2024 brought wave after wave of creative brilliance that continuously pushed the bounds of what we’ve seen, heard, and experienced before in media. From albums that soundtracked the year to music videos that felt like miniature films unfolding in front of our eyes, the last 12 months delivered fresh and exhilarating new releases that refuse to be ignored. And while you’ve seen us countdown all of the music we’ve loved and gushed over this year, there is a definitive THE best of the year. As the year winds down (peace the fuck out 2024), we’ve compiled a list celebrating the absolute best in albums, songs, music videos, TV series, and movies—reminding us all why the year was so undeniably special.
Albums
The Crucible Of Life — The Home Team
Shedding the pop-punk skin of their first two albums, The Home Team fully embraces their self-proclaimed “heavy pop” sound on their Thriller Records debut, The Crucible Of Life. Marked by a flurry of infectious singles—“Brag,” “Loud,” “Roommates,” “Overtime,” and more—served as precursors, highlighting frontman Brian Butcher’s casual charisma to the point where you can practically hear his smile and raised eyebrows through his voice, and the band’s flirtatious synergy with listeners. The band wastes no time establishing a charged atmosphere with high-octane momentum, layering driving guitar lines over punchy rhythms, creating an electrifying and often bouncy backdrop for Butcher’s soaring vocals and sharp lyricism to effortlessly spill out of him. The result of their hard work is a cohesive and playful record, taking the group’s collective prowess to the next level. —Paige Owens
Tell My Therapist I’m Fine — Bishop Briggs
Bishop Briggs offers a soundtrack for all of life’s highs and lows, discussing themes of defeat and rage to glory and unconditional love. To no surprise, the artist crafted one of the most poignant records of 2024, Tell My Therapist I’m Fine. Here, she navigates the loss of her sister, the birth of her child, and emotional growing pains with raw, messy, and relatable lyrics and sonics. TBH, all of life is just a series of growing pains, is it not? With soaring vocals and powerful belts, Bishop Briggs will make you feel heard and seen in your current stage of life. Standout tracks include “Good For Me” and “Isolated Love” featuring Travis Barker.
Songs
“Application For Release From The Dream” — Thursday
After more than 13 years since their last new music release and a quarter-century since launching anything independently, emo stalwarts Thursday enamored fans with the arrival of their tantalizing new single, “Application For Release From The Dream,” in April. Spanning nearly 5 minutes long, the track extends in waves of overwhelming echoes and atmospheric soars as frontman Geoff Rickly wages a solitary call-and-response vocal battle, crying out, “What’s light? A spark/What’s death? A moment.” The track feels simultaneously intimate and enigmatic, calling out for answers to the internalized questions that haunt us, even as it struggles to accept self-revelations that are hidden within. —Paige Owens
“Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)” @ The 2024 Paris Olympics — Gojira
2024 was a downright inspiring year for metal on the mainstream. For one, we got to see Knocked Loose and Poppy kill it on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Plus, we got to see French band Gojira absolutely knock the world’s socks off with their performance of “Ah! Ça ira!”—a French Revolution song— at the opening ceremonies of the Paris 2024 Olympics. They made literal metal history by being the first band in the genre to perform on this particular internationally-televised stage. The headless Marie Antoinette figure, as well as the fiery backdrop at Conciergerie palace, led some viewers to describe the act as satanic. You know you did right by your art when you got that comment, right? The track is now on Spotify and can be enjoyed at any time. Though, nothing beats the amazing video of the performance. — Maria Serra
Music Videos
“Moss Covers All / Take Me Home” — Knocked Loose
Knocked Loose had one of the most iconic albums and music videos of 2024, hands down. The combined tracks of “Moss Covers All” and “Take Me Home” ushered in a delightfully spine-chilling black and white one-shot music video featuring many black-clad extras. (And no, they didn’t have to pay their way onto the music video set. Classy, Knocked Loose!) Upon the release of the music video, lead vocalist Bryan Garris shared, “I knew I wanted to do [the video] with Eric Richter. A one-take/no cuts or edits video is something I’ve always wanted to do. A lot of moving parts and hard-working extras on and off camera to make this work. I’m so happy with it.” Shot in their home city of Louisville, this dark video perfectly encapsulates the feeling of navigating religious trauma. — Maria Serra
“Taste” — Sabrina Carpenter
Let’s get this out of the way up front: ANYTHING starring the yin-and-yang personalities of blonde bombshell Sabrina Carpenter and the scream queen Jenna Ortega is an immediate and resounding YES. Launched just as Ortega stepped into her born-for-this-role as Lydia Deetz’s daughter, Astrid Deetz, in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the cinematic, conceptualized visual is imbued with nods to several horror/thriller films, including Death Becomes Her, Addams Family Values (a sly wink to Ortega’s role as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series), Jennifer’s Body, and more. The video gushes with striking camera angles, a touch of thoughtful gore, and their sweeping outfits. Despite the central focus of the video seeing the two sparring over the same insecure man, the story culminates at his funeral, with the two gleefully shit-talking his pathetic man-child existence. Takes notes as we’re heading into 2025: we are done catering to unworthy men. Period. —Paige Owens
Films
The Substance
Coralie Fargeat, you can’t see me right now, but I have been applauding you in my living room since I watched The Substance. This 2024 body horror film is for all the girly pops out there who are also massive freaks. Here, the story uniquely showcases the never-ending tale of Hollywood ageism and misogyny through the lenses of Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) and Sue (Margaret Qualley). To be expected, the two did not “respect the balance” of The Substance, and utter chaos ensued in the form of Monstro Elisasue. No big spoilers here, but if you love a horror movie full of blood, feminist themes, and dark, twisted humor, this might just be your favorite movie of the decade. (Our fingers are crossed for an awards season sweep.) — Maria Serra
Nosferatu
Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a fever dream disguised as horror, portrayed through the lens of a gothic tragedy, steeped in twilight gloom and dripping with an almost unholy reverence for F.W. Murnau’s 1922 vision. The film immediately exudes a dark, ominous aura, relying on natural sounds and sparse music to heighten the building tension and raw sexuality between the titular Count and Lily-Rose Depp’s Ellen Hutter. Depp’s command of body horror and facial possession is exquisite, embodying feminine urges and the complicated allure of being bound to death. Opposite her, Bill Skarsgård’s baritone operative vocal tone and mysterious presence imbue each scene with a pit-in-your-stomach dread, his shadows twisting and clutching like the hands of death and decay around the film’s core.
As the dark fairytale unfolds, Nosferatu explores fate and freedom in the same breath, its unsettling ambiance magnified by trills of love, loss, and an inescapable doom. It revels in the delicate beauty of mortality, culminating in a final scene so exquisitely rendered it may well be the most breathtaking moment to grace the silver screen in decades—an entangled funeral bed of death’s softness and life’s last, desperate gasp of love. —Paige Owens
TV Series
Nobody Wants This
One of the top-rated Netflix series’ released in 2024, Nobody Wants This renewed 2000s girlies love for Seth Cohen… whoops, err, Adam Brody! Starring opposite Kristen Bell, the pair’s chemistry practically oozes off the screen in a way that feels so real. Try to resist the urge to jump into their world to squeeze their cheeks and baby-talk them in a full-on in a mushy-gushy meltdown.
But let’s not miss the real magic at play here. Nobody Wants This delivers something too many shows ignore these days—a genuinely heartfelt, relatable narrative about a group of 30-somethings. I don’t know about you, but watching a bunch of college-aged kids navigate love—or what they presume to be love in their naive adolescence—is getting a little old. Or maybe it’s just me getting old. Either way, Nobody Wants This spotlights complex and mature obstacles like grappling with career choices and success, marriage, the future, and religion. They’re not calling Brody “Hot Rabbi” for nothing! Once you start, it’s impossible not to binge—and then re-binge. Now all that’s left is waiting on Netflix for a season two release date announcement because we’re far too invested to say goodbye. —Paige Owens
What We Do In The Shadows (Final Season)
2024 is the year we said hello to Nosferatu’s Count Orlok (Rogert Eggers’ Version) and goodbye to our favorite vampires and familiar Guillermo from What We Do In The Shadows. The FX series boasted six seasons, rife with werewolf, zombie, demon, and even Jersey Devil jokes. If you’re a fan of smart and quick humor, look no further than this series right here. (The joke-per-minute ratio is superb.) The final season saw the vampire gang take on the incredibly human ideas of Airbnb, corporate promotions, and March Madness. And yes, Laszlo Cravensworth does have some more iconic line reads. IYKYK. Ending a beloved show is hard work, but the finale offered the perfect balance of growth, heart, and a whole bunch of bloody laughs. Literally. — Maria Serra
