Ten Best albums of 2024: Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX dominated
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There’s no denying that 2024 was the Year of Brat. From summertime onwards, Charli XCX dominated the headlines and our ears with her album Brat, realeased on June 7, before following it up with a remix album called Brat and It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat.
![[From Charli XCX and Chappell Roan to Doechii: All hail pop's new guard]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/11/23/16/32/Chappell-Roan-26a28nso.jpeg?crop=8:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
It was a cracking double bill and an unparalleled marketing campaign – Charli XCX’s team has explained that the concept came to her before the songs were even written. “Charli really has this clear vision. We knew it was going to be called ‘Brat’ for the entire two years of making it,” her producer AG Cook (who also released a banger album this year) told NME. “We cut anything that wasn’t ‘Brat. If it didn’t feel ‘Brat’, it was gone.”.
![[Ones to watch in 2024: all the music acts set to be massive this year]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2023/12/20/11/55/NewMusic24%20%281%29.jpg?crop=8:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Women solo artists in general had a mega year, leaving boy bands, girl bands and most of the men in their wake. Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter, and Billie Eilish all released highly acclaimed albums, as did heavy hitters Beyoncé and Taylor Swift also released albums.
![[Charli XCX at the O2 review: Is this the best show of the year?]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2024/11/29/10/52/Charli-XCX-at-the-O2-Henry-Redcliffe.jpeg?crop=8:5,smart&quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Surprised that Chappell Roan isn’t on the list? While 2024 was the year she went mainstream, her album The Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess was actually on our best of 2023 list – which you can check out here if you want to microdose some nostalgia.
Here, in no particular order, are the 10 biggest albums of 2024:. Sabrina Carpenter has been grafting for years, but it was her sixth studio album that finally bought the pint-sized pop star the recognition she deserves. Short N Sweet was crammed full of hits, from Espresso (crowned BBC Radio 1’s song of the year) to Taste (complete with campy slasher music video with a star turn from Jenna Ortaga) to Please, Please, Please (a pean to not being embarrassed by one’s boyfriend that ex Barry Keoghan clearly didn’t head). Carpenter has sparkling outfits, big hair and escapist pop on lock, with more than a little of Dolly Parton about her in the country-inflected numbers.
