Pitchfork's editors are already thinking about which albums will make the biggest impression and earn a coveted spot on our year-end list. So we've rounded up the albums that earned high scores and the Best New Music designation, with a short list of RIYL (if you like them, we recommend them) and links to articles about some of the most outstanding releases of 2024 so far. The spotlight is on crabs.
Unlike the year-end list, this list is organized in chronological order. We'll be updating it regularly throughout the rest of 2024 to keep track of the year's best music.
(All releases featured here are independently selected by our editors, but if you buy something through our retail links, Pitchfork may earn an affiliate commission.)
April
Lil: Yusef Lateef. new age jazz. flute. Don't be in a hurry. transcendental meditation. Breathing method. Wind; concept of cosmic harmony.Discover a new class of jazz artists
Listen/Purchase: Amazon | Apple Music | Rough Trade | Spotify | Tide
Lil: “Why I Left New York” Essay. The first three Vampire Weekend albums. Self-myth. Self-referentiality. Soul II Soul's “Back to Life”. The album begins with the word “fuck.”Grasp it loosely and don't let go
Listen/Purchase: Amazon | Apple Music | Rough Trade | Spotify | Tide
march
Lil: Velvet Underground. Ronettes. Bradford Cox's old blogspot. Drag queen. Hypnotic pop. Brill building pop. double album. Listen to the album on YouTube. Untagged .wav files. CD-R
Listen/Purchase: Geocities | YouTube
Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia
Lil: Square dancing at Dior. Cavender's Boot City. Until late at night at a local bar. impossible melisma. Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo. Bind your man. smoked brisket.Correcting historical records
Listen/Purchase: Amazon | Apple Music | Rough Trade | Spotify | Tide
Lil: Uncontrollable emotions. Slide your tongue. fretless bass. glissando; swimming pool reverb. Wonderful Voyage; Lava Lamp. Antique perfume atomizer. Pressed flowers.faded technicolor
Listen/Purchase: Amazon | Apple Music | Bandcamp | Rough Trade | Spotify | Tide
Lil: Triplets. Fractal; the intersection of rigor and eccentricity. staccato; diamond bit drill; rock tumbler. HBCU Drumline. classic minimalism. Observatory. Optical illusion. Difficult quantization settings. physical modeling. A ping pong ball falling into a mousetrap. AP calculation