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In the band’s first album in 16 long years, The Cure proved that despite all the time that has passed, Robert Smith is still unmatched at sliding his agonized-yet-soothing voice into the deepest, darkest cavities of your being, and gently twisting your soul until you are breathless from the beauty of the sorrow. From the opening strains of “Alone” and its first haunting lyrics (“This is the end” at nearly 3:30 minutes in) to the devastating final message of close “Endsong” (“Left alone with nothing”), Songs of Lost World is a lesson in grief, and a perfect soundtrack for our dark times. — ANNA CHAN

Latin Mafia surprised fans with its long-awaited debut album, delivering a deep and experimental collection that feels like a new musical genre, crafted from the soul. Album opener “I Feel Like I Deserve More” matches its title by blending soft vocals with electronic sounds, setting the stage for an album that unfolds like a poem, capturing a range of emotions by combining artistic moments with reflections and melancholy flashbacks. One poignant moment features a voice that could belong to a mother saying, “Ahorita te recuperas” (You will soon recover),” imparting a message that everything will be fine over the backdrop of distorted keyboards. The album closes with the same sweet, mother-like voice that opens it, leaving listeners with a profound sense of nostalgia. — INGRID FAJARDO

Jamie xx’s highly anticipated third album In Waves is a love letter to electronic music. He worked on this project for almost a decade – and as much as it captures the essence of clubbing in the recent past, it also looks toward the future: one that is joyful, expansive and unrestricted by the labels of subgenres. Moments of triumph punctuated by horns on “Life” with Robyn and “Baddy on the Floor” with Honey Dijon are irresistible dancefloor, festival-ready hits, but the darker, trance-inducing moments on tracks like “Breather” and “Waited All Night” are just as impactful. This album has something for you, whether you’re gearing up for a beach trip or a Boiler Room set. — MEGHAN MAHAR

Savage’s first proper solo album in six years arrived as the first big hip-hop project of the year, and he set the tone with a soulful, snarling and dextrous project that both delivered what he’s best known for — murder rap, basically — and explored new territory sonically and lyrically. He’s long been able to carry a song on his own — including here, with early tracks like “All of Me” and “Redrum” — but he’s always shone brighter with a foil, and collaborations with fellow star MCs Doja Cat (“N.H.I.E.”), Lil Durk (“Dangerous”) and Travis Scott (“Née-Nah”) make for some of the best hip-hop cuts of the year. — DAN RYS

This was one of the more interesting debuts in recent memory, as the “Baby Genius” out of Brooklyn decided to keep her family lineage a secret and let her talent do all the talking. She writes, she sings, she raps, she produces, she goes viral: That has been her formula since her songs “Like That” and “Not My Problem” had Tik Tok going nuts in 2023. Viral songs aside, Gap Year! highlights like “R U Down,” “Blackberry” and the raw “Talent Show” intro prove she’s no two-hit wonder. — ANGEL DIAZ

How do you follow up a widely acclaimed debut album featuring one of the biggest Afrobeats crossover songs in U.S. history (the Selena Gomez-assisted “Calm Down”)? If you’re Rema, you completely reject all notions of replicating that pop appeal and instead double down on finally fleshing out what exactly “Afrorave” is. With Heis, which recently earned the hitmaker his first Grammy nod (best global music album), Rema gets hyperlocal, infusing the Edo culture of his hometown of Benin City, Nigeria, into riveting dance anthems like “Ozeba” and the militant opener “March Am.” Staunchly regional and proudly anti-trend, Heis is the kind of bold, declarative statement we seek from our biggest artists. — KYLE DENIS

U.K. singer-songwriter Rachel Chinouriri had long proven her promise over an impressive string of singles and EPs, and it doesn’t take long into debut full-length What a Devastating Turn of Events to tell she’s about to make good on it. By the time the homesick, fuzzed-out lighter-waver “The Hills” gives way to the addictive pop-rock heartbreak of “Never Need Me” — and then hits an even higher level of sublime melancholy on immaculate centerpiece “All I Ever Asked” — you can tell she’s ready to become one of alt-pop’s main characters. If there’s any justice in the pop world, her upcoming dates opening Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet European tour will have a similar galvanizing effect on her career as Carpenter’s own work on the Eras Tour did for her a couple years earlier. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER

“Not a single motherf–er who has tried to lock me up could get the collar ‘round my neck,” Missy Dabice sings in “Loud Bark,” a declaration of independence sparked by the onset of her 30s, and I Got Heaven provocatively expounds upon the yin and yang of discarding the restrictive societal norms and religious beliefs imposed upon the young. The album’s best songs — also including the title track, “Sometimes” and the gorgeous “I Don’t Know You” — come with a matching sonic duality: seductive melodies offset by hard-driving post-punk drums and guitar that, well, sound like heaven. — FRANK DIGIACOMO

Ravyn Lenae’s sophomore album Bird’s Eye invites listeners into a dynamic exploration of sound and self, offering a fresh perspective on her artistic evolution. While her 2022 debut HYPNOS leaned heavily into classic R&B, Lenae and executive producer Dahi set out to broaden her musical palette this time around, honoring the diverse facets of her creativity. The album serves as a sonic memoir of Lenae’s journey through her 20s, all wrapped in a genre-blending soundscape that spans from synth-pop to reggae and beyond. In an era dominated by fast consumption and the pursuit of viral moments, Bird’s Eye goes against the grain, forcing listeners to slow down and embrace a transformative journey of self-reflection and personal growth. — QUINCY GREEN

If Jelly Roll’s country breakthrough, last year’s Whitsitt Chapel, dealt primarily with salvation and the aching longing for redemption, Beautifully Broken slightly alters the lens through the prism of addiction and mental illness. But it continues Jelly’s unflinching candor when addressing issues like depression and anxiety (on the ultimately hopeful hit single “I Am Not Okay”) or alcoholism (“Winning Streak”). The still-rising star’s first album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 also features his buddy MGK on “Time of Day,” while the extended deluxe edition includes such guests as Halsey, Keith Urban and Ernest. — MELINDA NEWMAN

One of 2024’s most-anticipated arrivals, GloRilla’s debut album more than lived up to fans’ expectations. Prefaced by the rising star’s Ehhthang Ehhthang mixtape, the 15-track Glorious doesn’t miss a beat rhythmically or lyrically as Glo covers a wide swath of situations and emotions. She pivots from reflective (“Don’t Deserve” featuring Muni Long) and empowering (“Whatchu Kno About Me” featuring Sexyy Red) to spiritual (“Rain Down on Me” with Kirk Franklin, Kierra Sheard & Chandler Moore) and partying down (“TGIF”). The set also boasts her reteaming with friend Megan Thee Stallion on “How I Look” and surprise pairing with T-Pain on the romantic “I Love Her.” Gloria Hallelujah Woods proves she’s definitely coming into her own — and helping her growing legion of fans to do the same. — GAIL MITCHELL

This riveting 51-minute set captures some of Shakira’s most personal plights yet. Songs like “Te Felicito,” “Monotonía” and her Bizarrap-produced music session “Vol. 53” previewed just how raw and vulnerable the Colombian star was willing to be on her new LP, which would mark her first album in seven years, and narrate how she turned tears into diamonds after a devastating heartbreak. Displaying an impressive level of bravado, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran is a testament to Shakira’s knack for writing songs that resonate with old and new listeners alike. — GRISELDA FLORES

Neil Young’s shadow lingers over the ascendant indie-rocker’s latest, from thunderous scuzz (“On My Knees”) to rootsy reflection (“Rip Torn”). But it’s Lenderman’s pen – which feels closer to another great, Silver Jews’ David Berman – that sets him apart from the legions who’ve tried for decades to channel the rock legend. The 25-year-old’s vivid vignettes are both world-weary and deeply amusing – often in the space of a few lines, like on searing highlight “Wristwatch,” where Lenderman says he’s “got a houseboat docked at the Himbo dome” before lamenting his “wristwatch that tells me I’m on my own.” Following Lenderman’s acclaimed 2022 set Boat Songs, Manning Fireworks is the sound of one of indie rock’s most promising new voices coming into his own. — ERIC RENNER BROWN

Timeless, the first solo album from the Haitian-Canadian producer since his Grammy winning 2019 LP BUBBA, finds him somehow even more self-assured and in control of his abilities and vision. Timeless carves out the sexy, often urgent and generally just deeply cool crossover between electronic and R&B without ever sounding like algorithm-bait, with the project vibrating with confident swagger and the crisp, syncopated beats that are Kaytra’s signature. The collaborators — Channel Tres, Rochelle Jordan, Childish Gambino and Kaytra’s own brother Lou Phelps, among others — enhance the mood without ever shifting it off course. Timeless is nominated for best dance/electronic album at the 2025 Grammys, with its “Witchy” also getting a nod in dance/electronic recording. — KATIE BAIN

Wilson had a lot to live up to following the release of her 2022 Grammy-, CMA- and ACM Award-winning album Bell Bottom Country, but this year’s Whirlwind proved she was up to the challenge. The 14-track set, which earned a top 10 debut on the Billboard 200, offers a tour through romantic ballads (“Counting Chickens,” “Call a Cowboy”), obstinate kiss-offs (the spoken-word “Ring Finger”), songs about stinging breakups (“Devil Don’t Go There”) and nods at her home genre’s current moment in the cultural zeitgeist (“Country’s Cool Again”). Leading all of them is Wilson’s soaring, twangy vocal. Whirlwind could also become an awards-season darling, as it’s nominated for best country album at the 2025 Grammys. — JESSICA NICHOLSON

Alt-pop artist Remi Wolf has long been associated with funk sounds underlining witty lyrics that hint at something more existential. But on Big Ideas, Wolf’s wide-ranging third studio album, the soul-pop singer dives head first into the sounds and lyrics that make her music stand out. Whether she’s playing with the concept of domesticity (“Motorcycle”), feeling isolated in a relationship (“Alone in Miami”) or revving herself up for some kinky hotel sex (“Toro”), Wolf spends Big Ideas swinging for the fences with her lyrics, all while blending in a healthy balance of ’80s pop, ’70s funk and ’60s soul to make a sound all her own. — STEPHEN DAW

While his signature norteño sound is still a big part of the album, with Boca Chueca, Vol. 1 Carín León cements himself as one of the most eclectic and exciting Mexican artists today. Over the 19-track set, he showcases his impressive creative freedom that goes beyond música Mexicana. He dabbles in pop (“Otra Vez”), gospel (“Despídase Bien”), alt-rock (“Frené Mis Pies”), and even ska-punk (“No Sé”). Boca Chueca debuted in the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums charts in June, and won León the 2024 Latin Grammy for best contemporary Mexican music album. — JESSICA ROIZ

“Starburster” could be another word for supernova — a stellar explosion that can birth new solar systems. And frontman Grian Chatten’s manic gasps on the exhilarating first single off the Fontaines’ fourth studio album signaled the Irish rockers have created a new musical universe for themselves. The clever hip-hop-meets-J.D. Salinger wordplay of that track, the dreamy numbness of “In the Modern World” and the charming power pop of “Favourite” all explore new sonic possibilities and an expansive worldview that suggest the boys have built a better land. — F.D.

Prepare to be seated and mesmerized as British alt-rockers The Last Dinner Party serves up a debut album that leaves no crumbs behind. Making good on the potential of 2023 breakout hit “Nothing Matters,” Prelude to Ecstasy is a sumptuous 12-track feast, led by singer Abigail Morris’ entrancing voice and filled out by the band’s churning grooves. Don’t worry about leaving room for dessert — there’s nothing too sweet here — but you’ll leave plenty fed just the same. — RYLEE JOHNSTON

This is one of the more underrated albums of the year, but not in my household: I can’t believe it only peaked at No. 81 on the Billboard 200, since it went platinum in my Apple Music. Why Lawd? shows Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge following up their impressive 2016 album Yes Lawd! in stellar fashion. Songs like the Thundercat-featuring “KeepHer” and “Daydreaming” — whose video was made with Grand Theft Auto V mods — make this project a fun and infectious listen. You can play Why Lawd? In the car, while you’re smoking, while you’re drinking some yak, or while you’re cleaning the house. You know, how music is meant to be played. — A.D.

​​“No one’s coming to me from a fan standpoint looking for a single, or looking for a party record,” Staples told Apple Music. “But I do know that the people who listen to my music are probably looking for thoughtfulness and creativity.” Sure enough, Dark Times is contemplative and tautly constructed, full of melancholy head-nodders — see “Government Cheese,” where Staples raps that “it’s hard to sleep when you the only one livin’ the dream” — and wistful throwbacks like the Marvin Gaye-sampling “Radio:” “Hey, Mr. DJ, can I make a request?/ The woman that I love won’t respond to my text.” Despite Staples’ initial claim, though, “Étouffée” sounds dangerously close to a party record, with its slithering, thunderous beat and rousing couplets. “Gotta show my homies I’m on now,” Staples raps. “Both soles on the ground, never sold out.” — ELIAS LEIGHT

All Born Screaming is St. Vincent’s seventh album, but it’s also the debut release on her label (Total Pleasure Records) and her first studio LP to credit her as the sole producer. “I don’t think I would have written these songs or explored this stuff without the solitude,” Annie Clark told Billboard in a June cover story. The themes (life, love and death) are heavy, but the songs are drolly funky (“Big Time Nothing”), hauntingly airy (“Hell Is Near”) and cathartically crushing (“Flea,” “Broken Man”). And her Spanish-language version of the album (Todos nacen gritando) goes just as hard. – JOE LYNCH

Justice has always been a prog-rock band disguised as an electronic act, with their fourth album, Hyperdrama, emphasizing the French duo’s ability to make shimmering, monolithic, frequently far-out music that still grooves. The project marked the first time the pair — Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé — included any collaborators on their work, with the risk paying off in the form of the Tame Impala-featuring “Neverender,” already one of the biggest tracks of Justice’s nearly 20-year career. (Other collaborators, including Miguel, The Flints and Thundercat, also dose the project with personality and soul.) A true no-skips LP, Hyperdrama also created the source material for the stunning live show the duo toured with this year, and is nominated for best/dance electronic album at the 2025 Grammys. — K.B.

Dua Lipa set the bar incredibly high with her Grammy-winning Future Nostalgia album, which had everyone dance-crying in the comforts of their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. She traded in the disco balls of Studio 54 for psychedelic pop, while forming her dream team of collaborators with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Adele’s “secret weapon” Tobias Jesso Jr. The global pop star balances her vulnerabilities (“Happy for You,” “These Walls”) – while still keeping her guard up, to an extent – against the convictions that matched the boldness of the burgundy red hair (“Training Season,” “Illusion”) which defined her Radical Optimism era. — MICHAEL SAPONARA

Xavi captivates on his debut album through vocal delivery that’s both haunting and charming, which is enriched by traditional instruments like the requinto and tololoche, and occasional brass accents. Next is home to hits “Corazón de Piedra,” “La Diabla” and “La Víctima,” all of which gained social media momentum and made Xavi a breakthrough star in 2024. The Phoenix-based singer-songwriter reeled in collaborators Tony Aguirre, Los Dareyes de la Sierra, and his brother and co-songwriter, Fabio Capri, for the 14-track set — earning his Billboard album charts debut in the top 10 on Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums charts in October. — J.R.

In an industry fraught with oversaturation, a cooler head has always prevailed for ScHoolboy Q: He hasn’t released an album in consecutive years since 2011-12, opting instead to resurface every few years when he deems the music worthy of public consumption. Steady as it may be, he has never become static — if anything, he is becoming more ambitious with age. Blue Lips is best at its most vulnerable, with Q spooling stories about family, friends, his relationship with fame and more atop groovy production (“Blueslides,” “Cooties,” “Lost Times”). And don’t forget, he’ll still dial it up at a moment’s notice — get those speakers ready when the first verse of “Pop” starts to play. — JOSH GLICKSMAN

Officially a star in the wake of last year’s self-titled crossover breakthrough, The Great American Bar Scene saw Zach Bryan down on that success with another winning set of lovingly crafted, vividly shaded alt-folk. “Pink Skies” brought the year’s most downbeat opening line to the Hot 100’s top 40 for 20-plus weeks, while “28” offered an end-of-the-workweek bar singalong for the ages and “Oak Island” proved Bryan could still scuzz things up to rousing effect. And perhaps most significantly, Bar Scene received a guest blessing from Bryan’s patron saint Bruce Springsteen on “Sandpaper,” practically anointing him his successor as a purveyor detailed rock-based songwriting on the world’s biggest stages. — A.U.

On her third album there’s a nostalgic freedom to Maggie Rogers, captured in songs like the title track, the album opener “It Was Coming All Along,” “So Sick of Dreaming” and “If Now Was Then,” where acoustic guitars underline the comfort of old memories held close. But there’s a complexity to some of these songs that make them among her best — like on the stuttering guitars and barely-restrained momentum that builds through “Drunk,” or the intertwined storytelling and layered production of “The Kill.” And there are times on this album, like on “Never Going Home,” when Maggie just throws her head back and lets loose, showcasing her effortless vocals in a way that she hasn’t really done in that way so far. If there’s any complaint it could be that the album is, at just shy of 36 minutes, so short — but even that feels refreshing in an era of bloated tracklists. Maybe, in the end, that’s not a complaint at all. — D.R.

Pity the poor Nashville hitmakers who didn’t get the call for Twisters: The Album. Not only did they miss out on being involved with one of the year’s biggest country albums — both in sheer size and in commercial success, with the set debuting in the Billboard 200’s top 10 and still hanging around the top 100 nearly five months later — but they missed out on being part of one of the most gleefully fun listening experiences of the decade, where even the folks doing heartbreak ballads or covering “Wall of Death” sound like they’re having a blast. Twisters is the impossibly rare 2024 project that stretches to double-album length without feeling long; by the time the ride ends with Charly Crockett doing “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky,” you’re ready to strap back in with Luke Combs and go chasing that storm all over again. — A.U.

Katie Crutchfield mastered alt-country on her intimate 2020 set Saint Cloud – and her follow-up is even better. Like Saint Cloud, Crutchfield banged out Tigers Blood in two weeks at Texas studio Sonic Ranch with producer Brad Cook. But her new backing band – multi-instrumentalist Phil Cook, drummer Spencer Tweedy and indie-rock wunderkind MJ Lenderman – gives her sharper-than-ever songwriting fresh heft, from the plaintive “Crowbar” to the cathartic title track. It didn’t only resonate with fans: Tigers Blood earned Crutchfield her first Grammy nomination, for best Americana album. — E.R.B.

Anchored by the record-tying A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, Shaboozey’s genial breakthrough album has a lot more going for it than that one hit, including the hypnotic stomp of “Last of My Kind” featuring Paul Cauthen and the swaying “Drink Don’t Need No Mix” featuring BigXthaPlug. With his soulful, instantly recognizable voice and strong blend of country, folk & R&B, Where I’ve Been is a commanding set with extremely wide appeal. — M.N.

Between song titles like “Ice Cream Piano,” “Prep-School Gangsters” and “Gen-X Cops,” allusions to disgraced art dealer Mary Boone and the Kosovo War, and surf rock guitars – Only God Was Above Us could only have been made by the very singular Vampire Weekend. Over a decade into making music together, Only God Was Above Us proves that a band does not need to turn to total reinvention to create a late-career highlight. Exploring with themes of isolationism, modernity and war, lead singer and lyricist Ezra Koenig is in top form throughout, especially on the album’s crown jewel “Classical” which questions the stories we pass down as historical accounts. “Untrue, unkind and unnatural/ How the cruel with time becomes classical… It’s clear something’s gonna change/ And when it does, which classical remains?” Though these thoughtful meditations, Vampire Weekend proves that their songs are perhaps even better suited to today’s world than when they first began. — KRISTIN ROBINSON

Tems exerts a quiet confidence while finding her footing in the global spotlight and expanding her sonic borders on her first full-length album Born in the Wild, which helped her earn three 2025 Grammy nominations. The Nigerian hitmaker honors her roots by interpolating Seyi Sodimu’s ’90s Afro-soul call-and-response classic “Love Me JeJe,” which she debuted during her Coachella performance; channels Sade and 50 Cent on the stripped-down “Boy O Boy” and the puffed up “T-Unit,” respectively; and reflects on the trappings of newfound fame on the mid-tempo R&B standout “Burning.” Heavy is the head that wears the crown, but Tems – whose name means “the crown is mine” in Yoruba – knows she was born to wear it. — HERAN MAMO

“Teamwork makes the dream work” isn’t just a lyric from the insanely catchy “I Had Some Help,” Posty’s smash collab with Morgan Wallen. It was his philosophy in assembling his first country album. All but three of the tracks of the standard edition of F-1 Trillion feature guest artists. It’s not surprising that Posty acquits himself so well here. He moved to Texas when he was nine and thus grew up around country music. More important, he has long since proven to be a pop music chameleon. You want an artist who crosses genre lines with abandon? I’ve got a “Guy for That.” – PAUL GREIN

Set into motion by a triumphant turn on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Gracie Abrams fully broke out of her shell with sophomore album The Secret of Us, co-written and produced by best friend Audrey Hobert and The National’s Aaron Dessner. Defiant, imaginative and unabashedly dramatic, the LP displayed the singer-songwriter’s ever-expanding range – particularly on standout singles “Risk,” “That’s So True” and the Grammy-nominated “Us.” featuring Swift – as she leaned more heavily into her pop sensibilities than ever. The project was key to Abrams’ stunning career explosion in 2024, which all but matched pace with the likes of fellow rising stars Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter. — HANNAH DAILEY

After the folksy hush of Sling, Clairo opted to work with modern soul aficionados on Charm, including the producer and multi-instrumentalist Leon Michels (Lee Fields, Sharon Jones) and the crackerjack drummer Homer Steinweiss (Amy Winehouse, Bruno Mars). The resulting album could have come out of Los Angeles’ top pop studios in the 1970s; it’s full of low-key groove, with every song buffed to a gleaming finish. The loping lead single “Sexy to Someone” layers honeyed melodies on top of firm percussion, and Clairo is fastidious about maintaining this combination of textures across the album’s 11 tracks, making room for a curlicued piano solo in “Terrapin” and a light wash of horns in “Juna.” The whole thing is as sugary and crisp as a breakfast pastry. — E.L.

While We Don’t Trust You was one of three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 for Future this year, and the thousand-foot-view legacy of the first of his two collaborative projects with Metro Boomin may be “the album where Kendrick Lamar rapped his face off on ‘Like That’ and started the Drake feud in earnest,” the rest of the full-length carried the same bruising energy as K. Dot’s virtuoso guest spot. Operating over Metro’s cinematic chillness, Future played the role of paranoid superstar — worried that his mansion walls are closing in, and that his jewelry is about to get swiped — and delivered one of the most focused, thematically cohesive projects of his long career. — JASON LIPSHUTZ

Tyla’s breakthrough smash flooded airwaves and playlists this year (topping Hot R&B Songs and going top on the Hot 100), but “Water” is just the tip of the iceberg. Her self-titled debut is an expertly executed dive into her world of “popiano,” where sultry American R&B (Aaliyah is a clear touchstone) and South African amapiano (imagine house music and soulful piano holding space together) take the listener on a soothing, seductive ride. Log drums and hooky pop&B kiss on “Truth or Dare”; crisp rhythms and breathy coos carry “On and On”; while deluxe edition track “Shake Ah” shows the gentle yet powerful vocalist presiding over her purest amapiano jam yet. – J. Lynch

Musgraves’ Saturn has returned, and with this planetary event come all the highs and lows of adulthood, from love (in both its platonic and romantic forms) to loss and everything in between. Deeper Well untangles this web of complex experiences – and in this singularity, complexity thrives. The acoustic-heavy sound across the record creates space for nuanced production choices, from the soft folk across spiritually grounded tracks like “Deeper Well” and “Sway” to the landscape of psychedelic synths on “Anime Eyes” that float listeners among the stars. Therapy is expensive – Deeper Well is significantly cheaper and can bring you similar comfort. — M.M.

Kali Uchis blossomed, musically and personally, in Orquídeas. The Colombian American star, who found out she was pregnant with her first child during the rollout of the album, displays versatility throughout the 14-track set, powered by wide-ranging styles, including bolero (“Te Mata”), dembow (“Muñequita”), Afrobeats (“Diosa”) and R&B (“Igual Que Un Ángel”). The gorgeous LP, which scored her both Latin Grammy and Grammy nods, is sonically alluring and lyrically poetic, showcasing Kali Uchis’ prowess as producer and songwriter. Orquídeas debuted at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums and No. 2 on the Billboard 200 – her best performance there to date. — G.F.

With 2023’s Kodak Black-assisted Hot 100 hit “What It Is” (No. 29), Doechii gave us a glimpse at what it looks like when she plays the pop game. But Alligator Bites Never Heal — a freewheeling mixtape that processes Doechii’s romantic and industry traumas through a sleek amalgam of boom bap, house, neo-soul, hip-hop, and gospel – proves that it’s better when she completely ignores that pop machine. From the storytelling splendor of “Denial Is a River” to the razor-sharp satire of “Boom Bap,” Doechii’s third mixtape finds the Tampa multi-hyphenate taking the entire genre of hip-hop to task without ever letting us truly see her sweat. Though she maneuvers a Who’s Who list of the most exciting beatmakers across left-of-mainstream hip-hop and R&B, Doechii’s intricate flows, impressive diction, charismatic vocal performances, and refreshingly honest pen ensure that the mixtape feels like something only the Swamp Princess could have crafted. — K.D.

Guitar hero Michael Gordon has been likened to a grab-bag of artists — from Prince and Phil Collins to Bon Iver and Frank Ocean — as much for his press avoidance as for his singular, genre-bending, progressive pop music. On his debut album, the 28-year-old New Jersey native presents 12 tracks that are simultaneously understated and chaotic, atonal and melodic, mysterious and familiar. Gordon dials up the opacity of his lyrics, but sentiments of love, heartache, isolation and escapism still shine through the murky production, a joint effort with singer-songwriter and producer Dijon, Gordon’s frequent collaborator. “If you got something, go hide it/ Lady Luck, pay no mind, this town will leave you crying,” he croons on “How Many Miles,” a warm tumult of guitar rising around him. The guitar might be the star of the Mk.gee show, but Gordon’s voice, like a scruffy, indie version of Bieber, is a close second. — CHRISTINE WERTHMAN

With TTPD, Taylor Swift delivered an expansive, 16-song opus (31 on her Anthology edition), which spent 15 weeks at the pinnacle of the Billboard 200 this year. In the midst of her towering, career-spanning spectacle The Eras Tour, Swift crafted and released this tapestry of evocative songs, adding another layer with a new era. She turns her nuanced observations and sweeping lyrical imagery toward a range of deep-seated emotional excavations, detailing visceral heartbreak (“Down Bad”), infatuation (“But Daddy I Love Him”), desire (“Guilty as Sin?”) and determined perseverance (“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”) and more. She also features Post Malone on the two-week Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Fortnight” and Florence + the Machine on “Florida!!!”. Whether layering her stories over synth beats or folksy tilts, she showcases her deep devotion to continually pushing boundaries with her songcraft, both lyrically and sonically. — J.N.

Ever since Tyler’s days as a founding member of alternative hip-hop crew Odd Future, one element has remained consistent: his creative fearlessness. Chromakopia finds Tyler in self-examination mode as a Black superstar, as a father and as a visionary always on the hunt for what’s next. He recruited a generational slate of hip-hop, R&B and other genre collaborators to help craft several key standouts on the album’s 14 tracks, including “Sticky” featuring Sexyy Red, Lil Wayne & GloRilla, “Darling, I” with Teezo Touchdown and “Balloon” featuring Doechii. In response, his fans — drawn once again to Tyler’s kaleidoscopic production and engaging storytelling — kept Chromakopia at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for three consecutive weeks, surpassing the two weeks his prior chart-topper, 2021’s Call Me If You Get Lost, spent on that tally. — G.M.

Though sometimes unfairly neglected due to its early 2024 release and the crush of blockbuster pop albums by female artists that followed it in the spring, Ariana Grande turned in one of the finest LPs of the year with Eternal Sunshine — a delicate-but-danceable 35-minute reflection on finding new love while bracing against a crushing breakup and brutal public speculation into the singer’s personal life. Led by not one, but two Hot 100 No. 1s (“Yes, And?” and “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)”) and anchored by an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind concept, the project showcased some of the Wicked star’s best vocals, songwriting and musicianship to date, all while giving listeners a sometimes painfully raw look into the complicated heart of one of the world’s biggest pop stars at the very top of her game. — H.D.

As a fan, there are few things more satisfying than hearing your favorite artist grow throughout the years without losing what originally made them special. And that’s exactly what Billie Eilish has managed to do with Hit Me Hard and Soft, her stellar venture into more conventional pop music. Even when singing about the most common experiences for young people including love, body image, heartbreak and entering adulthood, Eilish’s signature sinister sound is lurking in the background of album standouts “Chihiro,” “The Diner” and “Bittersuite,” turning every aching lyric into its own cinematic moment. But with age comes an understanding that there is strength in vulnerability, and Eilish goes unguarded on the simmering “Skinny,” the thirsty-as-hell “Lunch” and the beautifully sentimental “Birds of a Feather.” At only 22 years old, Eilish has already deftly evolved over the course of three albums — and whatever is next will surely hit us even harder and softer. — TAYLOR MIMS

After the release of Kendrick Lamar’s sixth studio album, many fans took to social media to break down why they think GNX is similar to Nas’s own sixth album, God’s Son. The arguments are paltry, at best. Instead, it’s better to look to another early 2000s rap classic when searching for a parallel: Jay-Z’s soul-drenched The Blueprint. Just like Hov’s masterpiece, GNX is an album that finds a rapper at the height of their powers, making their claim for the crown to all who will listen. “I done been through it all, what you endure?” Lamar asks on the album opener, spiritually rhyming with Jay’s “the whole industry can hate me, I’ll thug my way through.”

The same way Blueprint employed an updated version of the sound that helped put NY rap on the map, so too does Kendrick look to his local scene for inspiration, tapping some of the brightest up-and-comers to lend their talents. He’s rapping better than he’s ever rapped, opting for straightforward, memorable metaphors and bars instead of the meticulous double entendres we’ve come to expect. Production-wise, his longtime collaborator Sounwave holds court while Jack Antonoff (yes, that one) adds musicality and clarity when needed. But it’s Mustard, the producer behind the song of the year, who shines brightest with “TV Off,” a veritable “Not Like Us” sequel that snuck in one of the best memes of the year right at the buzzer. GNX may not feel like Kendrick albums of old, with their macro cultural themes and pained declarations, but in that way it becomes its own, welcomed thing: A Kendrick album unlike any other. What’s more classic than that? — DAMIEN SCOTT

Short N’ Sweet might be the sixth LP from Sabrina Carpenter — but she truly arrived with this album, delivering 12 songs that could each stand alone on pop radio while somehow never treading the same ground. Preceded by the breakthrough jolt of “Espresso” and the cheeky “Please Please Please” (Carpenter’s first Hot 100 No. 1), listeners were correct to expect more frothy and fresh songwriting on the project, like the spicy synth-pop of “Bed Chem” (“Where art thou/ Why not uponeth me?”) or the tongue-in-cheek baby fever of “Juno” (“One of me is cute, but two though?”). But the more bitter-than-sweet moments on the album might have come as more of a pleasant surprise, including the heartbreaking final line of the gauzy “Dumb & Poetic” (“Just ’cause you leave like one doesn’t make you a man”) or the cut-to-the-core truth of the strummy “Lie to Girls” (“You don’t have to lie to girls/ If they like you, they’ll just lie to themselves”). Carpenter has been making smart pop for years now, and it’s exceptionally sweet timing that she’s released her best album yet while the whole world is paying attention. – KATIE ATKINSON

When your brand as an artist is “perfection,” the stakes for each successive project you release could not be higher. But when Beyoncé addresses the audience directly on “Ameriican Requiem,” she recontextualizes herself as an outcast, even if she’s at the very top of her game: “Used to say I spoke too country/ And the rejection came, said I wasn’t country ‘nough,” she sings, a simmering anger resting just behind her words. 

Make no mistake: Cowboy Carter is not a result of Beyoncé “proving” herself to the gatekeepers of the country genre who previously pushed her away; it’s a repudiation, reclamation and rebuilding of all manner of Americana in the name of Black excellence. Throughout this new epic, Beyoncé retells her own history within the context of the great American mythos, all while elevating her own sound and style to fit the subject matter at hand. “Perfection” is far from the brand on an album like Cowboy Carter — and that makes this sprawling masterpiece that much more fascinating to listen to again and again. — S.D.

Imagine telling someone in 2023 that President Joe Biden would perform so disastrously at a debate against Donald Trump that he would drop out of the race and push Vice President Kamala Harris into the candidacy just a couple months before the DNC. Now, imagine that – amidst all this – there is a phenomenon called Brat summer, led by a smash hit album of the same title by Charli XCX. And when the VP Harris accepted the candidacy, Harris would be anointed by XCX herself as “brat,” a major endorsement to engage young voters.  

Well, somehow, all of that is exactly what happened. U.K.-born pop artist Charli XCX pulled off one of the most exciting and culturally significant album launches in modern memory with Brat in 2024, catapulting the longtime music maker into a new stratosphere of stardom. Even without all the political turmoil during Brat summer, it would still be one of the most defining projects of the year. And best of all? It was all on Charli’s own terms. Drawing inspiration primarily from club culture and hyperpop, Charli pulled once-niche spaces in music into the mainstream.

Brat’s neon green cover launched a thousand memes. Its lyrics became defining catch phrases. Its marketing made LinkedIn bros look to her in awe. And most importantly, all of this buzz was backed up by incredibly well-crafted dance and pop music, featuring production collaborators like A.G. Cook, Cirkut, and El Guincho and lyrics that speak plainly to the messiness of womanhood, celebrity and growing up.

By the time Charli XCX released her remix album Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat in October, the singer/songwriter could have just taken a simple victory lap: take out the second verses, slap some featured artists in there and call it a day. But this set a new, higher bar for remix albums: Much like DJs recycle, remix and mash up tracks in the club, Charli managed to capture that manic energy in a captivating, narrative-forwarding set of recorded music that felt more like a proper sequel project than a mere extension of the original. Pulling in smart yet surprising features from Yung Lean to Lorde to Bon Iver, the songs were entirely transformed, showing off the best that both Charli and her features had to give as artists.

Put it all together, and when the history books are written about this strange, dark year in America, you just might also find the Essex-born singer in there too. — K.R.