Fan poll: 5 best albums of 2024

It’s been a ridiculously solid year for music. Hardcore and shoegaze continued to expand, reaching both old and new generations, while pop main characters like Charli XCX released the album of the summer (and then another that was “completely different but also still brat”). We got surprise albums from Tyler, the Creator and Jack White, and Linkin Park made a comeback that no one expected. Considering all of this, it’s hard to complain. As the year comes to an end, we asked our readers to name the best albums of 2024. Find the top fan picks ranked below.

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5. Linkin Park – FROM ZERO

This past September, Linkin Park made a bold move. They revealed their newest members — co-vocalist Emily Armstrong, drummer Colin Brittain, and touring guitarist Alex Feder — shared the pop-punky single “The Emptiness Machine,” and announced their new album, FROM ZERO, was on the way. Marking their first full-length since 2017’s One More Light and the death of Chester Bennington, there was a lot to consider, and the release makes good on their classic sound (“Heavy Is the Crown”) while throwing in new elements. It’s been a whirlwind of a year for Linkin Park, and FROM ZERO embodies the band’s resilience and growth in the face of great tragedy.

4. Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To

Knocked Loose have been having a giant year. The Kentucky hardcore leaders released their menacing third album, You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To, which featured ultra-heavy collabs with Poppy (“Suffocate”), death-metal gutturals (“Blinding Faith”), and Rex Allen samples (“Take Me Home”). On top of that, they toured with Slipknot and started a mosh pit on national television that went so hard, it horrified parents. Though the year is wrapping up, Knocked Loose are always thinking about how they can push themselves further, so it won’t be long until we hear from them again.

3. The Cure – Songs of a Lost World

The Cure’s first studio album in 16 years, Songs of a Lost World, has been teased intermittently for the past decade, but it finally arrived in November. The band even sprinkled a few of its songs into their massive tour last year, always opening with “Alone.” Bandleader Robert Smith describes the seven-minute epic as “the song that unlocked the record” (and doesn’t start singing until after the three-minute mark, a restraint that runs across the whole album). Rife with themes of loss and time, Songs of a Lost World is a proper addition to their extensive catalog.

2. Green Day – Saviors

As their first record with famed producer Rob Cavallo in over a decade, Green Day’s Saviors definitely delivers. The album is a love letter to punk, packed with references to the music that shaped them — from ’50s-inspired doo-wop (“Suzie Chapstick”) to ripping ’70s rock (“Bobby Sox,” “1981”). But as much as the punk trio spent time in the present, they also looked toward the past, as their celebrated albums Dookie and American Idiot turn 30 and 20, respectively. That led to a huge summer stadium tour, where they played both of those albums from front to back.

1. twenty one pilots – Clancy

Twice in a row, twenty one pilots’ Clancy grabbed the top placement. Following 2021’s Scaled and Icy, their latest finishes up the colorful, deeply intricate narrative that has stretched across multiple albums. Tyler Joseph has always used music to navigate his mental health, and the twenty one pilots singer is startlingly open throughout the LP (“Midwest Indigo”). Complete with music videos for every song, Clancy is the grand finale that wipes the slate clean for the duo to dream up something even greater. It’s no wonder readers named it the best album of 2024.