Brad's Top 50 Albums of 2024

Here are the best albums of the year according to Amoeba Hollywood’s head music buyer.

Pre-Order Maribou State

Maribou State's first studio album in six years "Hallucinating Love" will be available January 31st on CD, LP and Unique Recycled Blend Color Vinyl.

Pre-Order The Weather Station

The Weather Station’s “Humanhood” will be available January 17th on CD, LP and Red Color Vinyl.

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2024 Holiday Store Hours

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Our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide Has Arrived!

You can pick up a free copy of our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide at any Amoeba store location or download a PDF version for gift suggestions and stocking stuffers... View

New MWL Staff Lists

The new edition of our Music We Like staff lists for Fall 2024 is online now! View lists from our Berkeley, San Francisco & Hollywood stores. View

EarWax Amoeba Podcast

Every Thursday on our podcast EarWax, two longtime record store clerks share the stories behind the albums we love. View

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Amoeba Tote Bags

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Music We Like

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Javelin (CD)

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens's Javelin is a beautiful heartbreaker. These tracks feel like some of his deepest, most vulnerable, devastating work, yet this album is no downer. Buoyed quite literally by the lovely backing vocals of his five-part vocal choir of friends (adrienne maree brown, Hannah Cohen, Pauline Delassus, Megan Lui, and Nedelle Torrisi), the tracks embody the incredible human ability to reach up from the gutter, towards the stars. Javelin is a soft-voiced companion for tough times, gifted with a sense of the sacred and sublime.

Smoke & Fiction (CD)

X

All these years later, X still sounds uniquely raucous, cool, and on the razor's edge. The legendary punk band's ninth studio album, Smoke & Fiction , feels like it could've come straight from the band's '80s heyday, while still feeling modern, urgent, and unlike anyone else. The songs are driving, intense, and compelling with that familiar punk meets surf meets country that equates to X's version of LA Noir. Out on Fat Possum, the band says Smoke & Fiction is their final album and as X looks back on the heady days of their youth, it feels like a fitting (and fantastic) final chapter.

Seas And Greetings (CD)

Yachtley Crew

L.A.’s favorite Yacht Rock tribute band Yächtley Crëw have a solid tradition of delighting fans with their covers of ‘70s & ‘80s soft rock hits performed in nautical costumes. Now the group has released Seas and Greetings , a new holiday EP that includes an original track called “Home For Christmas,” a joyful cover of Status Quo’s “It’s Christmas Time,” and three classics. What better way to get into the holiday spirit than cranking up a fun set of tunes from this good-time band?

Willie Watson (CD)

Willie Watson

Former Old Crow Medicine Show singer/guitarist Willie Watson forges a new path with his debut self-titled solo album. Among those backing him up is renowned Tom Petty keyboardist Benmont Tench, and Gabe Witcher and Paul Klowert of the Punch Brothers. It's Watson's uniquely Dylanesque vocals that shine through, no more so than on "Real Love," a perfect, heartfelt country love song written for Watson's wife Mindy.

Lagos Paris London (CD)

Yannis & The Yaw

Every so often, a record comes along and makes you stop in your tracks. That's the case for the wondrous, imaginative new Yannis & The Yaw album, Lagos Paris London . Vibrant, upbeat, and with a bit of an edge, this five-track EP is the result of an all-too-short yet seemingly fated collaboration between Foals singer Yannis Philippakis and the late, great Afrobeat legend Tony Allen. The pair play off each other magnificently, creating a fusion of sounds so dynamic and fresh it just feels like the sound of NOW — and that's despite the many setbacks in the creation of this collection, from scheduling issues to Covid restrictions, that started all the way back in 2016. Lagos Paris London is phenomenal.

Weird Faith (CD)

Madi Diaz

Themes of life, love, faith are explored on Weird Faith , the latest album from Madi Diaz. Coming off of a stint as a touring guitarist with Harry Styles, Diaz's unique style of introspective indie folk with a pop sheen uses minimal bells and whistles, her voice being the star of the show. The album also features "Don't Do Me Good," a duet with country star Kacey Musgraves.

Cutouts (CD)

The Smile

The latest outing from The Smile will get under your skin. Cutouts is haunting and compelling, with some melodic flourishes and vocal lines that'll leave you breathless. The songs simmer with the pent-up intensity that bubbles beneath the surface of this enjoyably unpredictable listen. At times the vibe is moody, atmospheric, devastatingly beautiful. At others, the band leans into motorik, tightly-wound melodies and percussion that'll sweep listeners up into a frenetic, dynamic mirror of contemporary 24/7 culture. The members of The Smile all have impeccable track records for creating affecting, unforgettable songs and Cutouts ranks among their best.

No Obligation (CD)

The Linda Lindas

The Linda Lindas prove once again that they are one of the coolest, most rock 'n' roll bands in music today. On No Obligation , the band serves up scathing punk and irresistible power pop, informed by riot grrrl, indie rock, new wave, post-punk, and garage. The Linda Lindas set the tone right out the gate with the title track, a blistering basement punk jam, before somehow seamlessly shifting to a gorgeous yet gritty, droll and catchy mode via "All in My Head." As the album progresses, the energy never stops, with the band joyfully experimenting (and succeeding) with genre after genre. No Obligation is a thoroughly enjoyable, full-speed-ahead odyssey through underground rock 'n' roll.

Horrible Occurrences (LP)

Advance Base

Horrible Occurrences is filled with sparse and shimmering lovely songs — and yes, they're all about those tragic, terrifying, desolate moments in life. As Advance Base, Owen Ashworth (Casiotone for the Painfully Alone) finds the very human episodes of love, connection, and perseverance amidst the scary stuff. The songs all chronicle happenings in the fictional town of Richmond, a sort of stand-in for the places in the past where traumas reside, whether those traumas are more on the quotidian side (meeting a guy who seems lovely, only to hear he's maybe NOT so lovely in "Rene Goodnight") or more on the "local legend" side (having to face an intruder in your home at night in "The Year I Lived in Richmond"). These tales are so imaginative, so heartfelt, so detailed that it's easy to feel yourself right there alongside the fictional narrators, which makes Horrible Occurrences an incredible moving, gripping, empathetic experience.

Sadness Sets Me Free (CD)

Gruff Rhys

You might read the title Sadness Sets Me Free and think "No way. Sadness is just sadness." But trust Gruff Rhys: through these sweeping chronicles of disappointment, existential malaise, pain, and being a bad friend, the Welsh rocker traces an undercurrent of hope, care, and revival. The arrangements are lovely and romantic, with easy-going rhythms, swooning strings, and a sort of 1960s meets 2024 vibe. Whether you're feeling down or just enjoy a finely crafted song, Sadness Sets Me Free will help you find the beauty in even the darkest moments.

Ooh La La [Mint Green Vinyl] (LP)

Guster

Guster are back with their first album in five years. Ooh La La is easy, breezy, and dreamy. These tender, lovely songs evoke a nostalgic mood without casting the usual shadows of wistfulness that so often haunt looks back at the past. Ooh La La is one of those albums for all seasons, for both sunny, warm summer days when life is good and for icy, wintry nights when you long for warmth. Guster does what they do best with these songs celebrating the everyday moments of love and beauty that make up a life.

The Bed I Made (LP)

The Softies

Yes, you heard right. There's a new album from beloved indie pop minimalists The Softies. The Bed I Made is lilting and tender, a softly beautiful and introspective exploration of grief and rebirth. The songs are quietly powerful, a testament to love, hope, and growth through challenges. The Bed I Made is an album to treasure, one you'll want to listen to closely, again and again. This album will remind you that nobody does it quite like The Softies.

What's In My Bag?

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Guitar virtuoso and composer Julian Lage goes shopping at Amoeba Hollywood and talks about his mentor Jim Hall, the nature of improvisation, Emahoy Tsegué-Mariam Guèbru's poignant solo piano recordings, the nuances in the John Coltrane Quartet ballads, Barbra Streisand's ability to interpret songs at the highest level & much more.

Amoeba Exclusive


Amoeba Exclusive Color Vinyl

Pre-order your copy of the original motion picture score to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on Amoeba Exclusive transparent red w/black orb color vinyl! Available for the first time on any format! Only 300 pressed. Out February, 14th 2025 via Waxwork Records.

Holiday Music


Holiday Music On Vinyl

We have an impressive selection of holiday music available on everyone's favorite format...VINYL!

And remember, keep calm and jingle all the way.

Turntable Guide


Turntable Recommendations

We have a great selection of turntables, including models for beginners, mid-level enthusiasts, DJs and aspiring audiophiles. Check out our turntable recommendations!