It’s insane that each year, the list I’ve compiled of my favorite songs I’ve heard over the last twelve months seems to get longer longer, making it all the harder to choose a Top 100. As of writing this, my full list has nearly 300 songs on it. Deciding what makes the final cut is an internal struggle with a list of factors leading to the final decision. Genre is not one of those factors: these songs run the spectrum. There’s a mix of old and new artists, indie and major label.
At the end of the day, it’s all subjective, but these are the first fifty of our Top 100 songs of 2024 that you should hear before the year ends.
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Top Songs of 2024: 100 – 51:
100. Rakim – Pendulum Swing (feat. KXNG Crooked, Canibus, La The Darkman, Chino XL)
The famed OG rapper drops a nearly 7-minute opus, trading insanely good versus with a number of his young peers, including the late Chino XL.
99. Bad Flower – Detroit
The perils of post-success depression are turned into a universally relatable track about the search for true satisfaction in the world. And it’s a damn catchy bop on top of that.
98. The Goodwin Club – See All Color
Joyful ska-infused pop-punk from this veteran group making a fine return.
97. Amy Shark – My Only Friend (feat. Tom DeLonge)
The Australian alt pop songstress completes her blink-182 collaboration trilogy, bringing on DeLonge for this haunting, (possibly) romantic shoegazey ballad.
96. Big B – Sidecar (feat. Peachole, G. Love & Special Sauce)
The alt. rapper brings along G. Love and Peachole for quirky, ska-lite pop nugget that easily wins you over.
95. TRAMP – The Birds (Lowered Suspension)
The Irish punk band calls out toxic masculinity with one of the best hook lines of the year (“Birds of a feather catcall together”).
94. SYML – The Walker
SYML continues to be a master of quiet, meditative and moving tracks, with this piano-led ballad hitting all the right emotional marks.
93. Gary Clark Jr. – Maktub
Clark set out to prove he was more than just an excellent blues guitarist on his latest album, and songs like this hypnotic, afrobeat-inspired number proved there is no box you can put Clark into that he won’t break out of.
92. Marvelous 3 – Psalm of the Summer
Butch Walker‘s 90’s power pop group continues their miraculous return, with this surprisingly upbeat yet still moving tribute song to a fallen comrade.
91. Pearl Jam – Wreckage
The grunge survivors find their inner-Tom Petty, adding a coating of heartland rock to this stand-out from their latest album.
90. Cock Sparrer – Take it On the Chin
These British Oi punks galavanted back into the world this year with the kind of snarky, street punk anthems like “Take it On the Chin” that are so good, you’ll want to go out and protest Thatcher.
89. The Libertines – Oh Shit
There was a time when a Libertines record in 2024 would have seemed like a fantasy. Thankfully the band got their shit figured out to record new songs like the wild, cheeky Britpop blast “Oh Shit”.
88. Kacey Musgraves – Cardinal
Musgraves has never sounded less country or more interesting than on this ethereal, 60’s-tinged folk track.
87. Billy Joel – Turn the Lights Back On
Decades after his last original song, the Piano Man triumphantly returned with this smooth, romantic serenade that fits perfectly into his catalog.
86. The Black Crowes – Flesh Wound
The Robinson brothers finally patched things up, and the fraternal harmony shines through on this jubilant Southern rocker.
85. LAIR – Boa-Boa
Psychedelic sitars and funky bass drives this track from the innovative Indonesian soul/funk outfit.
84. The Cure – I Can Never Say Goodbye
Robert Smith battles the grief from the death of his brother on this haunting, heartbreaking track from the band’s great new album.
83. Sum 41 – Waiting on a Twist of Fate
Hard-hitting bubblegum punk rock from the Canadian band’s grand final album that you will be looking forward to singing along to ten years from now when the band decides to reunite for a tour.
82. DJ Moves – Remember the Old School (feat. Buck 65, Hub City, Bird Acres)
Old school hip-hop and funky soul collide in this modern, throwback-style jam.
81. Mercy Union – 1998
Punk goes acoustic on this heart-tugging track from these New Jersey rockers.
80. Madi Diaz – Weird Faith
A hopeful hymn and thoughtful treatise on love from Diaz’s excellent new album.
79. Dustin Kensrue – The Heart of Sedona
The Thrice frontman delves deeper into his love of country-western and Americana music on this gorgeous track, while never losing the eerie melodies that have always helped him stand out.
78. Daisea – Cherry Blossoms
A near perfect dream pop track from this Indonesian band that would give The Cranberries a run for their money.
77. Pacific Radio – Cherokee
The Los Angeles rockers write a wonderfully rowdy jukebox singalong track.
76. J Mascis – What Do We Do Now
The Dinosaur Jr. frontman is wistful on this lovely acoustic track from his latest solo album.
75. Jeen – Fade and Fading
Mesmerizing indie rock track from one of Canada’s best kept secrets.
74. Sam Fender – People Watching
The British stadium rocker returned with another epic, E Street indebted jam. That sax sounds oh so sweet.
73. Ghost – The Future is a Foreign Land
The theatrical Swedish hard rockers mash slinky surf guitar, dark folk melodies and verses about the shooting of the Kennedy’s for a wild, memorable soul rock track.
72. Holly Humberstone – Easy Tiger
A beautiful, acoustic tunes about the struggles of depression from one of the best up-and-coming artists out of the UK.
71. Ghost Work – Erase the Morning
This indie/alternative supergroup dropped this anthemic track earlier this year that sounds like if Joy Division had written stadium rock songs.
70. The Ghost Club – If I Fell (Don’t Wait Here For Me)
A couple years in, and these rockers are already making stadium-ready jam, filled with soaring vocals and E Street sax.
69. Side Saddle – Moving Out West
There’s an intoxicating excitement imbued in this upbeat folk rock tune that is irresistible.
68. Kevin Kennedy III – INside OUT
From its chill guitar work and snapping beat, to its 90’s slacker vocals, real life globetrotter Kennedy has written the mellow, melancholy escapist anthem of the year.
67. Maddie Zahm – Little Me
Zahm’s lyrics cut deep here, examining insecurities and past trauma in a brutally honest way that leaves a mark.
66. Maggie Rogers – Don’t Forget Me
We’ll never forget Rogers as long as she keeps writing gorgeous, folk pop ballads like this.
65. Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties – Paying Bills at the End of the World
Folksy punk about entrenched societal fears and surviving in the modern world that is all-too-relatable.
64. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – Center of Me
Rateliff has never sounded more wistful than on this acoustic track from his excellent new album.
63. The Funeral Portrait – Suffocate City (feat Spencer Charnas)
A swaggering hard rock tune that is equal parts Sunset Strip bombast and dirty basement grunge.
62. Sarah and the Safe Word – Pornstar Martini
Big band horns, punk percussion and swaggering doo pop vocals make this one of the most wild and wildly fun tracks of 2024.
61. Tonto – Liverpool
Catchy Britpop with the kind of lackadaisical rock vocals that made Liam Gallagher into an icon.
60. MJ Lenderman – She’s Leaving You
Lenderman’s wry lyrical humor (“Believe that Clapton was the second coming”) only helps beget a thoughtful prose on picking oneself up and moving on after a relationship’s end.
59. Jensen McCrae – Massachusettes
McCrae has a wonderful way of exposing the mixed feelings that can come when looking back at an ex; describing the kinds of triggers and things missed that make her such a fantastically visceral songwriter.
58. Benjamin Francis Leftwich – Spokane, Washington
The loneliness is palpable here, as Leftwich writes a letter home, only for a more tear-jerking revelation to unravel as the song does.
57. King Stingray – Cat 5 (Cyclone)
Like TV on the Radio after taking some happy pills, this Australian group wrote one of the sunniest alternative songs of the year.
56. Max Bianco – Sometimes
Channeling Dylan, this UK troubadour treatise on his metal health struggles is both sad and hopeful, as he leaves a shining light on at the end of the tunnel.
55. Dubinski – New York Arizona and This
The Scottish group will have your head bobbing with this mid-tempo post-punk sing along.
54. Growing Stone – No Substitute
“Sold off all my blue chip stock, I’m meeting you at five o’clock. Your silhouette against the spring, I swear that you could wear most anything.” One of the most romantic and serene indie rock songs of the year? Most definitely.
53. Travis – The Bus
The British troupe channel The Hollies and other 60’s psych-pop greats on this stand-out track from their latest album.
52. dePresno – Dance the Darkness Away
With all the dark times we’ve had this year, this is the kind of hopeful folk pop track we need to look forward to better days.
51. SEB – last great American summer
Woozy alt-pop that embodies what a laidback summer should feel like. This is one to chill out to while resting in your sun chairs by the pool.
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Hear these first fifty tunes in our Top Songs of 2024 Playlist, and return tomorrow for #50 – #1!
The Indy Review 
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