Great albums of 2024

2. Musicianship

3. Innovation

There are other criteria, but this is how I prioritise the above three. When it comes to innovation, I have heard so much innovative music during the last four decades, plus I've played a lot myself (on the guitar and keyboards), and listened to so many discussions about music theory and watched documentaries on how my favorite bands write and record their music, that I'm now much less easily impressed by flashy "innovation" at the expense of musicianship and/or substance. 

I think the BEST way to find out what someone likes is to see a list of favorites. Instead of trying (and failing) to describe it, show it! And that is exactly what you are usually refusing to do. Of course you are under no obligation whatsoever to post a list of your favorite releases from 2024, or maybe even a list of releases you do not like. But until you do, the best we can do is speculate. 

BTW: It is deeply offensive for you to suggest that the less someone says/writes about a release, the less they have listened to it. There can be many other - and I would say much more likely - reasons for that.

"Do not say a little in many words, but a great deal in a few" (Pythagoras).

I only have two more albums, Uboa's and Herhum's.  The order does not mean very much, especially as there is some major contrast in the music, and feel awkward ranking when they have their own unique qualities and virtues.

siLLy puPPy wrote: ^ just listened to the Eunochs. Should be on PA. Eclectic probably. A bit too derivative of black midi and Black Country, New Road but enjoyable

Agreed on all counts.

For me it's about sharing what I have discovered, know, and what interests me, and I am interested to see what others like and I like to compare lists and interests.  It might help if I would at least describe each album a bit, even if it's just sharing the tags/genre labels.  I do like sharing specific tracks off albums to hone in on my and others interests as  a way to expose people to acts, albums, styles etc.  What I have always wished is that we would try to respond and comment on each others lists more rather than just listing our own as I like that interactivity.  I like, say, the Interactive Polls because we listen, show interest in and comment on what all who participate decide to share.  It feels more communal and like the listening room experience I have always wanted at PA.  I like seeing the lists, but this is still a discussion forum so hopefully we are discussing each others choices and trying to get to know a bit, at least, about the music, and maybe sharing our own impressions of other people's likes.  This of course happens, but I do sometime wish it was more the norm.  That can be time-consuming, and we all have our preferred ways of communicating, sharing and socialising online, I guess.  A big part of it for me it trying to make connections, both with people and music.  But being an introvert who mostly favours being alone, I'm also not the most sociable of people.

What bothers me is when others complain about or make broad claims about how they think others think, what approaches they think others make, and how wrong it is.... It is disrespectful, uncharitable, and often lacking justification or evidence for the claims, and arrogant to think that one's attitude, approach and thinking is better than others.  I would rather hear people talk from their own perspective about what they think rather than talking about what they think others think and are doing wrong from their perspective.  "I like" are two of my favourite words.

Live and let live, I guess.  People don't like to feel lectured to, as in  what to think, how to think, what [the think] you think they think etc. I do think as a courtesy to the OP it is generally good to try to be faithful to the spirit of the topic, and to try to work within the OP's framework generally. So in this case it's about looking for album recommendations from 2024, so that's what I would be expecting.  I often do appreciate digressions in my own topics, especially if people already tried to approach the topic as I presented it.  Being able to work within others rules demonstrates flexibility and adaptability and being able to move beyond and think out of the box can show creativity.  No name or names, but I wish some would just try to approach-and-go with the topic as posed rather than going off on their own agenda (which often show the limitations of said user or users especially if those points are raised again and again....).

Some are uncomfortable sharing lists and feel they know too little (or have not kept track...).  I expect that some are shy to show theirs (the members) because they feel insecure about the length (I think Freud had something to say about the length of our lists). I think it is not just about the length, but also the girth of the list matters (a wide variety of albums).  My list is fairly short and lacks girth. Of course the quality matters, but that is so subjective, and then there is how you use it.  I think I use my lists reasonably well, at least for my purposes....

 Just one more album added to my list and a slight re-arranging.  I'm just quite busy discovering music from many years.