ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2024

Ok, here we go!

Here's the links for our 2024 tracks poll for future reference:
ILM's Top 77 Tracks of 2024
ILM 2024 Tracks Poll Ballots/Stats/Banter/Recriminations Thread

Here's the playlist(s):
Spotify 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.

Huge thanks once again to seandalai for helping organize this poll and tabulate the results.

I slept 4 hours so hopefully I don't make too much mistakes today.

https://i.imgur.com/h0B5mPF.png
77. Zach Bryan - The Great American Bar Scene 138 points - 4 votes
Country superstar remains a deft chronicler of twentysomething in-betweenness.

Some good songs amid the murk.

here we go

hmm 4 votes for #77 and about 5 of my choices being already nominated by the time i got around to doing it... some of mine might have a chance!

https://i.imgur.com/kdtngue.png
76. Fennesz - Mosaic 138 points - 6 votes
Nearly a quarter century after his ambient glitch masterpiece, Endless Summer, the Viennese musician still seeks transcendence in the collision of guitar riffs and electronic treatments.

oh lol instant reward

loved it, as I do every fennesz album tbf

didn’t even know he’d released a new one

https://i.imgur.com/HCLceb9.png
75. WILLOW - Empathogen141 points - 5 votes
Throughout the record, she seems committed to tearing down barriers between her potential audiences, just as she enjoys pitting their tastes against each other.

Yeah had no idea either Fennesz released something last year but I’m enjoying what I’m hearing.

there was a bit of a chat on the fennesz thread

https://i.imgur.com/zzubMb2.png
74. Perfume - Nebula Romance (Part 1) 143 points - 5 votes - 1 º1 vote
Eighties synthpop has been an influence on several of Perfume’s past albums, but it’s on Nebula Romance: Part I that the group ventures further into this sound. The result is extremely impressive, because they bring to their nostalgic pop very captivating references to various dance genres that were on the rise at the same time as technopop.

I didn't get round to listening to this Perfume album properly, the fact that it's made it onto the list means I definitely should, right?

I liked it yeh but didn't find myself returning to it
will relisten now

willow record is so fucking amazing too low

https://i.imgur.com/yQFxDVp.png
73. Soshi Takeda - Secret Communication 144 points - 4 votes
The latest release from Tokyo deep house maven Soshi Takeda is weightless and beautiful, unhurried in its pleasures and smooth in its trajectory.

this was lush
maybe not comparable but as good as floating moutains

almost gave the Soshi Takeda my number 1 after one listen

Moka's romance not so secret now

who doesn't love the Ago Bay. So many little islands. Voted this high. Effortless vibes.

Moka's romance not so secret now

― Nabozo

Goddamit lol - I knew doing this while being sleep deprived would bring an error or two eventually.

so yeah... I mixed it up with the previous Perfume album title. sorry about that.

https://i.imgur.com/nTVaABh.png
72. Glass Beach - Plastic Death 145 points - 5 votes
plastic death is a staggering achievement: it might be four years later than planned, but give glass beach their flowers—they have more than earned them.

xxp

The Perfume album I think was a very timely divergence to a more concept-y album project. It's more of a single piece than their earlier albums, less a collection of gems. After so many pop masterpieces I found it to be a successful late career variation, beautiful, and promising for part 2.

Loved that Glass Beach.

who doesn't love the Ago Bay. So many little islands. Voted this high. Effortless vibes.

― maf you one two (maffew12), Tuesday, 4 February 2025 14:28 (five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

ILM's Top 77 Geographic Regions of 2024

glass beach also too low. expecting the rest of my ballot in the first day

The reason I have not listened to this is entirely because there are too many glass bands and too many beach bands

That Glass Beach album meshed the best parts of Clinic and early Radiohead.

but I'm listening to it now. this could be These New Puritans

had not heard this
sounding excellent

oh this was my number 9 or 10 or something, it fucking owns

psychedelically fractured dismemberment plan if they listened to way too much american football

That Glass Beach album meshed the best parts of Clinic and early Radiohead.

― the talented mr pimply (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

Oh I’ve been on a Clinic frequency lately. I should listen to this.

the music makes me think of Sim City, so that gets extra points

https://i.imgur.com/SL5SRkY.png
71. Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department 145 points - 6 votes
Taylor Swift advances the Midnights synth-based and diaristic formula, embracing increasingly sophisticated and minimalistic sonics on The Tortured Poets Department.

completely integrated, subtly mad-ambitious emoprog adventure that doesn't feel in the slightest bit gratuitous, this is someone's full truth

talking about ^that obv

I think people actually meant to vote for the ILM pre-covers version and voted this one by accident.

Glass Beach completely passed me by, the write-up sounds interesting though (this is probably going to be my stock comment in this thread, sorry!)

i didn't even try to vote for tpd because everyone hates it. still probably the most i cried to a record last year

lol @ T Swift being so low - definitely fallen out of ILM favour!

xp It's not *that* bad!

The Soshi Takeda is sounding very lovely

first glass beach record was amazing so I'm happy to see them place even though I missed the new one

On first listen Glass Beach makes me think of maudlin of the Well ? it's certainly well written but I'm not sure I fully understand what they are going for

Clinic and early Radiohead.

TTPD is a lot better than Midnights, but it's also def time to find a different collaborator than Jack.

https://i.imgur.com/fqPHA79.png
70. Merope - Vėjula 146 points - 6 votes
The title, which translates as “breeze”, is a neat metaphor for these eight tracks’ lightness of touch and calm enrichment, whether that’s shivering exquisitely in “Namopi” or tilting at Alice Coltrane’s Kirtan: Turiya Sings with “Rana”, the luminous and trippy, epic closer. - Uncut

Kind of shocked by KLO. Probably would rank this third in her catalogue but it has some undeniable bangers.

And yes, thank you as always Moka/seandalai!

thank you pollrunners!!

Surprised to see Waxahatchee way down at #88. That one seemed to do pretty well in lots of year-end polls. I was kind of hoping Rosali had a chance. Oh well.

xp god fuckin dammit we WERE the only two Revelator voters wtf

Thanks again Moka and seandalai!

The Last Dinner Party placed higher than GNX

If there was an album cover poll Beak> would win this year in a landslide

Just catching up now, super psyched for Dresmstate to be so high. I’d stopped thinking it would show up. Wasn’t on a ton of EOY lists, and beyond the KLO thread here I wasn’t sure how much interest there was. I love it, it was actually my #2 as well, happy to be in sync.

thanks to the crew!

Dreamstate I mean, obv. And yes, thanks as always for the polling!

Thanks to the poll runners 👍🏽

Thanks Moka and seandalai!

awesome and interesting list ILM peeps! like always I can't wait to dive into so many of these that i haven't listed to yet.

listened*

thank you Moka and seandalai!!

Surprised to see Waxahatchee way down at #88. That one seemed to do pretty well in lots of year-end polls. I was kind of hoping Rosali had a chance. Oh well.

― o. nate, Friday, February 7, 2025 2:07 PM (fifty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Zach Bryan beating Waxahatchee is very unexpected based on my observations on this board the last few years.

Yeah, he doesn't even have his own thread. But he did place last year too (at #73) so there is a silent contingent of fans here I guess (including myself!)

Just finished listening to Brat for the first time (I was familiar with a couple of individual tracks). Pretty good, I could have voted for this.

dreamstate too low. higher and higher i go

Start the thread, o. nate!

Thanks seandalai and Moka!

oh wow so happy the julia holter record placed. such a beautiful and tender record. she also had some of the best live sound i’ve ever heard touring it.

people should also check out the fantastic tashi wada record for more holter

Surprising number of artists from my childhood whose records I didn't bother with this year.

Thanks again for all your toil Moka and seandalai!

Thanks again to the poll runners from me too.

Interesting results. A bit puzzled as to how this KLO album has proved so popular (not just on here) - to my ears, it's fine but no better or worse than her earlier records. I put the J Holter quite high on my ballot (mainly on the strength of the title song) but regretted that a bit afterwards; it's nowhere near as good as 'Aviary'.

Gutted that Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn and The High Llamas both just missed out. Both were high on my ballot.

the top two share a producer that’s fun

(george daniel)

I've not entirely sure what fell into place for Cindy Lee and Jessica Pratt in 2024. I mean they were on my ballot, but on release I probably would have predicted they'd again be hovering around #187 or something, where the murky indie usually lies. Certainly not my highest placing selections! (Obviously not complaining!)

i voted for charli, klo, julia holter, mk.gee, arooj aftab, and clarissa connelly

biggest shock is definitely kendrick not placing, did he just fall into a void where gnx was a really solid, enjoyable album that nonetheless wasn't as overwhelmingly good as his best material and so no one made room for it on their ballot because everyone assumed it would place super high by default? that's where it ended up for me

nilufer yanya having her highest placement yet for her worst album is surprising, i loved her previous albums but this one was just fine

where did this total blue album come from? i remember a little discussion somewhere and it's fine but i would have expected it to be at like 70 not top 20

cassandra jenkins album was nowhere near as good as her previous one

do not understand cindy lee at all, tuneless and soooo long, and the production sounds too harsh and digital for what it's going for, it needs some tape warmth

i can't believe i was the only vote for wizkid!

A bit puzzled as to how this KLO album has proved so popular (not just on here) - to my ears, it's fine but no better or worse than her earlier records

it's quite a pop move from her so that's going to have broader appeal than before

cassandra jenkins album was nowhere near as good as her previous one

it’s like way better

Pretty sure I for one didn't notice Total Blue until Resident Advisor's year-end thing. It's good at what it does.

i don't think i'm the only fanboy of the label that Total Blue was on and that was one of their strongest releases (outside of their amazing comps) since the Yu Su album and Gaussian Curve before that, both of which made the EOY 77 in their respective years

total blue was a philip sherburne favorite iirc

yeah, I think if you're tuned into that kind of stuff it was a really prominent album

nice to see Foxing just outside the top 77

nilufer yanya having her highest placement yet for her worst album is surprising, i loved her previous albums but this one was just fine

This.

I spent all of autumn driving with the Cindy Lee album in my car and heard nothing but okay demos.

Thanks to the poll runners and voters!

Apple Music playlist is updated: https://music.apple.com/ca/playlist/ilms-top-77-albums-2024/pl.u-xlyNjg2Tpp0Xld

Nice work poll runners,

My prediction for top 3 was done combination of Cassandra Jenkins, Charli XCX and The Cure. Although I voted for Kelly Lee Owen’s expected it to be in the 20s or 30s so shocked and pleased by its placing.

Of the top 20 Blood Incantation and Cindy Lee are unfamiliar, so need to check them out.

Yeah I did not get into the Nilufer Yanya album. Voted for “Like I Say” in tracks, but there weren’t that many other highlights for me.

I don’t know whether I like the Cassandra Jenkins more than the previous one, I love them both. An Overview had the excitement of new discovery (I’d never heard her first album), and MLMD had the pleasure of confirming she had more than one great album in her.

overview is full of great totally emotionally shattering songs but my light, my destroyer feels more well-rounded and dynamic to me. i'm not totally interested in which is better though, she's just a complete-package songwriter to me. devastating lyrics always held up by the perfect atmospheres for them

not a song between the two records that isn't worthy of being anyone else's best song

Thanks to Moka and seandalai for putting this together.

Really enjoyed the top 20 and was actually kind of surprised Charli won. I thought Cassandra Jenkins or The Cure might take it. It didn't seem like Brat was that much more popular on here than How I'm Feeling Now or even True Romance. It's a great album and a worthy winner, but she has a couple of stronger albums. Pop 2 remains her high point.

Relieved a couple of others didn't get the hype about Cindy Lee. There was just nothing interesting about that album to me. I barely got through it once and don't really plan on a second listen any time soon.

I think I'm on my own here thinking that this is Nilufer Yanya's best album. It just flows so well and there's no weak moments. I went back to her debut recently and it didn't grab me like it used to.

Magdalena Bay was my number one. I wasn't sure about it after a couple of listens, but then it clicked and I ended up loving it almost as much as Mercurial World which might be my favourite album of the decade at this point. They just seem like a really special band already. Jessica Pratt in second because seeing her live this year was absolutely magical. On Your Own Love is still my favourite of hers though.

Also voted for Beth Gibbons even though it's not quite as stunning as Out Of Season. It was a good year for people who have been around for a quite a while coming up with strong albums. Kim Deal, Pet Shop Boys, Saint Etienne and The Cure were also on my list. Have to agree with Imago that The Cure one is good, but only like they're seventh best album. Some of the reviews were a bit over the top. I'd put it on the same level as Bloodflowers.

Kelly Lee Owens is probably one of the biggest shocks I've seen on these lists. I always quite liked her. This felt like a huge step up and I was disappointed it didn't do that well critically. I genuinely had no idea it would even get close to the top 20 let alone number one. Such a great result.

Agree with ivy that the Cassandra Jenkins album was better than the previous one. The whole thing is just so beautifully executed. It's the songs like Delphinium Blue, Tape & Tissue and Only One that really drew me in with those sophisti-pop touches. All the songs contain moments that were absolutely breath-taking to me. I had it on repeat in November and had to stop myself from getting burned out on it. It went quite nicely with the Julia Holter album due to the production. Pleasantly surprised to see that one so high too. It's up there with her best.

Great list and maybe the strongest year of the decade so far. I would have said 2020 had, but too many of the albums I loved then have some bad associations.

thank you poll runners!

brutal last day

thoughts:
-count me in amongst the silent Zach Bryan fanbase here, pleasantly surprised he placed, did not expect that at all
-surprised MJ Lenderman polled so low, considering how beloved he is elsewhere

i got too swamped w/ work to participate in this, jealous that i didn't but oh well. proud of ilm for placing ttpd that low, i thought the swift voting bloc on here was loyal to a fault.

Yeah, I feel terrible for not particippating this year. But well done, everybody.
Was I the only person who really loved the Glorilla album though?

Not on my bingo card: best discovery in the top 20 turns out to be that Jenkins. Had always assumed she was imago enemy music but apparently she's actually good. Score one to you lot

I posted that and then Betelgeuse happened lol. It's okay. She's allowed that, just once

oh i really love that piece. gorgeous instrumental. listen to her previous record too lj

lol okay. tbf the music of that piece was still lovely, i sometimes think the lyrics (as there) are laid on a bit thick but i also sorta get that this is part of the point, a hyperrealisation of the signifier and all that