As I’ve written elsewhere, I’ve been participating in a challenge to listen to over 100 new-to-me albums by the end of the year. The majority of what I’ve listened to so far have been old albums, but a lot of them have been brand-new albums.
It’s currently the beginning of July and I’ve already listened to 30 albums that were released in 2024. To my very pleasant surprise, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the majority of them.
At the end of each year, I usually put together a list of my top favorite albums from the year. Since there have already been several I’ve loved from this year, I thought I’d make a list of my top favorites that were released during the first half of 2024.
Some of the artists below are musicians I’ve known of for many years but some of them are much newer to me. I never even heard of some of them until just the last few months.
I was initially going to make a ‘Top 10’ list here but I needed it to be a little longer, so there are 14 albums below. I’m not listing them in any kind of order of preference. Instead, I’m listing them in the chronological order they were released.
For each one, I’m going to name three of my favorite songs from the album. I’m also going to highlight one of those songs by sharing a YouTube video of it from the official YouTube page of the artist.
In addition to the YouTube videos I’m sharing, at the end of this post, I’m also including a Spotify playlist I made that includes multiple songs from each of the albums.
10,000 Volts – Ace Frehley (February 23, 2024)
For those of you who don’t know, Ace Frehley was one of the founding members of the band KISS. 10,000 Volts is his eighth solo album and I think it’s great.
Three of my favorite songs from it are: “10,000 Volts,” “Back Into My Arms Again,” and “Life Of A Stranger.”
Invincible Shield – Judas Priest (March 8, 2024)
A fantastic hard-rocking album from one of the most popular bands of the last several decades.
A few of my favorites from it are: “The Serpent and the King,” “Crown of Horns, and “Panic Attack.”
Deeper Well – Kacey Musgraves (March 15, 2024)
There’s not a bad or skippable song on this album. Three of my favorites from it are: “Heart Of The Woods,” “The Architect,” and “Cardinal.”
Don’t Forget Me – Maggie Rogers (April 12, 2024)
I’ve liked this artist since a friend of mine turned me on to her previous album, Surrender, which was released in 2022. I loved that one and I love Don’t Forget Me even more. Some of my favorites from it include: “It Was Coming All Along,” “So Sick of Dreaming, and “The Kill.”
The Tortured Poets Department – Taylor Swift (April 18, 2024)
Even though I wouldn’t quite classify myself as a ‘Swiftie,’ I like a lot of Taylor Swift’s music. This album is certainly no exception. I’d say it’s my favorite album by her since Folklore in 2020. Three of my favorite songs from it are: “Fortnight,” “Clara Bow,” and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
Nonetheless – Pet Shop Boys (April 26, 2024)
Even though I love a few of their old hit songs from the 1980s and 1990s like “West End Girls,” “It’s A Sin,” and “What Have I Done To Deserve This?,” I’ve never been a ‘superfan’ of Pet Shop Boys. Other than their radio hits, I don’t know much by them – especially the music they’ve released in the last couple of decades.
Having said that, I’m glad I gave this new album by them a listen – because I think it’s exceptional. A few of my favorites from it are “Why Am I Dancing?,” “Dancing Star,” and “Feel.”
Radical Optimism – Dua Lipa (May 3, 2024)
My wife Lisa turned me on to Dua Lipa’s music a few years ago when she repeatedly played her 2020 album Future Nostalgia in our home. It’s a fantastic album and I soon became a Dua Lipa fan myself.
Her new album contains a lot of great songs. A few of my favorites from it are: “End Of An Era,” “Training Season,” and “Illusion.”
Here In The Pitch – Jessica Pratt (May 3, 2024)
I’d never heard of this artist until in May when I saw a couple of songs from this album show up on a ‘New Music’ playlist on Spotify.
I’m glad I discovered her there. In addition to Jessica Pratt’s music being entertaining, a lot of it has a very unique and sort of eerie sound to it. Some of it seems like it could have fit in very well on the old Twin Peaks TV series – which always featured a lot of fantastic music in it.
A few of my favorites from Here In The Pitch are: “By Hook or by Crook,” “The Last Year,” and “Life Is.”
The Pegasus Project: Pegasus & The Swan – Sananda Maitreya (May 11, 2024)
If you’re not familiar with this artist’s name, there’s a good chance you may recognize his original name, which he had when he became famous in the late 1980s: Terence Trent D’arby. A few of his very popular songs under that name were “Sign Your Name,” “Wishing Well,” and “Dance Little Sister.”
Since changing his name to Sananda Maitreya in 2001, the artist has released several great albums. His name may have changed but he’s still making excellent music.
A few of my favorites from his latest album are: “The Birthday Song!,” “Mr. Magoo (The Insurrection Song), and “Love Is Blind.”
Blue Electric Light – Lenny Kravitz (May 24, 2024)
Even though I’ve always liked Lenny Kravitz, I’ve always been kind of a casual fan and have never delved too deeply into his music. I owned and loved his debut album Let Love Rule and his very popular album Are You Gonna Go My Way, but I don’t know much else by him.
I figured I’d give his new album a listen and I’m very glad I did. It has several great songs on it. Among my favorites are “It’s Just Another Fine Day (In This Universe of Love)”, and “Human.”
Honeymind – Ben Platt (May 31, 2024)
Before just a few months ago, I’d never heard any music by Ben Platt. However, I knew his name because of the acclaim he received for starring in “Dear Evan Hansen” on Broadway and onscreen. While I hadn’t seen that at that point, I had seen him in the first two Pitch Perfect movies and liked him in those.
My wife and both quickly became fans of him in the spring when he released the song “Andrew” as a single, from his then-forthcoming album Honeymind. We both instantly loved it and anxiously awaited his new album. Neither of us was disappointed in it when we heard it.
In addition to “Andrew,” three other songs I love on it are: “All American Queen,” “Before I Knew You,” and “Cherry On Top.” The music video for that last song features Ben’s fiancée, actor and singer Noah Galvin. They seem like a great and very happy couple.
Midnight Butterflies – Sea Girls (June 14, 2024)
This is another act I learned about because one of their songs was included on a “New Music Friday” playlist on Spotify. The song was “Come Back To Me” and I loved it as soon as I heard it. It was released a month or so before their Midnight Butterflies album, and the song made me very excited to listen to the album when it came out.
I’m happy to report that I wasn’t disappointed – not at all. I love the majority of the songs on the album. On some of their songs, this band reminds me a little bit of how The Killers sounded on some of their earliest hit songs – and I mean that in a very complimentary way.
Among my favorites on Midnight Butterflies, in addition to the aforementioned “Come Back To Me,” are “Does Only God Know That We’re Lonely?” and “Weekends and Workdays.”
I couldn’t decide which of those three great songs to share, so here are all three of them.
Duality – Lindsey Stirling (June 14, 2024)
Violinist and songwriter Lindsey Sterling has been well-known for over a decade, since catching the public’s attention on the TV series America’s Got Talented. Since then, she’s gone on to release several hit albums and several very popular music videos.
My wife Lisa turned me on to her music, which often entertainingly contains elements of both pop and classical music. A few of my favorites on her new album are “Evil Twin,” “Eye of The Untold Her,” and “Survive.” The last song there features the band Walk Off The Earth.
Below are the music videos for each of the above songs. In addition to the songs themselves being great, I think each of the music videos is also exceptional and I highly encourage you to check them out.
D – Daryl Hall (June 21)
Anyone who knows me well knows that one of my favorite music acts ever is the legendary duo of Daryl Hall and John Oates. After over 50 years together, the act broke up last year.
Each of them recently put out new solo albums. John Oates released Reunion in May and Daryl Hall released D in June. While I do like Oates’s album quite a bit, I have a preference for Hall’s album.
To me, his voice sounds as good now (at the age of 77) as it did on hits from the 1970s like “Rich Girl” and “Sarah Smile.” Three of my favorites from the new album are “Can’t Say No To You,” “Break It Down to the Real Thing,” and the incredibly catchy-sounding “The Whole World’s Better.”
And here is the aforementioned Spotify playlist I mentioned. It currently contains 65 songs and is close to four hours long.
If you listen, I hope you enjoy it!
NOTE: The image at the top of this piece is an AI-generated image created by the author using Adobe Firefly.
Buddy Gott 