10 Best Albums of 2024

2024 was a great year for music, from FEET to Niko B to The Last Dinner Party. Here’s our yearly round-up.

It’s been a wild year for music. We saw Espresso take over every screen, Summer turn Brat Green and Billie Eilish bring out her best album yet. Can you believe The Last Dinner Party only released their debut single last year? Their first single, Nothing Matters, only came out in May 2023 — and now they’ve got a full album under their belt. Milton Keynes rapper Niko B announced himself with his first full-length, dog eat dog food world, and released something impressive and far away from the first singles he became known for. Ireland’s Fontaines D.C. blew up with Romance, bringing their own brand of lime green into the music world. What a year this has been.

Fontaines D.C. — Romance

Giving Brat Summer a run for its money with their lime green balaclavas and matching neon tracksuits, the Grian Chatten-fronted Irish rock group released arguably their best album yet; a cohesive exploration across several genres that cemented them as one of the best bands working today.

Read our review here.

2. Clairo — Charm

Shooting straight into the mainstream with her debut album Immunity in 2019, Clairo has become known for her soft-spoken, tender words, and Charm comes as no surprise. Her third album is eloquent, fresh and chill; she is nothing if not consistent.

Read our review here.

3. Niko B — dog eat dog food world

It’s not very often — I mean, I quite literally couldn’t name anyone else — that someone from Milton Keynes (of all places) hits the mainstream, but Niko B (real name Tom Austin) did just that with his debut album, far removed from the two tongue-in-cheek rap songs that announced him to the music world: Who’s That What’s That and Mary Berry.

Read our review here.

4. Bull — Engines of Honey

After stepping onto the scene with their debut album Discover Effortless Living back in 2021, the York band had big shoes to fill set by their own standard. Engines of Honey did just that and then some more, with standout tracks Sid, Stranger and Start A New cementing the album as one of the best of the independent bunch.

Read our review here.

5. The Last Dinner Party — Prelude to Ecstasy

It would be a disservice to the quintet if they didn’t make it onto this list. Since 2021, the band have worked hard on the live circuit to spread the word, going by the name The Dinner Party before adding Last and finally releasing Nothing Matters in May of 2023 to massive fanfare and virality. If you opened TikTok in May, you probably heard it at least five times. In the lovers’ month of February, they shared their debut record, and the music industry gained a future must-listen record — one for the grandkids in 50 years.

Read our review here.

6. FEET — Make It Up

Stepping feet first onto the scene with dynamic debut What’s Inside Is More Than Just Ham, the quintet have made a name for themselves thanks to their frenetic live sets and effortless ability to produce Great British Bangers. They have a knack for the catchy, and they do it well. On their second album, they have honed their sound, balancing the rowdy with the calm to create a near-perfect album the second time around.

Read our interview with FEET here.

7. Billie Eilish — HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

I hadn’t paid much mind to the American superstar, listening to a few singles here and there, but once Billie dropped all tracks on her third album at once and snippets made their way around the internet, I couldn’t avoid the train any longer. You’d be a fool not to get on it. Full of emotion and intelligent song-writing, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT proves why the 22-year-old singer is one of the best in the business.

8. The Smile — Cutouts

Thom Yorke does whatever he wants, and we’re totally fine with that. A new Radiohead album would be nice, but we’re just happy to hear him in whatever capacity. Despite our yearning for anything Radiohead, Thom Yorke and co. do an excellent job filling the void until it’s time: not with one album, but two. Wall of Eyes dropped in January and Cutouts followed suit in October.

9. Amyl and The Sniffers — Cartoon Darkness

After breaking onto the scene in 2019 with their self-titled debut album, the Aussie punks have only gone up from there. Sharing their third album, Cartoon Darkness, and going ham on the UK live music circuit, 2025 can only bring more fruit on the Amyl and The Sniffers tree.

10. Hinds — VIVA HINDS

Entering the scene way back when with their debut album Leave Me Alone in 2016, the band now operate as a duo and have centred themselves firmly back in the business with their fourth album, VIVA HINDS, which confidently shows the Spanish band at their very best.

2024 was a great year for music, from FEET to Niko B to The Last Dinner Party. Here’s our yearly round-up.