Since GNX is shorter and less overtly conceptual than Kendrick's other major label albums, people have already started to speculate that it's actually a mixtape-style prelude to the 'real' album, and I hate when those kind of bet-hedging theories pop up. At the end of the day, all I really want out of a rap album is beats and rhymes, and when an album like Good Kid or TPAB aims higher and succeeds, it's really just a bonus to me. So I really like GNX, what someone on Twitter called an "evil hyphy album," Kendrick leaning into the sound of "Not Like Us" with some more Mustard beats and relatively unknown L.A. rappers guesting but also throwing in these disarmingly beautiful moments like "Luther" and "Heart Pt. 6" that make it feel like a complete album. Here's the 2024 albums Spotify playlist I've updated throughout the year. 

It's not always a good thing when an artist gets older, signs to a smaller label, and starts producing their own albums. But Dwight Yoakam seems to do well with that creative freedom, and I love the sound of his self-produced stuff, it has such a great in-the-room energy, like his band was playing really loud on even the slow songs. The only guest is newly minted country crossover star Post Malone, who doesn't get in the way much on "I Don't Know How To Say Goodbye," for the most part this is just Yoakam just doing what he does best. 

I've really liked all three of Kiana Lede's albums, but this one might be my favorite. It's almost entirely slow jams, some of them breakup songs and some of them sex songs (more the latter than the former), and only one big recognizable interpolation of an old R&B hit (the Ginuwine nod on "Outta Luck"), a pretty ideal album from her. 

I love that this Virginia duo has gotten on a prolific tear just since I started following them, they've released two albums and two EPs in the last two years. Arches feels a little brighter and more uptempo than Sunburned, I think "Montauk" is my favorite song so far. 

I like getting a late career solo debut from someone who's generally only played in bands for decades, even if it's similar to their older stuff, it feels somehow revealing to be presented in that fashion. A lot of Nobody Loves You More sounds like it could've been on a Breeders or Amps record, but it feels like calling it a solo record freed Deal up to do whatever she wanted, including string and horn arrangements, and occasionally spacey, heavily distorted grooves like "Big Ben Beat" and "Crystal Breath," which I think is my favorite track on the album. 

Willie Nelson has fathered 8 kids, and 4 of them have played with him live and on the 2021 album The Willie Nelson Family. Lukas Nelson is the best known of his kids, and his band Promise of the Real has backed Neil Young on a few albums and tours. Micah Nelson, however, is the first of Willie Nelson's kids to produce one of his albums, and Last Leaf On The Tree has a sound and approach that's distinct from the albums Nelson has made with producer Buddy Cannon over the past decade. There's more ornate instrumentation and a slightly hipper selection of covers, including Beck, the Flaming Lips, Tom Waits, and Neil Young. I know Willie is 91 and any of these albums could be his last, but it's still a little intense hearing him sing "Keep Me In Your Heart," the last song from the last album Warren Zevon recorded while he was dying of cancer. 

I roll my eyes sometimes at Y2K nostalgia from people born in the early 2000s, but girl groups have been on the decline for so long that I appreciate a group like FLO trying to restore the feeling, they've got great harmonies and some really enjoyable songs. GloRilla showing up on "In My Bang" and saying "yeah FLO" is so much fun. 

I recently ranked Mary's albums and her (maybe final?) album Gratitude came out as a solid middle tier album, my favorite tracks so far are "You Ain't The Only One" and "Never Give Up On Me." 

Listen, Fallon's an easy target, I know. I do think there are times when he does entertaining stuff and it often involves him being a genuine music lover, and a comedic Christmas album isn't a bad idea. There's just some pretty annoying ideas on here, and some decent ideas ruined by Fallon's terrible singing, and it just feels like a big waste of time to get together talent like The Roots, Dolly Parton, Ariana Grande, Justin Timberlake, Will Ferrell, and "Weird Al" Yankovic and wind up with something so mediocre.