The Best Albums of 2024
Magdalena Bay, The Marías, Cindy Lee, Kendrick Lamar,Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Beyoncé, and more. 10. HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, Billie Eilish
Three days before Eilish’s third album came out, I found myself inside an extremely crowded Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn for an exclusive listening party. As the singer walked, danced, and, huh, ran across an empty stage without saying a word as the songs progressed, one thing became clear: this was her most cohesive, animated, and audacious album yet.
9. Caju, Liniker
8. COWBOY CARTER, Beyoncé
7. Eternal Sunshine, Ariana Grande
6. THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, Taylor Swift
5. GNX, Kendrick Lamar
4. Imaginal Disk, Magdalena Bay
3. Submarine, The Marías
2. Diamond Jubilee, Cindy Lee
1. BRAT, Charli XCX
What does a BRAT summer mean? To Charli XCX, it meant getting rid of metaphors and boasting straightforward lyrics over accessible club bangers while irritating others with a blurred album artwork. The experimental sound of her past albums is still here, swirling around the pop architecture of songs like “B2B” and “Club Classics,” but Charli seems to have found a way to be a popstar for the masses in her own terms. So what if it involves a bit of cynicism? So what if it requires not taking herself too seriously yet still claiming to be an inspiration to others? We still found ways to relate. We still cheered at every successful marketing strategy (including very well-received remixes with Billie Eilish and Lorde). We still felt so very Julia.
