year I decided only one song per artist – artists with lots of good songs get recognized on the album list anyway. Using those criteria, there were 2,052 new songs to choose from this year.
I feature tracks 1-6 on Too Much Rock Podcast #722.
And while you're here, why not check out my Top 50 Albums of 2024 .