Here we are yet again at the end of another year. Is it just us or did that fly by so fast?!
2024 was chock full of incredible releases. We narrowed down our top 5 this year along with a nod to those honorable mentions as well.
As always, we want to thank all of you – our loyal readers and supporters – for sticking with us for 9 (yes, NINE!!) years! 2025 marks our 10 year anniversary and we’ve been thinking up ways to make it special so stay tuned!
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5.Halsey – The Great Impersonator
Released: October 25, 2024
Halsey really knocked it out of the park with her fifth record, The Great Impersonator. In numerology, fives represent change and this album poignantly encapsulates that notion. Written and recorded while battling health issues, TGI felt like the singer’s swan song, so to speak. At a time when she thought she might not see another album release, Halsey gathered every piece of her heart and turned it into art – gifting fans a glimpse into themes of facing one’s mortality and inner demons while grappling with being a single parent & beyond. TGI is a brutally honest depiction of the human experience crafted by someone under the impression they were about to lose it all.
4.Pale Waves – Smitten
Released: September 27, 2024
Pale Waves have been dazzling us since their 2017 debut, but fourth studio album, Smitten, really sealed the deal. insert lovely dovey smitten puns here The Manchester indie-pop quartet delved into themes of teenage love and heartbreak taken from singer Heather Baron-Gracie’s old diary entries, while shining a light on how some things never change – longing, desire and finding oneself amongst the pain and confusion. Offering a more mature sound, Smitten is as nostalgic as it is modern, reminiscent of the sounds of The Cranberries meets The Smiths. ‘Heavenly’ is probably the best word to describe Smitten in a nutshell. We just know the late Dolores O’ Riordan is smiling down on them right now.
3.Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department
Released: April 19, 2024
Maybe it’s the fact that I released a poetry book the same month this album was released, but Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department has been a major staple this year. Swift’s eleventh studio album, TTPD dived into everything fans have been dying to know, and then some, making it a monumental album in Swift’s career with possibly her best songwriting to date. Count in the anthology tracks, and you’ve got yourself a quality night in bound to inspire some poetry of your own.
2.Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well
Released: March 15, 2024
Country darling, Kacey Musgraves, gave us what we all needed this year: some healing energy…and a taste of cottagecore vibes. The singer’s fifth studio album, Deeper Well really did dive deep into the singer’s healing journey while offering up a new perspective on life, love and showing up as your Higher Self in all areas of life. If this album didn’t make you want to run through a grassy field with the wind whipping through your hair, you probably need to check your pulse. Also, anyone get the sudden urge to hold a baby lamb after listening to this record? Just me? Ok cool.
1.Kelsea Ballerini – Patterns
Released: October 25, 2024
Speaking of healing, country/pop singer, Kelsea Ballerini, is no stranger to sharing her personal growth journey through her music, and fifth studio album, Patterns, did just that. Checking her baggage at the door as she sorted through her own personal patterns in her life, Ballerini gifted listeners a gorgeous record full of themes of embracing change and moving through those not-so-perfect moments that lead us to nirvana.
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Honorable Mentions (In order of release)
The Ivy – A Door Still Open
Maggie Rogers – Don’t Forget Me
Dua Lipa – Radical Optimism
Sasha Alex Sloan – Me Again
Wallows – Model
Wall of Trophies – Cassettes By Mail
Camila Cabello – C, XOXO
Muted Color – take i lovely you
lovelytheband – lovelytheband
COIN – I’m Not Afraid of Music Anymore
Tears For Fears – Songs For a Nervous Planet
