In the blink of an eye another year has gone by. While 2024 has been a great time for albums, physical copies of discs have been largely replaced by streaming. Below is my list of 13 of the year’s best country, rock, and pop records. I have left off platters by multimillion-selling artists such as Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter because their discs are so well-known—and properly so. These artists created marvelous music well worth hearing for its creativity and flair. My list focuses on the more obscure records released this year that deserve a wider audience. Some were by famous artists such as Willie Nelson and others by less recognized individuals such as Tucker Zimmerman, but all of them resonate with talent and charisma. I’ve listed them alphabetically to avoid comparing them to each other. It shouldn’t be done!
Leon Bridges, Leon. With his smooth voice and soulful style, Leon Bridges is frequently compared to Otis Redding. But Bridges is no retro artist. He keeps things fresh through his tough but tender vocals and his ability to craft songs that would be equally at home on the country or R&B charts.
Grayson Capps, Heartbreak, Misery & Death. Grayson Capps acoustically covers 16 songs he loved as a youth. The disc includes everything from folk classics such as “Barbara Allen” and country hits like the Louvin Brothers’ “Wreck on the Highway” to Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain.” Capps’s low voice brings out the seriousness of the songs in the way he once heard them as a kid. Don’t let the dark album title fool you. He’s having fun.
Madi Diaz, Weird Faith. Madi Diaz sings like she’s revealing her innermost secrets. The expressive lyrics dig deeply into her insecurities, while her musical accompaniment keeps things hopeful. Diaz sees the humor in pathos, even when she’s examining her own thoughts and feelings.
Sierra Ferrell, Trail of Flowers. Sierra Ferrell’s second album proves her wonderful debut disc was no fluke. Trail of Flowers may be rooted in bluegrass, but Ferrell expands her palate, going from old-time country to contemporary singer-songwriter fare without missing a beat. She has a charismatic presence that makes one smile even when she narrates spooky or silly tales.
Hurray for the Riff Raff, The Past Is Still Alive. Bandleader and singer-songwriter Alynda Segarra (a.k.a. Hurray for the Riff Raff) takes the listener on a personal journey in which memory and myth mix. The music is full of hooks, as her past tugs at her present sense of who she is and what has formed her.
Iron & Wine, Light Verse. Sam Beam (a.k.a. Iron & Wine) presents first album of new songs in six years, noting that life happens “All in Good Time” (as he sings in a duet with Fiona Apple). As the album title suggests, the songs here are light in the best sense of the word. They uplift the listener. We have suffered enough—whether from Covid, climate change, or politics. Now is the time to smile.
Sarah Jarosz, Polaroid Lovers. Native Texan Sarah Jarosz left her New York City home for Nashville and added a twang to her music. Her voice sparkles as the folk conventions of the past have been replaced by pop-country elegance. Her songwriting and playing have never been better.
Miranda Lambert, Postcards from Texas. Miranda Lambert’s pioneering early work is responsible for the recent renaissance in contemporary country music by women. Without her, there would be no Lainey Wilson, Hailey Whitters, and Carrie Underwood. Lambert’s far from done. Her newest disc finds her still kicking butt. She sings about bad behavior and romance in a voice that recalls the classic country of a previous era.
Willie Nelson, Last Leaf on the Tree. This is the 91-year-old artist’s 153rd album and 76th solo studio release—and it’s among his best! Nelson covers songs by artists as distinctive as Tom Waits, Keith Richards, and Neil Young, and makes them his own through his rough but ready vocals and resolute guitar playing. He sounds older than he once was for good effect as he unflinchingly lays his soul on the line.
Linda Thompson, Proxy Music. Linda Thompson suffers from spasmodic dysphonia, which makes it difficult for her to speak. As the album’s title coyly suggests, she penned these songs for other people to sing. These vocalists include her son and daughter, Teddy and Kami Thompson, and various members of her expanded musical family: Wainwright siblings Rufus and Martha, as well the Unthanks, Dori Freeman, the Proclaimers, John Grant, and Eliza Carthy. Her ex-husband Richard also cowrote a song. The album is a modern folk-rock classic.
Frank Turner, Undefeated. Folk-punk rocker Frank Turner is best known for his energetic live performances, but he has also put out a number of wonderful albums full of tales of introspection and observation about what it means to be an activist and a sensitive songwriter in these crazy times. He is currently out on tour (again). This disc will inspire us until he comes back to our area.
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Woodland. Woodland gets its name from the East Nashville recording studio that Welch and Rawlings operated for more than 20 years before it was destroyed in a tornado. These new, self-penned songs suggest the wisdom learned by starting over: remembering the past and moving forward by seeing time frozen in a tableau of modern existence. Everything here has already been done and yet is not finished, in the best sense of visionary experience.
Tucker Zimmerman, Dance of Love. To call 83-year-old Tucker Zimmerman obscure would be an understatement. His latest album comes 55 years after his first, and it would probably never have seen the light of day without the assistance of post-modern rockers Big Thief and Adrianne Lenker, who contribute their talents to Zimmerman’s poetic and whimsical psychedelic anthems.
So Much to Choose From
Narrowing down the list of 2024’s best albums to 13 probably says more about me than the music itself. Most of these titles are personal and soothing. Dozens of other wonderful titles could have been easily added to this list, including albums by Kacey Musgraves, Laura Marling, St. Lenox, Julia Holter, Jack White, Adrianne Lenker, Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman, Johnny Blue Skies, Diana Panton, and Tish Hinojosa.
Some critics say the best art emerges during difficult times. That seems to be the case this year.