Julianne’s Favorite Music of 2024

As many have noted, 2024 has been a harrowing year: between worldwide genocide plus a fairly devastating U.S. election, it felt like nothing less than teetering on a precipice. Simultaneously and perhaps relatedly, it was a bountiful year for incredible music. In lieu of publishing a massive, ranked Best of 2024 list, over the next five days the co-founders of Hearing Things will each publish our own individual lists of songs, albums, live shows, and other assorted phenomena we loved this year. Part of this is because we are building our site from the ground up, rather than as one big, overarching perspective from on high. We wanted to further reflect each of our personal tastes—the same ethos that dictated our list of 100 Songs That Define Our Decade So Far. 

My list is alphabetical, rather than ranked. Not to sound lofty about it, but I’m trying to divest from hierarchical culture wherever I can. And to be honest, I’ve never really loved ranking my favorites—mainly because I think all of my favorites are the absolute best. Music is so subjective, as are the circumstances in which a person listens to it, that it’s always felt weird to me to lay out the way one piece of great work has more or less value than another by simple rank. (I’m a writer! I hate numbers!!!)

But I do love making lists in general, because I’m a freak and a nerd, and one of the driving facets of my whole career has been telling people about great shit they might not have otherwise heard. So my strategy for this year-end list is simply: a lot of obscure-ish gems I loved in 2024, and a handful of populist faves. I kept it focused on songs, in some cases because the artists in question haven’t yet released a mixtape or an album (if they ever choose to at all), but also because it reflects how I usually listen to music—perhaps in part due to streaming’s devaluation of albums, but mostly because I grew up in the era of FM radio, when a “single” really meant a “single.” Here are my 2024 faves.