My Top 100 Songs of 2024
Music plays a lot of different roles in our lives — it helps us fall in love, get over heartbreak, gain perspective, and scream our lungs out. In 2024, it helped keep me distracted. “From what?”, you ask? That’s a whole separate Medium post. But this year’s list seems less serious, more carefree. I count only two slow and quiet songs in the Top 20, which is abnormally low for me. The rest is fairly loud.
It also feels heavier than usual with guilty pleasures — more songs that may feel a bit overproduced and feature artists your mom and/or eight-year old nephew likes. But no apologies here. What I love about the list is it seems to reflect something about me from that year and in 2024 I seemed to need a break. So thanks to music for letting me escape. Now it’s time to scream my lungs out.
A couple reminders about the list:
- It’s ranked, in reverse order from 100 to 1. The full playlist is here on Spotify. The ideal way to consume this list is to listen all the way through and use the list here as your companion piece, only scrolling ahead as you hear each song. (But hey, you do you)
- Every song has to have been released in 2024 either as a single or as part of an album.
- Only one song per artist (they can have more than one if they are a feature vs. being the main artist). This makes the list way more fun.
- If you enjoy the list (or hate it!), please get in touch. The highlight of doing this each year is hearing what you loved, what you thought I got wrong, and who you discovered for the first time.
- I’ve been doing this 17 years now (!). If you’re looking for more, you can find most of the writeups here on Medium (2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, the rest are lost to now dead online platforms) and all the playlists on Spotify.
OK! On to the list:
100. Texas Girl by pigbaby. Maybe the most earnest song of all time.
99. Nothing Much by The O’My’s (feat. Jamila Woods). New genre: Underwater R&B.
98. Abigail by Soccer Mommy. Another Soccer Mommy songs as sweet as orange slices at halftime.
97. The Emptiness Machine by Linkin Park. Insane that adding a female singer was controversial when she’s this good.
96. Flowers by Real Estate. Guitar noodling that worms its way into your brain.
95. LOST by Tony Ann (feat. ARKAI). I kept trying to find the video game trailer I assumed this was from.
94. Take My Eyes by Orion Sun. A song that takes its sweet time.
93. Summer by Mary Timony. Screams “Indie!” from the opening chord.
92. Butterfly Net by Caroline Polachek (feat. Weyes Blood). Further proof Caroline Polachek is not of this world
91. Sexy to Someone by Clairo. Clairo’s music keeps getting more interesting.
90. Disease by Lady Gaga. Finally that sharp-edged Gaga Pop sound is back.
89. Throw (Life Raft) by illuminati hotties. illuminati hotties are getting more polished but also more catchy.
88. What’s Fair by Blondshell. Love seeing new generations crank out the power chords.
87. Atom Bomb by Bully. A song that shows off Bully’s rock star voice
86. You’ve Fallen In Love Again by Jade Bird. Hypnotic.
85. Love Song From A Dog by Shovels & Rope (feat. Gregory Alan Isakov). Love songs written by dogs are the best kind of love songs.
84. Oh France by Mdou Moctar. Guitar heroes also come from Niger.
83. Feels Like Heaven by The Happy Return. Like riding in a car with the top down.
82. I Just Needed You To Know by Girl Scout. Nervous energy makes for great music.
81. Dores no Varal by Papisa. Mysterious.
80. places to be by Fred again.. (feat. Anderson. Paak, CHIKA). I find a way to get my Anderson fix in a different format every year.
79. And Some Will Fall — Edit by Max Richter. Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?
78. Wildfiya by Ayo. A voice like a songbird.
77. Waited All Night by Jamie xx (feat. Romy, Oliver Sim & The xx). So clubby I can feel myself fighting to get the bartender’s attention.
76. Barry by AG Club. Representing the 925!
75. Buffalo by Hurray For The Riff Raff. Feels like a song from 80 years ago.
74. Beautiful Things by Benson Boone. Each of the 100 times I heard this on the radio I asked “who is this?”
73. ALL MY LOVE by Coldplay. Strip out all the EDM crap and Coldplay can still write a strong McCartney-esque love song.
72. Montauk by Pom Pom Squad. Dreamy.
71. Better Not Tell You by Lake Street Dive. My shoulders and neck can’t stay in place.
70. Green Light by Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors (feat. Vince Gill). Goes down as easy as (insert favorite Southern drink here) on a hot day.
69. BIRDS OF A FEATHER by Billie Eilish. Billie could probably sing her shopping list with FINNEAS producing and make the Top 100.
68. Going Going — reprise by Bartees Strange. Like drifting away on an ocean.
67. Alone by The Cure. Keeping the tradition of epically long intros alive.
66. Dreamstate by Kelly Lee Owens. The kind of dream where you wake up exhausted.
65. Serene King by Guided By Voices. Robert Pollard must have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for infinite catchy melodies.
64. Ill Times by GUM & Ambrose Kenny Smith. For achievement in drum fills.
63. Los Angeles by Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, Jacknife Lee (feat. James Murphy). James Murphy breathes new life into old goths.
62. Mustang by Kings of Leon. KOL feel more swaggery than they have in a long time.
61. Tejano Blue by Cigarettes After Sex. The answer to “what sounds quieter than a whisper?”.
60. Challengers: Match Point by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Tennis never sounded more intense.
59. How Can I Love Her More? by The Lemon Twigs. Straight outta 1964.
58. So Bad by Cassandra Lewis. Like a David Lynch fever dream.
57. Pamela by Ellie Bleach. Is Ellie Bleach a new stage name for Courtney Barnett?
56. Paperclip Maximizer by Rosie Tucker. Pop so twee it fits in a line like “A paragon of puritanical panoptical persistence”.
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55. Beauty School by Christian Lee Hutson. A great song made better by a well placed mom joke.
54. Queen Kuruma by Les Amazones d’Afrique (feat. Fafa Ruffino). Turns out Malian music has some killer synths.
53. Gemini by Haley Heynderickx. Crackles with unrest.
52. Mirage City by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Like the characters in Country Bear Jamboree suddenly going haywire.
51. Zero Sum by The Smile. Windows 95 finally gains some rock star cred.
50. Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years by Elbow. Elbow gets an Arctic Monkeys makeover.
49. But Not Kiss by Faye Webster. Like a love song from the Island of Misfit Toys.
48. you look like you love me By Ella Langley (feat. Riley Green). Is this what they mean by Southern hospitality?
47. The Ballad of the Witches’ Road (Pop Version) by Japanese Breakfast. I hate Marvel shows but can’t deny a soundtrack song like this.
46. Terminal Woes by Salt Cathedral. Infectious.
45. Girl Song by beabadoobee. Power popster does some reflecting at Rick Rubin’s ranch.
44. Cash by Mindchatter (feat. Emmit Fenn). I guess Apple Pay is out of the question?
43. Strange World by La Luz. Trippy.
42. DENIAL IS A RIVER by Doechii. Reminds me of when rap was fun.
41. Fainted Love by Conan Gray. Straight outta 1984.
40. Gift Horse by IDLES. 2024’s heaviest song about a horse.
39. Golden Eyes and Tears by Eli & Fur. Like floating on a river of fog.
38. Blue Tuesday by Francis of Delirium. Such better harmonies than Blue Monday.
37. What Now by Brittany Howard. Funky.
36. I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All by Father John Misty. Waiting for a university to offer a semester in Father John Misty lyrics.
35. Please Please Please by Sabrina Carpenter. I like a pop diva with a sense of humor.
34. Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves. Cosmic Country meets self realization.
33. Staying by Lizzy McAlpine. More Eilish than Billie Eilish.
32. Chrome Mess by The Hard Quartet. Queens of the Pavement Age.
31. Heavy by SPRINTS. The room is feeling pretty heavy right about now.
30. The World’s Biggest Paving Slab by English Teacher. Have absolutely no idea what the lyrics mean.
29. When a Man Cries by Leon Bridges. More Kiwanuka than Michael Kiwanuka.
28. Right Back to It by Waxahatchee (feat. MJ Lenderman). Had me at the banjo picking — the harmonies are just a bonus.
27. In My Room by Medium Build. I know that Simpsons poster he’s talking about.
26. Rat Maze by Schedule 1. Why didn’t The Cure put this on their new album?
25. Fried Rice by Royel Otis. Tailor made for a sing-a-long chorus.
24. I’D MISS THE BIRDS by Joy Oladokun. Heartbreaking.
23. Pink Sky by Loma. Like a cartoon detective walking the foggy streets.
22. Turn the Lights Back On by Billy Joel. Sorry not sorry.
21. Dark Matter by Pearl Jam. The vampires of Pearl Jam do not seem to be getting older.
20. Classical by Vampire Weekend. Unclassifiable.
19. No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Can by Laura Marling. This song convinces me everything is going to be alright.
18. Just Another Rainbow by Liam Gallagher & John Squire. I’d love for them to tour if Liam isn’t busy…oh.
17. The Feminine Urge by The Last Dinner Party. If Jane Austen played bass.
16. Nobody’s Solider by Hozier. I prefer my Hozier with a double-time drum beat.
15. Starburster by Fontaines D.C. Inhale of the year.
14. All In My Head by The Linda Lindas. How is this not on mainstream radio?!
13. Not Like Us by Kendrick Lamar. Believing Drake won is the 2024 version of being a flat earther.
12. She’s Leaving You by MJ Lenderman. Is Clapton not the second coming?
11. Do You Need A Friend by Christopher Owens. Intro of song: pretty. Rest of song: OMG epic.
10. Supersad by Suki Waterhouse. My 2024 mantra.
9. S P E Y S I D E by Bon Iver. Good to see Bon Iver back to his acoustic guitar.
8. Balloon by Tyler, The Creator (feat. Doechii). As funny as it is catchy.
7. Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan. 2024’s best overnight success two years in the making.
6. Boom Boom Back by Hinds (feat. Beck). One riff all the way through is fine when it’s that riff.
5. MILLION DOLLAR BABY by Tommy Richman. I remember how quickly I cranked the volume the first time I heard it.
4. Von dutch by Charli xcx. Impossible to pick only one song off this album.
3. Soup by Remi Wolf. You know you’re a big deal when you’re doing business on the top of the roof.
2. All Born Screaming by St. Vincent (feat. Cate Le Bon). Album title of the year.
- YA YA by Beyoncé. The most fascinatingly unpredictable artist of the last ten years.
