01 January 2025

D. Rick's Album Top 40 from 2024

Although I continue to enjoy listening to music, in recent years I have simply not had the time or inclination to discover, explore, and immerse myself in the latest releases as I have done in the past. It was too much to keep up with, and I gradually became aware that I was rarely able to savor the music I already knew to be enjoyable and pleasing to my tastes and interests. It's not that I pay no attention whatsoever to the new music coming out, but I'm far more selective in what I choose to investigate, and in general I am more "passive" in my music listening habits at this point. Strikingly, I have over the past couple of months begun to listen more to audio books and podcasts than to music when I'm driving, and those who know me at all will realize what a significant shift that is!

All that being said, even with my more passive approach, there were new albums over this past year that not only managed to pique my interest but to capture my attention and endear themselves to me for future listening enjoyment. And so, for what it's worth, I share my top forty favorite albums from 2024 below. A number of these actually snuck up on me and caught me by pleasant surprise. They're listed roughly in order of my preference, but that tends to hold more true for the first part of the list than it does in the case of the latter entries. For those who use Spotify and are interested, you can find these albums collected here.


1. Luke Combs - Fathers & Sons

2. Stephen Wilson Jr. - Son of Dad

3. Aaron Lewis - The Hill

4. Myles Kennedy - The Art of Letting Go

5. The Script - Satellites

6. Uncle Kracker - Coffee & Beer

7. Skillet - Revolution

8. Cody Jinks - Change the Game

9. Black Country Communion - V

10. Will Hoge - Tenderhearted Boys

11. Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors - Strangers No More, Vol. 2

12. Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Dirt On My Diamonds, Vol. 2


13. Brantley Gilbert - Tattoos

14. Firewind - Stand United

15. Scott Stapp - Higher Power

16. Chase Rice - Go Down Singin’

17. HammerFall - Avenge the Fallen

18. Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well

19. Wade Bowen - Flyin’

20. Sheryl Crow - Evolution

21. Saxon - Hell, Fire and Damnation

22. Mat Kearney - Mat Kearney

23. The Avett Brothers - The Avett Brothers

24. The Secret Sisters - Mind, Man, Medicine


25. American Aquarium - The Fear of Standing Still

26. Accept - Humanoid

27. Kings of Leon - Can We Please Have Fun

28. American Authors - Bon Voyage

29. Brooks & Dunn - Reboot II

30. Amos Lee - Transmissions

31. Lindsey Stirling - Duality

32. George Strait - Cowboys and Dreamers

33. Sister Hazel - Sand, Sea & Crash Derbis

34. Flatland Cavalry - Flatland Forever

35. OneRepublic - Artificial Paradise

36. Avery Anna - Breakup Over Breakfast

37. Kassi Ashton - Made from the Dirt

38. Cody Johnson - Leather Deluxe

39. Linkin Park - From Zero

40. Bon Jovi - Forever


As a bonus, again for those who use Spotify, here is a playlist of my top 100 favorite songs from 2024, many of them (not surprisingly) from the above albums.

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