The 25 best albums of 2024

4 December 2024, 16:39 | Updated: 4 December 2024, 16:43

Here are Radio X's picks of the finest albums of the past 12 months... from the return of Linkin Park and The Cure to great new music by Fontaines D.C. and The Last Dinner Party.

In alphabetical order...

1. 86TVs - 86TVs: release date 2nd August 2024

   Seven years after The Maccabees' farewell shows at Alexandra Palace, Felix and Hugo White collaborated with their younger brother Will and drummer Jamie Morrison to release an album of compelling tracks, including the standout New Used Car featuring Jamie T.

   

2. Bastille - &: release date 25th October 2024

   "I never wanted to be main character" says Dan Smith as he takes us on a trip through the lives and loves of everyone from Marie Curie to Leonard Cohen.

   

3. Beabadoobee - This Is How Tomorrow Moves: release date 9th August 2024

   Shining, emotive pop songs are out in force as the talented Beatrice Laus makes a self-assured third album with the legendary producer Rick Rubin.

   

4. The Black Keys - Ohio Players: release date 5th April 2024

   On album twelve, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney enlist the likes of Noel Gallagher and Beck to take the duo in new directions, while staying in touch with their blues rock roots.

   

5. Blossoms - Gary: release date: 20th September 2024

   The Stockport powerhouse continue to hone the indie pop song to perfection with their fifth album. The songs touch on everything from relationship concerns to human frailty and, of course, the titular fibreglass gorilla.

   

6. Jake Bugg - A Modern Day Distraction: release date 4th October 2024

   Now 30, the Nottingham-born singer-songwriter boasts an intriguing maturity and a deeper sound on his sixth album.

   

7. Coldplay - Moon Music: release date 4th October 2024

   Chris Martin and co demonstrate why they're the biggest band in the world with this glossy collection of big pop tunes. With the likes of The Chainsmokers, Jon Hopkins and Max Martin in the engine room, you know you're in safe hands.

   

8. Courteeners - Pink Cactus Cafe: release date 25th October 2024

   Liam Fray continues to capture the sights and sounds of life in a Northern town on the Manchester band's seventh album. These are songs for singing and, more importantly, songs for whistling.

   

9. The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World: release date 1st November 2024

   16 years after their last studio album, Robert Smith proves that The Cure are one of Britain's most essential bands with a deeply affecting meditation on loss, life and mortality.

   

10. Fontaines D.C. - Romance: release date 23rd August 2024

    The fourth studio album from the Dublin band sees them move away from their Irish roots, exploring a darker, more dystopian sound. Focusing on love and of course, romance, Fontaines venture into new lyrical territory, moving away from the deeply-ingrained cultural themes of Dogrel and Skinty Fia.

    

11. Liam Gallagher and John Squire: release date 1st March 2024

    The Oasis frontman and the Stone Roses guitarist gave us the collaboration we didn’t realise we needed in 2024. It's confident, indie rock from two masters of the art.

    

12. Green Day - Saviors: release date 19th January 2024

    Billie Joe Armstrong and the veteran rockers proved they’re still very much the saviours of pop-punk with this dynamic release.

    

13. Kasabian - Happenings: release date 5th July 2024

    Serge Pizzorno takes the Leicester band into a deeper, more psychedelic zone, with the traditional tip of the hat to clubland.

    

14. Kings Of Leon - Can We Please Have Fun: release date 10th May 2024

    Can We Please Have Fun saw the Nashville rockers do just that, with the familial outfit dusting off the cobwebs to create a record they were “completely fulfilled” by.

    

15. The Last Dinner Party - Prelude To Ecstasy: release date 2nd February 2024

    From the viral success of their lead single Nothing Matters to three sold-out shows at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo, Prelude To Ecstasy has firmly established itself as an impactful debut from this fast-rising British band.

    

16. The Libertines All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade: release date 5th April 2024

    The Libs' first release since 2015 earned them a well-deserved number one spot. The band returned to their signature, raucous sound, reflecting on "a life on the lash".

    

17. Linkin Park - From Zero: release date 15th November 2024

    Seven years on from the tragic loss of Chester Bennington, the return of Linkin Park and a new co-vocalist in Emily Armstrong was the perfect addition to 2024.

    

18. Razorlight - Planet Nowhere: release date 25th October 2024

    The first album from their original line-up since 2008, Planet Nowhere was spawned from Johnny Borrell and co wanting to be more than their “own tribute act”.

    

19. Snow Patrol - The Forest Is The Path: release date 13th September 2024

    Now stripped down to a trio, Snow Patrol's eighth album sees Gary Lightbody as vulnerable as ever. "You can ask me anything you like," he sings at one point. "Just don't ask me why I'm like this."

    

20. The Snuts - Millennials: release date 23rd Feburary 2024

    The third Snuts album since 2021 sees the young Scottish band keeping up with the times as they document life in the 2000s with adrenaline-fuelled songs.

    

21. Travis - LA Times: release date 12th July 2024

    The tenth album from the Scottish band proves that Fran Healy can adjust his worldview and lyrical concerns as he - and his audience - mature.

    

22. Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us: release date 5th April 2024

    With lyrics written between 2019 and 2020, Ezra Koenig confronts the complex nature of the world by embracing the past... and old times in the city of New York in particular.

    

23. Paul Weller - 66: release date 24th May 2024

    The Modfather’s seventeenth solo studio album was a bold celebration of the legendary musician's 66th year around the sun.

    

24. Jack White - No Name: release date 19th July 2024

    The former White Stripes man initially let his sixth album out into the world by sneaking into the bags of Third Man Records customers - and shoppers were delighted to hear the man's back to his raw blues roots.

    

25. The Zutons - The Big Decider: release date 26th April 2024

    The Liverpool band's first album since 2008 sees them return to the fray with expert assistance from The Lightning Seeds' Ian Broudie and the masterful Nile Rodgers, who add a steadying hand to the band's natural exuberance.