I tried something different for this end of the year list, which is to summarize the songs shorter than any other end of the year list. Instead of doing the paragraph sized summaries, most of these are only a few sentences. They gradually get longer until the top song has a couple paragraphs about it. And as usual, these are my favorite songs, not the best songs. For the songs list, there is only one song per artist, so the list isn’t dominated by my favorite projects of the year. Don’t take the specific rankings too seriously, it’s just for fun. Let me know some of your favorite songs down below and now, let’s go to it!
It’s definitely not as powerful as the Navy Blue song that topped my top songs of the year list last year, but it’s along the same line! The way he can write about life still leaves me in awe! And c’mon, how can you resist a song where the whole chorus is, “I hope you find peace of mind on your own”?
For your own sake, don’t look up the cover art to this song. But, as with all of Ken Carson’s music, I love the feral energy that his tracks give off! Lyrically, the song isn’t all that good, but just turn your brain off and get hypnotised with the bass and clattering synths.
I may not have loved this hit as much as her earworm, “Needs”, from last year, but “Nasty” was still worthy of its success! It’s nothing if not simple, and that simplicity definitely helped it become as popular as it was. We are now two mini-albums down, and hopefully the last one comes next year with another massive hit.
Yes, I know. The song is one of the dumbest things I’ve heard in a long time, but the song is so strangely quotable! I’ve been walking around saying, “You ever make a bitty hit her knees? Well guess what, I’m J.P.” all year. Do I know what that means, absolutely not. Does it matter though, not really. And of course, I also had to represent Wisconsin, as he’s also from here.
“Breathe” finally shows probably the best combination of sounds for Yeat so far! Well, I know most Yeat fans would probably disagree, but for me, I like this sound. It’s so futuristic sounding, while keeping the Autotuned heavy vocals from Yeat. It’s nothing special in general, but it’s still a banger of a track 10 months later!
I had no idea who Skaiwater was before this song, but their combination of Soundcloud rap and pop music is fantastic! They also enlisted Lil Nas X to give my favorite verse of his career! While their full album didn’t grab me as much as this single, I still think this is a great track that shows their potential.
2hollis is a newer artist who is doing some genuinely creative things, but it’s the slightly more accessible track, “crush”, that grabbed me the most. The hook on here is maybe the most polished thing he’s ever done, but it does get a bit experimental by the noise outro. His combination of electronic, rage, and pop is something that I think he can take to a whole other level with a couple years of practice.
While ScHoolboy’s album this year is great, it’s the straightforward lead single that I’ve been replaying over and over! There’s no chorus, it’s just two and a half minutes of straight rapping over this malfunctioning beat! “Yeern 101” is a non-stop thrill ride and one of ScHoolboy Q’s best ever bangers!
On every Mavi album, there’s one song that stands above the rest when it comes to his introspective writing, and this time, it’s “testimony”. I can’t even pick any certain line to pull away, it’s just every little thing about the song that works together to show his relationship with his family. From his delivery to the way the lines intertwine, it’s an incredible hip-hop track that tugs at the heartstrings.
If you don’t know Boxing Day, no worries, they’re just a local band of college students from Madison. In fact, I remember them auditioning for the WUD Music Battle of the Bands a couple years ago before they had ever performed before. So yeah, I know the track doesn’t have the expensive sheen on it that most songs do, but it’s just an all-around fantastic indie-rock track with a catchy chorus and a great voice!
Stevie’s own track he put out this year wasn’t that good, but this collaboration with Gary Clark Jr is great! They wrote the song together, so it doesn’t sound quite like a Gary or a Stevie song, but a welcome combination of both! If you want to hear a new song that sounds like an updated, more rock-oriented version of Stevie’s classic material, check this out!
Borne is an up and coming producer who released a few singles this year, but “Hush” is the standout! I appreciate how the drums change throughout the track, especially how it goes from a more drum and bass approach during the verses to the minimalistic approach during the chorus that allows the rest of the drop to take precedence. I’m not sure yet how his sound will translate to a full project, but these singles show he’s someone to keep an eye on!
Nia Archives is one of the best up and coming dance artists, and “Crowded Roomz” was the lead single to her debut album. It combines her jungle speciality that I especially love with her newfound Britpop sensibilities. Lyrically, the song is also a fantastic exploration of her own anxieties. All of that combines to a pretty awesome track!
I first heard Scowl at Coachella last year while they were performing hardcore punk on stage, but this new song is easily my favorite track of theirs! They went from pure punk chaos, to a more emo-rock sound that still has hardcore influences. For people that are hardcore fans, this single probably counts as selling out, but for someone like me, it opens me up to enjoying their music more.
I know people love “Juna”, but “Second Nature” has always been my favorite from this album. Just the way that she says the line, “It’s second nature” is among the most calming things I’ve heard all year. Hopefully she continues to make this type of mature, beautiful soft rock.
Turns out, they actually do make hits! In a different generation and with a different crowd of people, I could’ve seen this song becoming huge. The chorus is so infectious, and the lyrics about being an anti-capitalist and how “If it’s not a hit, we were being ironic” is hilarious. No matter if it’s ironic or not, it’s great!
I had to add an ISOKNOCK song on here, and weirdly, it’s the slower track that ends the album that’s my favorite! The progression of the track felt the most natural on the album, and the vocals from cade clair are pretty good. Hopefully ISOKNOCK does end up being forever, and they continue to make fun music together!
This is a really fascinating combination of two distinct sounds. The synths on here scream that she really loves SOPHIE, but the riddim drop is something completely different! It’s wild that someone so young can create something so great, and hopefully she continues to push the boundaries!
This is up there for one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard. Maybe it’s just because I was a huge fan of the artist (SOPHIE) he’s singing about, but it’s also gorgeous! If you want to fully engage with this song, make sure to pay attention to the lyrics and look into the background of the song, because it’s truly heart wrenching.
This is the lead single for the solo album from the lead singer of Geese, and it’s both similar and unlike anything you’ve ever heard. The piano provides most of the backing for the track, but the main selling point is Camereon’s voice and lyrics that are seemingly sincere and silly simultaneously. It’s hard to tell if his calls of, “God is actually real. I'm not kidding this time, I think God is actually for real,” is sincere or not, but no matter what he means, it’s sonically moving in a way most songs are not.
I think reggie needs to become a blues singer after hearing this track! “Take What’s Given” feels like a classic blues/soul track, except it came out in 2024. I really wish the BADBADNOTGOOD album from this year had more of this sound on it, but this single is still fantastic!
I was really hoping we would get the full album before 2025, but at least it’s coming out only a couple weeks into the new year. “Feel U Luv Me” was the lead single, and it’s still the best one! If you’re not on the Knock2 hype train, you should get on now before the album comes out!
The backbone for the song is heavily sampled from the Waka Flocka classic, “Hard In Da Paint”. Denzel even uses the same flow as the Waka classic! The song is just an awesome banger with Denzel both paying homage to a classic track, and putting newer rappers onto a bigger stage.
There are many songs on Beyoncé’s newest album that defy genre, but “Ya Ya” is the best example of it! Beyoncé’s vocal performance on the track is nothing short of incredible, and the freedom-based lyrics fit the song perfectly. So while I don’t necessarily think it should be nominated for Best Americana Performance like it is (it’s many genres, but americana doesn’t feel like one), I still think it’s one of Beyoncé’s best ever vocal performances!
This is the best Maggie Rogers song! It balances the pop sensibilities, with the singer-songwriter oriented stuff that I really love from her. The songwriting itself has matured past the collegiate-era stuff she was at before, and the production evolves perfectly! What more could one ask for?!?
I know, another totally unexpected pick. With how great of a year that Future had, he had to have a song on here, and “Like That” is the easy pick. Metro’s beat is immediately classic, but still manages to be modern, while Future does well setting the stage for Kendrick to throw down the gauntlet yet again. I could see this becoming a classic hip-hop song in the next decade or so.
I dare anyone to listen to this song and tell me that Mdou Moctar isn’t one of the most talented guitarists, and bands in general, currently making music. The solo that ends the track is genuinely incredible, and the rest of the band provides an electric backing! I’m fascinated how this song is going to translate on their upcoming acoustic album, because it’s so electric! It’s easily one of my favorite rock songs of the year!
It’s official, Olivia Rodrigo is the new queen of pop-punk! I feel like this song got overshadowed by the sheer amount of pop icons and new stars that had quality hits this year, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that this is bad. If Olivia continues this trajectory of making better and better music, she’s not that far from being one of pop’s best artists!
Yup, Chappell had to be on here! I know a lot has been made about her explosion to prominence this year, but just take a break away from all the news about her and listen to the songs. I guarantee if you listen to this song, it’s evident that Chappell has the ability to be as big as she wants to push herself! Her songs are timeless and immediately earwormy.
Snow Strippers has always been able to make a great song, but “So What If I’m A Freak” is on another level! It’s the 2024 version of an ultimate trashy club anthem. The song is overproduced, samples a meme right before the drop, uses multiple types of gunshots in the background, but I still love it!
This is immediately the best single from the upcoming FKA twigs album, Eusexua! The other two singles are fantastic dance tracks, but the glitchiness of this one immediately puts it above the rest! This is the weirder Twigs that I was hoping we would get on the album, and “Drums of Death” makes me so excited to hear the full thing next month!
This is the ultimate late night driving track! It’s nothing immediately special, but the way Jean builds the synths over the runtime of the track and how the production is layered keeps the song fascinating throughout! And of course, it wouldn’t be a Jean Dawson song without vague emotional lyrics and a chorus for the ages.
I had to have a Jack White song on here, and this single is one of his most accessible tracks in a while! The chorus is incredibly catchy, but as with every Jack White track, it’s the guitar lick that’s more important! Everything from the tone of his guitar to the simple melody makes it one of the best rock tracks of the year!
“Punish” is a song that I actually heard live first, but hearing the atmosphere of the studio version really lives up to the transcendental performance! I’m really curious how this ends up compared to her upcoming 90-minute EP, due to be released at the beginning of 2025. It’s not a track that will work in every context, but when you’re in the right mindframe, it’s perfect!
I know there’s a chance that Skrillex has put something out between the time of me writing this and me publishing it, but “Push” is still worthy of being here nonetheless! I will always admit that I am a bit biased towards this song, as it was first played to the world at the Coachella set I attended that he, Fred, and Four Tet filled in after Frank Ocean dropped out, but I still think it’s a quality EDM banger anyway!
MGMT isn’t just the band that made a few hits 15 years ago, they’re still making great songs, and “Nothing Changes” might be their best song in a while! The six and a half minute long ballad comes in multiple parts, and the lyrics are full of both historical references and heartfelt sentiment. This was the song that made me realize I needed to make this best of the year playlist, and it still hits all these months later!
I know Fred Again’s album this year was disappointing, but I still love this single he put out at the beginning of 2024! It brings in the cheesy, almost corny lyrics of Fred’s albums and puts it against this heavy EDM anthem! You can really tell Overmono contributed a lot to the song, especially in the minimalistic synth-bass work, which was super cool!
Earl Sweatshirt on these weird trap beats is actually unbeatable! Yes, El Cousteau also has a pretty good verse, but we’re all here for Earl. Between, “I’m not ok, but I’m gon’ be alright,” and “Free Gaza, we on the corner like Israelites,” I haven’t quoted a verse more all year!
This might be my favorite song that Jane Remover has ever made! It’s under the guise of another one of her side projects, and it seems like it’s going to be a more rock-oriented album. This slowburn ballad is unlike almost anything she’s done before, which makes me even more excited for the full Venturing album in February!
Even amongst the more avant-garde and progressive sounding songs on the album, “Image” stands out on the duo’s incredible new album! As much as it’s just a fantastic pop song, it’s the little things here that help it stand out. Everything from the lyrics in the chorus subtly changing every time to the bass additions on the second chorus makes the song sound just as engaging after dozens of listens as it did on its first.
Four Tet has been quite prolific this year, but the combination of electronic jam and sonic beauty is what helps “Daydream Repeat” stand out! Everything in the track is placed perfectly, from the shuffling percussion that comes in after the drop to the hits of noise that lead us into the drop. Hearing him talk about how he made it on the Tape Notes podcast was captivating, so I highly recommend that if you like the song!
It only took one listen to fall in love with this song! “Cheerleader” is a fascinating look into the artist-fan relationship dynamic. Most of the song is about how fans can feel like they “need” Porter, but then Porter comes to the realization that he also needs his fans. All of this is put to the sonic backdrop of an electronic pop-punk that is so engaging on its own you’ll likely need to read the lyrics to hear every line! I feel like Porter has really struck gold with a couple songs from this album cycle, “Cheerleader” being the best example!
MJ Lenderman’s writing style is extremely unique, and “Wristwatch” is the best example of that! It’s chalk full of hyper specific references to seemingly random things that don’t make sense on the surface, but unravel themselves if you think about them for long enough. One example on this song is where he brags about having a beach house in Buffalo, but like, why would someone want a beach house in Buffalo? And if so, why is that something to brag about? They get snow by the foot and will get 2-3 feet in a single day multiple times a year. It’s little things like this, and how he mentions something called a “himbodone”, that are part of what makes MJ Lenderman special.
This is a perfect pop song! The instrumental from Julian Bunetta is mind-bogglingly simple, but yet it doesn’t get old after dozens of listens. It fits the summer feel of the song perfectly! Sabrina’s voice isn’t special, but she complements the song wonderfully. Lyrically, she shines the most by making maybe the most quotable song in all of pop music this year! I can’t count the number of times I saw people say, “I’m working late, cause I’m a singer”, or “This that me espresso,” in 2024. And no matter if you’re like Sabrina or not, the song will make you feel confident about yourself for the two minute and fifty-six second runtime!
I love the simple effectiveness this song has! There’s nothing inherently special about it, but I’ve heard it played by DJ’s of all types all year! The straightforward shuffle of the drums and the bumblebee-like synth that takes the lead on the song create something magical! If you’re not into this type of music, you probably won’t like it, but if you do, don’t miss out!
I still think that the final verse on here is the best verse that Tyler has ever written! I appreciate how personal the verse is, and how it shows him at a different place than how he usually presents himself. I’m really curious to see how the crowd reacts to this song at the Chromakopia tour, because I could see people being annoyed by how personal it is, but I’m going to be there loving it!
This might be the most important song of the year. It encapsulates everything that Brat is! Sonically, it’s a party song, but the lyrics are painfully honest. Hearing two pop stars that felt unwarranted animosity towards each other for years finally working out what went wrong for the public to hear is absolutely wild! Charli’s feelings of awkwardness and standoffish actions coming from Lorde are valid, and Lorde explains in her verse that she’s been going through body dysmorphia and eating disorders, but was still trying to project like she was normal. It’s yet another example of how you never truly know what everyone else is going through. It’s a special song that really shows everything this whole Brat era from Charli is really about!
I know Kendrick put out a full album a few weeks ago, but I’d be lying if I said any of those tracks had the impact on me this year compared to “Not Like Us”. At this point, the song is so much bigger than just the song that ended the Kendrick-Drake feud. It was clearly made to be a diss song against Drake, and everything lyrically about it is calling Drake things I won’t repeat here, but yet it’s easily one of the most accessible songs that Kendrick has ever done! I mean, c’mon, the lyrics are so intense that Drake is literally trying to sue UMG for even allowing the song to come out! But yet, the song is also arguably the biggest song he’s ever done! Heck, it was the sixth biggest song on the overall Billboard charts in 2024! I’m sure part of it is due to the feud, but it’s also due to everything about the song! Mustard’s production, Kendrick’s flows, and the plethora of quotables are just a few of the other things that make it popular outside of the beef! If this isn’t the anthem of 2024, especially when it comes to hip-hop, I don’t know what is!
There’s just something about Adrianne’s writing that’s really special. I’m no expert, so I would be really curious to hear what a college professor or a songwriting professional would have to say about her, but I think it’s her combination of specificity and obscurity that makes her lyrics special. For example, let’s look at the third verse of “Sadness As A Gift”. The third verse, in its entirety, is, “Been searching for your eyes. All I see is blue skies. And that old man beats his crooked cane, it's time to let go.” Now, obviously everything doesn’t make complete sense when you strip this away from the rest of the song, but I love how vivid of a picture she can paint with that line about the old man. You can see the wrinkles on his face. You can see the little hunch that he has after using the cane for years. The years of wisdom are stretched across his face, and here he goes beating his cane on the ground to let you know that it’s time. But the question still begs, time for what?
There’s the other side of her writing that makes it so powerful. She provides the pictures and actions that go along with the story, but the specificity of why the events are happening are often vague enough to where the listener can implant their own experiences onto them and not feel like they are taking away from the experience. Now, it’s not convoluted enough that it’s impossible to figure out what she’s talking about. In “Sadness As A Gift”, she’s talking about the process of moving on after a break up. A line like, “Kiss so sweet, so fine. You could hear the music in my mind,” makes it pretty clear what type of relationship she’s talking about, but outside of that line, everything else is up for grabs. It could be related to someone losing their friend who they used to talk to every day. It could all also be a metaphor for how people come in and out of your life as time passes. Whatever you feel when you listen to the song, that’s what it's about. That malleability is a big part of what makes this song my favorite of 2024!
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