My 15 Favorite Songs of 2024
What are my favorite songs of 2024? It’s hard to say, because taste is subjective. Also, now that I have kids, I can’t keep up with new releases: Several of my favorite songs of 2024 actually came out in 2023 (ahem, Chappell Roan!).
But for the purposes of this list, I did two things: I stuck to 2024 releases, and I didn’t include the songs put out by my friends or their bands (or me or my band). What I ended up with is a list that embraces all genres and gives a little glimpse into my personal taste. Thanks to my kids, I was exposed to so much music that wouldn’t have normally been on my radar.
With that in mind, here are my top 15 favorite songs of 2024:
#15: Billie Eilish, “Lunch“
I was determined to keep this list to 15 songs. But this proved harder than I expected. My 15th favorite song was originally a three-way tie between Eilish’s “Lunch” and “Wildflower” and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.” Then “Lunch” latched itself into my brain and stayed there. I love this song not just for the beat and the lyrics, but because we’re finally seeing Eilish shed her inhibitions, come into her own, and find herself.
#14: Castle Black, “Fly (Just Try)”
Layered with heavy guitars, vocal harmonies, and a kickass drumbeat, this single from the NYC rock duo Castle Black’s 2024 full length album The Highway at Night is the most intense. It’s also a personal song for vocalist/guitarist Leigh Celent: It written largely about her experience with endometriosis, adenomyosis, and fibroids. The song is a conversation with the body – going through various emotions with the part that is failing you and ultimately pleading with the parts that are still reachable to turn things around.
#13: Hozier, “Too Sweet”
The first single off the fifth studio album from Irish singer-songwriter Hozier is soulful, with a groovy retro beat. I also take my coffee black.
#12: Laura Jane Grace, “Razorblade Blues”
This track is one of the most memorable off darkly humorous rockabilly EP Give an Inch. It’s absolutely the best when the Against Me! vocalist shouts, “I know you’ve got your secrets” and then segues into a catchy rockabilly guitar riff, I’m in.
#11: Olivia Rodrigo, “Obsessed”
The obsession with a lover’s ex is taboo — but we all have it. Olivia Rodrigo’s just the first pop star in recent memory to admit it in this fun, rock-pop hit.
#10: Billi Royce, “Perfume (Glory Pt. 2)”
Like so much of the music I listen to these days, “Perfume (Part 2)” found its way into this list by way of my 12-year-old son, who streamed it in my car on the way to a baseball game over the spring. Royce is the next Kid LAROI, with the bruised ego, unmistakable voice, and charming immaturity.
#9: Gojira, “Mea Culpa”
Gojira made history as the first metal band to ever perform at the Olympic Games during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France on July 26 – and it was glorious Gojira’s rain drenched performance atop the Concierge’s castle balconettes, as the beheaded Marie Antoinettes looked on? I’ve never seen something so metal! The band was joined by French-Swiss mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti and nearly 300 classical musicians.
#8: Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Shaboozey’s catchy genre-nonspecific hit song 20 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the biggest hits of 2024. Over the summer, I heard it everywhere I went, from the parking lot of a Walker Hayes concert to the local punk-leaning dive bar. It’s a brilliantly simple, artistic debut from an artist with so much promise.
#7: Beyoncé, “Texas Hold ’Em”
When word got out that Bey was releasing a country album, no one knew what to expect. But in this case, that album — Cowboy Carter — was more monumental than most country records. Between a smart, updated cover of “Jolene” (and a Dolly Parton cameo) to the robust “16 Carriages,” the 78-minute album did not disappoint. The sweetest of the ear candy is the first single, “Texas Hold ’Em” — a playful celebration of the Black roots of country music.
#6: Benson Boone, “Beautiful Things”
Who hasn’t sung along with “Beautiful Things” at the top of their lungs at some point in 2024? This sweet song, which garnered 1.43 billion+ streams since its release, gives listeners all the feels. It truly evokes a sense of gratitude for the universe/God’s gifts, even when there is a fear that they’ll suddenly get taken away. I love this song so much, and so does Lana Del Rey. Check out the writeup Rolling Stone did about the Del Rey’s duet with Boone at the Hangout Fest.
#5: Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”
This song is so good, and I’m so grateful my son Nathan turned me onto it! I know little about the apparent beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, but I love the samples, references, and literary brilliance this tune exudes. Lamar is a master of his craft. It’s also fun to sing along to, on the way to baseball games (though, as a parent, I insist we skip certain parts).
#4: Jessie Murph, “Son of a Bitch“
Jessie Murph’s just 20 years old, but the singer-songwriter’s star power is undeniable. “Son of a Bitch,” off Murph’s 2024 debut album, That Ain’t No Man That’s the Devil is a cool, seething, slow burning feminist rage anthem. It’s the best.
#3: Jaimee Danger & The Dynamite, “Snake Bite”
This fiery punk song from a mom-fronted Rhode Island band Jaimee Danger & The Dynamite makes me feel alive every time I play it! Jaimee is a vocal powerhouse who can belt it out with the best of them. I loved this song the first time I heard it (the acoustic version in early 2024), and still play it constantly, possibly on every other car drive to band practice.
#2: Linkin Park, “The Emptiness Machine”
There’s been so much angst among Linkin Park fans over the decision to hire Emily Armstrong (Dead Sara) as a co-lead vocalist with Mike Shinoda, but she absolutely kills it in this track. Her voice is guttural, vulnerable, powerful – and a perfect contrast to Shinoda’s whinier tones and the band’s textures. “The Emptiness Machine” is perfect.
#1: Chappell Roan, “Good Luck, Babe”
I love everything about this song, the first Chappell Roan single I ever heard, and the one that made me a Chappell Roan mega fan (who dominated my Spotify “Wrapped”). Her head voice and the song’s synth beats takes me back to 1980s Kate Bush, and the lyrical kicker, “You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling” just gives this good, fun pop tune its unexpected depth.
A few other amazing tunes worth mentioning (from 2022 and 2023)
In addition to my top 15 favorites, there are a few others I need to mention, because they are so awesome (though they technically came out one or two years ago):
HONORABLE MENTION #1: Chappell Roan, “Red Wine Supernova”
Hands down, this song about a girl crushing on a hot girl was my real favorite song of 2024, closely followed by “Pink Pony Club” and my own song “Dairy Queen.”
HONORABLE MENTION #2: The Beaches, “Blame Brett”
The hook is everything from this Canadian band’s pretty, melodic breakout hit with biting lyrics and a female lead vocalist taking the vantage point of the scorned ex who’s bent on revenge via sexual escapades sans emotions. Fun fact: The all-female quartet was together for 12 years before this song went viral in late 2023.
HONORABLE MENTION #3: Grace Potter, “Lady Vagabond”
“Lady Vagabond” (the sixth singe off Potter’s 2023 album, Mother Road) is amazing – I can’t believe I missed it when it came out. But I’m grateful I heard it over the spring. outlaw-style anthem is an absolute masterpiece on every level, and easily cracks into my list of top-ten Grace Potter favorites.
HONORABLE MENTION #4: Jessie Murph & Jelly Roll, “Wild Ones”
The first time (in 2024) that I heard her high-pitched crooning in “Wild Ones,” her 2023 duet with Jelly Roll, I became an instant fan of the American singer-songwriter from Huntsville, Alabama. Jelly Roll’s a great duet partner here, too.
HONORABLE MENTION #5: The Dare, “Girls”
I just heard this song for the first time, like, an hour ago, and I’m already so obsessed that I’m putting it into a dozen playlists. It’s like Peaches’ “Two Guys for Every Girl” meets Cake’s “Short Skirt/Long Jacket.” Technically, this breakout hit was released in 2022 and it’s a TikTok viral sensation that’s sparked the resurgence of the indie-sleaze NYC music scene. I can’t wait to hear the other tracks on The Dare’s 2024 album, What’s Wrong with New York?
