it's funny — when i sat down to finalize this list, i was initially like "huh. 2023 was a way, way better year for music," and i do still kind of feel that way. but then i had a heckuva time chopping my 50-something favorites from 2024 by almost half, and agonized over which ones would make the cut wayyy more than i did last year. so, i guess it was more solid than i thought? anyway, without further ado, two dozen + six bangers!
as always, here's the playlist.
honorable mention:
lutalo - "about (hall of egress)"
billy strings - "gild the lily"
24. starflyer 59 - "909"
the '90s shoegaze energy was strong this year, and one of the highlights was — gasp — from an actual '90s shoegaze artist. the brainchild of jason martin, starflyer 59 has been at it since 1993, and by jove, i'd say he's still got it more than 30 years later! moody, heavy, mysterious, and dark — what more could you ask for?
23. abby sage - "milk"
i'm going to stick with the haunting vibe for another minute before lightening the mood. hailing from toronto, abby sage caught my attention back in 2022 with the captivating "pool party," and "milk" maintains this effortlessly cool, raw, and emotional attitude.
22. wishy - "love on the outside"
all right, enough moping. it's time to get happy! i had to chuckle at the various descriptions i read of this song in various comments around the internet: "this sounds like it should be on the american pie soundtrack," "this sounds like the click five made a grunge song, respectfully," and "this feels like the 1996 we should have had instead of the 1996 we got." i'm not going to argue with any of these takes, and in fact, their accuracy is exactly why i like it so much. fun, summery alt-rock done right.
21. men i trust - "husk"
if i had to rank all of these songs based on the atmosphere they create, "husk" would probably be #1. it has a subtly hypnotic quality that evokes some sort of '80s astral or outer space journey, and singer emma proulx's delicate and understated delivery rounds it out perfectly.
20. beach weather - "hottest summer on record"
beach weather came onto my radar back in 2017, when i heard the insanely catchy and completely addictive "chit chat" (i believe i tweeted something along the lines of wanting to inject the chorus into my veins at the time and still haven't changed my stance 7 years later). i've been lukewarm to blahhhhh on the stuff i've heard from them since, but "hottest summer on record" from their latest record melt quickly wormed its way into my brain and, much like "chit chat," has been stuck in my head during approximately 75% of my waking moments since i heard it in october. i especially love the playful change-up of "got me caught up in the headlights/got me fucked up in the head liiiike." cute. and apparently it's about doing shrooms and having sex in the desert or something? so that's a vibe.
19. the last dinner party - "burn alive"
18. russ - "in the dirt"
who needs therapy when you have russ? that's my motto, anyway. the wholesomeness and positivity he adds to the hip-hop world is so refreshing, and his songs rooted in personal but often universal experiences give them a wide and relatable appeal. i recently realized that "in the dirt" actually reminds me, in its uplifting spirit, of my favorite hip-hop song of all time, "get by" by talib kweli. it almost feels gospel-esque, and his cadence and flow just tickle my brain so good. as a bonus, his instagram and tiktok presence is fantastic because he seems like such a down-to-earth dork, and i live for his videos of being overwhelmed at sephora or giving valuable and hilarious life advice.
17. the criticals - "adoringly drunk"
this sassy lil' sparkplug of a track by up-and-coming nashville duo the criticals has me jumping up and down and going nuts every time, screaming "HOLY GODDAMN, WE'RE ADORINGLY DRUNK TOGETHER!" i think i was put onto this band by greta drummer danny wagner, and i unsurprisingly dig them, as all of the boys have exquisite taste and i implicitly trust every one of their musical recommendations. it has a little bit of everything i enjoy: that early-2000s garage rock revival strut, mixed with a little britpop, and the incredible lyric "what the hell do you mean you don't like the arctic monkeys?!"
16. still woozy - "little things"
as i've surely mentioned in previous years, and despite my callout directly above, i typically don't focus a ton on lyrics; i'm personally more of a melody and instrumental gal. but i can absolutely appreciate when a song's lyrics paint a vivid and evocative picture, which is one of the things i love most about this tune. especially that first verse — sun dancing on tattooed thighs? sleeping in the car on the way to seaside? the lush production and lazy, hazy atmosphere just put me in the mind of a summer vacation while in the throes of young love. sigh!
15. allegra krieger - "never arriving"
allegra krieger was a new discovery to me this year, and the cool, earthy quality of her voice — buoyed by the vocal harmonies and grounded by that crunchy riff — made this track the standout for me.
14. THUS LOVE - "birthday song"
last year, THUS LOVE's "put on dog" landed at #4 on my list, i played the hell out of their debut album, memorial, and saw their absolutely electric live show this past january. so, it goes without saying that i was very eagerly anticipating their second full-length, all pleasure. and perhaps my expectations were a bit too high, as it didn't completely wow me for reasons i can't quite articulate. but a handful of the songs, including this one, were real growers. i just adore echo mars' voice and cadence here (especially the nonchalant, bluesy, almost improvised way they sing the second verse), the track's grungy '90s chug, and the melodically perfect bridge, which took up the remaining 25% of my brain space not occupied by the chorus of that beach weather song.
13. cloud nothings - "running through the campus"
i've been a cloud nothings fan for the past dozen or so years, and their output is one of the most remarkably consistent i've ever seen. they lost me for a little bit with 2018's last building burning, but returned to form with final summer. for me, they're at their best when they lean into their lighter, more optimistic side, with "running through the campus" being the best example on this record.
12. halsey - "dog years"
on halsey's latest album, the great impersonator, she channels (but doesn't cover) a different artist that inspired her on every track. and upon first listen, this PJ harvey-coded pop song captivated me. it's so....sexy? but sad? and dark and haunting? this one is for the 2000s goth tumblr girlies.
11. fontaines D.C. - "here's the thing"
prior to this year, i'd heard and liked a few songs by fontaines d.c. here and there, but i finally dug into them with romance. obviously, my millennial ass immediately gravitated toward this song, probably because it could have come straight from one of my mix CDs in 2004.
10. sabrina carpenter - "espresso"
of all the pop girlies that popped off this year, i think sabrina is my favorite. i love her unapologetically horny songs, sugary retro sound, and blonde bombshell pinup aesthetic. truth be told, i was super torn between this and "taste" because i basically love both equally, but "espresso" was a full-blown, undeniable cultural *moment* and if you hate it, you hate fun. period!
9. matt martin - "half cracked"
every year, there are always at least two or three songs that i think are SO GOOD and i am SO DISHEARTENED that more people don't know them. "half cracked" by matt martin, a producer who has worked with COIN and faye webster, but recently struck out with his first effort as solo artist, definitely fits that bill. there's something nostalgically comforting about it that i can't quite put my finger on, and then i realized that the vocals and overall feel reminded me of one of my favorite songs from 2020, "in repeat" by wanderwild, and then i realized...matt martin was the fucking lead singer of wanderwild!! damn, i'm good and damn, do i have a musical type. anyway, it also has so much upbeat, go-getting main character energy — like, tell me this is not what would be playing in a 30-second montage where you dump your deadbeat boyfriend, apply to law school, publish a book, meet someone new, and get married!!!
8. beyoncé - "BODYGUARD"
beyoncé goes '70s soft rock and i'm sooo here for it. don't @ me, but i've never been much of a bey girl (uh, BEYond doing a devastatingly accurate imitation of her sassy walk away at the end of the "crazy in love" video whenever it would play on MTV, in front of my parents' big screen TV, when i was in high school). anywho, everything about "BODYGUARD" is easy-breezy, with just the right amount of bad bitch-ness. "i'm 'bout to lose it, turn around, and john wayne that ass?" don't mess with cowboy carter, y'all.
7. blanko basnet - "entelechy"
i wrote about blanko basnet a while back on my substack, as i was initially introduced to them via their song "get away" in 2020 through a fellow writer on twitter. so i was excited to see that they released their first album since 2018 this year, and absolutely fell in love with the instrumental title track — the name of which translates to "the realization of potential." it seems apt, because for me, this song is relaxing and motivational all at once, capturing the beauty of both mundane and magical moments. in fact, i shed a tear most times i listen, because it's one of two songs that make my entire life flash before my eyes in a very romantic way (the other is :46-1:07 in "adam" by alex g.). do you hear it too?
6. bendigo fletcher - "sweet tooth"
my boys in bendigo fletcher have landed in my top 10 for the third time with this thoroughly unconventional-yet-charming ditty. between the delightful vocal harmonies, twinkling folky instrumentals, and ryan anderson's signature clever lyrics (assuming that "i keep an elevator in my room" is a subtle devil's lettuce reference?), it checks all of my boxes. and the slightly unhinged and frantic "no sleep for the money, no sleep, no, no, no, no" at the end always makes me smile.
5. yot club - "pixel"
i'm a sucker for a certain brand of dark bedroom pop that begs to be played while driving at night with the windows down, or while brooding at 11pmish on top of your covers in your skivvies in the middle of summer (just me?)...and "pixel" satisfied both of those soundtracking needs for me this year. while the line "i'm only a pixel in this world" might sound somewhat like a *hits blunt* declaration, it's...like...kinda true? whoa.
4. dogworld - "DASHCAM"
sharp, snotty, straight-ahead post-punk goodness from an australian band on the rise that evokes that visceral energy of seeing a rock show in a grimy, dark, dingy basement club. highly, highly recommend their RANGE EP, which showcases a variety of sonic styles, but rips no matter what.
3. momma - "ohio all the time"
also making a repeat appearance on the list — and in the top five — for a third year are my favorite '90s indie revival act, momma. they just never miss, and they're criminally good at what they do for being so young. and not to mention, barely alive during the era of their inspiration! while i will always be partial to the darkness of their debut album, two of me, i also love their lighter side that shines in songs like this one and "speeding 72," my favorite song of 2022. just makes you feel good, ya know? and that's a good thing.
2. maxband - "labor day"
the side project of parquet courts' drummer max savage, maxband put out one of my favorite albums of the year with on ice. it pushes all of my indie rock and post-punk buttons, and while i adore many of the songs on it ("slipping on ice," "take-out menu," "fabric,"), the urgent, straightforward gallop of "labor day" — especially the simple yet smart chorus — had me replaying it over and over. i especially recommend it if you're a PC fan, as maxband has much of that DNA (literally, max's brother andrew is the lead singer) but stands on its own with lots of great melodies and arrangements.
1. good looks - "self-destructor"
what. a. tune. when i first heard good looks this year via "if it's gone," the first single and another stellar song from their album lived here for a while, i mistakenly thought they were brand new to me. however, a dive into my previous monthly playlists revealed that i had actually discovered them in 2022 through their song "vision boards," though i never went any further than that. shame on me! their sound has evolved from a decidedly more bare-bones indie rock to a fuller, folkier, and more earnest vibe that almost veers into alt-country at times.
as paste magazine noted, "more than a few times, good looks’ music has been compared to that of classic rock icon tom petty; on lived here for a while, they sound more like tom petty fronting the strokes at .75x speed." no wonder i love them so much! and if you get the chance to see them live, you should totally go; i had the privilege in august in a room of like, 30 people, and it was fantastic. and they didn't stop at the release of an amazing album this year, either, dropping two more singles in october. in fact, i've come to love "chase your demons out" almost as much as this song!
