In a year filled with great albums by singer-songwriters, Haley Heynderickx's Seed of a Seed stood out for its dense arrangements as well as its depiction of the struggle to look up from our screens at the world around us.
Evan Benally Atwood/Courtesy of the artist
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Nala Sinephro's Endlessness — produced, arranged and engineered by the English harpist — arrived in 2024 lacking any narrative baggage, forcing listeners to uncover its secrets on their own.
Tofjan/Courtesy of the artist
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Madi Diaz's Weird Faith, a welcome Grammy nominee in the awards' folk and Americana categories, wrestles with big ideas about love, spirituality and fear.
Muriel Margaret
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Mexican American country and America artist Wyatt Flores is just one of many musicians changing the conversation around Latin music in 2024.
Natalie Rhea/Courtesy of the artist
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Brazilian singer Luiza Brina's album Prece includes a lyrical command to embrace risk, and to learn from the journey upon which it sets you.
Daniela Paoliello/Courtesy of the artist
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Songwriter Jessica Pratt "resides in some alternate multiverse where time is meaningless," according to NPR Music's classical expert Tom Huizenga, who counts Pratt's album Here in the Pitch among his most spun of the year.
Samuel Hess/Courtesy of the artist
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Shabaka's album Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace begins with the song "End Of Innocence," one among many pieces of music that managed to be both haunting and comforting in 2024.
atibaphoto/Courtesy of the artist
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Saxophonist Devin Daniels and trumpeter Julien Knowles distinguished themselves on breakthrough releases this year — Daniels on the star-making LesGo! and Knowles on his solo debut, As Many, As One, each of which features the other as a band member.
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The album Revolución Diamantina, with Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is devoted to the music of Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz.
Cover art by Raul Urias/Platoon
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