The best albums of 2024 (and some stray notes on culture this year)

I've always loved a good year-end list...so here are some stray thoughts on culture in 2024 that concludes with my favorite albums released this year.

“What came first, the music or the misery?…Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

-Nick Hornby, High Fidelity

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Books, music, and movies. I was raised in a home that celebrated this holy trinity of culture, so let’s spend some time thinking about the good, the true, and the beautiful things we humans produced in 2024. Here’s the best of what I watched, read, and heard this year:

Movies: some of what I watched this year

There once was a time—long ago and before my children were born—where I could rattle off my top five favorite movies, books, and albums released in the very year I was living in. That day is long over. Movies have fallen so far behind that I found myself just this year watching A Hidden Life for the very first time via on-demand streaming and thinking it was two years old. It was released in 2019. My knowledge of movies is both underdeveloped and out of date.

In 2024, I cried at the Bonhoeffer movie, kept up with the steady run of some excellent music documentaries (Stax: Soulville USA on MAX was by far the stand-out release this year—a truly awesome portrait of one of the great and tragic stories in American music. Notable fun-watch was Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary, also on MAX), and that’s about all that’s worth noting for anything released this year. I still love a good Turner Classic Movie watch after my whole family is asleep.

Books: some of what I read this year

For books, I have strayed away from reading many of the latest releases. My years as an English major (and, again, before I had children) were full of conversations about the most recently published works in contemporary fiction, debating endlessly with undergraduates over who was the next voice of our generation (it was Dave Eggers then) and who was fading into oblivion (usually some older white guy we all hated).

I’m a bit better at keeping up on literature than movies, but still nothing impressive. In 2024, I happily read a few of this year’s releases. For fiction: Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (outstanding, surprising), Parade by Rachel Cusk (tepid, unfeeling), and The Maniac by Benjamín Labitut (disorganized, boring). For non-fiction: Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson (perfect in every way), All Things Are Full of Gods by David Bentley Hart (dizzying, creative, fun), The Uses of Idolatry by William Cavanaugh (thorough, helpful), What it Means to Be Protestant by Gavin Ortlund (much needed, excellent presentation) and The Gift of Thorns by A.J. Swoboda (the best popular Christian theology book released this year).

But I have erred away from recent releases as I continue to dedicate to reading older books. I once heard the great Ted Gioia say that it’s best to read old books while you’re young and new books as you get older. I’ve tried to do that as I spent more time with my theological North Star, Saint Augustine, this year than any year previous, exploring his sermons (which is an endless well), specifically his massive, two-volume commentary/teachings on the gospel of John. I also read The Aeneid again and the poetry of Fernando Pessoa, a new obsession of mine. I got through Contra Celsum (Against Celsus) by Origen finally and most of The Antichrist by Nietzsche, because I read David Bentley Hart (in his splendid, The Beauty of the Infinite) remark that, apart from these aforementioned writers, there has never been a salable critique of Christianity. I came away from both thinking DBH was mostly right. For all the criticisms of Christianity that exist, it may just be Nietzsche and Celsus who need to be answered. No wonder it took the philosophical caliber of Origen and Hart to take them down (and take them down they did). All in all, it was a great year in reading.

Music: some of what I listened to this year

And so that brings me to music, my last bastion of cultural up-keep. I do pretty well with keeping up in recent music still. Even considering all the ways Spotify has rotted my brain and decimated my once tender relationship with music (it’s doing this to all of us, by way—read the work of Liz Pelly!), I have fought the good fight. We all need to keep and maintain a love for music outside of the soul-crushing presence of Tech and its algorithmic demons. We can do it. Here are my favorite albums of this year:

Best Album of 2024: Woodland - Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

A straight up masterpiece by some of the best living artists right now. For all the remarkable production happening right now in music, nothing replaces a truly great song. Welch and Rawlings are also one of the rare duos that seem to make sense on a metaphysical level—like the two of them are superimposed onto one another’s lives and abilities, unable to really understand the one without the other. Their dueling guitars, tender harmonies, and careful but unserious writing (“The Day the Mississippi Died” is a stand-out) has left me with no other choice. It’s by far my favorite album released this year.

Best Song of 2024: “Comin’ Around Again” by Amber Mark

You just don’t hear songs this good that often. What is wrong with this song? Nothing. Amber Mark has proven herself to be one of the more prolific artists (releasing probably two albums worth this year in different ways) with one of the best voices you’ll hear. But apparently she can also just straight up write a song. The bass groove on this is syncopated with her vocal perfectly is only matched by that kick/snare that takes us through the whole tune. The lyrics and the structure of the song are also without flaw. Is this song just a straight up vibe? Yes. It is also produced perfectly? It is. Can we all sing this song together in the car? Of course. So, again I ask, what is wrong with this tune?

Remaining great albums released this year:

Comeback Kid - Bridget Kearny: I mentioned my love for just a great song and Bridget is one of the best. She’s written with Paul McCartney - do you need more information? Start with “Security Camera” or just let the whole album go while you make dinner.

Samurai - Lupe Fiasco: in the rap world, I long for someone to just show me they can spit. Lupe is this. Give him a beat and let him go. This album has zero—I repeat, ZERO—features and is just Lupe doing what he does. It’s unchaotic, simple, interesting, and solidifies him as a rarity: a two-decade long successful hip-hop artist. Start with “Samurai.”

Live from the Other Side - Theo Katzman: Some music is meant to be played live. Like my experience with the inestimable P.J. Morton, my love for Katzman’s music started at a live show in 2019. I have since seen him twice and am here to tell you this music needs to be played LOUD. Start with “Be the Wheel (Live in London).”

A Dream is All We Know - The Lemon Twigs: Do you, like me, wonder if we’ll ever hear music as surprising and catchy as the Beach Boys or the Beatles in American rock music? Look no further. The Twigs have it all and this music just rocks, I don’t know what to say. About four years ago I thought rock was dead, but after the War on Drugs released I Don’t Live Here Anymore and now with the Lemon Twigs taking off, I have to have hope that we still want to rock. Start with “How Can I Love Her More?”

Mahashmashana - Father John Misty: The indie music boy in me cannot deny it. I just love Josh Tillman and think the Father John Misty thing is a great contribution to music and art. He’s weird and while he’s predictable, I like what I predict every time he releases an album. At least his lyrics will never have you bored and will always make you think about your life. Start with “Mental Health.”

History of House - Soweto Gospel Choir x Groove Terminator: By far the most creative and interesting album I heard all year. The mix between these artists has you guessing which track will have which artist at the front, until you realize there is no leading artist. What you have in a fascinating mix of tradition and groove. It’s both comforting and challenging. Start with “Trouble.”

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Until next year, my friends! See you in 2025.