THE BEST OF 2024 IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JOHN BOMMARITO

 THE BEST OF 2024 IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JOHN BOMMARITO

It’s that time of year again where I look back at all the releases I heard (key word there, heard) in 2024.  It’s not possible for me to hear all the records I would like to hear. Especially since my access to previewing albums for airplay has reduced drastically from where it was 5 years ago. Most of these records had to be purchased – NOT THAT I AM AGAINST THAT – in fact I wish more people purchased an album from their favorite artists. It might help bring concert ticket prices back to earth if you actually did something other than stream music from your favorite artist. That helps no one who makes art.

Per usual, I spend time listening to each record and rate each song on a 1-10 scale. Sometimes a song gets a plus (i.e. 6+ which I suppose is equivalent to a half a point),  At some point I should account for that somehow in the future.  I take the number of total songs and divide by the total points and get a score between 1 and 10.  Occasionally the math reveals that two or more albums have the same score. In case of a tie, that results in the next position on the chart being eliminated. For example, if two records have the same score at the number 6 spot that means there is no number 7 album of the year. Sensible, right?  Turns out this whole process and compiling this is rather time consuming (and four records had the same score at #6)!

I also tend to break things down into categories because all new releases are not created equal. 

First off COVERS albums. It wouldn’t be fair to include a collection of covers in the same pool as a batch of news songs, would it?  This year I kind of mixed in the EPs with the full lengths:

1-EVA CASSIDY-WALKIN' AFTER MIDNIGHT

2-ACCIDENTALS-COVER ART

3-ALARM-MUSIC TELEVISION - STEPPING BACK INTO THE FUTURE

4-RISING APPALACHIA-FOLK & ANCHOR

5-ALARM-MUSIC TELEVISION - STEPPING BACK INTO THE FUTURE (BONUS DISC)

5-GOOD LOVELIES-ACOUSTIC COVERS

7-JON BATISTE-BEETHOVEN BLUES

8-CLARENCE PENN-BEHIND THE VOICE

8-LUCINDA WILLIAMS-LUCINDA WILLIAMS SINGS THE BEATES FROM ABBEY ROAD

10-HALIE LOREN-DREAMS LOST AND FOUND

11-GARFUNKEL & GARFUNKEL-FATHER AND SON

12-APRIL VARNER-APRIL

13-ROBIN SIMONE-HOLLYWOOD ORCHESTRA

14-AMBER WEEKS-A LADY WITH A SONG AMBER WEEKES CELEBRATES NANCY WILSON

15-JAKE SHIMABUKURO, MICK FLEETWOOD-BLUES EXPERIENCE

16-OVER THE RHINE-HYMN TIME IN THE LAND OF ABANDON

17-ANDREW BIRD & MADISON CUNNINGHAM-CUNNINGHAM BIRD

 

Reworkings is a special category I created this year instead of lumping them in with covers albums because they are covering themselves. Only two this year, but it should be noted that Liz Longley had the second highest score of any release this year.

1-LIZ LONGLEY-IT'S ME AGAIN

2-PETER MULVEY-MORE NOTES FROM ELSEWHERE

 

Next it was Christmas albums, which are usually full of covers too (though Jimmy Fallon’s really wasn’t, it was just silly fun).

1-JUDITH OWEN-SWINGS CHRISTMAS

2-BEN FOLDS-SLEIGHER

3-JIMMY FALLON-HOLIDAY SEASONING (DELUXE)

4-MILK CARTON KIDS-CHRISTMAS IN A MINOR KEY

5-APRIL VARNER-WINTER SONGS VOL. 1

6-LAILA BIALI-WINTERSONGS

7-JON MCLAUGHLIN-MOOD CHRISTMAS EDITION

 

Best Live albums of 2024:

 

1-TEARS FOR FEARS-SONGS FOR A NERVOUS PLANET (TARGET EDITION)

2-JUDITH OWEN-COMES ALIVE

3-CHICAGO-LOVE AT 55

4-OLIVIA VAN GOOR& HENRY FORD BIG BAND-LIVE AT HENRY FORD COLLEGE

5-ELVIS COSTELLO-THE BOY NAMED IF (ALIVE AT MEMPHIS MAGNETIC)

6-JASON ISBELL AND THE 400 UNIT-LIVE FROM THE RYMAN VOL 2

7-AL STEWART & THE EMPTY POCKETS-LIVE

 

Best EPs. Defined as 30 minutes or less.  Dupont Phillips had the highest score of any release in 2024. It’s a mix of originals and covers and it has my favorite songs of the year, “Carole King”

 

1-DUPONT PHILLIPS-BIG SKY SESSIONS

2-FOREST BLAKK-UNDONE

3-RIN TARSY-THE ONLY WAY

3-WILSON THICKET-OFF THE EDGES

5-EMMALINE-THE TWO OF US

6-MOLLY TUTTLE & GOLDEN HIGHWAY-INTO THE WILD

6-U2-ZOO TV LIVE IN DUBLIN 19993

6-MIKE WARD PSYCHOSONGS-STILL TROUBLED

9-STAVES-HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

 And finally, the best albums I heard in 2024. In regards to everything you see here, there was limited time to go back and re-review and album after my initial determinations. Over time some of these will rise and fall, but this is what it looks like today. This represents what I had time to hear and what I may have purchased throughout the year. Sometimes when I see how it shakes out, I myself am surprised that some records are as high or as low as they are, but math is math:

 

1-SNOW PATROL-THE FOREST IS THE PATH

2-LAITH AL-SAADI-DON'T YOU GIVE UP ON ME

3-THE LUCKY NOWS-BROKEN HOMES AND HEARTS OF GOLD

4-ALAN DOYLE-WELCOME HOME

5-ARI HEST-THE TREEHOUSE PROJECT YEAR TWO

6-HAEVN-WIDE AWAKE

6-MAGGIE ROGERS-DON'T FORGET ME

6-KATIE PRUITT-MANTRAS

6-COLDPLAY-MOON MUSIC (FULL MOON EDITION)

10-JIM CUDDY-ALL THE WORLD FADES AWAY

11-DAMNWELLS-BAD AT BEAUTIFUL

11-ARI HEST-THE TREEHOUSE PROJECT YEAR ONE

13-JESSE TERRY-ARCADIA DEMOS

14-JAMES BAY-CHANGES ALL THE TIME

15-FOX AND BONES-LONG TIME HONEY

15-CASSANDRA LEWIS-SO BAD

15-ROUGH & TUMBLE-HYMNS FOR MY ATHIEST SISTER & HER FRIENDS TO SING ALONG TO

18-JESSE TERRY-ARCADIA

19-HAYLEY REARDON-AFTER EVERYTHING

20-JO SERRAPERE-THE BEAUTIFUL ONES VOL. 2

20-MINDY SMITH-QUIET TOWN

22-EMMALINE-INDIANA SKIES (EXTENDED EDITION)

22-TAYLOR SWIFT-THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT (THE ANTHOLOGY)

22-ONEREPUBLIC-ARTIFICIAL PARADISE (TARGET EDITION)

25-WILD FEATHERS-SIRENS

25-HANSEROTH TWINS-VERA

25-COLLECTIVE SOUL-HERE TO ETERNITY

28-LENNY KRAVITZ-BLUE ELECTRIC LIGHT

29-JOHN RICHARD PAUL-THE ROAD OF LIFE

29-BRADLEY RHODES-LETTERS FROM VIRGINIA

31-DONAVON FRANKENREITER-GET OUTTA YOUR MIND

31-JOSH RITTER-HEAVEN OR SOMEPLACE NICE

33-WARREN HAYES-MILLION VOICES WHISPER

33-MAVERICKS-MOON & STARS

35-KASEY CHAMBERS-BACKBONE

36-SETH GLIER-EVERYTHING

36-NICHOLAS JAMES, AND THE BANDWAGON-WILD

36-GUSTER-OOH LA LA

36-AMYTHYST KIAH-STILL+BRIGHT

36-AMY SPEACE-THE AMERICAN DREAM

36-LINDSEY STIRLING-DUALITY (TARGET EDITION)

42-WILL KIMBROUGH-FOR THE LIFE OF ME

42-JO SERRAPERE-THE BEAUTIFUL ONES VOL. 1

44-SAMARA JOY-PORTAIT (JAPANESE EDITION)

45-ANNIE BACON-STORM

45-KACEY MUSGRAVES-DEEPER WELL

47-INGRID MICHAELSON-FOR THE DREAMERS

47-ABIGAIL STAUFFER & THE WISDOM-I AM SAFE

49-SPRINGTAILS-LIGHT OF THE MOON

50-JAMES-YUMMY (DIGITAL DELUXE VERSION)

51-PAULA COLE-LO

52-AMOS LEE-TRANSMISSIONS

52-STEVE TAYLOR THREE-TEMPORARY HEART

54-JIM BIZER-ABOUT TIME

55-DREW HOLCOMB & THE NEIGHBORS-STRANGERS NO MORE VOL 2

56-BETH HART-YOU STILL GOT ME

56-SUSAN WERNER-HALFWAY TO HOUSTON

58-VAMPIRE WEEKEND-ONLY GOD WAS ABOVE US (JAPANESE EDITION)

59-DONOVAN WOODS-THINGS WERE NEVER GOOD IF THEY'RE NOT GOOD NOW

60-NICK LOWE-INDOOR SAFARI

61-NORAH JONES-VISIONS (TARGET EDITION)

62-HEATHER PIERSON-BACK TO THE LIGHT

63-KNOPFLER, MARK-ONE DEEP RIVER

64-AOIFE O'DONOVAN-ALL MY FRIENDS

65-ALTAN-DONEGAL

65-TRAVIS-L.A. TIMES (DELUXE)

67-CROWDED HOUSE-GRAVITY STAIRS

68-THE THE-ENSOULMENT

69-JON FOREMAN-IN BLOOM

69-THE CURE-SONGS OF A LOST WORLD

69-JD MCPHERSON-NITE OWLS

69-GILLIAN WELCH & DAVID RAWLINGS-EMPTY TRAINLOAD OF SKY

69-IMAGINE DRAGONS-LOON