In the past, I've often taken time at the end of the year to review what I considered to be the best music of the year. Caveat: I can't and don't keep up with everything. This post is me telling you what is the best among the music I actually purchased/downloaded/streamed, in 2024. Links will be for Apple Music, as that is my streaming platform of choice (however, I have physical copies — vinyl and/or CD — of most of these).
FAVORITE ALBUMS
Albums are not the powerhouse music format in our current era. Streaming has made singles the dominant format as singles keep the content coming and ever-present. However, being a good Gen-Xer, I do love full-length projects and EPs. Here are my Top Five Albums of 2024, in no particular order.
PEARL JAM: Dark Matter
When you've been a band as long as Pearl Jam, writing a latter-career stellar piece of work is nothing to be taken lightly. I don't want to get hyperbolic and call it a masterpiece, but, compared to the past few releases, 2020's Gigaton and 2013's Lightning Bolt (... and 2010's Backspacer), it comes pretty close to that designation. At the very least Dark Matter is easily the best work the band has produced since 2006's self-titled album (a.k.a. "Avocado"). Critics largely attribute this effort to producer Andrew Watt and the band working on the album as a band in a room together and not individual people adding their parts separately over the course of a year or more.
The first five tracks are all fantastic songs with Scared of Fear and React, Respond driving home the point that, even in their 50s and 60s, the band has a fire inside of them that has matured from the youthful exuberance of the early 90s. Wreckage, had it been released in 1994 as a part of Vitalogy, would be a certified Pearl Jam classic today. Even so, it's a Tom Petty-influenced gem. Won't Tell is Pearl Jam at its emotive best. There are a few weak songs towards the end, but even those have moments in each song that are inspired.
I won't spend a ton of time here complaining that the band is losing its way with fans (like me) surrounding its live show and, specifically, rising ticket prices. Face value tickets at $400, for two tickets, is normal these days for a band with Pearl Jam's legacy — but not for a band famously devoted to keeping costs low for its fans. However, I'll let this album stand as a testament to who Pearl Jam is in 2024 — still a great band with something to say and the ability to say it in a compelling way, musically.
JOHNNY BLUE SKIES (a.k.a. Sturgill Simpson): Passage Du Desir
I'll just say it. Sturgill Simpson is a country music musical genius — and a bit weird. Perhaps, that's what makes him great. Passage Du Desir was released this year under the artist name Johnny Blue Skies (a name he's alluded to in liner notes since at least 2016). But, it's pure Sturgill Simpson in sound and style (which may veer wildly from album to album — frustrating some folks) and why I file the vinyl copy of this album with Simpson's other album instead of elsewhere in the alphabet. The melancholy Jupiter's Faerie and string-infused One For the Road are stand-out tracks and Who I Am is a defiant three minutes about being OK with who he is as a man and artist. This, of course, fits into my wheelhouse as a lover of artists who follow their creative muse instead of placating any particular market ("that old radio still won't play me").
His tour is one I wish I had caught this year as the reception from fans was near-universally enthusiastic, but I've listened to this album, in full, probably more than any other with the exception of Pearl Jam's Dark Matter this year. It's a stellar work for anyone, not just country music fans.
THE BLACK CROWES: Happiness Bastards
I realize the title of this album may be off-putting, but it's an apt description of the brothers Robinson (Chris and Rich) in 2024. They truly seemed to have mended fences and the positivity is reflected in this album — their most pure rock & roll effort since 1999's By Your Side, in my opinion. The band is all new guys except for Chris and Rich and, while that bugs me, it doesn't change the fact that this is an album chock-full of rock & roll gems.
For my ears, there's no truly weak songs on the album and there's a few that are worthy additions as classics in the Crowes' catalog (Dirty Cold Sun, Rats And Clowns, Wanting And Waiting). While they have aged, the brothers definitely haven't lost the energy that made me love them in the early 1990s.
THE COLD STARES: The Southern
I don't know of a more prolific and hustling musical act around today than The Cold Stares. It's almost hard to keep up — and I definitely try. The Southern follows 2023's Voices and is a melodic songwriting step-up from that effort. Horse To Water has a classic Thin Lizzy feel (to my ears) and is a fantastic table-setting for the rest of the album. Confession reaches into a stretched-out Hendrix-ian jam not previously explored by the band (more of this would make me ecstatic).
As a power trio, the template has shifted somewhat from previous releases and frontman Chris Tapp may be pushing the acoustic blues songs towards solo releases, but what makes people love The Cold Stares is all present here. Riffs and riffs for days with killer grooves from drummer Brian Mullins and bassist Bryce Klueh and strong vocals from Tapp.
The Southern is pure blues-rock goodness and worth your time. Be watching for The Southern, Part 2 in 2025. Try to keep up.
MYLES KENNEDY: The Art of Letting Go
Alter Bridge and Slash frontman Myles Kennedy is one of the hardest-working guys in music. Always writing, always recording, always touring with some project. He is back with his third solo album with The Art of Letting Go and it is a departure from his two previous solo efforts. It's an album featuring more hard rock and fewer acoustic guitars. However, for me, the standout tracks are the more introspective and epic tracks like Eternal Lullaby (that's almost certainly about the late Chris Cornell). For my money, this is where Myles Kennedy's voice really shines. With space to breathe, his guitar work also stands out (and he's a fantastic player). With that in mind, the driving rock songs are fantastic. Mr. Downside and Dead To Rights are gems.
Of course, with the surprising success of the Creed reunion, his bandmates in Alter Bridge will be busy in the next year. However, there's also an Alter Bridge album planned for 2025 or 2026, as well as a Tremonti solo album in January 2025. Again, try to keep up, I dare you.
With myriad projects, it appears we'll have more from Kennedy and his bandmates in the future. While we wait, The Art of Letting Go is worth repeated spins and is one of my favorite hard rock efforts this year.
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WORTHY OF MENTION
Below are albums and singles that are just as worthy of your time as the top albums listed — as they are all stellar works. Listed in no particular order.
Putting live albums or greatest hits albums, etc. on a year-end list is always a conundrum for me and I'm hesitant to put them in my top albums list because it's not new material, but I added this one to the honorable mention category because, after seeing Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit live for the second time in 2024 (and will be seeing again in summer 2025), this album contains all the reasons I love him/them. Containing only songs from the Reunions and Weathervanes albums (plus a coule of cover songs), it's a live album for those already familiar with the band. Known for his songwriting (I'm a massive fan of his lyricism), Live From the Ryman, Vol. 2 (which means there's a Volume 1, naturally) is also a fantastic showcase of his band's stellar musicianship. Taken from the past few Ryman Auditorium residencies, this live album is, simply, fantastic. The extended-guitar-solo-stretched-out King of Oklahoma is amazing, for starters.
Fellow southern Indiana resident Michael Cochren and his crew released this single on the heels of his sophomore album, Running Home. While that album — and especially its title track — were a sign of musical and songwriting maturation, the single Money Can't Buy, released in August is another step forward. This one has the benefit of being a song that is immediately accessible, but also grows in depth and feeling over repeated listens. Musically, it's also a natural part of his musical evolution that's been evident to anyone paying attention to his work. Lyrically, the song hits on themes of contentment — a major theme in my life this year — and has run through my head on more than one occasion in moments of anxiety. I set my sights on shiny things/That crumble in the rust, that fade into the dust/I bought the lie that someday I would finally have enough/But it never is enough, so/Wake me up. Good words and a great sound that leaves you wanting more by the end of the song. It's a tightly-arranged two minutes and 45 seconds designed for radio. I realize I'm not the target demographic, but I'm a fan of this one. Plus, leaving me wanting more of the song is not necessarily a bad thing.
This year was the 40th anniversary of Bon Jovi's career. There was a documentary released on Hulu that I enjoyed, frontman Jon Bon Jovi finally got real about his vocal issues that fans have been discussing for nearly a decade, and the band released a new album, Forever. I've been a massive fan of this band in the past, but that light has dimmed quite a bit, especially since guitarist Richie Sambora departed in 2013 (only a few shows after I saw the band for the last time). However, I'll always check out what the band's releases. Forever is not bad, but the power of Jon's voice is simply gone and the production is stale with John Shanks (now, essentially, a part of the band and a small part of the impetus behind Sambora's departure) at the production helm for 20 years. However, the songwriting chops are always strong, and this album is no exception. One track I continually went back to, however, was Waves, co-written by Jason Isbell (who also provides backing vocals and — I am 85% sure — the guitar solo). It's a way forward for Bon Jovi, in my opinion. Gone are the days when Jon could belt Living On A Prayer with any sort of power, but this is a direction he could reasonably take, even if it means not selling a million albums anymore. With introspective lyrics and a great melody, Waves is worth your time. Plus, they should 100% write more songs with Jason Isbell, especially if Waves is an indication of the kind of work they could produce.
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As someone who has led music worship in a church for more than 20 years, I have a complicated relationship with "worship music." The "genre" (seriously, I could write a whole book about my thoughts, so I'll leave that out and you can fill in the blanks) is stale right now, in my opinion. I'm also older and it's harder for me to appreciate new music and musical styles. With that in mind, this mega-church worship song was presented to our team as a song we might consider adding to our church's "hymnal." I went in with skepticism, but I've listed to this song probably 20-plus times in the past three months. One great thing I noticed on this track was the gospel feel that was blended with "modern worship" sounds. The lyrics hit home for me, too. This one has been a pleasant surprise for me this year. My friend said I must be having a mid-life crisis as I was sharing "megachurch worship songs." That may be true (ha!), but I dig this one a lot.
This was a lost early-1990s Cash album that he was working on right before he signed with Rick Rubin and did American Recordings in 1994. Dropped by his label, Cash was in serious career decline before Rubin's work yielded some of the best work of his career and gave him an end-of-life career resurgence (1994-2003). This album features a few songs that would end up on American Recordings (the first one) such as Like A Soldier and Drive On. There has been some posthumous band work added, and I have mixed feelings about that, but, it definitely helps the songs presented here. This one has been given repeated streams (never bought a physical version) this year and is a highlight of latter Cash, something the record executives definitely missed when they dropped him.
This one is the soft song on the southern-rockers' new album Be Right Here, but it's the standout. Just a solid song all the way around with introspective lyrics about learning from leaving and how it's OK to come back home again.
Post Malone goes country. His album F-1 Trillion is 18 songs of 90s-era country (in sound) and mostly duets with modern country acts. I gave the whole thing a listen, but really keyed in on this one and the duet with Billy Strings, M-E-X-I-C-O, as standout tracks. Post is not a leech on country music, but is a fan who just happens to primarily do another style of music most often. Side note: I will also say if you have a problem with Beyoncé going country but don't have a problem with Post Malone, it's not music with which you really have a problem, but I digress. The groove of this duet with Stapleton is pretty undeniable and it has a great hook.
To be honest, I've given his album exactly one streaming listen after I heard an interview with Yoakam on a podcast. However, it is everything you hope for from him and every song just hits. Apparently, this is his first album in a decade, but, again, to be honest, I haven't been on the Dwight Yoakam train since 1994 or so. That being said, this album is front-to-back California-Country goodness. The voice is a little older, obviously, but it retains the spirit of Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. and other early releases.
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