The death of the album has been proclaimed many times, and after decades of piracy and point-and-click listening, cohesive bodies of work have indeed lost some of their cultural stature.Yet the long player remains a meaningful art form, the gold standard breathlessly anticipated by fan bases across the genre spectrum.
Even the most brainless stans are always screaming at their idols to “drop the album.” Perhaps it’s because we’re greedy for as much music as our favorites will give us — or maybe we still collectively appreciate the experience of a masterfully conceived audio adventure.Though there’s incredible value in assembling a string of great singles, or even just one perfect song, an expertly crafted full-length collection still feels special.
And even at a time when the world’s slimiest biz-tech barons are flooding the market with AI slop, 2024 gave us some true works of art.Below, you’ll find 50 of them selected by Stereogum staffers and contributors.
The world is too vast and varied for any list to be the definitive word on the year in music, but this one is full of incredible releases, and it accurately reflects the journey we’ve been on together here at stereogum dot com in 2024.We’ve also compiled our picks into a playlist featuring tracks from all the albums (with one notable exception).
Take it all in, and then share your own picks in the comments.Thanks for rocking with us this year.
—Chris DeVille Stream a playlist with songs from the 50 Best Albums Of 2024: ...