ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2024

Hello everyone, welcome back to the ILM top 77 EOY poll! The only EOY poll that matters.

We received 66 tracks ballots and 72 album ballots this year. Thanks to everyone who voted!

Your pollrunners are once again Seandalai on poll organization and vote tabulation and myself running the poll results thread and graphics.

Special thanks to tipsy mothra and Nag! Nag! Nag! for helping out with the nominations playlists this year. It's one of the most time-consuming tasks each year and I didn't have enough time to pull them off this year. It was immensely helpful of you both to do them. Thank you.

Here's the playlist that I'll be updating with the tracks results:

Top 77 Tracks of 2024 Playlists:

Spotify Playlist
Apple Music Playlist
Youtube Playlist

If anyone wants to build a matching YouTube / Tidal / Apple Music / Amazon Music - please share it. I'd like to request the mods if said playlists are shared please be so kind to add them to this opening post for visibility.

Same drill as last year, we'll do tracks this week, albums next. Poll starts at around 8am EST tomorrow... so 11 hours from now. See you soon.

Exciting!

The most wonderful time of the year.

Last year we had 71 voter's for tracks and 73 for albums.

Hopefully seandalai shares that graph with all the years stats too.

Whoop!

Massive thanks as always to all who helped run this. Can't wait

Drill, baby, drill

Yeah, Central Cee for the win!

I’ve never volunteered for anything like this, but I’ll handle the Apple Music playlist.

Apple Music playlist

https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/ilms-top-77-tracks-of-2024/pl.u-pMylAbaH4edgMZb

Wasn't able to do a tracks ballot this year, so am excited for the results

I can do youtube playlist if nobody else is.

Yooooooo

Here we go.

note: Our top 77 is actually comprised of 78 tracks since we start with a tie.

https://i.imgur.com/d5Iw4uV.png
TIE 77. James K - Blinkmoth (July Mix) 114 points - 5 votes
Video
This year, no artist has made downtempo more appealing than New York producer James K, whose breathy, lilting vocals have floated across some of 2024’s best music. It makes sense that amid sustained geo-political violence and economic turbulence, we’d again find solace in shoegaze—music that slows the anxious heart while holding a mirror to deep-rooted angst we prefer to leave unspoken.
“Blinkmoth (July Mix)” commanded repeat listens this year for an instantaneous pull that sucks you into the muted vortex of James K’s romantic solitude. As she sings about the endless transference of love, a trip-hop beat glides and gallops, tactfully situating us in the ‘90s. But really, it’s the heavenly vocals that we’re here for. Her delivery glistens with the Elizabeth Fraser effect: carried foremost by feeling, the curvature of her indecipherable lyrics capture the fleeting moment in which euphoria sinks into quiet melancholy. Additions like this to the electronic shoegaze revival should give any non-believer proof of its enduring relevance.

oops seems like there's an error with the bbcode in the links... have no idea what I did wrong.

GREAT START!!!

I did prefer scorpio from last year's poll just a little more thna this one (that bassline) but this is wonderful too. absolutely love James K's vocal delivery

and yeah, for once Elizabeth Fraser comparisons are warranted

xp Moka - it looks like you forgot the 'https://' in front of the URLs

(I hate to be that guy so early on, but I got a new work machine and it looks like my ballot got lost alongside it - would someone mind mailing it to me please please? i'll be forever in your debt)

https://i.imgur.com/SAc4tNB.png
TIE 77. The Cure - Alone 114 points - 5 votes
Video
The synths coast alongside the guitars like fighter jets leading a passenger jet to a runway, while the drums pound their irregular patterns. The slow opening crawl — how Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me of them. “This is the end of every song we’ll sing,” Robert Smith lies. Not so long as he can thatch his hair, apply moist lipstick, keep his global audience, and keep writing and singing songs this confidently.

hell yeah

perfect intro to a wonderful record

i voted for "blinkmoth", it's wonderful

"alone" is fine but really let down by the mix

you people and your mixes

i expected this to be higher but suspect this isn’t the last we’ve heard of bobby and the boys

victim of "i voted for the album instead"

james k appeared on a priori album i liked last year
great vocals

'And Nothing Is Forever' is the one song I've kept listening to, but it was nice having them back.

https://i.imgur.com/7Z1XiDH.png
76. Camila Cabello - I Luv It 116 points- 4 votes
Video
“I Luv It” is a perfect example of once avant-garde sounds being absorbed into the mainstream — which is why people hate it — but the way all involved fail makes it much better than it otherwise would be. Everyone involved doesn’t know how to work outside the lines of pure pop, and it shows. We have a IV-I-V-ii chord progression, normally too melancholic for upbeat electronica outside of “Off-World”, and we have a classic AABB chorus, only the AAs are iluvitiluvitiluvitiluvit and the BBs are Gucci Mane samples. Cabello is much more fun in this mode than crooning nicotine-Halloween-morphine “Never Be The Same” mode, and if she still comes across as try-hard, that adds to the song’s bizarre alchemy. Carti’s dispassionate mumbling nearly kills it, but listen to the beautiful synth arpeggio he’s up against. “I Luv It” is too structured to be incoherent, too clean to be overwhelming, and all those contradictions make the song legitimately captivating, far from the trainwreck intended.

hadn’t heard “blinkmoth” til today, that’s some real baby-making music

OK, here is a YouTube playlist - will try to keep it up to date.

p much every time I heard this I stopped midway and put lemonade on instead

james k. voter here, she's brilliant <3

https://i.imgur.com/6ptauX4.png
75. Mica Levi - slob air 122 points - 6 votes
Video
You never know what to expect from South London composer Mica Levi. Their last solo record, 2021’s Blue Alibi, was a spiky, lo-fi grunge affair, while their score for Jonathan Glazer’s 2023 chilling film The Zone of Interest unleashed nightmares through experimental found sound.
This summer, Levi once again opted for unpredictability with their Hyperdub debut, the 12-minute dream pop epic hypnotically circles around a loop of undulating synths, a rumbling bass hum and an assertive, locked-in beat. Occasionally, the transcendental melody is interrupted by a slight key change or the growing swell of indecipherable voices, but it’s never enough to unseat the song’s steady, meditative pace. “slob air” is like watching the sun rise on the top deck of the bus after a bleary night out—life-affirming.
https://ra.co/features/4401

“i love it” is fun, but i enjoy the fact that it exists more than i enjoy listening to it

Blinkmoth (July Mix) was one of only about 70 of the tracks that I liked and saved for consideration. Good stuff. Also enjoy the Cabello and I'm generally a big Levi fan too. So yeah. Good start! Shame half the Cure album will place but what can you do

don't think i've heard mica levi before but this has piqued my interest

https://i.imgur.com/pGWTxnJ.png
74. RYUGUJO - Deep Wave 123 points - 4 votes
Video
Deep Wave‘s biggest charms occur before and after that disorienting slowdown. The beat here goes off, ornamenting its house influences with rhythm guitar and a festival-like atmosphere that grows bigger and bolder as the track continues. The rap verses are as thrilling and catchy as the repeated melody, delivered with impish charisma that chews on the groove with relish. The transition back into the beat, just after the two minute mark, is one of my favorite musical moments this year. Then, apocalyptic sirens enter the mix to give the track an otherworldly tension. Deep Wave is very ‘push and pull’ all the way through, piercing its straightforward moments with left turns that keep your ear constantly off guard. It’s this blend of brilliant pop sensibilities and surreal exploration that makes the song so compelling.

"i luv it" is kinda terrible but in an endearing way

i didn't vote for "deep wave" but i'm glad to see it show up

hee hee

got this one in. roll up roll up get your microprog jpop

Nice. Possibly the first jpop boyband here, but haven't checked.

https://i.imgur.com/XIfETpn.png
73. Vanishing Twin - Life Drummer 124 points - 5 votes
Video
While we remain engrained in the world built on Vanishing Twin’s Afternoon X, released last October, the London based trio return with Life Drummer, their illustrious entry into this year’s Sub Pop Singles Club. The experimental pop band has been transforming post-punk, kosmische, and discombobulated dream-pop with ingenious results for the better part of the last decade, and their new single remains as explorative as ever, comprised of three songs that glide and contort between glitchy minimalism and effervescent lounge rock displacement. “Life Drummer” revolves around a sinewy beat from Valentina Magaletti, adorned with patchwork samples and a serene split between alien melodies and stark mechanical pulse as hypnotic as it is fluid.

Aww yeah, 'Deep Wave'! Really pleased to see it made it.

Just starting listening through the youtube playlist (thank you CaaL), 'Blinkmoth' is very dreamy and lovely.

life drummer is nice. i hope valentina magaletti projects will be a recurring theme throughtout these rollouts

'deep wave' stood out to me from the nominations playlist as a partic wild track, i like it. idk what i expected, b/c seeing the video now it makes sense, but i would not have guessed it was a boy band just from the music

Wow so happy “Deep Wave” is on here! I didn’t vote this time (sorry, life got in the way, have a newborn at home) but very glad you nommed it, emil.y and that people liked it, def one of my fave tracks last year.

https://i.imgur.com/HowjTdD.png
72. Dlala Thukzin, Funky Qla & Zee Nxumalo - Ama Gear 126 points - 3 votes - 2 º1 votes
Video
Are you ready to change gear ? On the strength of last year’s iPlan, a mostly instrumental piece driven by percussion and tapestry-like pitched notes, Dlala Thukzin returns with Zee Nxumalo and together they hammer in their first hit.
The long version offers a unique integration of Amapiano tropes in an overall Gqom structure. Subdued synth layers, piping jazzy flourishes, soulful guitar strings accompany Zee’s entrance with a sea-rolling House beat reminiscent of last year’s hit Osama by Zakes Bantwini.
Her unique slightly nasal vocals steal the show. Gently aligned on the instrumental elements through repeated lyrics, she seems to emerge from the background, before her motifs are suddenly elevated and carried fluidly into the chorus: Mama shiya shiya, namhlanje ang’shintshi ang’shintshi. Ay shintsha amagear. Namhlanje mama thina sizo giya ey yeah ya. The rest is flawless mechanical groove, a long ride with melancholic tones, and a last big oomph when the DJs say their only words to propel the wave once more. - Nabozo
https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/dlala-thukzin-funky-qla-zee-nxumalo/ama-gear

So excited the poll is here! I voted for I Luv It (unweighted tracks this year) - sorta reminded me of the singles from Selena Gomez’s ‘revival’, but with a light dusting of hyperpop. Love the droning synths running through it. Fun!

Ooh, I somehow missed voting for Life Drummer

Thanks Moka and seandalai. Happy to see Chappell Roan at no.1. I danced to that track with my 79yr old dad and 13yr old niece one drunken Sunday evening and fell in love it.

<3

Oh yeah, Florence Adooni was yet another where I voted for a less popular track. Still, probably my biggest "now this sounds promising" moment with an artist-I-never-knowingly-heard-before-the-nominations-playlist.

great list, thanks for running things moka and seandalai. still making my way through the things that are new to me but just wanna say that clarissa connelly track really is stunning

thrilled that "lucky" made it to #3! my #1, edc's very best yet

"girl so confusing" is deservingly the highest charli track but honestly the version without lorde is better, i forgot to nominate it

"bye bye" is an interesting novelty (kim gordon making a rage track!) but her vocal style just doesn't work on it at all for me

"boy sent from above" was the best burial track in quite a while, love his take on electro

"angel of my dreams" is basically a kpop track from ~12 years ago when those sort of dramatic stylistic shifts were really trendy over there and that's an incredibly good thing, i love that era

"as above so below" placing this high is wonderful

the biggest surprise for me is "love you got" not even coming close to placing, i'm completely baffled there

Album too strong! It was the opposite to Casier

I missed all week due to work, hope everyone had a fun time!

Thanks so much to Moka for covering everything. I will post the voter spreadsheet over the weekend.

Thanks to Moka and Seandalai for putting this all together. It has been a nice distraction on a rubbish week.

That's a really excellent top 20 overall. I didn't realise Lucky was that popular. I really liked her last album, but couldn't get into her new one much at all. That's definitely the standout.

I had the same experience as devvvine awhen Von Dutch came out. I wasn't blown away by it and felt like I was getting too old for that sound and the accompanying video. I warmed up to it a lot, but it's still not my one of my very favourites on the album. Girl So Confusing (either version) is one of the best she's done.

the biggest surprise for me is "love you got" not even coming close to placing, i'm completely baffled there

― ufo

Voted for the album. Hoping it does well next week.

I don’t know why I never got around listening to it but this Cassandra Jenkins track is really disarming me.

Well done voters.

Cassandra Jenkins, Sky Ferreira and Erika de Casier in the top 10 feels very ILM-core. I’m not sure I saw those 3 songs in any eoy lists… or at least not in any other top 10 and they’re really deserving.

And of course having a Real Lies song in the top 20 and an oddball like The Spark is also very much an ILM thing.

critics elsewhere went for a different de casier song, "bikini", which is pretty good but not as good as "lucky"

is there a spotify playlist?

Yes, it’s on the opening post!

I’ll update to include the top 100.

Spotify playlist is now updated to a top 200 as there's many songs in there that deserve your attention. Missing: #64 Arash & Quasar - Double Moon and #124 Cindy Lee - Dracula.

And of course having a Real Lies song in the top 20 and an oddball like The Spark is also very much an ILM thing.

― ✖✖✖ (Moka)

Annie at 22 is the most ILM thing about the list. That's 20 years of dedication to her now.

Had a great time following along as always thanks to everyone for making January a good month again.

MJ Goodagain

Thanks again for this amazing poll. And well done everyone. If someone could help me out by sending my poll back to me, I'd be super duper grateful - I saved it but my work computer got replaced and I lost it

me too can i get my ballots emailed to me please

Just struck me how little Beyonce bothered the chart this year. BODYGUARD got, like 2 votes

She was busy planning the tour.

seems most people here didn't really like the album

Finally! Voter stats

Shout outs to ILX poster etc, I am your neighbour!

Lol, adding Chappell Roan to make my list 20 tracks long really paid off hivemind-wise :)

I hear user the table is the table is the most mainstream person in ILX history ;)

are we going to have a poll of top 3 picks that didn't make the 77? because that's always of interest.

Do we know what skrot montague's single vote was cast for? Would love to see saer's ballot too.

(respect to my voting buddy budo jeru)

Thank you mods!

xp - saer posted his ballot here

I would also love to see a Top 3 poll!

They're playing Tipsy in the cage I'm in. Dunno who to feel annoyed at. Myself probably

Cafe ffs

despite all my rage, they still play Tipsy in my cage

I forgot what thread this was and thought you meant the band Tipsy, who would be a lovely accompaniment to a nice cup of tea and a sit down.

70. The Tubs - Freak Mode 127 points - 4 votes

More like Husker Don't! Amirite?

maria and i started listening to these tracks slowly but surely.

so far the ones i really like:

mica levi slob air

camila cabello i luv it

little simz mood swings

tove lo & sg lewis heat (loved this!)

More like Husker Don't! Amirite?

Haha, I thought this. Also see `Geordie Greep`, more like Steely Dan’t.

On a similar tip to the Tove Lo/SG Lewis, one of the nominations I really loved was Lucy Tun 'Come To My House':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3Les0mCZXE

yeah i really liked that one and i'm not usually fussed by Tove Lo type stuff

I didn't participate in this year's poll but always love listening to the tracks in hopes to discover new music. My favorite this year is Double Moon. It sounds unlike anything I've ever heard before!

i need to hear the whole thing that double moon is a part of. i feel the need for context!

THey've got a new track called No Vargan! which I'm into more than Double Moon

Doesn't seem to be on YouTube, but it is on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/track/0NXr7rhCGkE5ejMD970qAG?si=5cc487c6bea8484e

holy shit, i hadn't heard that Burial track and i put the Spotify playlist on at the gym where I work last night and everyone TOTALLY FREAKED OUT lmfao. it was great.

Oh it's back?! I noticed it was annyoingly gone from Spotify a few months ago, assuming it was due to some sample issue which would leave it off. Still remembered it well enough to vote it highly -- hadn't seen it much talked about, so I'm glad others agree!

Someone needs to put the Tinashe vocals over Kim Gordon's BYE BYE and vice versa. You can almost play them together if you time it right.

to whom it may concern: 'million dollar baby' is 69 bpm.

nice