Best albums and songs of 2024: Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Charli XCX and more

2024 was an unmatched year for pop music.

From “Cowboy Carter” to “Brat” and “Espresso” to “Not Like Us,” Page Six ranked the releases that kept us grooving all year long.

See our list of the five best albums and songs of 2024 (plus some honorable mentions) below.

Best albums

5. Kendrick Lamar, “GNX”

Christmas came early for Kendrick Lamar fans this year when the rapper surprise-released his latest triumph.

Hot on the heels of his headline-making beef with Drake, Lamar’s expansive victory lap — “Luther,” “Squabble Up” and “TV Off” are career highlights — shushes any naysayers of his well-deserved Pulitzer Prize (though Champagne Papi may be the only one at this point).

4. Ariana Grande, “Eternal Sunshine”

Ariana Grande writes the book on a graceful divorce with her strongest release since her 2019 opus, “Thank U, Next.”

In just 35 minutes, the “Wicked” star goes through the five stages of grief, at times finding herself in such a vulnerable state that you can hear a slight crack in her usually impeccable voice (“I Wish I Hated You”), before receiving some sound advice from her beloved nonna: “Never go to bed without kissin’ goodnight.”

3. Charli XCX, “Brat”

Charli XCX isn’t your typical pop star, but, damn, has she cracked the formula for crafting an earworm.

Thanks to her viral smashes “Guess,” “Apple” and “360,” plus an endorsement of sorts from Vice President Kamala Harris, the songwriting savant finally got her due this summer (IYKYK).

2. Billie Eilish, “Hit Me Hard and Soft”

Luck struck twice for Billie Eilish, who capitalized on the success of her twofold 2021 hit “Happier Than Ever” with an entire record of songs that — you guessed it — hit hard and soft.

From the plucks of an acoustic guitar swelling into a full-on headbanger in “The Greatest” to Eilish’s best Sinatra impression spiraling into lawless electro-pop in “L’Amour de Ma Vie,” there’s nothing this Grammy darling can’t do.

1. Beyoncé, “Cowboy Carter”

Only Beyoncé could seamlessly blend country music (“Texas Hold ‘Em”) with pop (“Bodyguard”), rock ‘n’ roll (“Ya Ya”), opera (“Daughter”) and a Beatles cover (“Blackbiird”).

With co-signs from legendary collaborators including Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, Queen Bey’s eighth studio album is a tour de force that’ll stick around, ’round, ’round, ’round, ’round for years to come.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order by artist)

Sabrina Carpenter, “Short n’ Sweet”; Doechii, “Alligator Bites Never Heal”; Post Malone, “F-1 Trillion”; Tyla, “Tyla”; Vampire Weekend, “Only God Was Above Us”

Best songs

5. Beyoncé, “Texas Hold ‘Em”

Beyoncé proved that she can do country, too, eight years after her first foray into the genre polarized Nashville.

The boot-stomping, banjo-driven lead single from “Cowboy Carter” shattered records, making the superstar the first black woman to ever have a No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart. Giddy up!

4. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile”

Is anyone really shocked that Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars knocked it out of the park?

The pop stars’ unexpected soft-rock collaboration may seem like Grammy bait on paper (it did score two nominations after all), but there’s no doubt it’s an instantly timeless addition to two of the most celebrated catalogs of our time.

3. Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us”

Just when it seemed like their feud may never end, Lamar put his foot on Drake’s neck for four and a half pivotal minutes and never looked back.

Even then, Drizzy managed to regain his footing and get in the last word (for now), but nothing could heal him from the hardest line of all time: “Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably A minor.”

2. Billie Eilish, “Birds of a Feather”

Eilish’s gorgeously produced second single from “Hit Me Hard and Soft” was a sleeper hit of sorts.

The songwriting savant admittedly expected “Lunch” to be the album’s breakout, but fans just couldn’t get enough of her lush take on “’til death do us part,” which instantly became one of her signature tunes.

1. Sabrina Carpenter, “Espresso”

Ten years into her music career, Sabrina Carpenter finally got her due.

The blond bombshell’s inescapable song of the summer quickly became the song of the year, one that puts more pep in your step than caffeine could ever do. Thank God this singer was working late.

Honorable mentions (in alphabetical order by artist)

Charli XCX featuring Billie Eilish, “Guess”; Ariana Grande, “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)”; Chappell Roan, “Good Luck, Babe!”; Taylor Swift featuring Post Malone, “Fortnight”; Tinashe, “Nasty”