Following our lists of the best singles, and the best EPs, Kool Rock Radio’s year-end list culminates today with the 100 Best Albums of 2024.
As expected, this has been another exceptional year for new music. Throughout the past 12 months, we spent hours and hours listening to hundreds of albums, from exciting debuts to highly anticipated returns, spanning our favorite genres: post-punk, indie rock, shoegaze, dream pop, new wave, indie pop, synthpop, alternative, electronic, dark disco, coldwave, synthwave, etc., and every single week there was something new that got us excited. Perhaps your next favorite is right here on this list.
Without further ado, these are the albums we loved the most this year, listed in alphabetical order.
KOOL ROCK RADIO ► THE 100 BEST ALBUMS OF 2024 (A to Z)
1. A Flock Of Seagulls – ‘Some Dreams‘ (August Day Recordings) [synthpop/new wave]
2. Copperplate – ‘contentment‘ [dream pop/ethereal/jangle pop/shoegaze]
3. Balduvian Bears – ‘Bearfate’ (DarkTunes Music) [cold wave/darkwave/post punk]
4. Berlin Taxi – ‘Milestones‘ [electropop/new wave/synthpop]
5. Black Asteroid – ‘Infinite Darkness’ (Artoffact Records) [electronic/industrial/techno]
6. Black Doldrums – ‘In Limerence‘ (Fuzz Club) [post punk/darkwave/psych]
7. Black Nite Crash – ‘Signal to Noise’ [psychedelic/shoegaze/ indie]
8. Black Tie Dynasty – ‘Steady‘ [indie rock/synth rock/new wave]
9. Blinker The Star – ‘Occult Classic‘ [indie/alternative]
10. Blossoms – ‘Gary‘ (ODD SK) [indie rock/indie pop/alt pop]
11. Blushing – ‘Sugarcoat’ (Kanine Records) [dream pop/shoegaze/alt]
12. Boy With Apple – ‘Attachment‘ (VÅRØ) [dream pop/shoegaze/indie]
13. Brigitte Calls Me Baby – ‘The Future Is Our Way Out’ [indie/alternative]
14. Bryan’s Magic Tears – ‘Smoke & Mirrors‘ (Born Bad Records) [shoegaze/psych/dream pop]
15. Capitol – ‘Sounds Like a Place’ (Meritorio Records) [indie/new wave/post punk]
16. Castlebeat – ‘Stereo’ (Spirit Goth Records) [chillwave/dream pop/indie/lo-fi]
17. Clan Of Xymox – ‘Exodus‘ (Metropolis Records) [darkwave/post punk]
18. CLONE – ‘CL. 1’ (Little Cloud Records / 5BC Records) [post-punk]
19. COOL HEAT – “Abandon” [dreampop/lo-fi/synthpop/indie]
20. Cold Cave – ‘Passion Depression‘ (Heartworm Press) [darkwave/new wave/synthwave]
21. Cosey Mueller – ‘Soft Core’ (Static Age Musik) [electronic/synthwave]
22. Courteeners – ‘Pink Cactus Café‘ (Ignition Records) [indie rock]
23. Crows – ‘Reason Enough‘ (Bad Vibrations Records) [post punk/psych]
24. Curses – ‘Another Heaven’ [nu-disco/new wave/electronic]
25. Curtain – ‘Between Us’ (Manic Depression Records) [coldwave/dark wave/post punk]
26. DEADLETTER – ‘Hysterical Strength‘ (SO Recordings) [post punk]
27. Dummy – ‘Free Energy‘ [psych/shoegaze/rock/trip hop]
28. Echo Machine – ‘Accidental Euphoria’ [goth/indie rock/alt]
29. EKKSTACY – ‘S/T‘ (United Masters) [indie/alt]
30. Eyedress – ‘Vampire in Beverly Hills’ (RCA Records) [indie/alt/dream pop/lo-fi]
31. Fontaines D.C. – “Romance“ (XL Recordings) [indie/rock n’ roll/alt]
32. Foster The People – ‘Paradise State Of Mind‘ (Atlantic Records) [indie pop/indie rock]
33. Geneva Jacuzzi – ‘Triple Fire‘ (Dais Records) [nondimensional/synth-driven pop/new wave]
34. GIFT – ‘Illuminator‘ (Captured Tracks) [neo-psychedelia/ shoegaze]
35. Girlfriends and Boyfriends – ‘Lost In The Noise’ (Midnight Mannequin Records) [new wave/post punk]
36. High Vis – ‘Guided Tour‘ (Dais Records) [post punk]
37. Holy Wire – ‘The Ending of an Age‘ (A la Carte Records) [new wave/synthpop]
38. Huge Molasses Tank Explodes – ‘III‘ (Tidal Wave Records) [psych/krautrock/shoegaze]
39. IST IST – ‘Light A Bigger Fire‘ (Kind Violence Records) [post punk/new wave]
40. Levin Goes Lightly – ‘Numb‘ (Tapete Records) [indie pop/synthwave]
41. Liam Gallagher & John Squire – ‘s/t’ (Warner Records) [indie/Britpop/alt]
42. Lotusbliss ► ‘Deafening And Silent’ (indie rock/alternative)
43. Lovataraxx – ‘Sophomore’ (Cold Transmission) [cold wave/minimal synth/post punk]
44. Mayflower Madame – ‘Insight’ (Night Cult/Icy Cold Recs/Up In Her Room) [post punk/psych-noir/dream-gaze]
45. MELTS – ‘Field Theory‘ (Fuzz Club) [krautrock/psych]
46. Meltway – ‘Nothing Is Real‘ (Through Love Records) [shoegaze/indie rock]
47. Metro Verlaine – ‘Pop Sauvage‘ (Le Cèpe Records) [post punk]
48. Midi Memory – ‘Far Gone And Out‘ (Born Losers Records) [electronic/dream pop]
49. Modern English – ‘1 2 3 4‘ (Inkind Music) [new wave/post-punk]
50. Moderna – ‘The Future Is Among Us‘ (Brave New Rave) [dark disco/electronic/indie dance/acid]
51. Molly Nilsson – ‘Un-American Activities‘ (Dark Skies Association/Night School) [synth pop]
52. Neon Lies – ‘Demons’ (Wave Tension Records) [cold wave/darkwave/goth/post-punk]
53. New Age Healers – ‘The Spin Out‘ [indie rock/alt/shoegaze/psych]
54. Nice Biscuit – ‘SOS‘ (Bad Vibrations/Fuzz Club) [garage pop/psych]
55. Night in Athens – ‘Wasted Reflektions’ (Wave Records) [coldwave/post-punk/synthpunk]
56. Normal Bias – ‘Kingdom Come’ (Synt.0hicide) [new wave/synthpop/techno/industrial]
57. OP-ART – ‘The Final Act‘ (Citirax) [electronic/new wave/synth]
58. Other-ed – ‘Until All Are Free’ [synthpop/electronic/darkwave/synthpunk]
59. Permafrost – ‘The Light Coming Through‘ (Fear of Music) [post punk]
60. Phantom Handshakes – ‘Sirens At Golden Hour’ [lo-fi/dream pop]
61. Phantom Wave – ‘Bonfire Secrets’ (Shore Dive Records) [dreampop/shoegaze]
62. Plastic Estate – ‘Code d’Amour‘ (Avant! Records) [synth pop/new wave]
63. Public Circuit – ‘Lamb‘ (A La Carte Records) [post punk/new wave/synthpunk]
64. Rework – ‘Never Again’ (exlove records) [electronic/nu disco/synthpop/synthwave]
65. RIDE – ‘Interplay’ (Witchita Recordings/PIAS) [shoegaze]
66. Rosetta Stone – ‘Under The Weather‘ [alternative/gothic/deathrock]
67. Royel Otis – ‘Pratts and Pain’ [indie pop]
68. Sacred Skin – ‘Born in Fire’ (Artoffact Records) [new wave/post punk/synth pop]
69. Secret Attraction – ‘LP3’ [dream pop/lo-fi]
70. Sequential Zero – ‘Zero Sum Game’ [electronic/darkwave/coldwave project]
71. Silent EM – ‘Real Life’ [coldwave/synthpunk/EBM/minimal synth]
72. Shed Seven – ‘A Matter of Time’ (Cooking Vinyl) [britpop]
73. Shoreline Stories – ‘Love & Kisses‘ (Shore Dive Records) [indie rock/dream pop/shoegaze]
74. Sleeping Pills – ‘Occulting Light’ [new wave/post punk/alt]
75. Soft Kill – ‘Escape Forever‘ [post punk/dark wave]
76. SPECTRES – ‘Presence‘ (Artoffact Records) [post punk/cold wave/goth]
77. Still Corners – ‘Dream Talk’ (Wrecking Light) [indie pop/ethereal wave]
78. Tears Run Rings – ’Everything In The End’ (Shelflife Records) [dream pop/shoegaze]
79. The Asteroid No.4 – ‘Several Shapes of Solar Flares‘ (Little Cloud Records // Club AC30) [psychedelic/noise pop/shoegaze]
80. The Cure – ‘Songs of a Lost World’ (Polydor) [post punk/alternative]
81. The Death Of Pop – ‘FLOG‘ (Discos de Kirlian/Bread and Hidden Bay) [shoegaze/dream pop/indie pop]
82. The KVB – ‘Tremors‘ (Invada Records) [psychedelic/shoegaze/post punk]
83. The Search – ‘Indulgence‘ (Aenaos Records) [indie rock/post punk/new wave]
84. The Swedish Railway Orchestra – ‘Orchestra Once Upon A Time...’ (Blowtorch Records) [electronic/dance-punk/synthpop]
85. The Vaccines – ‘Pick-Up Full of Pink Carnations‘ (Thirty Tigers) [indie rock]
86. Then Comes Silence – ‘Trickery’ (Metropolis Records) [post punk/dark wave]
87. This Is The Bridge – ‘Sweet Lies‘ [minimal synth/post punk/electronic]
88. Thus Love – ‘All Pleasure’ (Captured Tracks) [post punk]
89. True Body – ‘Love Spell‘ [pop/post punk]
90. Twin Tribes – ‘Pendulum’ [coldwave/darkwave/goth rock/post punk]
91. ULTRA SUNN – ‘US‘ (Artoffact Records) [coldwave/EBM/post punk]
92. Underworld – ‘Strawberry Hotel‘ (Virgin Music/Smith Hyde Productions) [electronic]
93. Violence – ‘La Somme De Mes Soifs’ (TONN RECORDINGS) [electronic/minimal synth]
94. Virgins – ‘nothing hurt and everything was beautiful‘ (Blowtorch Records) [shoegaze/dream pop]
95. Vision Video – ‘Modern Horror‘ [post punk/goth/new wave]
96. W H Lung – ‘Every Inch of Earth Pulsates‘ (Melodic Records) [psych/post-punk]
97. Whitelands – ‘Night-bound Eyes Are Blind To The Day‘ (Sonic Cathedral) [dreampop/indie rock/shoegaze]
98. WINGTIPS – ‘On Trial’ [goth-pop/post punk/dream pop/synth pop]
99. Wishy – ‘Triple Seven’ (Winspear) [indie/alt/dreampop]
100. Xeno & Oaklander – ‘Via Negativa (in the doorway light)’ (Dais Records) [minimal wave/electronic/synthwave]
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