I have to say that for me personally, I thought 2024 was a good year for music. I had a pretty decent-sized list of records to start from, but I did try to cut it down to my best of the best. Picking a number one out of my top ten was truly a challenge. Let me start with some honorable mentions, specific genre winners and singles.

Honorable Mentions:

My Honorable Mentions are in no particular order. They failed to crack the top ten, so they just get lumped into a group of really nice records that came out in 2024. Here we go…

Soul Asylum – Slowly but Shirley Dave Pirner and company just keep making good records. Really good records.

Prophets of Addiction – Face the Music This British band dropped a nice collection of songs here. If you happen to be a fan of Dogs D’Amour, you’re going to want to check this one out.

The Dictators – The Dictators These old New York rockers had released a couple of catchy singles in the last few years, which made it onto this full-length in 2024. Original Dictators fans may find this collection a bit too polished, but I love it.

Fast Eddy – To the Stars I started listening to this band when I learned that Tuk Smith produced one of their records. Everything they release is pretty catchy, and this 2024 record is no exception.

New Roses – Attracted to Danger A good hard rocking band from Germany, they’ve been cranking out good stuff since 2012.

Cold Years – A Different Life Scottish punk-rockers doing some of their best work to date.

Palaye Royale – Death or Glory In 2020, Palaye Royale made my favorite record of the year, The Bastards. That record was a screaming scorcher of a rock record. 2022 brought Fever Dream, which was a departure, but good. The sound on this 2024 record is an even further departure, but again, it’s really good.

The Jack Knives – Ghost Radio The first time I heard this I thought I might have a new favorite band. But the more I listened, the more pop-punky and less hard-hitting it sounded to me. I still like it a lot, though.

Best Indie Pop Girls:

I have two or three playlists with nothing but female-fronted indie pop bands. There are so many of them, it’s crazy. This year, two new artists came onto my radar, and each made a great record. Not a top ten record maybe, but close.

1. LOLO – Falling for Robots and Wishing I Was One Well, my daughter gets credit for this one. She said I would like it, and she was very right. “Poser” is a GREAT song. So is “U Turn Me On (but u give me depression).”

2. Brooke Alexx – Big Mouth One of my favorite guitar players is Beth Cannon (Elizabeth II) who is from D.C. but now resides in Nashville. She toured with Brooke Alexx, who my daughter also suggested that I check out. It’s not as good as LOLO, but I dig it.

Best Multi-Artist Record:

Jesse Malin – Silver Patron Saints

A bunch of amazing artists came together this year to support a fellow rocker who is going through something awful. Jesse Malin suffered a very rare thing called a spinal stroke in May of 2023. It put him in the hospital for a very long time and he still cannot fully walk. To assist with hospital bills, two shows were held at the Beacon Theater in NYC featuring all these great artists playing with Jesse as he hit the stage for the first time since the stroke. This record was released leading up to the shows. It is fantastic, and includes such notable artists as Lucinda Williams, Bruce Springsteen, Billie Joe Armstrong, Elvis Costello, Butch Walker, Susanna Hoffs, Ian Hunter and more, all performing Jesse Malin’s songs.

Best Singles:

1. Bully – “Atomic Bomb” If you know the band Bully, then you know they can rock. You also know that vocalist Alicia Bognanno can scream and growl with the best of them. However, she is more than capable of beauty and tenderness as well. This song is not really Bully to me, it’s Alicia on a piano singing one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. Good God, I love this song. Even a rocker has to love a good tearjerker once in a while.

2. Lilly Hiatt – “Couldn’t Be” This single precedes a new full length slated for early 2025. If the entire record is anywhere near this good, we’re in for a treat. Lilly can be hit and miss for me, but the songs that connect are killers. This is one of them.

3. Blondshell – “Docket” (feat. Bully) This single came to my attention because it is a duet with the aforementioned Alicia Bognanno. After hearing it, I listened to the 2022 self-titled Blondshell release and was blown away. Blondshell is essentially Sabrina Teitelbaum. I’m a huge fan of both of these women now, and this is a good song.

4. Ricky Warwick (w/ Lita Ford) – “Don’t Leave Me in the Dark” Ricky Warwick is an outstanding solo artist and also fronts the excellent band Black Star Riders. This new single is a duet with Lita Ford. I find it to be a good, solid, hooky rock song. Ricky will release a full-length next year.

And now for the main event – the countdown to the biggest honor a musician can receive. I know you’re spellbound…

JCE’s Top Ten Records of 2024:

10. Amyl & the Sniffers - Amyl & the Sniffers This self-titled release is actually their third record I believe. They are a great punk band out of Australia. The female vocalist is very unique, and I love it.

9. Gastem – III Well, this record gets the top award for “came out of nowhere,” that’s for sure. This is a hard rock band from the Baltimore, MD area from back in the 1980’s. They’ve got former Kix member Mark Schenker in the band now, and they’ve released this third album, with their two preceding records dating back to 1985 and 1986. I wouldn’t have expected much, but this is really damn good from start to finish. Their name sucks (based on the first two letters of the last names of the original three members—ughh), but who cares, the music is great.

8. Vain – Disintegrate Together Vain is perhaps my very favorite band from the glam-metal genre. Vocalist Davy Vain has carried on through all these years and every record they release is a good one. This is their eighth record, and the first since 2017. Oddly, the lead single “Cold Like Snow,” is the only song streaming even though the full length has been out for months. You can buy a CD, but it’s costly at $23 plus $8 to ship. Good record all the way through, though.

7. D-A-D – Speed of Darkness Another band that dates way back and keeps on plugging. This band from Denmark is as solid as ever. Outstanding record here.

6. X – Smoke & Fiction X has decided to hang it up for good. They went out with a bang, releasing this great record and going on tour. I did get to see them during this final run. X was a highlight of my 2024.

5. Tuk Smith & the Restless Hearts - Rogue to Redemption Every time Tuk makes a record, it lands in my top ten. The guy just has that big, anthemic, 1970’s rock sound that I love. His songs sound a bit the same from one record to the next, but it’s so damn good it still cracked my top five.

4. The Angels – Ninety Nine This all-time great band out of Australia dropped a record in 2024, and as per usual, it is amazing. It’s not the first time I have said it, but I will say it again - I like this band and their huge catalog of great records even better than AC/DC. And that is saying a lot, because I love AC/DC.

3. American Jetset – 1987 I’ve been on this band from day one. Out of Baltimore, MD, these guys are going to bring back the glam-metal ‘80’s or die trying. I saw them open for Kix, bought their first EP, saw them in a tiny club and met them all, kept buying every release and I’ve never been disappointed. But who knew that several records in, they could suddenly release this absolute masterpiece? This is their best record yet.

2. Watershed – Blow It Up Before It Breaks The first time I heard the new Watershed record, I had to wonder if it had maybe fallen off a little bit. Then I listened again, and I honed in on a couple of songs in addition to “Bleeding on the Blank Page” and “Hey Lydia,” that I already loved. Then I listened again, and a couple of more songs grabbed me. By the time I drove to Columbus to the two-night record release party, I loved every song and concluded that Blow It Up Before It Breaks not only hadn’t fallen off a bit, it actually eclipsed a couple of prior Watershed records. What the hell? The boys are getting better with age! Sorry Colin Gawel, I just didn’t quite have this at number one.

1. Massive Wagons – Earth to Grace I’ve listened to this UK band in the past, but not extensively. This latest release is very recent, and I hope the newness of it hasn’t unduly influenced my feeling that it’s my favorite record of the year. But I don’t think that’s the case. The record dropped on November 8th. To me, it’s their best one yet, being the seventh studio release. This thing is just chock full of rock n roll anthems. I love records that I have to resort to simply calling rock n roll, because they are kind of metal, kind of punk, and all rock. The song “Missing On TV” is the best song I have heard in a long time. “Free and Easy,” “Night Skies,” “All We Got” and “Underdog” are all great songs too. This one is in my wheelhouse.

That’s my top ten, some honorable mentions, some special categories and some singles. I hope you check some of these out and find something you like.

JCE, or John to his friends, is a lover of all things rock n roll. He leans toward punk and metal but prefers the more melodic end of those spectrums. Every year he contributes an end of the year best of list to Pencil Storm and he looks forward to reading lists from others. Discovering new music is just fun.

Blog