Weird year. But great music is always around, and 2024 is no exception. We put together a collection of the songs we heard this year that we really liked. This is not a ranking, or an exhaustive list; it's the small slice of incredible music from this year that we were fortunate enough to experience. And now, you are too.

I GOT HEAVEN Mannequin Pussy. Seething, cathartic, optimism.

ON MY MIND Glutenhead. They had electric bongos last time I saw them live (never miss a chance to see Glutenhead).

BUG Fontaines D.C. Irish post-punk.

BLOOD MOON Meagan Aversa. An amazing record. Fantastic lyrics, performances, and mix. Favourite Blood Moon lyric: "I'm giving up too soon / I'll try again on the next blood moon."

WRISTWATCH MJ Lenderman. Houseboat, himbo dome, etc.

THE YEAR I LIVED IN RICHMOND Advance Base. I was lucky to see Advance Base early this year. A great keys sound. Every song is a vivid story that grabs you.

SNOW ANGEL Horse Jumper of Love. Guitars that sound like Covet.

SLOT MACHINE John's Cottage. Early Kings-of-Leon-esque.

VAMPIRE EMPIRE Adrianne Lenker. Timothée is playing Dylan: who will play Lenker in 50 years?

A LITTLE LIFE la lune. Laid-back and crunchy.

BAD ENERGY Little Kid. Let's bring back ambiguous extended piano chords in indie.

THE SUN SWALLOWED THE EARTH Grey Estates. Catchy riffs and great tone.

NOTHING MATTERS The Last Dinner Party. Google search, "movie-outro-type beat."

CERTAIN DEATH LOOMING Sundowner. A little scary, a lot of fun to listen to.

MUSIC Porches. Sarcastic, but not tiresome. One of my favourite melody/progression combinations of the year.

DEAD SOON Squiggly Lines. The whole EP is great: a faster, noisier Barr Brothers (2014 era).

SYMPATHY IS A KNIFE Charli xcx. (I would feel dumb if I explained why a 2024 playlist has BRAT on it).

LAMINATE THE SKY OMBIIGIZI. Broken Social Scene.

LETTERMAN The Story So Far. Music to hop up and down to.

MERCY, "MILK-OF-HUMAN-KINDNESS" Westelaken. I love live albums. An amazing performance from Westelaken on this one.

LEVEL NONE WATERMEDOWN. Intricate riffs, but not busy. I can't resist a great room sound on vocals (or tempo changes).

I WOULDN'T NECESSARILY SAY I FEEL GREAT RONI. Some hints of Pinegrove and early-thousands nostalgic acoustic.

O% Hello Mary. Farty bass, yelling.

SINK YOUR TEETH Museums. Psychedelic indie from Montreal.

SOMETIMES Mannequin Pussy. I couldn't choose just one song. There's something in the water in Philadelphia.

TRICK White Rabbit. Fun shoegaze!

BITTERSWEET MARY MILLY. I'm a sucker for 2-note riffs over massive guitars.

WHERE WE'VE BEEN Friko. Fantasic dynamics and build. I heard this record near the beginning of the year, and I already knew it would be on this list.