The best songs and albums of 2024: Official Charts staff picks

The great thing about pop music is that everyone's experience of it is different.

Here at Official Charts, we're on the frontlines of pop's changing tide; here to witness its ebb and flow, day in and day out. We like to think we know a lot about good music.

So, as 2024 nears its end, here are the picks from team Official Charts for what they believe are the best singles and albums released this year. 

Don't agree with any of our picks? Let us know what made your year-end list...

George Griffiths - Staff Writer

Single: Florrie – Looking for Love

A song more than 10 years in the making, Florrie’s Looking for Love is a stunning electronica ballad that manages that most miraculous, mercurial trick a pop song can manage; bottling up an exact feeling. The feeling of being in complete and utter despair, of course.

‘Am I looking for love in the wrong place?’ Florrie calls on the chorus, over cascading synths and drums, creating a waterfall of emotion. ‘As I had it all, but it went to waste…’

If it was (rightfully) released a decade ago, Looking for Love would have (in my humble opinion) been a Number 1 single. Still, it’s a minor miracle exists right now at all. Basically, it was worth the wait.

Album: Charli xcx - BRAT

It only took 11 years for Charli xcx to allow the mainstream to catch up to her, but when she did, she took the moment for all it was worth.

BRAT is not just a record for the clubs, it’s a body of work soaked in poppers burns, cigarette ash and the panic attack you have when you leave the afters at 10am. Over BRAT’s 15 tracks, you travel through Charli’s entire career; the introspection of True Romance (I might say something stupid), the chaotic soundscapes of Pop 2 (club classics) and How I’m Feeling Now (I think about it all the time) and the unashamed commercial sheen of Crash (360, Von dutch).

This was not just the album of the year, it was the album Charli had always been destined to make. Long live BRAT summer!

Nick Levine - Freelance news & features writer

Single: ROSÉ and Bruno Mars – APT.

Along with JADE's Angel of My Dreams, APT. has got to be 2024's most unexpected and disruptive pop single. No one would have expected ROSÉ to launch her solo album era with a pop-punk banger, let alone one that sounds a bit like the Ting Tings and Bittersweet World-era Ashlee Simpson. The fact ROSÉ wrote it about a South Korean drinking game only adds to the giddy sense of fun. I've no doubt that ROSÉ, Bruno Mars and their co-writers worked hard to polish its spiky pop hooks, but the result sounds effortless and wonderfully off-the-cuff. Here's hoping it climbs to Number 1 in the New Year!

Album: Sabrina Carpenter – Short N’ Sweet

Sabrina dominated the Official Singles Chart this year, but this album has such strength in depth that it wasn't overshadowed by her three huge Number 1s – Espresso, Please Please Please and Taste. Every song has some kind of witty or pithy lyrical payoff that slips into your brain alongside her breezy pop melodies. I especially like the way she frames sexual attraction with a reference to a cult 2007 movie about a pregnant teenager: "If you love me right, then who knows? I might let you make me Juno." People online love to say "no one's doing it like her", but in Sabrina's case, that really is true.

Ryan Draper - Chart Operations Executive

Single: Charli xcx – Sympathy is a knife

She pours her insecurities into my own and the effect is a brutish writhing of XCXtasy.

Album: Charli xcx – BRAT

Green has always been my favourite colour, and Charli's my new favourite addiction.

Becca Monahan - Commercial Director

Single: Nothing But Thieves – Oh No::He Said What? 

I first heard this on the radio and immediately had to listen to it again. This track felt so familiar and so new at the same time – there are flashes of The Weeknd and Daft Punk in there, combined with 80s synth and a brilliant heavy rock bass line. Conor Mason’s vocals are impressive as ever and the track creates a unique combination of soaring euphoria with dirty guitar riffs This track made me want to see these guys live as soon as humanly possible – ideally outside at a festival. Spotify tells me I am in the top 0.1% of listeners to this track so I have clearly had it on repeat a lot this year!

 Album: Beyoncé – COWBOY CARTER

All hail Queen Bey – Cowboy Carter was described as a “masterpiece” by UK music critics on its release and rightly so. Texas Holdem’ had me – is that… country? From Beyoncé? And I had to know more. By the time I had listened to the whole thing I genuinely thought that country might never be the same again – or at least the way I listen to it won’t be. (Although as Beyoncé said “This ain’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”)

The album’s 27 tracks span a mix of genres and moods, from country, rap and as the album progresses, funk and soul.

Special shout out to Blackbiird – a cover of Blackbird  featuring artists Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Reyna Roberts and Brittney Spencer. Paul McCartney’s Blackbird has always had a haunting, magical quality was originally written in support of the civil rights movement and its faithful cover makes perfect sense for its inclusion on Cowboy Carter.

Cowboy Carter is not just a great album - it was a cultural moment which looked at country music through the lens of black history, artistry and empowerment. Go Queen.

Gus Hully - Senior Analyst

Single: Chappell Roan – HOT TO GO!

It’s been a massive year for solo female artists with Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli xcx/Billie Eilish, Gigi Perez and Gracie Abrams all having number one singles but this synth-pop banger from Chappell Roan was the song of the summer and an easy one to pick for this. We all know how to do the dance, right?

Album: Neck Deep – Neck Deep

Had to double check when this was released but thankfully it came out in January and it’s a fantastic return to form for the lads from Wrexham. 10 uptempo tracks with big choruses and huge singalongs means this is one of the best pop-punk records in years.

Martin Talbot - Chief Executive Officer

Single: Public Service Broadcasting – The Fun Of It (with Andreya Casablanca)

The Public Service Broadcasting album The Last Flight was one of the year’s highlight albums and The Fun Of It with Andreya Casablanca is a glorious highlight. Led by their creative anchor J Willgoose, PSB are a unique creative force and their latest album commemorates the mysterious final flight of pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart and this standout track, whose title is taken from her memoir of the same name, is just the most joyous, uplifting anthem. Can’t wait to see them again live in 2025. 

Album: Idles – TANGK

Album of the year? There were so many. Yard Act, Bess Attwell, Khruangbin, Laura Marling, Big Special, Personal Trainer, Gruff Rhys, Cindy Lee, Cassandra Jenkins, Kim Gordon, Michael Kiwanuka, Father John Misty, Kim Deal, PSB, they have all released fantastic records this year - we are genuinely living through an extraordinary period with so much brilliant music is being created. But the release that has stayed with me all year is Idles’ fifth album Tangk. The Bristolian five-piece are still making the kind of angry, challenging music that is essential in these times, but this is their most complete album yet, Dancer, Gift Horse, Roy, Hall & Oates and Grace (backed by the promo of the year) showcasing an incredible range from the fast maturing outfit. Genuinely brilliant record. And, in reserve - the sumptuous Iechyd Da by former Coral main-man/founder Bill Ryder Jones. 

Joel Freeman - Video Producer

Single: Kesha - JOYRIDE

A polka-tinged, Balls to the Wall banger that features some hilariously wonky lyrics–“Are you a man? Cause I’m a bitch!”– and miraculously, doesn't collapse under the bonkersness of its Frankensteined parts. The madness that pop needs more of in 2025. 

Album: Ariana Grande – eternal sunshine

Eternal Sunshine is perhaps an album that feels muted and slight on first listen, particularly after an uncharacteristically long 4 year break. However, further listens reveal the pop superstar’s most quietly assured album to date, with delicate production and Ariana's signature intricate vocal layering bolstering some of the best melody writing of her career.

Eric Hunter - Business Development Manager

Single: The Weeknd & Playboi Carti - Timeless

Timeless is a track that’s been staying on repeat and feels fresh with every listen. The chemistry between Playboi Carti & The Weeknd is electric and it’s been a standout for me this year.

Album: Kendrick Lamar - GNX

2024 has been Kendrick’s year and he proves why he’s in a league of his own with GNX. The album hits hard, every listen reveals a new layer and you discover something new every time you press play.

Daniel Chambers - Digital Commercial Lead

Single: Chappell Roan – Good Luck, Babe!

It wouldn’t be my normal pick but my favourite song released this year has to be Chappell Roan’s Good Luck, Babe! The introduction feels comforting and nostalgic. Like a big, warm synthy hug. It sends out much needed positive energy and reminds me of the music I would hear blasting out on the radio when I was a kid back in the 90s. More importantly, it feels like Kate Bush reincarnated and that’s a glorious thing!

Album: London Grammar – The Greatest Love

My favourite album this year has to be London Grammar’s The Greatest Love. Each album they release just gets better and better. From the memorable melodies of House and Kind Of Man to the nostalgic and happy sensations of You and I, their 4th offering has it all.

A particular highlight for me are the final two tracks. into Gold starts as a beautiful, poetic and soul-searching letter. It ends with Dot Major being unshackled resulting in what can only be described as an arpeggiator-fuelled, space rave. The album ends perfectly with its title track The Greatest Love – an anthemic wall of sound which is guaranteed to raise all the goosebumps within its vicinity. The whole album is heartfelt, positive and diverse in its offering. It really is a true gem.

Chris Austin - Operations Director

Single: Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso

Finally something my kids and I agree on! Espresso was an instant classic summer banger. With 21 weeks at Number 1 (7 for Espresso), 2024 has most definitely been Sabrina’s year.

Album: The Last Dinner Party – Prelude To Ecstasy

I can’t remember ever hearing so much buzz around an artist before their debut release as TLDP, and their album did not disappoint! I loved the first single Nothing Matters, but Caeser on a TV Screen has stayed on my playlist throughout the year.

Lauren Kreisler - Director of Brand & Digital

Single: Chappell Roan – Good Luck, Babe!

We’ve been spoiled for excellent pop music this year, which, in itself is such a welcome state of affairs.

While us Brits may have initially slept on Chappell Roan’s debut album back in 2023, Good Luck, Babe!’s arrival as a standalone track in April this year saw her shoot another shot which thankfully changed her fortune.

The song’s steady three-month ascent into the Top 10 and six-week residency at Number 2 seeped Chappell’s sound into the public consciousness, triggering the belated (but deserved!) discovery of The Rise Of A Midwest Princess.

Then there was the insane Lollapalooza footage that did the rounds on social media - an entire field of grown-ups as far as the eye could see doing the HOT TO GO! dance. Layer in the spectacular costumes, the make-up and drag theatrics, the setting boundaries with crazy fans, that SNL performance, all backed up with ridiculously great songwriting and vocals. Gah!

The most exciting breakthrough of 2024, and a new chart icon for us all to fall in love with.

Good Luck, Babe! should have been a Number 1, but you know, it’s fine, it’s cool…

Album: Charli xcx - BRAT

Picking the most obvious choice for album of the year and not giving a sh*t what anyone thinks?

So BRAT!

Helen Ainsley - Brand & PR Manager

Single: Benson Boone – Beautiful Things

Such a great song and a hugely deserving Number 1 earlier this year. Beautiful Things really showcases our Benson’s talent in one excellent little earworm, and I urge everybody to listen to his wider catalogue. The guy can really perform too…Have you ever seen a man do a backflip and then perfectly hit his next note? If you’ve been to a Benson Boone show you have!!!

Album: Griff - Vertigo

One of our greatest pop exports who deserves SO much more attention, Griff is immensely talented as a songwriter and performer, and Vertigo is a stunning collection of music. Top 3 tracks are Into The Walls, Cycles, and Anything.

Also, I hate following the rules so also a big honourable mention to Everything Everything’s Mountainhead. Class.