2024 was a remarkable year for music, but it was not without its stinkers. Although incredible music is released every year, so is an abundance of terrible music. Such is the way of life. The yin to every music lover’s yang. Now, I want to preface that if you like any of the albums on this list, more power to you. Differences in opinion are fine. That said, I think all of these albums are truly terrible and I don’t understand WHY anyone would like them. Read on and see what albums I think left a stain on 2024.
- “143” by Katy Perry
Once one of the most popular stars in mainstream music, Katy Perry’s fall from grace has been rough. She dominated the radio with smash hits like “Teenage Dream” and “Firework,” but gradually, her hold on the airwaves faded as the years passed, aside from the odd radio hit that would be in rotation for a few months and then discarded. Her return with a new album was preceded by the universally panned single “WOMAN’S WORLD,” a dated “feminist anthem” that left the whole internet pointing their fingers and laughing. The rest of the album wasn’t much better.
The album feels so trapped in the early 2010s that it’s uncanny. Something about the incredibly bland, sterile, and almost haunting production which is truly devoid of life. Combine this with out-of-place features like 21 Savage and milquetoast vocal performances (and let’s not forget winning lyrics like “I’m just a prisoner in your prison” and “Say the right thing maybe you can be / Crawlin’ on me like a centipede”) and you have one of the worst return albums of the decade. Katy Perry’s era has passed; there are new voices in the pop landscape and older voices still making good music. I think I speak for almost everyone when I say she should hang it up. I highly recommend you read Alexis Costas’ review of the album — she explains my feelings pretty perfectly.
- “EXIT EMOTIONS” by Blind Channel
As much as I didn’t love the new Linkin Park album, I’ll listen to it any day over the bands that are just tired Linkin Park derivatives. Boring riffs, generic breakdowns, and consistently obnoxious vocal performances drag down what would have been a fine enough rock album. You have songs with titles like “KEEPING IT SURREAL” and “NOT YOUR BRO” that sport such eloquent lyrics such as “Let me introduce myself / I’m the last nail in the coffin of your mental health” and “Can you hear the foghorn? / Ready for the downfall / Bring the fucking popcorn.” No thanks. In terms of being just pure eye-roll-inducing, this album takes the cake for me this year.
- “Popular Monster” by Falling in Reverse
I think I’ve said enough. Here’s my full scathing take on the album here.
- “LOOM” by Imagine Dragons
It boggles my mind that this band continues to be one of the most popular bands in the world. While they have regularly pumped out garbage-quality, overproduced “rock” for the masses, this egregious entry in their already terrible catalog has some of their worst songs to date.
From Dan Reynolds impersonating a chainsaw on “Wake Up” to the entirety of the abomination that is “Take Me to the Beach,” the album is overflowing with cringy lyrics, bizarre sonic choices, and just general tackiness. I get that a lot of people like this band, and that’s cool, they seem like nice enough people. But wow, they have been one of the consistently worst bands to make it as big as they have.
- “DARKER WHITE” by FEVER 333
Fever 333 is almost like a left-leaning counterpart to Falling in Reverse, in my mind. While I agree with the statements they make about systemic racism and combating bigotry, the music itself and the way it’s delivered makes my ears bleed, to the point where I actually preferred the Falling in Reverse record. The awful combinations of rap and metal are only worsened by the annoying vocal delivery and bad lyrics. Again, the sentiments here are great, but this just feels like a bad Rage Against the Machine impression without the groove and force that that band was known for. It’s revolutionary music packaged for alternative high schoolers, and while I respect what it’s going for to an extent, I think it failed in being actually good music and it’s pretty bad as leftist propaganda, too.
- “Dragonborn” by Jeris Johnson
Just what 2024 needed — power metal mixed with metalcore and trap beats! Despite touting himself as some sort of “innovator” in the modern rock scene, Jeris Johnson’s latest record is just an awful combination of genres that have no business being anywhere near each other. Unlistenable screaming, terrible production, and corny singing. It has all the worst aspects of power metal without the guitar work and commitment to camp to sell the sound. It tries to be both theatrical and cool at the same time, and fails at both, becoming a gross mess of contemporary and dated sounds that somehow gentrifies the whitest genre of all time: power metal. Also, there is a cover of “Kiss from a Rose” by Seal. Why would you do this?
4.“Djesse Vol.4” by Jacob Collier
Despite the Grammy committee clearly disagreeing with me, I think Collier’s latest is a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes music good. An all-star feature list and infinitely-stacked vocal harmonies do not make a beautiful album.
Each song seems like it’s trying as hard as possible to be impressive and a gorgeous spectacle, but it’s just an overly-layered, poorly composed genre-stew that just straight up doesn’t sound good. I know some Jacob Collier fans, and I respect it, and to an extent I get how the presentation and talent here could be captivating. But to me, it comes across so hollow and just garish on the ears.
- “Penith (The DAVE Soundtrack)” by Lil Dicky
I find it hard to believe anyone would be willing to defend an album called “Penith,” but if there are any Lil Dicky fans (do they exist?) out there who want my justification, here it goes. Lil Dicky is not funny, and this destroys the entire point of these songs. They’re produced fine, if blandly, and Lil Dicky can rap, I guess, but everything he says, his whole “self-conscious white guy” schtick, is utterly nauseating.
Terrible, cringy, corny lyrics about Lil Dicky having sex, bad autotuned singing, and just endless attempts to be funny that never land. Not to mention it’s so long. Maybe if I’d seen the “DAVE” show, these songs would be better in context, but I really can’t imagine any context that could make even the most tolerable songs on this album listenable.
- “Vultures 1” by ¥$ (Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign)
Kanye makes Katy Perry’s fall from grace look like nothing. His return to music after his disgusting antisemitic rants was predictably terrible, to the point where I genuinely can’t fathom people who listen to it and enjoy it. Look, I enjoy many of Kanye’s albums (albeit bootlegged these days), but are you going to try to convince me that even the best moments on this album reach even the lackluster moments on his previous releases?
Kanye’s once amazing production is now colorless and poorly mixed, his delivery is awful, and most of the features, even when they are listenable, are mixed so badly. Ty Dolla $ign occasionally adds a decent melody, but he feels like an afterthought. That’s not even mentioning the horrible lyrics, many of which are just straight-up antisemitic. This album is a horrible, bottom-of-the-barrel release that has none of the good qualities that Kanye’s music used to have, and only the terrible characteristics of a bigoted man-child. Avoid at all costs.
- “Vultures 2” by ¥$
This album has all the problems of the first Vultures, along with an AI Kanye verse, unfinished vocals that are literally tuneless mumbling, endless repetition, and dead-on-arrival songs like “BOMB.” The only thing worse than “Vultures 1” is its sloppier and lazier brother. At least this one doesn’t have any antisemitic lyrics, but that’s hardly high praise. One of the worst rap albums ever made and another disgusting smear on Kanye’s already ruined image.
