Top 20 Songs of 2024

Now it’s time for the most wonderful time of the year; not Christmas or New Years, end of year lists! Time to relive all of the amazing music released over the past 12 months and format it from greatest to less-great, starting off with the top songs released this year.

This isn’t necessarily going to be what my most listened to songs of the year are, just the songs that struck me the most. Whether it’s primarily based on the song's production, lyricism, vocal ability or a combination of everything, these are the songs I believe to be the best released this year. And it will be one song per-album this time as opposed to the usual one-per-artist.

20.     The Key Is Under The Mat - Armand Hammer

This is the first year I have properly delved into Billy Woods’ music and he has been one of my favourite musical discoveries ever. His chemistry with Elucid is unbelievable, mainly due to the fact both of their deliveries tend to work best with the same dark and brooding production, making for an all-time-great Hip-Hop duo. 

This song might have my favourite instrumental of the year. It’s so spacious and ominous, perfectly complimenting the underground duo’s cryptic lyricism. 

This song being one of the final tracks on the album means it does it’s best to wrap up themes of isolation talked across the record, ending it on a darker tone through lines such as “Double-stabbing, all that poured out was sadness”.

19.     Saturn - SZA

Now as this is being written, SZA has released her long-awaited deluxe to her 2022 album ‘SOS’ titled ‘LANA’. Some songs on that record with time could overtake this song as her best of the year, but as of right now this track takes the cake.

The instrumental is so lush and atmospheric, as if you are very-fittingly floating through space. And SZA’s voice man. She is unarguably one of the best vocalists of the generation. The way she effortlessly shifts from very low-fi, chill vocals in the pre-chorus to hitting such amazing notes in the chorus is ridiculous.

18.     Add Up My Love - Clairo

Clairo’s whole album was a highlight of the year (stay tuned for that list) however this song was the one that stuck with me the most. 

The combination of the addictive piano melody, tempo-setting percussion, subtle woodwind sections, occasional strings during the chorus and, above all else, Clairo’s amazing vocals create this really beautiful and classy soundscape. 

An instant hit with me and has stayed in consistent rotation since its release.

17.     360 - Charli xcx

One of the catchiest songs of the year by far and another instant hit to me. This song, although being the first song on BRAT, was the track that instantly grasped my attention during my first listen.

It isn’t the most complex song on the album instrumentally by a long shot, but it’s got a super addictive instrumental with some very catchy flows from Charli. It’s perfect to get you hooked into the album and gives a great taster sample of Charli’s personality and charisma that she showcases across the record.

16.     Waiting In Vain (Cover) - Daniel Caesar

A wonderful modern r&b twist on a beautiful reggae classic. Made as part of the soundtrack for the biopic ‘Bob Marley: One Love’, this track really stood out on that whole soundtrack.

This cover turns a song that originally has a more joyful tone to the idea of moving on from a past lover to a more desperate and longing approach to this idea. Daniel conveys this emotion so well in his music through both his vocal tonalities and his choice of slower and more methodical production. 

A fantastic cover to an already timeless song.

15.     CATFISH - Doechii

Doechii is by far one of the most exciting artists going in hip-hop today and this track is such a perfect example of that. She had such a fantastic year it was so difficult to choose which song from her to include, but I ended up choosing this energy filled track. 

She balances such a perfect line of energy and aggression on this track. The hook is so fun and bouncy before getting into the verses where she would gradually get more aggressive as each verse progresses. Just overall such a fun and addictive song to listen to.

14.    Pi - J. Cole feat. Daylyt & Ab-Soul

Whilst it is fair to say Cole’s 2024 as a whole was left with mixed feelings, this song still provides one of the best verses of the whole year. 

This track is a lyrical onslaught from all three voices. Soul and Daylyt have really nice chemistry on the first verse, bouncing off of each other effortlessly. Then when Cole kicks in on the back half he spits his greatest verse since the infamous ‘Johnny P’s Caddy’ feature and subsequently one of his greatest of all time. 

13.     SONJE - Mach-Hommy

It was difficult to choose just which song from Mach’s album to include on here, however this song has one of my favourite Mach performances ever.

I’m so used to Mach having a slower, more methodical delivery in his music, akin to that of Roc Marciano or Billy Woods. But on the second verse of this song he goes absolutely insane. I adore a run-on flow and this second verse is a top-tier example of how well that can be done. 

It starts off as your classic run-on flow but as it progresses you can hear the patterns in his cadences and it just gets me every time. Such a fantastic verse and overall an amazing song.

12.     Cranes In The Sky (Cover) - Khamari

A cover of the beautiful Solange song of the same name, and I’m inclined to say this cover is better.

This is one of the strongest covers I have possibly ever heard. It has a different tone from the original which Khamari uses to give the song its own identity. 

I love both songs so much, but I just think Khamari’s powerful and melancholic vocals combined with the sombre strings and scattering percussion make for a more impactful listen. But not to put down the original cause Solange wrote a beautiful track. 

11.     Jack Frost - Nicholas Craven & Boldly James

Whenever Boldy puts some more bounce into his flow it’s always so surprising, but equally as enjoyable. 

His use of punching-in on this track is so impressive, not only making his verse flow smoother but also acting as an extra kick in the verse, in addition to the bounces in the instrumental. Just like Mach, I’m so used to hearing Boldy as a more methodical, almost monotonous rapper but he fits this tone of track just as well as his usual style.

That is in no small help to Nicholas Craven too. He provides one of my favourite instrumentals of the year with this one, using some very springy 808s in addition to the effective chops of the sample and fairly faint drums to create an awesome beat.

10.     HIGHJACK - A$AP Rocky

Definitely one of my most played songs of the year. It’s just a triumphant banger.

Jessica Pratt does a really nice job to add atmosphere to the song, but the star is obviously Flacko himself. This song is packed with bars, has one of the most entertaining flows of the year and is overall just an incredibly catchy rap song.

It would have ended as such an incredible year for Rocky if ‘Don’t Be Dumb’ was released. Maybe we will get it in 2025 but I have my doubts.

9.     Black&Blue - Vince Staples

This being the first proper track on Vince’s album ‘Dark Times’ means it acts as a real tone-setter for the proceeding experience.

The instrumental itself is fairly neutral in tone, it's Vince’s deadpan, depressive delivery that sets the mood of the track. Combining this delivery with the lyrical content of Vince questioning where thugs and people in gangs end up after death creates a really dispiriting and almost hopeless sounding song. 

Vince is lyrically super sharp still in this track. His flow is very smooth and fits the instrumental perfectly and in the second verse he has some nice call backs to Tupac’s track ‘Thugz Mansion’ of the same concept when he said: “To the Heavens above, is it a mansion for thugs?”

8.     Like Him - Tyler, The Creator feat. Lola Young

I talked a lot about the lyrical content of this song already in my review of 'Chromakopia', but sonically this song is just as amazing. 

Tyler has such a great ear for building up to a chorus and paying off that build-up amazingly. Every instance of the chorus kicking in you can feel it in your soul. 

As for Tyler’s vocals, I love the high inflection he goes for. It makes it feel like he is singing from the perspective of himself as a child speaking to his mother, which fits with the lyrics.

Lola Young also adds so much atmosphere to the song whenever she comes in. Her inclusion is very faint up until the very last verse where by the end she is belting out as much as Tyler which makes for this beautiful harmony.

7.     THank god 4 me - ScHoolboy Q

This is one of the most dynamic listening experiences for any song released this year.

Content-wise it’s nothing too special, mainly just Q thanking God for everything in his life before being very prideful about his lifestyle and flexing on everyone.

The real joy in this track is the production and Q’s technical proficiency. The beat switch has a nice build up before dropping into this 808-heavy beat that Q just glides over. This beat eventually transitions into the very first instrumental we heard again, and Q, being a top-tier rapper, seamlessly caters his flow to this new tempo. 

Just an overall awesome song, super fun to listen to and even more impressive from a technical standpoint.

6. THE GREATEST - Billie Eilish

A stunning, soft ballad that turns into an extravagant art-pop, bordering art-rock epic. This is one of the best pop songs of the decade so far.

Billie uses sarcasm to express her sadness about a failed relationship, talking about how she gave her all and truly loved this person just for them to not reciprocate any passion, not even after the split. It perfectly encapsulates the feelings of heartbreak, defeat and yearning for some appreciation. 

5.     euphoria - Kendrick Lamar

The best track from the Kendrick and Drake beef from earlier in the year. This song was not just a warning shot for what K-Dot could reveal about Drake but also its own showcase of lyrical prowess.

If I were to get into the disses them-self it would take up so much of this post’s space so I’d recommend looking into most of them yourself. However in general, Dot’s pen is top notch here.

His flow is immaculate on all three different beats and his clever wordplay makes for some great disses such as “Yeah f*** all that pushin' P, let me see you push a T, You better off spinnin' again on him, you think about pushin' me”.

4.    either on or off the drugs - JPEGMAFIA

This is one of the most creative tracks of the year, by possibly the most clever and innovative artist around right now.

Peggy samples an AI generated blues song ‘Turn On The Lights (1973)’ that interpolates Future’s song of the same name, which was uploaded to youtube earlier this year. Although I don’t truly agree with the use of AI in any form, I can’t deny that Peggy makes this work very well. The sample is so smooth and behind Peggy’s laid back delivery it makes for a really calming and pleasing track.

Throughout this track, Peggy acknowledges that he is constantly battling his inner demons and struggles regardless of whether he’s sober or not. A lyrically dense track that is often not truly appreciated due to the really interesting soundscape.

3.     reincarnated - Kendrick Lamar

This song is the reason I went with one song per-album and not per-artist. Leaving off either this or ‘euphoria’ would have been way too difficult for me to decide between.

As I did with ‘Like Him’, I have already delved into the concept of this track in my album review of ‘GNX’ but sonically this song is awesome. Kendrick respectfully samples the instrumental of ‘Made N****z’ by Tupac as a get-back to Drake for using an AI Tupac voice in ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’. The beat perfectly fits the west coast vibe that GNX as a whole was going for.

Kendrick’s performance here is unreal too. He keeps up this raspy delivery for his entire portion of the song, switching to a more monotonous and layered delivery when he’s acting as God in the final verse. 

2.     Cry For Me - Magdalena Bay

This is genuinely one of my favourite pop songs that I’ve ever heard.

There is a real 80s vibe to it with the futuristic synths, the distinct and twinkling piano notes and string sections - it’s very ABBA-esque. The production is super layered but not to the point of overproduction. Mica’s vocals are mixed to stand out from or blend into the production whenever it fits. 

As the outro progresses a crescendo builds and with it Mica’s vocals get more desperate, to the point she’s bordering a full-on belt by the end, to which at the end her vocals fade away with the production ready for the next track in the album.

1.     GUIDE DOG - Quadeca

This love song is so sweet. Quadeca finds the most creative ways to compliment and express his love for this girl.

Through lines like “If I could, I would trade you my eyes, 'Cause you should see you with the clearness of mine” and “Please, you would tell me that you don't agree, But I am half the man that you would be if you were me”, Quadeca clearly feels that this girl doesn’t appreciate how beautiful she truly is. So he uses the metaphor of a guide dog not only to say that he will always be there for her, but also to show that she would have a more positive view of herself through Quadeca’s perspective. 

A really heartfelt ballad with stunning use of imagery and metaphors.