2024 was a difficult year to rank albums. There were so many exceptional releases this year that if I tried to re-rank the list it might look a lot different depending on my mood. My top 5 were the albums that really stuck with me, as for the rest it was very difficult to rank because I enjoyed them all. As much as I tend to complain about the state of the music industry, it is undeniable that there is a plethora of artists (veterans, Young Guns and Newcomers) producing great music right now. So…. on to the list. Please feel free to insult my limited intelligence and for sure tell me who I missed.
1 – Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood
Songwriter Katie Crutchfield’s new album is just amazing. From my first listen early in the year it captivated me. I knew then it would be hard to beat for the rest of the year. Nothing surpassed it as far as I am concerned. I was also able to catch her live during the year and it was pure magic. Her songwriting is deep and self-aware. Her vocals are entrancing. This is an album that you need to spend time with and dig into the lyrics and arrangements. Everything she has done since she began performing as Waxahatchee has been special, but “Tigers Blood” established 2024 as the year of Waxahatchee for me.
2 – The Red Clay Strays – Made by these Moments
The album is a celebration of the band’s success and the moments that have defined it. The band’s lead singer, Brandon Coleman, says the album is about overcoming life’s challenges, such as loneliness, depression, and hopelessness. They certainly deliver these songs with an almost religious fervor that smashes the obstacles they have overcome. The album was produced by Dave Cobb, and as he always seems to do, the production captures the band’s live magic. (This is especially evident since they also released a live album this year.) You will hear elements of Country, Soul and Gospel. However, they are first and foremost a Rock & Roll Band.
3 – American Aquarium – Fear of Standing Still
By the time most bands have released a dozen or so albums, they are past their prime. They may still be releasing solid material, but the zenith is clearly in the rear view. Thankfully American Aquarium isn’t most bands. BJ Barham’s band is scarred, and road worn for sure. Lineups have changed and morphed over the years. However, this lineup has been together now for around seven years. Instead of heading to the downside of the hill, Barham and company seem to be hitting their stride. Their new album “Fear of Standing Still” certainly showcases the best of everything that is American Aquarium. This is the second time Barham has teamed up with Shooter Jennings as producer. (The previous time was 2020’s “Lamentations”.) Based on these two projects, it is a combination that contains a magic formula.
4 – The Avett Brothers – Self-Titled
Working once again with Rick Rubin, The Avett Brothers released their first album in 5 years. At nine songs, their new self-titled LP is one of their shortest to date , but it still manages to tackle some of their biggest topics focusing on spirituality and intention. The album features sincerity and wisdom. It also has songs like “Love of a Girl” and “Country Kid” which should become some very fun live staples for the band.
5 – MJ Lenderman – Manning Fireworks
I really like his 2022 album Boat Songs, and was looking forward to this release when it dropped in September. The album did not disappoint and establishes Lenderman as one of the best young songwriters going. Fuzzed out guitars that carries some influences forward from his previous band Wednesday. The songwriting is powerful, making the simple profound. He is without a doubt at the tip of the Indie-Folk scene with this release. Manning Fireworks leaves us in ancticipation of the bright future that Lenderman has.
The rest of the top 25:
6 Fantastic Cat – Now That’s What I Call Fantastic Cat
7 Yarn – Born Blessed Grateful and Alive
8 Billy Strings – Highway Prayer
9 Jack White – No Name
10 Emily Nenni – Drive and Cry
11 Loose Cattle – Someone’s Monster
12 Charley Crockett – $10 Cowboy
13 The Mavericks – Moon & Stars
14 India Ramey – Baptized by the Blaze
15 49 Winchester – Leavin’ This Holler
16 The Black Crowes – Happiness Bastards
17 Futurebirds – Easy Company
18 Blackberry Smoke – Be Right Here
19 The Decemberists – As it Ever Was So It Will Be Again
20 Sarah Shook and the Disarmers – Revelation
21 Hayes & The Heathens – s/t
22 Gilian Welch & David Rawlings – Woodlands
23 Kasey Chambers – Backbone
24 Kevin Gordon – The In Between
25 Taylor Hunnicutt – Alabama Sound
Since the above list leaves out so many good records, below is another 30 albums, listed alphabetically, that I also enjoyed:
Bones Owens – Love Out of Lemons
Bronwyn Keith Hynes – I built a World
Caleb Caudle – Sweet Critters
Cody Jinks – Change the Game
Dwight Yoakam – Brighter Days
Hurray for the Riff Raff – The Past is Still Alive
Jamey Johnson – Midnight Gasoline
Jesse Daniel – Countin’ the Miles
Jesse Dayton – The Hard Way Blues
Johnny Blue Skies (Sturgill Simpson) – Passage Du Desir
Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well
Kaitlin Butts – Roadrunner
Morgan Wade – Obsessed
Muscadine Bloodline – The Coastal Plain
Nataniel Raetliff and the Night Sweats – South of Here
Old 97s – American Primitive
Pony Bradshaw – Thus Spoke the Fool
Reckless Kelly – The last Frontier
Robert Jon and the Wreck – Red Moon Rising
Sam Morrow – On the Ride Here
Shane Smith & the Saints – Norther
Sierra Ferrell – Trail of Flowers
Silverada – Self-Titled
The Secret Sisters – Mind, Man, Medicine
The Wild Feathers – Sirens
Will Kinbrough – For the Life of Me
Wyatt Flores – Welcome to the Plains
X – Smoke & Fiction
Zach Bryan – The Great American Bar Scene
Zach Top – Cold Beer and Country Music
About the author: Chip and his family live in Birmingham, AL. Roll Tide!