What a year 2024 has been for music. This year brought the return of the Vans Warped Tour, the When We Were Young Fest, the idobi Radio Summer School Tour, Sad Summer Festival, and so many amazing tours sprinkled throughout the year. From Oasis making a return to Chappell Roan taking the music world by storm to your favorite artist finally releasing that long-awaited album (cough cough, still waiting My Chemical Romance). Speaking of album releases, we here at Music Scene Media pride ourselves on having a diverse musical taste, so we asked some of our amazing members what they would call the best album release of the year to have been. Take that, Spotify! We are doing our own Wrapped this year! In no particular order, here we go...
Billie Eilish - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT
"The raw emotion Billie Eilish delivered on this project is other-worldly, it’s a massive step-up from anything she has done in the past. Whether you want songs you can dance to in the club, or songs you can cry to in the shower, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT covers all the bases." - Kaitlyn (Akela) Gahagan, Photographer
Song to Check Out - "THE GREATEST"
Post Malone - F-1 Trillion
"Posty can do it all— hip-hop, country, metalcore, who cares. He made my favorite country album I’ve ever listened to, it’s in regular rotation." - Jackson Tujo, Copy Editor and Photographer
Song to Check Out - "Right About You"
Fit For An Autopsy - The Nothing That Is
"Fit For An Autopsy (FFAA) has consistently pushed the envelope of the deathcore genre. Each release is truly a FFAA album while also having its own identity. The Nothing That Is is topical, heavy, raw, and everything the deathcore scene is missing." - Matt Benton, Assistant Editor
Song to Check Out - "Red Horizon"
Halsey - The Great Impersonator
"This album is truly a masterpiece, from the concept and its execution to the actual sound and lyrical abilities. Without even knowing if she'd live to see the album's release, Halsey put their actual blood, sweat, and tears into this album and created a work of art teeming with incredible levels of vulnerability." - Taylor Dakota, Assistant Editor
Song to Check Out - "I Believe in Magic"
mgk - Hotel Diablo: Floor 13 Edition
"While mgk's versatility and musical prowess truly wowed us this year more than ever, it was still fun to dive back into Hotel Diablo, which initially released when he was at the height of his rap era. Not to mention that he brought a few bonus tracks along, including the Sad Version of his hit track with Yungblud, 'I Think I'm OKAY'. This is more than an anniversary album, this is a work of art." - Melanie Williamson, Editor-in-Chief
Song to Check Out - "I Think I'm OKAY - Sad Version"
Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department
"This album is full of beautiful storytelling, making it difficult to pick just one 'favorite song' off of it." - Abby Crabill, Journalist
Song to Check Out - "Tortured Poets Department"
Maya Hawke - Chaos Angel
"The throwback to the indie-folk melodies of the mid-2000s married with sophisticated, deliberate, and thought-provoking lyricism, gives Chaos Angel an edge over contemporary releases of the same genre. In short, it offers something familiar yet at once different." - Ken Kongkatong, Photographer
Song to Check Out - "Big Idea"
Ariana Grande - eternal sunshine
"Ariana Grande's eternal sunshine is beautifully honest and vulnerable. In my opinion, it is her best album since Dangerous Woman." - Gabrielle Groves, Journalist
Song to Check Out - "we can't be friends (wait for your love)"
Exuvial - The Hive Mind Chronicles - Part I: Parasitica
"This record reminds me of when I first heard bands like The Faceless and Meshuggah who were always pushing the envelope while also applying groove and melody. The same goes for the concept and lyrical theme of the record, which the writer in me admires." - Kevin Young, Journalist
Song to Check Out - "Necrotic Dissolution"
Alex Unger - Personal
"It's the perfect mix of groovy and chill. It's subtle enough for background music but vibes enough to engulf you and set the mood." - Mike Kessel, Photo Editor
Song to Check Out - "All I Wanna Do"
Sabrina Carpenter - Short n' Sweet
"Absolute pop perfection! This album really resonated with me, and I think a lot of people, of how to navigate relationships in your twenties." - Kiera Gower, Journalist
Song to Check Out: "Sharpest Tool"
Haley Heynderickx - Seed of a Seed
"On her sophomore release, Seed of a Seed, Heynderickx continues to weave beautiful webs of words that paint gorgeous pictures so effortlessly. With a mastery of lyricism akin to Adrienne Lenker, Heynderickx flourishes with another album that’s thought provoking, view-shifting, and has such deep roots to explore." - Dylan Wallace, Photographer
Song to Check Out - "Redwoods (Anxious God)"
INTRO BY - MATT BENTON
GRAPHIC BY - AJ HERRERA
LIST COMPILED BY - MELANIE WILLIAMSON
SUBMISSIONS BY - THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD
