At the end of every year, I feel the same way. I am sure I didn’t listen to that many (non-jazz) albums, and then I’m surprised at how many albums I thoroughly enjoyed during the year. That said, I did listen to fewer pop albums this year as jazz explorations took up much of my time.
Whether many albums or few, my annual lists represent my favorite albums released each year and not what I consider “best” albums. “Favorite” entails subjective feelings but usually comes down to three things:
- Songs from these albums were frequent earworms.
- Because of their earwormy nature, I found myself playing them often.
- They have such a particular special vibe that listening to them requires the right moment or mood (Billie Eilish, Eli & Fur).
However, I admit to receiving a positive jolt of endorphins whenever I see a favorite album (usually Billie Eilish and Samara Joy, the latter ironically a jazz artist) appear in an influential Best-of list.
By the way, the girls ruled this year!
My Album of the Year or Much Much Longer
Samara Joy Portrait
It would be ridiculous to confine the prodigious virtuosity displayed on this album to a calendar year. Her prior work – she’s won three Grammys, including Best New Artist, and her 2024 holiday album has two 2025 nominations – evoked comparisons to legendary jazz vocalists. With this album, the question is if she is now among them.
Interacting with an octet that she seamlessly weaves her extraordinary vocal talents into, this album is “jaw-dropping in its sheer artistry.”1 We are listening to all-time levels of greatness. And she just turned 25-years-old.
Album That Came Out in Late 2023 But I Really Got Into It in Early 2024
Chappell Roan The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess She is a brilliant combination of Stevie Nicks, Kate Bush, Lady Gaga, and Kayleigh Rose Amstutz (her real name).
OK, on to 2024
Dua Lipa Radical Optimism Half of this album could have been bonus tracks on her 2020 ode to Disco Future Nostalgia album. The other half appears to point to a different future of introspective, sophisticated pop.
London Grammar The Greatest Love Quoting from the Apple Music review: “It’s a rich, sumptuous listen, taking in minimalist dance bangers, contemplative folktronica, plaintive piano ballads, and mellow, melodious indie pop.” In other words, tailor-made for me.
Rag’n’Bone Man What Do You Believe In? On his third album, he’s getting more out of his soulful, gritty, yet melodic voice, and can span across a broader range of song styles. And I can’t get enough of Lovers In A Past Life (Acoustic).
Lauren Mayberry Vicious Creature The girl in the band as the lead singer (and persona) of the synth-pop group Chvrches, wants to tell you what it’s like to be a woman. It’s a rather untidy melange of sonic influences and lyrical ideas more than a coherent body of work, but that lack of coherence is a feature rather than a flaw. It’s quirky at times, powerful at times, and always compelling.
Billie Eilish HIT ME HARD AND SOFT Everything she does is brilliant.
Charlotte Wessels The Obsession Charlotte is another girl-in-the-band who liberated herself from the boys-in-the-band (see Lauren Mayberry, above). On her third solo album, she has moved far beyond being one of the leading ladies of symphonic metal to becoming a singularly creative and fascinating singer/songwriter in metal music.
Eli & Fur Dreamscapes My favorite Deep house DJ/producer team set out to create a musical metaphor of the hours between dusk and dawn. Mixing house, electronic music, and dream pop, the music is sometimes euphoric and sometimes melancholic, as befits the metaphor. It’s enchanting.
Rosie Frater-Taylor Featherweight I remain obsessed with this 20-something musical prodigy, a UK singer-songwriter and jazz guitarist who is one part Joni Mitchell plus equal parts jazz guitarists Pat Metheny and George Benson.
SAULT Acts of Faith Sure, everybody had published their year-end lists, but leave it to the enigmatic UK alt-soul collective Sault to release an album at midnight on Christmas. It’s a studio version of their first live show (after 10 previous albums!) in December 2023. Acts of Faith has a contagious, 70s-inspired soul-jazz-funk vibe. As ESPN legend Stuart Scott might have said, “It’s cooler than the other side of the pillow.”
Bonus Track
Dua Lipa Dua Lipa Live from the Royal Albert Hall This one causes me some dissonance. I love pop/rock music with orchestral influences. I love Dua Lipa. I also hate live albums. But for this event, she re-imagined her songs to make them sound entirely new.
Ray's Musings 
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