I find this process incredibly stressful. : ) Every year I swear I’m just going to skip it, but then I get a bit of FOMO when I see everyone else’s lists, especially if I don’t see my favorite albums/artists represented in those lists. Picking 10 albums is challenging enough for me, but putting them into an order from 1-10 is beyond what I have the capacity for, so these are a bit intentionally placed and then I just had to let go.
I rarely get a chance to listen to an entire album anymore. This list constitutes the albums that I got closest to listening to the whole thing; because I was intrigued, inspired, moved, affected, energized. It also includes two of my favorite bands of my past 23 years- Explosions in the Sky and Sigur Ros.
And as I’m turning in this list on the last day I can, I discovered that Nate Smith put out a new album yesterday. Maybe it will also make it onto my favorites of 2024, as it’s pure fire.
| Artist | Album | Label | |
| 1 | Kiltro | Underbelly | Kiltro |
| 2 | Sigur Rós | ÁTTA | Von Dur and BMG |
| 3 | Zach Bryan | Zach Bryan | Belting Bronco Records |
| 4 | Meshell Ndegeocello | The Omnichord Real Book | Von Dur and BMG |
| 5 | Nabihah Iqbal | Dreamer | UMG Recordings |
| 6 | Jolie Holland | Haunted Mountain | Cinquefoil |
| 7 | Lankum | False Lankum | Rough Trade Records |
| 8 | Nate Smith | Pocket Change 2: Mad Currency | Waterbaby Music |
| 9 | Explosions in the Sky | End | Explosions in the Sky |
| 10 | Allison Russell | The Returner | Birds of Chicago |
