The Best Australian Albums Of 2024

In a year when pop was dominated by new names—Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter—Beyoncé and Post Malone went country, Oasis reformed, Metallica finally announced their long-awaited return to Australia, Linkin Park returned with a new singer, and Tenacious D were threatened with deportation by an Australian senator, tons of Australian artists released amazing music and made headlines.

Let’s round up some Australian achievements, shall we? Kylie Minogue returned to #1 in Australia and the UK, gathering the tenth #1 album of her career in the UK. Dom Dolla sold out shows in venues as huge as the Flemington Racecourse and needed extra dates at Madison Square Garden. Kylie and Tommy Emmanuel won Grammy Awards. Royel Otis, Troye Sivan, Angie McMahon, and Teen Jesus And The Jean Teasers won prestigious ARIA Awards.

Speaking of Teen Jesus, the Canberra punks scored the support slot of a lifetime opening for Pearl Jam in stadiums across the country last month. Meanwhile, Australia’s heavy music scene is booming, with acts including Parkway Drive, Alpha Wolf, The Amity Affliction, Make Them Suffer and SPEED selling out massive shows in Australia, Europe, and America. Australian music is pumping, and The Music is here to celebrate it.

It's been an incredible year of new music, and in The Music’s list of the Best Australian Albums of 2024, you’ll find albums from all genres – pop, indie, rock, metal, hip-hop, country, blues, and more. We hope that some of your favourites appear on this list or that you discover something new. Let’s dig in.

Here are The Music team’s picks of the Best Australian Albums of the Year (in alphabetical order):

3% - Kill The Dead

Since their debut 2023 single, Our People with The Presets, Blak supergroup 3% have solidified themselves as absolute juggernauts in the music game. Made up of MCs Nooky and Dallas Woods and singer-songwriter Angus Field, it’s no wonder why their debut album Kill The Dead is deservedly one of the best albums to be birthed this year. Releasing the day before the 20th anniversary of the National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAS) in Larrakia/Darwin (which 3% have respectively been nominated for two awards), the album release couldn’t come at a better time – playing out as a statement of survival, excellence and reclamation in light of eternal Blak celebration.

Kill The Dead acts as a sonic restoration and preservation of Blak culture. Through cut-throat lyricism, fiery delivery, and a blend of rap, hip hop, and R&B complimented by samples, acoustic guitar and features from Tia Gostelow, Jessica Mauboy, Calula Webster and MARLON, the album was written, constructed and made with the intention to platform Blak voices, Blak art and Blak excellence. It maintains textbook rawness through and through, taking listeners through the internal and external strife of living in their skin, and utilising traumas as a means of ensuring Blak survival for generations to come.

"Most of [KILL THE DEAD] is a reflection of our people. There is a lot of pain there; there is a lot of trauma. But there’s also a lot of happiness, a lot of strength, a lot of joy and a lot of love and a lot of pride, and a lot of resilience,” Nooky told The Music.

"It's like, 'Yeah, we have dealt with this, and this has happened to us, and it's not right. But we still find within ourselves the power to love and to be happy and allow ourselves to feel these emotions and try and break these generational curses and these fucking traumas and not pass it on to our kids… [So] it was like, 'Let's go to a place where a lot of that trauma and pain stems from and let's show how far we've come and where we're at now.'"

Kill The Dead is a timeless piece of art, and one that’ll be cemented in Australian music history as one of the most staggering and vital albums to have come out of 2024. - Adele Luamanuvae

Amyl And The Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness

Amyl And The Sniffers’ latest work had the catchy lyrics “You’re a dumb c*nt, you’re an a**hole” on repeat in the ears of Australians, much to the pearl-clutching of some conservatives.

Cartoon Darkness, the third album from the Melbourne four-piece, barged open doors and cemented the tongue-in-cheek group as an Australian favourite with a #2 spot on the ARIA charts, and even saw the band revel in the American market with spots on Billboard’s Top 100 and Top Album Sales.

Produced by Nick Launay (The Birthday Party, Public Image Ltd.), the album balances high-volume aggression with unexpected depth, showcasing a band willing to sharpen its edge. Building on the attention of sophomore release Comfort To Me, Amyl And The Sniffers have continued their journey of speaking out on political issues; lead singer Amy Taylor said in a statement that Cartoon Darkness delved into topics such as the “climate crisis, war, AI, tiptoeing on the eggshells of politics, and people feeling like they're helping by having a voice online when we’re all just feeding the data beast of Big Tech, our modern-day god.”

• Amyl And The Sniffers' ‘Cartoon Darkness’: ‘It’s About Loving & Wanting To Understand The World, Not About Hating It’

From the opening blast of Jerkin’ (and the bare-all film clip), Amy Taylor’s relentless growl cuts through the jagged riffs with enough naughty words to kill your grandparents. Tiny Bikini follows with swagger—snarling at female objectification and the ‘modest vs revealing’ divide forced on women. Tracks like Big Dreams show Taylor & co’s softer side, with sombre guitar work and Taylor’s existential lyricism.

Speaking on lyricism, Taylor and bandmate Declan Mehrtens tackle more than just blunt angst this time, diving into some of Millennials and Gen Z’s deepest fears for the future on tracks like Doing In Me Head and Bailing On Me. Yet there’s still that fire: Hits like U Should Not Be Doing That punch back with punk defiance, aimed at doubters of their rising fame - “Don't you know the best roses are always grown out of cow shit?” - Emma Newbury

The Buoys – Lustre

Sydney-based quartet The Buoys have been simmering just under the surface of Australia’s alt-rock scene for years, but their 2024 debut album Lustre has risen the band to Aus indie fame. Fronted by the dynamic Zoe Catterall, alongside Hilary Geddes (lead guitar), Courtney Cunningham (bass), and Tess Wilkin (drums), Lustre balances punchy guitar-driven anthems with The Buoys signature punk rock attitude. 

Drawing from influences ranging from ‘90s alt-rock to '00s pop-punk, Lustre delivers hook-heavy tracks throughout its runtime. The standout Check Mate, co-written with Alex Lahey, exudes Weezer-esque energy, while Guard My Heart strips things back to explore vulnerability with subtle beauty. The album’s frank lyrical wit—exemplified by sick burns like “has boundaries like Jonah Hill” in Subject A—cements Catterall’s talent for weaving humorous social commentary into her storytelling.

Recording the album live with producer Chris Collins (Royel Otis, Budjerah) in NSW’s Northern Rivers, Lustre immediately sounds the same as what you’d expect from a Buoys live show, which you may have caught this year during their national tour. 

Blending the familiarity of their past work with evolved production, Lustre is an easy favourite for one of the best Aussie releases of 2024. - Emma Newbury

Emily Wurramara - NARA

Anindilyakwa singer-songwriter Emily Wurramara returned this year with her riveting project NARA, the first full-length project since her debut album Milyakburra. With a six-year separation comes an intense and rapid sense of growth and personal development both musically and personally for Wurramara. NARA was 13 years in the making, with songs dating as far back as the artist’s high school days. Revisiting the past, understanding traumas, accepting discomfort, allowing the beautiful chaos and forgiving oneself ultimately led to the spellbinding music that encompasses the album.

Wurramara is a raw and talented lyricist, unafraid to be candid, direct or descriptive in detailing her past suffering. On NARA, she muses over the heartbreaking happenings that catapulted her to put pen to paper and fingers to keys – stories that most artists wouldn’t dare tell unless shrouded in innuendos and metaphors. But for Wurramara, these past traumas created a domino effect of release, both literally and figuratively. With guest spots from her little brother Arringarri, Tasman Keith, Zeppelin Hamilton and Lisa Mitchell, the album exudes family, community, togetherness and hope, leading listeners to ponder on the importance of being grounded, holding your loved ones tight and singing, dancing, creating, loving until your heart gives out.

“It can be shit-scary [to be so vulnerable in the public eye],” she told The Music. “But then a piece of me was like, ‘You can finally let go because now it’s going to help the people who need to hear it.

“You know, I always talk about this balance [between] dark and light: you need this balance to really understand what you’re going through, and I feel that for sure [in opening up] – it is empowering, and it is scary and it is beautiful. And I’m growing from it, too – from these experiences, and from hearing people’s feedback and their own stories, and their journeys through these things that I’ve spoken about through my songs. It makes me feel like I’m doing something amazing. It’s really beautiful.” - Adele Luamanuvae

Fanning Dempsey National Park - The Deluge

Who knew what to expect from Bernard Fanning (of Powderfinger fame) and Paul Dempsey (of Something For Kate fame) when they announced they’d joined forces for a new project called Fanning Dempsey National Park?

What could have been My Happiness meets Monsters and made a lot of people happy wasn’t what the pair presented on their debut album, The Deluge. This is an album that wouldn’t sound out of place besides the likes of Split Enz, Kraftwerk, and David Bowie. There are keyboards and bright, chirpy synthesizers, sunny guitars, and lyrics and soaring melodies to match their optimistic vibes. It’s simultaneously a throwback, with calls to modern production techniques and instruments and a daring look to the future.

It’s an exciting, ambitious release that proves two of the country’s strongest songwriters still have plenty of room for growth, curiosity, and pumping out thrilling new tunes. - Mary Varvaris

Grace Cummings - Ramona

It’s difficult to think of another album that’s left such a mark on music in 2024 than Ramona. After hitting play, the feelings are instant: awe at Grace Cummings’ powerful, dramatic voice, storytelling, vocal abilities, songs, and talent.

This is an artist who keeps growing and crafts music that feels like it is not from this world. Ramona is timeless, classic, poignant, and moving. On Ramona, this Melbourne-based artist embraces lush, striking orchestral arrangements, raw, bluesy songs of heartbreak and reflection, and moments of delicacy. A deeply personal record for Cummings, perhaps what’s so surprising about it is the universality within the songs. It’s a masterwork. - Mary Varvaris

Gut Health – Stiletto

If you’ve ever had someone say to you, “Have you caught Gut Health live?” the answer will never be anyone taking a moment to think about. If you’ve seen Gut Health live, you’ll know.

That’s exactly how they honed their craft, asserting themselves as one of the most vital live acts in Naarm/Melbourne. Complete with the incendiary vocals of Athina Uh Oh, the cathartic nature of these live shows quickly found Gut Health as an in-demand act. Support slots for Queens Of The Stone Age and Hiatus Kaiyote, touring Europe, playing Meredith, and many more, it feels almost surreal. But that’s just testament to the hard work that Gut Health have put into their impressive craft.

This year, however, finally brought with it the release of their debut album, the magnetic Stiletto. Comprised of songs that date back to the band’s earliest days and plenty of newer cuts, the result is an album that shows the evolution of a band such as Gut Health and shows just how immensely they’ve grown thanks to their myriad live shows, their dedication, and the sum of their respective musical histories.

“We all collaborate really well together, and the writing process can be different,” Athina told The Music earlier this year. “It kinda is this melting pot of different backgrounds, and that lends itself to be, like, quite exciting in the writing process, ‘cause we're all pulling from different areas and styles and things like that.”

It’s rare for a band to release an album that is so powerful and accomplished and manages to capture the full experience of seeing the band in a live setting without any concessions. It’s rare to release a debut album that is so impressive and fully formed, and it’s rare for a band to keep consistently hitting such lofty milestones. Clearly, there aren’t many bands out there like Gut Health. - Tyler Jenke

In Hearts Wake - Incarnation

Who said a metalcore band’s music has to get poppier or lighter with time? On their sixth album, Incarnation, Aussie heavy hitters In Hearts Wake raised the heaviness up a notch and provided a surprisingly fresh yet nostalgic grimy production style akin to 2000s metalcore.

The sequel/antithesis to their 2012 debut album, Divination, the band makes reference to Halo and brings back three of the guest vocalists from Divination, including Parkway Drive’s Winston McCall, who provides some spine-tinglingly moving call-and-response screams with In Hearts Wake’s Jake Taylor.

Their heaviest release to date? Undoubtedly. Their best? This scribe believes so. - Mary Varvaris

Middle Kids - Faith Crisis Pt 1

Despite their name being Middle Kids, this rising Eora trio will not - and should not - be ignored. Since bursting onto the scene in 2016 with their widely acclaimed debut single, Edge of Town, Middle Kids have made a name for themselves in the indie rock scene, including taking out the ARIA for Best Rock Album in 2021 for Today We’re The Greatest. 

This year, they were nominated for the same award for their triumphant third album, Faith Crisis Pt 1, an introspective yet jubilant look into life, love, and higher powers. Middle Kids really found their sound in this LP, creating an intoxicating blend of angsty indie rock and bright melodic pop. From the first guitar riff of Petition to the closing notes of All In My Head - a reflective duet featuring Gang Of Youths’ Dave Le’aupepe - the band takes their listeners on a journey worth trekking.

Talking to The Music earlier this year, frontwoman Hannah Joy described the album as “a thread of hope.”

“And I think even calling it Faith Crisis Pt 1, the ‘Pt 1’ is almost to bring that hope, you know? ‘Cause it’s not just like, ‘Oh, I’ve had a faith crisis, and now everything I believed has fallen away,’ it’s like a journey that we go through. Throughout life, we’re gonna have many parts of the crisis, and it’s kinda keeping it open, saying that, like, ‘I’m sure there’ll be another one, but that’s okay.’

“I would go as far as to say that having one faith crisis (or many) is important and talking about it shouldn’t be scary. We don’t just mean in a religious sense. It’s how we grow when everything falls apart. Honestly, people who have never had a faith crisis are a mystery to me.”

Who knew crisis could be so fun? - Tione Zylstra

Missy Higgins - The Second Act

Cast your mind back to 2003 for a moment, and imagine all those triple j listeners hearing a nascent Missy Higgins sharing her earliest work as part of their Unearthed program. Now, imagine that young artist taking those tentative steps towards her music career, unaware of the acclaim, accolades, and ARIA Awards that lay before her as she launches one of the most admirable music careers in modern history.

Launching that music career in the early ‘00s, Higgins stunned everyone with the accomplished and mature debut album The Sound Of White. Now, in 2024, her album The Second Act is something of a sequel; the launch of the latest chapter in her career and proof that she’s still got that magic we all fell in love with (not that any questions were raised as to if she ever lost it). A single listen even tells us that maybe she should have been inducted into the ARIA Hall Of Fame much earlier.

“I think the whole idea with my songs is that I don't hold anything back,” she told The Music earlier this year. “I think the power of my songs is that I am really vulnerable and honest, and sometimes that means saying not the most flattering things about myself or revealing not the most flattering perspective that I have.”

Indeed, it’s the power of her music that resonates so well. Her unique grasp of vulnerability and honesty has made Missy Higgins one of the most impactful Australian artists of the 21st century. It’s this ability to cut to the bone with her lyrics and her music that stays with us, and it’s the combination of it all makes The Second Act such a vital record in this year. - Tyler Jenke

Nick Ward - House With The Blue Door

Sydney artist Nick Ward’s debut album, House With The Blue Door, is a shout into the nostalgic void of his childhood and a leap into the overwhelming yet beautiful chaos of getting older and discovering oneself. Compact to an over half-hour runtime, the album possesses longevity in a way that feels almost rare for a debut project. With infectious hooks, gospel-like harmonies, and deep, earnest songwriting, you’re innately comforted by the journey Ward invites you on.

House With The Blue Door is a complete reflection of Ward’s family history, childhood, and traumas that have influenced the complicated relationship he has with the past. Ward’s writing on the album is full of hard-to-swallow anecdotes from his innermost thoughts, where on songs like I Wanna Be A Mother, he articulates the complexity around wanting to be a nurturing parental figure like a mother and being scared that his more unlikable traits will carry on to his children. In between, Ward allows himself to rock out on songs like Control and Shooting Star, showcasing his knack for genre-bending and his organic ability to find a balance between introspection and rage.

Nick Ward’s House With The Blue Door is a clear example of an artist who lives to tell the tale, no matter how harsh or provocative. It's a therapeutic act that allows Ward to fully and wholeheartedly express himself by any means necessary.

For a cover story on The Music, Ward said he hopes the project is something that listeners can relate to and find solace in: “I hope that by listening to it, people can see some of their own childhood in it but also get a better understanding of me, what my references are, and the stuff that I pull from. Once I had, like, eight or nine songs, when I was making it, I was like, this is definitely my debut album. I don't know what an album is if this isn’t one.” - Adele Luamanuvae

Party Dozen – Crime In Australia

On paper, the collaboration between saxophonist Kirsty Tickle and percussionist Jonathan Boulet isn’t something that feels like it should work. However, when combined, the pair that is Party Dozen are the very definition of a force to be reckoned with.

Since they first began releasing music by way of 2017’s The Living Man, Party Dozen have slowly chipped away at the music scene, carving out their own little niche of forceful experimentation that allows them to own a unique space within Aussie music in which they reside. Largely based around improvisation, they’re a little too avant-garde for the mainstream, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone with a bad word to say about records like Pray For Party Dozen or The Real Work. When the latter record scored an Australian Music Prize nomination, it felt like that elusive mainstream acceptance might be on the way.

But who cares, really? An album like this isn’t here to try and win over naysayers, nor is it here to vie for contention at the ARIA Awards. It’s pure, uncut Party Dozen, complemented by the rawness and viscerality that only Tickle and Boulet can provide. Standouts like Coup De Gronk, Wake In Might, and The Big Man Upstairs are emblematic of the Party Dozen sound and the immense power they bring to both the stage and studio.

They might not be in it for anything but the love of music, but for Crime In Australia not to be considered one of the year’s best releases is, well, a crime. - Tyler Jenke

Regurgitator - Invader

What do fans want out of a Regurgitator album? A sense of humour, keen ears for melody, and wacky instrumentation. A whole lot of fun. The band’s tenth album balances “a wildly swinging tightrope of maturity and immaturity balanced on the edge of anything” the way only Regurgitator can.

On Invader, the Aussie group are rock and roll, hilarious, then channel ‘80s nostalgia with an energy and creative spark you mightn’t have expected from a band making their tenth album. But that’s what makes it so great—this is Regurgitator at their freshest and most invigorating. - Mary Varvaris

Royel Otis - PRATTS & PAIN

If you say you haven’t heard Royel Otis’ cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder On The Dancefloor, you’re lying. The Live A Version performance went global, amassing millions of views and garnering the duo a fresh batch of fans. Top that off with eight ARIA nominations and the success of their second album, PRATTS & PAIN, and you’ll start to understand why 2024 was such a stellar year for Royel Otis.

PRATTS & PAIN, recorded alongside producer Dan Carey (Wet Leg, Foals, Fontaines D.C.), isn’t a concept project. In fact, the sophomore album touches on a number of themes, according to the duo themselves: love, fights, being young and a bit stupid. Despite switching the salty air and sunshine of Bondi for the cold of London, the feel of summer is present all the way throughout the indie record - most notably in Sofa King, a cheeky play on words. A sense of fun reigns supreme in PRATTS & PAIN - even in Big Ciggie, where death is the main topic of conversation, the upbeat track takes an almost jester-like approach.

There’s a reason Royel Otis won Best Group and Best Rock Album at this year’s ARIAs. They deserved it. As written in The Music’s cover story on the duo, “It will be easy to remember exactly where you were when you first heard this project. Think skin mottled with sweat and the aftertaste of an alcohol-inspired kiss on your breath; a beautifully warm sunset as the sun tucks itself away under the dashboard of your first car; a little bit of heartbreak – but Royel Otis promise to help you get through it.” - Tione Zylstra

SPEED - Only One Mode

SPEED haven’t only brought hardcore to the mainstream – they nabbed the ARIA Award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album this year – but they’ve shown just how much fun heavy music can be.

With a special appearance by a flute on THE FIRST TEST, cowbell, and turntable scratching throughout the record, they’ve brought delightful new energy to a genre many might have assumed was intimidating or unwelcoming before. Instead, SPEED fly the flag for Australian hardcore with their insane grooves, sense of humour, and community-minded gigs. - Mary Varvaris

Tori Forsyth - All We Have Is Who We Are

What makes a great album by an alt-country artist? Strong, memorable songs, powerful songwriting, goosebumps-inducing harmonies, and authenticity. Tori Forsyth ticks all the boxes. On All We Have Is Who We Are, an album she’s described as challenging but rewarding, she found herself after a period of burnout, with the singer-songwriter refusing to force her creativity.

The results of her hard work are stunning: Forsyth sings with her heart on her sleeve, with arrangements calling back to Fleetwood Mac and Mazzy Star. Her songwriting is beautifully country, but the vibes are dreamy, transporting listeners through a wholly unique universe. - Mary Varvaris

Troy Cassar-Daley - Between The Fires

There’s no doubt that Troy Cassar-Daley is one of Australia’s finest storytellers. On his twelfth album, Between The Fires, the 40-time Golden Guitar award winner captured the journey of returning to country and how it helped him process grief. The rawest album Cassar-Daley has released to date, Between The Fires is about a mourning man who moves through the stages of grief: acceptance and moving on.

There’s a reason why everyone from Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, and Kasey Chambers seek him out: he’s the purest embodiment of country music, and with Between The Fires, he’s ready to be more vulnerable than ever. - Mary Varvaris