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Every year the Ones To Watch staff is tasked with the difficult decision of narrowing down our best albums of the year, arguing over which projects left an impact on not just us but the culture at large. After much blood, sweat, and tears, we hand-picked 25 albums that defined 2024, from critically acclaimed collaborative efforts, striking debut offerings, and everything in between. These are the best 25 albums of 2024. 

25. The Dare - What’s Wrong With New York? 



One of the most anticipated albums of the year, The Dare somehow over-delivers on his debut dance-punk project, What’s Wrong With New York? With a signature suit and sigh of exasperation, he’s been able to intrigue the entire world and master a niche that’s been dormant in our bones for too long— messy sex pop that shocks the body alive and gets us drunk on lust and inhibition. “Open Up” is a starting pistol, wasting no time easing us into this project’s explosive pulse. “I Destroyed Disco” exhausts a dizzying build-up that mirrors his work on Charli XCX and Billie Eilish’s “Guess.” It’s a silly poke at the critics who deny his right to claim space in the new rave realm, as if he isn’t singlehandedly reshaping it. Unabashed, raunchy electroclash, the 28-year-old breakout artist is indie sleaze revival’s most promising.

-Jazmin Kylene

24. Joey Valence & Brae - No Hands 

Joey Valence & Brae, the dynamic alt-punk-rap duo, stole the show this year with their much-anticipated second album, NO HANDS. This self-penned, self-produced, self-mixed, and mastered collection is a one-of-a-kind fusion of alt-punk rap and a testament to their growth from their widely praised debut album, PUNK TACTICS. The album's diverse tracks expertly navigate a collision of '90s hip-hop, drum 'n' bass, and a plethora of pop culture references from different eras, all while preserving the duo's unique and intriguing sound. NO HANDS is a celebration of pure, goofy fun buoyed by impressive feats of lyrical acrobatics.  

-Alessandra Rincon

23. julie - my anti-aircraft friend 

As shoegaze, noise, and post-punk make a sweeping modern-day comeback, let us present julie’s debut album, my anti-aircraft friend, for your consideration. Made up of Keyan Pourzand, Alex Brady, and Dillon Lee, the band’s mutual interest in '90s alternative and roots in the OC house show scene brought them together. The DIY soul of julie’s sound runs rampant through the gritty, bouncing-off-the-cement-walls-of-a-basement-venue edge of my anti-aircraft friend. But what sets the album apart from other noise releases is the lush intricacy and raw emotion that is laced throughout the project. Hit single, “catalogue,” is a blissful gateway to julie’s style, with bewitchingly dissonant melodies winding over gut-punched drums. By the end, we make our way to “stuck in a car with angels,” an odyssey of delicate vocals turned to feedbacked fuzz. julie skillfully toes the line of chaos and composure, each song carefully carved with moments of intimate lows and boundless highs. 

-Abby Kenna

22. Jazmin Bean - TRAUMATIC LIVELIHOOD 

Are we more than our past? Can healing exist without grief? Does spite cancel out grace? London-based pop visionary Jazmin Bean confronts these questions on their debut album, Traumatic Livelihood—a true act of genre-blending, fantastical musical prowess in the face of trauma. Early 2000s emo-pop melodrama seeps from singles like “Piggie,” while “Terrified” slips into an Avril Lavigne-esque romance. There’s also the show-stopping “You Know What You’ve Done,” which sets us up for the range of spite, sadness, confusion, and euphoric determination that Bean weaves throughout the rest of Traumatic Livelihood. The album is also woven with an orchestral through-line that lives at the heart of the arrangements, elevating it from a standard pop record to something even more artful. Sonically and emotionally, there’s a bit of blood in the garden of Traumatic Livelihood. Beneath each pop sensibility lies an edge of grunge, and above each relationship, loved one, or version of themselves that Bean mourns within these songs is a blossom of hope. Boundaryless and exquisitely donned in theatrics, Jazmin Bean’s Traumatic Livelihood is a precious collection of the artist’s musical and personal voice.

-Abby Kenna

21. Rachel Chinouriri - What A Devastating Turn of Events



This is one of the best albums of 2024. If I could leave it there and not spoil the details for potential listeners, I would, but Rachel Chinouriri's debut album, What A Devastating Turn of Events, deserves all its praise. As the name suggests, this body of work is an emotional roller coaster, with its A-side seeing Chinouriri explore concepts of homesickness and heartsickness with a depth of sincerity, sass, and a wry sense of self-awareness. While the record's first half primarily deals with affairs of the heart, she brings a new dimension to the well-worn lyrical clichés of the "boy mistreats girl" trope so often heard in pop by swapping between nostalgia-tinged intimacy on songs like "All I Ever Asked" and affirming, anthemic choruses on songs like "Never Need Me."

What's particularly striking about What A Devastating Turn Of Events is its remarkable ability to balance weightier, deeper material with sudden vibe contrasts from song to song. The album's initial lightheartedness doesn't become retrospectively facetious, and it's a testament to the fact that life's lightness isn't negated by its darkness but exists alongside it in harmony. This balance is a reminder that everyone contains multitudes that should be acknowledged or celebrated, making the album a journey of depth and intrigue.

-Alessandra Rincon

20. Friko - Where We’ve been, Where we go from here



No one has lived up to the hype in my book quite like Chicago duo Friko. In a scene spammed with "genericana," cookie-cutter indie rock, vocalist and guitarist Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger's debut album Where we've been, Where we go from here prove why they are destined to carry the torch and keep the spirit of 2000s indie rock alive. Merging elements of noise rock, post-punk, and even experimental rock, their creativity and ambition shine through, creating a result that is as colorful and diverse as you imagined.

Thematically, Where we've been, Where we go from here is a largely introspective work. Niko's tortured, layered poetry dives into his struggles and past experiences over emotional sonic landscapes, especially on songs like "For Ella" and "Cardinal." Across nine tracks, listeners can't help but listen to tales of Niko's frustration, pain, and exhaustion as he navigates his struggle with being caught between life and death. With lyrics like, "It doesn't get better. It just gets twice as bad because you let it, so you better get numb to it" or "I'm sitting here writing the same sad song with the cogs on fire, spinning on and on till I'm old and tired," he weaves a world that is as intriguing and engaging as it is difficult and, at times, unnerving. Simply put, Friko is the real deal.

-Alessandra Rincon

19. Geordie Greep - The New Sound 

The New Sound is an album wholly true to its name. The debut album from Black Midi frontman Geordie Greep, the 11-track project is a blistering, piece of sonic desperation. The one through line present in this mass of sweltering punk ethos, Brazilian tropicalia, and rapid tonal and tempo shifts is Greep’s idiosyncratic, unclassifiable voice. At times, it feels like The New Sound is at risk of falling apart, as if the cries of its frantic, frenetic energy could very well tear at the very seams of this sonic fever dream. And it’s that intoxicating fit of delirium and musical precision that results in one of the most distinctive and impressive albums of the year. 

-Maxamillion Polo

18. Liana Flores - Flower of the soul 

Listening to Liana Flores feels akin to drifting through a perfect Sunday morning—light filtering in through the blinds and the scent of tea brewing in the other room. It’s a testament to the otherworldly, lighter-than-air feeling conjured by the Brazillian-British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her debut studio album, Flower of the soul, is a delicate, intricate, and mystic collection of bossa pop that gives evidence to the notion of timeless music. It’s the rare sort of body of work that feels like it could have been dug out of a record crate decades in the past and yet retains the beauty of a flower that has still to reach its full bloom.

-Maxamillion Polo

17. Amyl and the Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness 

Melbourne band Amyl and The Sniffers throw everything and the kitchen sink into their stellar third album, Cartoon Darkness. Re-creating the exact sensation and continuing to live up to their namesake as they have for the past few years, this album is a joyride from start to finish that isn't afraid to wave its middle finger in the air. Some standout moments include the opening track "Jerkin'," which is all about telling off obsessive internet trolls, and the track "Tiny Bikini," whose very snarky vocal delivery gives us lyrics about lead singer Amy Taylor wearing whatever the hell she wants, regardless of how revealing it is or how others might view it. Cartoon Darkness is an ambitious body of work, demonstrating that the four-piece has all the fundamentals and pure punk energy firmly in their grasp. Overflowing with a devil-may-care attitude and ready to have fun and fuck shit up, this record promises to knock the wind out of you in the most exhilarating and pumped-up way possible.

-Alessandra Rincon

16. beabadoobee - This Is How Tomorrow Moves 

beabadoobee’s third studio album This Is How Tomorrow Moves is a full-circle symphony about finding yourself as you fall apart. Dubbing it her most vulnerable work yet, she’s held prisoner by her own self-awareness, with each song journeying through a forbidden part of the psyche. From sabotage to self-love, her ability to encapsulate feeling into prose alongside a cascade of taut guitars is exactly why she reigns in the alt-indie realm. Coming-of-age singles like “Beaches,” “Girl Song,” and “Take A Bite” celebrate the complexities of girlhood, as beabadoobee actively apologizes to herself for her own fleeting self-hatred. Most of This Is How Tomorrow Moves was written from her own couch, a comfort deeply embedded within the bones of the project. Referring to the album as a “love letter to my younger self,” you can tell beabadoobee feels safe enough to completely unravel, dissecting every broken shard to piece herself together anew. 

-Jazmin Kylene

15. Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us 

After a five-year hiatus, Vampire Weekend returned to us this year to deliver their fifth studio record Only God Was Above Us. While many of Vampire Weekend’s previous releases have been very orderly and neat, Only God Was Above Us is anything but. There are moments of jazz, classical, and even noise music woven into the album’s ten-track runtime, and even though that might not sound like something you’d want mixed into your typical Vampire Weekend indie rock album, the result is arguably one of the band’s best records to date. From the chaos of “Classical” that feels like you accidentally stumbled into the world’s largest parade, to the tranquil guitar melodies of “Pravda,” Only God Was Above Us stands as one of Vampire Weekend’s most experimental, complex, and energetic releases. Perfect for fans old and new, this album is not one that should slip through the cracks as we enter 2025.

- Carter Fife

14. Nia Archives - Silence Is Loud 

Nia Archives’ debut album Silence Is Loud resounds like the personification of her very being. A thrilling attempt by the English record producer, DJ, singer, and songwriter to fuse her love for jungle music and Britpop, the 13-track project impressively balances the pathos of Nia’s voice and songwriting with the cathartic, racing undercurrent of some of the best production of the year. Atop feverish breakbeats, which at times give way to dreamlike indie rock, the British multi-hyphenate stands on the precipice of melancholy only to be ushered back to the dancefloor. This is emotional dance music pushed to its very limits.   

-Maxamillion Polo

13. The Last Dinner Party - Prelude to Ecstasy 

Paving the future for femme fatale, The Last Dinner Party blends '70s art-rock influences with gritty sophistication. The British five-piece's debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy, is undeniably singular, born from The Last Dinner Party’s unrestrained marriage of musical influences, societal inspirations, and boundaryless style. Zooming out, the album feels like a Tumblr-era soundtrack to an ornate period piece, draping all the bronzes and golds of Victorian sensibilities over a moody palette of 2010s alternative and nostalgic '70s sounds. While hit singles like “Nothing Matters” appeal to a universal pop audience, deeper cuts offer contextual contrast, like “Gjuha”—an Albanian aria—or “Beautiful Boy,” which ponders the ever-shifting power dynamic of femininity and masculinity in society. The Last Dinner Party is a spectacle of fierce femme perspective and art-rock revival, surrendering status quo pop boundaries with this impressive debut album. 

-Abby Kenna

12. Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal 

Doechii is every rapper’s favorite rapper, and for good reason. Alligator Bites Never Heal is much bigger than music; it’s a declaration of hard-earned resurrection. Letting the debris that surrounds her be an incentive to rebuild, Doechii is thunderous and alive, journeying through her homecoming with lyrical mastery. For the TDE princess, alligators not only symbolize her Florida upbringing, crediting growing up in the swamp for so much of her identity, but they also embody the predator archetype, the desire to reclaim her bite. From “BOOM BAP” attacking every attempt at minimizing her, to “DENIAL IS A RIVER” reimagining ‘90s rap, the scarring of her attack will surely leave a lasting imprint far beyond female rap, but the genre entirely. Like a lotus blooming from the dirt, it’s the true grime that informs Alligator Bites Never Heal’s brilliance. “This mixtape is my fight back,” Doechii says of the project. “I am nobody’s prey; I was born to be the predator.”

-Jazmin Kylene

11. Charli xcx - Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat 

Following a summer jam-packed with lime green and Arial-Narrow memes galore, Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat successfully recenters BRAT as a project to be taken seriously. Not only did Charli xcx give us a full-length BRAT remix album, but she gave us a full-length BRAT remix album with completely new verses, and what has resulted is nothing short of an electrifying, whirlwind, night out of a record. 

Recruiting a roster of 18 iconic genre-spanning collaborators, featuring Robyn, Julian Casablancas, Ariana Grande, a.g. cook, The Japanese House, and more, each brings their own unique perspective and sound to the sonic world of Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat. The remix album feels like a trip in every sense of the word, taking the listener through the ever-so-present anxieties surrounding aging and time. We see this in the unfolding of the remixes, partying the night away in “Club classics featuring bb trickz,” unpacking the complexities of female friendships in “Girl, so confusing featuring Lorde,” dealing with an identity crisis in “I might say something stupid featuring the 1975 & Jon Hopkins,” contemplating fame and authenticity in “Sympathy is a knife featuring Ariana Grande,” and oh-so much more. It’s weird, it’s chaotic, it’s cute, it’s life. 

At this point, BRAT is no longer confined to a season, a shade of green, a pair of sunglasses, or a pack of cigarettes. BRAT is forever – a state of being, an essence – and it suffices to say that Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat solidifies Charli xcx as the ultimate Brit pop force to be reckoned with.

-Tatum Van Dam

10. Remi Wolf - Big Ideas 



When it comes to being unapologetically oneself, look no further than to Remi Wolf and her sophomore record, Big Ideas. The sophomore effort is seriously unserious, camouflaging moments of vulnerability, introspection, and isolation in upbeat, flashy disco grooves and funky dance-pop beats. The record is embellished in surreal soundscapes, making for a listen that is at once dizzying, magical, and FUN (so long as you do not read too deeply into its lyrics). 

The world of Big Ideas exists somewhere between the carefree, spunky energy of Juno mixed with the larger-than-life vocals on Live At Electric Lady; the delivery is playful, the writing is effective, and the project is Wolf at her very best. Wolf has always existed within a box of her own; one that is colorful and glittery and tied with a big cheetah print bow. This project feels like a thousand different ideas that simply just make sense together, like an outfit composed of a bunch of mismatching prints that somehow work perfectly. Ending on the bonus track fittingly titled “Slay Bitch,” Big Ideas is quite possibly the grooviest happy-sad record yet.

-Tatum Van Dam

9. Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk 

Blending equal parts existentialism and electronica, Imaginal Disk finds Magdalena Bay exploring mortality, actualization, and everything in between. From the album single “Image” to tracks like “Killing Time” and “Vampire in the Corner,” every moment on this record is laced with extravagant production, ambitious writing, and a level of introspection that feels somehow both transcendental and extremely human. Though this might not be Magdalena Bay’s first album about consciousness and self, something about Imaginal Disk feels so uniquely 1-of-1. There’s a level of cleverness, charm, and futurism at work that you could only ever get from the duo. In many ways, Imaginal Disk feels like less of an album and more of an experience, a world so abundant with detail that it’s easy to get transported in. Whether you’re lost in the unsettling bliss of “True Blue Interlude” or the electronic abrasion of “That’s My Floor,” Imaginal Disk is an album that was nothing if not worth the wait.

- Carter Fife

8. Mk.gee - Two Star & The Dream Police 

2024 was a great year for breakout artists, but none left an impression quite like Mk.gee. The New York Times called him a “Guitar God,” Dazed called him a prodigy, but who really is Mk.gee? The answer to that question potentially lies at the heart of Two Star & the Dream Police, which in addition to being one of the best alternative rock records released this year, is an album that ironically might end up generating more questions than answers. At first glance, tracks like “Candy” and “DNM” are so raw that they feel almost haphazard in their structure, writing, and production. A closer look, however, reveals the undeniable genius that only an artist like Mk.gee could deliver. Two Star & the Dream Police is the definition of an album showing instead of telling, delivering listeners pure emotion via tracks with beating hearts and souls that grow with every listen. Though his shroud of Frank Ocean-level unknowability might confuse those who refuse to look beyond the surface, heads know to believe the hype.

- Carter Fife

7. The Marías - Submarine 

An open wound that cannot heal until acknowledged, and The Marías’ Submarine interrogates every cold case you’ve abandoned, gifting you with the hope that a new perspective could have been the remedy all along. Innate sonic shapeshifters, the project is uncategorizable, from dancehall to pop. The album is mostly in English, a deliberate choice to honor the blue, raw, and deep moodiness of Submarine. While we typically know The Marías to be passionately red, this record was birthed through grief, as bandmembers Zardoya and Conway processed their breakup. Viscerally honest, sitting at the center of discomfort, and biting through the pain, it is the truth of this album and Zardoya’s bravery in speaking it that will uphold it as one of their best works to date. Dizzying and electrifying, Submarine sinks you into depths light could never penetrate, Zardoya serving as a siren guide. Curating an atmospheric sound with rich synths and jazzy crescendos, Submarine exemplifies massive up-leveling as a band, both in songwriting and production.

-Jazmin Kylene

6. Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft 

Billie Eilish's long-awaited third album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, is a testament to her evolution as an artist, seeing her grow from a viral teen prodigy to a more realized, mature pop star. As the name suggests, it pulls inspiration from the haunting melodies of her debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO, and the nostalgic swoons of her second, Happier Than Ever, creating a body of work packed with epic crescendos and whispery self-restraint. This album is a journey of growth and self-discovery, a reminder that we all have the power to evolve and mature. Her iconic voice remains the focal point of every song, ranging from an ethereal whisper to a guttural howl, acting as the glue that holds the album's disparate elements together. Her dark yet occasionally humorous lyrics are searingly honest, and her poetic turns of phrase are as sharp and clever as ever, cutting directly to the heart of the human experience.

-Alessandra Rincon

5. Kendrick Lamar - GNX 

Who could even hope to dominate hip-hop like Kendrick Lamar did this year? From multiple number one singles to winning one of the most simultaneously contentious and one-sided hip-hop beefs of the 21st Century, Kendrick Lamar proved that the sky's the limit in 2024. It seems fitting, then, that he would decide to end the year with a surprise album, GNX, that mostly serves as a victory rap reminding listeners not to get on his bad side. While sonically GNX might feel like a love letter to the West Coast, much of what Kendrick Lamar addresses on the album has to do with his adversaries, mental tension, and even past-life regression. Despite his continued success, tracks like “peekaboo” and the Lefty Gunplay-assisted “tv off” show that Lamar is just as aggressive and relentless as he was a decade ago.

- Carter Fife

4. Clairo - Charm 

The best way to describe Clairo’s Charm is homey and familiar; it is like a lived-in house, with tea-stained mugs, dog-eared books, dusty cabinets, creased bed sheets, and all of the other signs of love, light, and life. Across 11 tracks, Clairo pens the whimsy of a fleeting moment, and she has never felt or sounded so authentically herself. Between its use of woodwinds and finger-picked guitars, Charm leans into its '70s-inspired production, pairing retro sounds with top quality musicianship to create a soft-rock atmosphere with just the right amount of warmth, inviting the listener to get lost in a distant—and at times, sensual—daydream. 

Clairo’s songwriting speaks to the human experience of wanting to be seen and wanting to be heard, yet wanting to stay authentically true to oneself. Through tracks like “Sexy To Someone” and “Juna,” dazzling keys heighten Clairo’s tales of pining and desire; while “Nomad” tells a story of quite the opposite—one of solitude and loneliness—weighed against subdued, soulful strings. The melodies throughout Charm stay stuck in your head, and the harmonies are absolutely breathtaking.      

What makes Charm so… charming is its moments of Clairo allowing herself to be perfectly imperfect. The record is sprinkled with sonic moments so delicate, yet so lighthearted, you might not realize they are happening at all, whether the cadence of a hum, chuckle, or a soft whisper. Its instrumentals twinkle in the light as Clairo swirls around a glass of red wine and sways with the microphone, letting us deeper into her world, perhaps without even realizing it.  

-Tatum Van Dam

3. Fontaines D.C. - Romance 

On their fourth album, Romance, Irish band Fontaines D.C. made the intentional decision to step away from Irish-centric themes, and in doing so, delivered a dystopian, cinematic tour de force. Taking inspiration from multiple countries, anime and manga, and Italian cinema, any of the tracks that decorate Romance feel like they could incite riotous sing-alongs or massive emotional upheavals. From the crumbling, detached pleas of “In The Modern World” to the gnarled, grit of “Starburster” that harkens to the band’s roots to the lovelorn end credits of “Favourite,” Fontaines D.C. has managed to craft their most expansive, finest, and ambitious work to date.

-Maxamillion Polo

2. Tyler, the Creator - Chromakopia 

Tyler, the Creator no longer releases albums; he builds immersive worlds, color-coded and texturized to sink you into the depths of a new timeline. CHROMAKOPIA introduces us to a Tyler far evolved, one radically aware of how untouchable he’s become. As a limitless dreamer who has accomplished every goal he’s ever set out to do, he is self-sustained power. This project is his manifesto, a reminder that we have the ability to write our narrative and rewrite it again, so long as we’re brave enough to hold the pen. Platforming new acts like Doechii and Sexyy Red while continuing to make magic with long-time collaborators like Lil Wayne and Schoolboy Q, CHROMAKOPIA is a celebration of bridging the future with the past. From confronting the sobering reality of his mother’s aging to questioning whether his indulgent lifestyle is disguised stagnancy, Tyler, the Creator is not pretending to be anything he’s not, and that’s what heralds him as one of the greatest acts of our time.

-Jazmin Kylene

1. Charli xcx - BRAT



BRAT was more than just the album of the year; it was a cultural phenomenon. The notion of a brat summer evolved from a clever marketing tagline to a way of life that could mean whatever you needed it to mean. Beyond pervading the cultural lexicon and giving an aggressive hue of neon green its unexpected time in the limelight, BRAT stands as Charli xcx’s magnum opus. Over the course of 15 tracks and a subsequent slew of reimaginings, Charli xcx establishes herself as a one-of-a-kind pop star. One who is unapologetic. One who is instantaneously infectious. One who is uniquely intricate in her portrayals of catharsis and existential reflection. One who is unafraid to cry on the dancefloor one moment and go skiing the next. One who is deeply vulnerable. And above all, one who is brat. 

-Maxamillion Polo