NEW YORK ā At the end of every year, when critics rush to compile their best of the year lists, great art inevitably gets overlooked. A top 10 list doesn't leave a lot of room for discovery and, in music, that sometimes means the most innovative records lose out to make room for other titles. In this list, The Associated Press attempts to rectify that.
Here are 10 of the top under-the-radar albums of the year, in no particular order, as chosen by AP Music Writer Maria Sherman.
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āStill,ā Erika de Casier
In a just world, Portuguese-born Danish singer Erika de Casier would be one of the biggest names in pop, for her retro-futuristic R&B deeply informed by the Y2K greats of the not-so-distant past. Itās hard not to hear Aaliyah or Jennifer Lopez or Janet Jackson in her breathy vocal storytelling, but her songs are not simply nostalgic. They shapeshift in the inclusion of '90s U.K. garage production (āEx-Girlfriendā with Charli XCX collaborator Shygirl) or her creative collaborations, like on āiceā with Florida rap duo They Hate Change.
āPsykos,ā Yung Lean and Bladee
One-fourth of the rap collective Drain Gang ā thatās Bladee (pronounced āBladeā) ā and emo rap prodigy Yung Lean teamed up for the surprise release āPsykosā earlier this year, a genre-allergic, rock-infused hip-hop collection of depressive pop. It's a fatalistic record for a lost, moony generation, and it may take a few listens for these Swedes to connect. But once their music does, it sounds like a surrealist document on the current moment.
āDunya,ā Mustafa
Sudanese Canadian singer Mustafaās āDunyaā (which translates from Arabic to āthe worldā) hits like ancient folkloric tradition and sounds like poetry. (Itās Mustafa The Poet, after all, though heās also scored writing credits for the likes of The Weeknd,Shawn Mendes,Camila Cabello and the Jonas Brothers.) Heās said the album works to āpreserve and celebrate the ordinary life in the hood,ā what is delicately and purposefully articulated across vignettes of love, loss and his native Toronto. āLeaving Toronto,ā specifically, is a tearjerker ā a touching tribute to his city and his late brother, who was shot and killed last year.
āNight Reign,ā Arooj Aftab
Pakistani American astral folk-jazz artist Arooj Aftab is celebrated in certain circles and lacks visibility in others: Sheās a Grammy winner who has been nominated the past three years in a row and is up for two more in 2025. Sheās performed at the White House. Earlier this month, she delivered an evocative set on āThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert,ā a welcomed disruption from the kinds of artists who normally grace American late-night television. But she's far from a household name, more likely to be your favorite artist's favorite artist. Whatever the case, her fourth album is a testament to her greatness. āNight Reignā combines cultures and genres for a gorgeous matrimony.
āEels,ā Being Dead
Those who declare there are no rock ānā roll bands anymore arenāt listening closely enough. Enter Austin weirdos Being Dead, whose sophomore album āEelsā is an asymmetrical collection of egg punk, Devo-worship, a recording of a bus driver who has had enough, psychedelic harmonies and various other oddball sensibilities that make them the best college radio rock band in recent history. And if that isnāt enough to convince a nonbeliever, the proof is in the pudding ā or in this case, the producer: Grammy winner John Congleton (St. Vincent, Tegan and Sara) took the reins on the 16-track collection. And his co-sign means something.
āAcros
s the Tracks,ā Boldy James & Conductor Williams
Detroit rapper Boldy James often works by finding a single ā and singular ā producer with whom he works closely for an album of distinction. This year, heās found a partner in Kansas City producer Conductor Williams for āAcross the Tracks,ā a dreamy, loop-heavy record of rap excellence. Itās right there from the jump. Intro āTerms and Conditionsā is stuffed with vintage, soulful sensibilities and undeniable bars. āWas taught to always be the message I bring / Pulled the sword from the stone,ā he delivers in his cool monotone. āCould never compete / They know the flow is rather unique (blocks) / I kept the receipts.ā
āSentir Que No Sabes,ā Mabe Fratti
In a time where celebrity musicians strive to appear like they avoid categorization, Guatemala-born, Mexico City-based cellist Mabe Fratti lives it. Her album, āSentir Que No Sabesā (āFeel Like You Donāt Knowā), thrives in the uncertainty of its title. Her inventive compositions contort her chosen instrument, as well as horns and drums and pianos, into something resembling free-form jazz. Or is it post-punk pop? Experimental electro-folk? These are never quite dissonant compositions, but they are unusual, askew. Language loses out here, and itās a wonderful thing.
āAbsolute Elsewhere,ā Blood Incantation
It is a failure of imagination that ābest ofā music lists often fail to account for metal and its subgenres, despite consistently being one of the most popular musical forms the world over. But sometimes a metal album is too grand to ignore. That is the case with American death metal band Blood Incantation, whose fourth studio album āAbsolute Elsewhereā stunned even the genre's most transitory listeners for its prog rock spirit, synth detouring, playful kraut teases, hardened blast beats and throat-ripping vocals. Itās cinematic.
āGreat Doubt,ā Astrid Sonne
There's something in the water in Denmark. In 2024, some of the most exciting singer-songwriters hailed from the Scandinavian country: ML Buch and Clarissa Connelly, as well as de Casier. But itās the folk and classical songs of Astrid Sonneās āGreat Doubtā that truly struck a chord with us. It answers the question: What would a classically trained composer making experimental, haunted pop music with detuned pianos and woodwinds and flutes and brass actually sound like? Great, it turns out.
āDiamond Jubilee,ā Cindy Lee
The emergence of Cindy Lee has been described as the result of āanti-hype,ā an Internet neologism that doesn't mean much more than ālimited publicity inspired intrigue.ā Lee ā the drag alter ego of Womenās Patrick Flegel, a fixture of Canadian indie rock since the early 2010s ā originally released this lo-fi gem as an unmarked YouTube link. āDiamond Jubileeā resonated with avid, curious listeners ā the kind undeterred by the fact that listening to this album, at one point in time, meant sitting down with all two hours and 32 minutes of it. But itās Leeās ambitious and expansive psych and garage rock that kept them coming back.