Longtime readers of my piffle and tripe here will know that I am diligent, verging on obsessive, about posting year-end “Best Album” lists, at times in print, at times online, but always like clockwork, annually since 1992. I generally compile my year-end lists in early December, on the presumption that I need to live with an album for a month, at least, before I declare it among the best things I heard over the course of a given year. If something magnificent reveals itself in December, then I’ll do an update/addendum post early in the following year. While this practice is, on one plane, just an ossified habit, it does actually serve a valuable (to me) purpose: It requires me to keep abreast of the very latest and greatest musical happenings in the world around me, rather than spending the last half of my life listening to the music that most moved me when I was 15 years old, as is often the equally ossified habit for my demographic cohort. (I just listen to that good old stuff sometimes, not all the time).

Last year’s Best Albums list was posted on November 30, 2023, six months and one week ago, meaning that it’s time for a mid-year summary report of things that have stirred me thus far in 2024, and which have a reasonable probability of ending up on the final year-end list. I don’t do full reviews at the mid-year point, just a listing (in alphabetical order by artist name), along with a Spotify playlist with one song from each entry, so you may sample them singly or en masse. I also link the album titles to either the artists’ homepages, or to to their Bandcamp pages, for further exploration. In addition to the year’s best albums, I also note a few standalone singles or EPs out now, most of which are teasers for albums to follow later in the year.

And with all of that as preamble, here’s my list:

Best Albums of 2024 (First Half):

• A Certain Ratio, It All Comes Down to This
• The Bogmen, In My Kingdom
• Chemtrails, The Joy of Sects
• Corridor, Mimi
• Crowded House, Gravity Stairs
• Einstürzende Neubauten, Rampen (apm: alien pop music)
• Hawkwind, Stories From Time and Space
• HOUSE Of ALL, Continuum
• Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Past Is Still Alive
• Imperial Wax, Tranquilliser
• The Last Dinner Party, Prelude to Ecstasy
• Melts, Field Theory
• Ministry, HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES
• Mdou Moctar, Funeral for Justice
• Modern English, 1 2 3 4
• Outer World, Who Does the Music Love?
• Nadine Shah, Filthy Underneath
• TORRES, What an enormous room
• Jane Weaver, Love in Constant Spectacle
• Yard Act, Where’s My Utopia?

Best Non-Album Singles/EPs of 2024 (First Half):

• Craig Benedict Valentine Badynee, “Golden Country”
• John Cale, “Shark-Shark”
• Max Eider, “All Shall Be Well” (EP)
• The The, “Cognitive Dissident”
• Ween, “Junkie Boy“

And here’s a Spotify sampler playlist with one song from each of the 25 releases cited above:

I think 2024 has offered quite a plethora of riches thus far, some from new-to-me artists, some from old favorites sharing exciting new material. As always, when I publish lists like this one, I welcome your feedback on what I’ve shared, and your pointers on what I’ve missed. Always happy to get good recommendations for good music!