Here’s part 9 of my 10 part series on the best songs of 2024, numbers 20-11. If you want to skip ahead and go straight to the full playlist click here. If you want to see the full 180 song list I narrowed this down from, click here.

If you’d prefer to listen to all of these, there’s also a spotify playlist of just these 10 songs and a link to my previous articles at the bottom.

On some web browsers, if you click on the YouTube videos you’ll be taken to a new page. Hit the back button to come back to this list. Most browsers should let you view from within the page.

20. “Do you wanna,” Astrid Sonne

Moody and sinewy, this songs from Danish composer and violinist Astrid Sonne glides along elegantly and winnows its way into your brainstem before you really know what has hit you.

19. “If The Sun Never Rises Again,” Johnny Blue Skies (aka Sturgill Simpson)

For all the pretext about a persona shift, I think that the biggest difference between Simpson Sturgill’s previous efforts is merely a shift in countenance—from gloomy to something approaching happiness. Even this song, replete with some bleak lyrics about the sun never rising again, has an upbeat swing that makes you somehow feel good about that prospect. It also is about wanting to stay in a perpetual state of bliss in a new relationship with the scrutiny of sunlight that too often makes those blissful reveries dissipate.

18. “Screamland,” Father John Misty

If you were to press me, I’d probably have to pick Father John Misty’s Mahashmahana as the album of the year for 2024, though it does have some very close competitors (Vince Staples, MJ Lenderman). But FJM’s efforts most often border on something a little more transcendent. I’m not going to pretend to have exhaustive knowledge of FJM’s catalog, but out of the ones I do know, this one seems pretty unique, not just in its earnestness, but in its sweeping almost orchestral feel. There’s a lot more to this song than just pointing out bullshit (though I love it when FJM does that). It seems like we need something more in these troubled times though, and FJM delivers here.

17. “Floating on a Moment,” Beth Gibbons

Gibbons, the lead singer of the band Portishead, has one of the most notable voices in last 30 years or so of popular music. Obviously, this sounds a lot like Portishead given that her vocals were the most distinguished feature of what was one of the more incredible groups of 1990s and early 2000s. This one is moody and ethereal like many of her former groups efforts at first, but it builds into something a more momentous and pretty dissimilar from Portishead by the time it wraps up.

16. “freezing,” Emily D’Angelo, Sophia Munoz, and Bruno Helstofter. Composed by Philip Glass

I honestly don’t know much about the background of this track, but here we get a blend of a Philip Glass composition with the operatic vocals of D’Angelo. It’s a real treat to say the least. Not a “banger” in the rock sense but something that will carry you into an alternate dimension of being.

15. “Freakadelic,” Jeff Parker & ETAIVtet (feat. Anna Butterss, Jay Bellerose & Josh Johnson)

I’ve engaged in some self-effacing commentary on this countdown for being an old man who now really likes instrumentals and jazz. This is both of those things, though Parker’s work here reminds me much more of something that early Funkadelic might have done had they put away the electric guitars and dispensed with lyrics. Just to be clear from that confusing lineup listing above, ETAIVtet apparently consists of the individuals listed in the parentheses along with Parker. I could nod along to the slow march of the bass and drums for hours on end in the right context.

14. “Compress/Repress,” Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

I wonder how many years back in time I would have to go to find a Trent Reznor songs with his actual vocals on it on one of my year-end lists? Not that I have ever found Reznor’s vocals anything other than compelling, it just seems like he is now mostly an instrumentalist. The lyrics here aren’t earth shattering or self-flagellating or angry like his NIN output. Instead it’s much more like a dance track with the vocals as accompaniment and less of a feature. Regardless, this is the biggest highlight on a score full of them.

13. “Prologue,” Kamasi Washington

Reznor’s vocals on the previous track are the only thing saving me from 4 tracks in a row of instrumentals. Quality tracks from Kamasi Washington have become about as expected as changes in the weather out here in Nebraska. That’s not to say that each one isn’t its own revelation—and that’s a real compliment given how sometimes jazz and instrumental music can sort of blend into the background. Spotify hopes you don’t notice that so that they can avoid paying artists by infecting your playlists with AI generated filler—so listen to more Kamasi Washington and you won’t fall prey to that trap. This dances all over the place.

12. “Fisherr,” Cash Cobain & Bay Swag

I’m getting to the point where I’m old enough that it almost feels awkward liking something that is so juvenile lyrically and so clearly not meant for a 45 year-old white guy from rural Nebraska. But this song is simply too mesmerizing to ignore. It catches a mood you might say and that moment when you find yourself physically compatible with someone—not just in the vulgar sense, but there’s plenty of vulgarity too for the sensitive minded. Be forewarned: if you couldn’t understand Kendrick Lamar at the Super Bowl, you’ll have way more trouble with this one. Here’s a clue to the olds: that’s what genius.com is for.

11. “When the Laughter Stops,” Yard Act (feat. Katy J. Pearson)

Despite being about “when the laughter stops” this is a fun and joyous song. That’s thanks mostly to the chorus by guest vocalist Katy J. Pearson. As someone who’s listened to quit a bit of Yard Act in the last few years, I can attest that Pearson’s performance provides the perfect foil to lead singer James Smith’s more dour vocalizations. Pearson is a real breath of fresh air. Added points for this song being super literate, not only in the original lyrics but for the incorporation of the Act 5 Scene 5 of MacBeth: ‘Tis a tale told by an idiot/full of sound and fury/signifying nothing” form Shakespeare’s MacBeth. I hate to say it but old MacBeth nailed the human condition with that soliloquy.

Listen to these 10 songs as a playlist:

100-91| 90-81| 80-71| 70-61| 60-51| 50-41| 40-31| 30-21| 10-1