In a year of exuberance and dread, songs came from every which way to comfort, to amuse, to haunt, to tantalize. Here, in descending order of greatness, are the 30 best of the year.
1. Chappell Roan, “Good Luck, Babe!”
The achievement of Roan’s breakout smash — a stand-alone single so buoyant that it lifted her 2023 debut to the upper reaches of the charts — is its emotional specificity: Somehow sleek and jagged at the same time, “Good Luck, Babe!” is a song in which a woman gets a lover to consider what she’s abandoning in a breakup by asking her to imagine waking up a few years hence and realizing that she could have had all this — and now instead she’s just somebody’s … wife. “You know I hate to say ‘I told you so,’” Roan sings, her voice rippling with the unwelcome shame of her own pain, “You know I hate to say — but I told you so.” What a scene. — Mikael Wood
2. Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”
Will the Recording Academy actually give the Grammy for record or song of the year to a single that accuses Drake of being a pedophile? How could it not? No song slapped harder or dominated culture more thoroughly in 2024. It’s a haters’ ballet — a 4½-minute neutron bomb of vengeance that hollowed out Toronto and, rather than sully his Pulitzer, paved K. Dot’s way to the Super Bowl and primed us for the extraordinary surprise album “GNX.” Wop-wop-wop-wop-wop. —August Brown
3. Sabrina Carpenter, “Please Please Please”
A new discovery at every turn, each one funnier and more heartbreaking than the last. — M.W.
4. Charli XCX featuring Lorde, “Girl, So Confusing”
Imagine the actual Jolene jumping on a remix with Dolly Parton. — A.B.
5. Tommy Richman, “Million Dollar Baby”
[Makes stank face] — M.W.
6. Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
A rich text on America’s cultural and racial realignments — and a guarantee that Shaboozey will never pay for a shot again. — A.B.
7. Kali Uchis and Peso Pluma, “Igual Que Un Ángel”
The year’s most luxurious disco-funk jam. — M.W.
8. Koe Wetzel and Jessie Murph, “High Road”
The year’s tenderest butt-rock ballad. — M.W.
9. Billie Eilish, “Birds of a Feather”
In which Eilish uses her imagined death to find life in high notes she’s never hit. — M.W.
10. Taylor Swift, “But Daddy I Love Him”
Best pregnancy-announcement troll in a pop song since “Papa Don’t Preach.” — A.B.
11. Gracie Abrams, “That’s So True”
“I could go and read your mind / Think about your dumb face all the time.” — M.W.
12. Megan Moroney, “Third Time’s the Charm”
Yet another gorgeous, gritty, brilliantly written late-summer Moroney banger. — A.B.
13. Tinashe, “Nasty”
Does Feeld even allow you to post a bio if it doesn’t quote this song? — A.B.
14. Zach Bryan, “Pink Skies”
Quick — savor this stark and moving death ballad before Bryan fully enters his villain arc. — A.B.
15. Tyla, “Truth or Dare”
Hard to top “Water,” but Tyla’s cup runneth over. — A.B.
16. SZA, “Saturn”
Stock up on protective crystals at House of Intuition because the vibes are going to be terrible next year. — A.B.
17. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile”
Think Bruno ever wakes up and tries not to write a hit? — M.W.
18. Sade, “Young Lion”
If you are a parent, you will cry. — M.W.
19. Mk.gee, “Rockman”
A stained-glass homage to Ric Ocasek, dropped into a thousand shimmering pieces. — A.B.
20. Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen, “I Had Some Help”
Making a mess never sounded so clean. — M.W.
21. Kim Gordon, “Bye Bye”
Sonic Youth’s noise doyenne doing Patti Smith-style spoken word over too-wrecked-for-Playboi-Carti trap beats? What a world. — A.B.
22. Tems, “Love Me JeJe”
An invitation for R&B and Afrobeats fans to dive deep into Nigeria’s radiant music history. — A.B.
23. Beyoncé, “16 Carriages”
A road song as lonely as they come. — M.W.
24. SML, “Industry”
Like P-Funk falling down a flight of stairs. — A.B.
25. Ryuichi Sakamoto, “For Jóhann”
A haunting piano ballad of devotion and friendship from one late composer to another. — A.B.
26. Dua Lipa, “These Walls”
Killer bass line, gorgeous slide guitar — and a glamazon pop star determined not to let you in. — M.W.
27. Burial, “Dreamfear”
“I am the lord of ecstasy” — hell yeah. — A.B.
28. Ethel Cain, “Punish”
“American Teenager” was an all-timer, but is it bad to say that it’s nice to have Cain back and sounding absolutely miserable? — A.B.
29. Health featuring Lauren Mayberry, “Ashamed”
The Chvrches frontwoman cleverly turns this goth breakup lament inside out (and roasts Health’s own singer in the process). — A.B.
30. Ella Langley, “Nicotine”
Never doubt a country act’s ability to sell an addiction metaphor. — M.W.