We’re getting closer to the top spot, let’s dive right in!
40 – MacKenzie Porter: Nobody’s Born with a Broken Heart
Starting off part four incredibly strong is the modern Canadian country icon and her second full-length album. The perfect blend of early Taylor Swift, general early 2000s radio-country and modern artists like Megan Moroney, this album slaps just as much now as it did back in April when I first reviewed it. It’s packed full of so many amazing tracks that, if the world was better, would have made her one of the biggest artists in the world. I have seven tracks off this on my personal playlist, and there’s even more than that that’s great. It’s a fantastic country album that very much has a ‘they don’t make them like this any more’ feel. The only thing stopping it from climbing even higher is, as I said in my review, the length. However, there’s really only a couple of tracks I can think of that could have maybe made the chopping block, all the rest are awesome, hence why it’s all the way up in part 4 of this list! This is a must for any country fans!
Listen to: Young at Heart, Rough Ride for a Cowboy and Have Your Beer
39 – Brave Rival: Fight or Flight
This fantastic slab of duetted blues-rock is just as awesome now as it was when I first heard it. Right from the opening track to the epic, plodding closer, it is modern hard-blues rock at its very best. Of course the vocals are a big highlight, but the instrumentation is phenomenal too. I’ve seen alot of love and raving about this album again over the last month as everyone reflects on the year, and for very good reason! There’s a very good reason why we gave it top marks, and I’d recommend it to absolutely anyone reading this with even a passing interest in rock. While the tracks below are certainly highlights, if you are into blues even slightly as much as I am, you’ll enjoy the whole album just as much as I did! It more than deserves to make this spot on our list!
Listen to: Bad Choices, Fairytale and Five Years On
38 – Eddie & The Wolves: Tasty Sin
I know, I know, my band’s album is above 62 other incredible releases. It feels cheep, I completely understand that. However, I asked multiple people, be it others at Overtone or otherwise, and this was the average sort of position the album fell at. And, given that I wasn’t hugely involved with the songwriting process for a lot of tracks, I gotta say it’s a very well written release. Edd and Char did an absolutely amazing job crafting the songs, each one feeling different and unique while still feeling like a choesive band. And the mixing from he and Ben Gaines (Audiomage) is amazing throughout. It’s had rave reviews not just from us, and has been featured plenty internationally across radio and streaming playlists. All of us, me included, are so immensely proud of this album, and it really feels like a step up from the debut. I can honestly say I enjoy listening to it, and I emplor you to go and do the same and let me know if you think it’s too high/low. Max and Charlotte gave it a combined 9.25/10 in our review, so it’s gotta make the list somewhere, right?
Listen to: Voodoo, Crawling and Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us
37 – Left to Suffer: Leap of Death
Honestly, this is shockingly maybe one of the most varied albums on this whole list, as well as being one of the heaviest. Going into it when I first reviewed it, I didn’t at all expect to have modern-pop music mixed in with deathcore, never mind that it would mix so damn well together! It’s somehow 33-minutes of beautiful snyth-pop, hip-hop AND crushingly brutal screams and riffs, and both elements are excellent. And while the list of awesome guests are amazing (most notably the INCREDIBLE track with Paleface Swiss), the band are just as much responsible for this honestly game-changing album. Every part of it shouldn’t fit together as well as it does, and it’s easy to see why I gave it a 9/10. The band aren’t going to get enough credit for this album as they deserve, but four months later I still listen to this on the regular. Heck, almost every track has made it onto my personal playlist, which should say all I need to really! It’s a must for those into the heavy but also experimental stuff, and it easily earned it’s spot on this list!
Listen to: Lost in the Dark, Will it Take my Breath and The Medicine
36 – Janet Devlin: Emotional Rodeo
I wasn’t at all familiar with this artist, hence why she didn’t appear on NMM, until I saw her posting this out to country groups, and damn I am so glad she did! This is an awesome neo-traditional country album packed full of so many amazing songs! From slower ballads to fun, more up-tempo, rockier tracks, it has a bit of everything, and it’s all performed and written so well by Janet. The X Factor alum has evolved amazingly from her pop-folk roots into a bonafide country star, and this album proves that in spades. Her vocals are fantastic throughout, and the instrumentation fits it all perfectly. And even at 45-minutes and 14-tracks, it didn’t feel at all too long, even if it is just a touch front-loaded. I just hate that I was a couple of weeks late to it, but I’m more than making up for it by listening to it a bunch since! It gets a solid 9/10 from me, and I am now desperate to hear most of it live!
Listen to: Country Singer, Back to my Senses and Emotional Rodeo
35 – Sam Millar: Virtual Summer
This is peak 80s glam rock and pop, and it’s only taken us 40+ more years to get there! Sam has tapped into something truly fantastic here, and three months down the line I am still obsessed with this release. It’s cheesy, Rock of Ages style music in all of the best ways, and Sam and Co pull it off perfectly. It’s an album absolutely packed full of highlights and not a single dud throughout. As a debut solo release it is truly hard to top this, and it’s very easy to hear why it got this high on our list. As I said in my review, everything from the sound to the subject matter to the title to the artwork fit together so very cohesively, only adding to the awesomeness. I gave it a 9.5/10 back then and I fully stand by that score now! I have to see this live, so now he’s announced a tour I’mma HAVE to go!
Listen to: The Killing Floor, Fooling Yourself and Showbiz
34 – Jerry Cantrell: I Want Blood
The Alice in Chains main-man’s last solo effort made it onto our albums of the year list a couple of years ago, and it’s only fitting that this one does, too! It’s yet another FANTASTIC heavy grunge offering, but does feel like it draws from wider inspirations more this time around. However, all his hallmarks are still there; the chunky riffs and some of the best duel vocals and harmonies in the game. It’s also 46-minutes of all killer, no filler. While I wouldn’t say it’s quite as good as his previous album, or even a potential new AIC album if we’re ever gonna get another one, but that doesn’t stop this from being a truly excellent album! It got a very easy 9/10 from us, and it easily made it onto this list and this high up. If you are a fan of the genre, band or man himself, I cannot recommend this album enough!
Listen to: Vilified, Off the Rails and Echos of Laughter
33 – Shane Smith & The Saints: Norther
The Austin Red Dirt country/Americana band put out a blinder of a fourth album back in March, and was well worth the five year wait! His signature rasp added so much to an already incredible 13-tracks, every song being amazing and arena-fillingly catchy. 52-minutes goes by in a flash, trust me, with the amount that I’ve listened to it in the last nine months! I did a full review of it back just before it released and gave it a hugely deserving 9.5/10. Everything about it just works so well and it has such an incredible flow as an album as a whole. If you are in any way into country, folk, Americana, that sort of side of music, I cannot recommend checking it out enough. In the review I posed the question ‘is it their best album yet?’. After sitting on it for all these months, as well as listening to their older stuff as well, I can categorically say: YES. It easily earned it spot on this list, and only didn’t get higher because of how insane 2024 was for music!
Listen to: Fire in the Sky, Adeline and Hummingbird
32 – Within the Ruins: Phenomena II
The return of the US metalcore band to its Phenomena sound, doing a sequel after a full decade, was a stellar idea and payed off in spades. This is an incredible album packed full of some of the very best heavy music released in 2024. I’ve listened to it a lot since its release back in August, and that doesn’t look like it will slow down any time soon! It got a very deserving 9.5/10 from us in our review, so if you want to check out me gushing over it even more, I’d certainly recommend giving it a read! The band are ridiculously talented songwriters and performers, and I’d recommend this album to absolutely any metal fan out there! It’s 50-minutes of crushing riffs, catchy melodic guitar parts and some insane screams, and I love it a lot! It’s easy to hear why they’ve made it this far up the list!
Listen to: Daywalker, Level 12 and The Last Son
31 – Dust Bolt: Sound & Fury
This German metal band have featured on my Spotify a lot in the 10 months since this album was released. It’s a fantastic blend of genres, from thrash to metalcore to melodic hard rock, and it all combines together to make an absolutely incredible record. Much like most of the rest of this list at this point, there isn’t a bad song on the album, and I’d put a fair few of them up there with the best tracks the band have done. It really feels like the band have perfected their sound with this, having catchiness and heaviness in equal measure. It’s very easy to hear why we gave it 10/10 back in February, and I very much stand by that today! I am desperate to hear any of this live, and it more than justified its place this high on our list!
Listen to: I Witness, Burning Pieces and Disco Nection
30 – These Wicked Rivers: Force of Nature
The local lads have had their biggest year yet in terms of not only studio work, but also playing some huge gigs and tours. They have become almost what their album title suggests, and it’s in definitely in a pretty big part due to the quality of this release. I’ve been a fan of the band for years at this point, but the step-up they have taken with this release is truly incredible. There are plenty amazing grunge-tinged Southern-hard-rock tracks throughout, and the band even shine brightly through the ballads. It’s a very well rounded release, and it’s easy to see why we gave it 9.5/10! They very much feel like the upcoming leaders of a second generation of NWOCR bands, and this album is a clear indicator of that. No wonder it ended up so high on our list!
Listen to: Force of Nature, Testify and The Riverboat Man
29 – Randall King: Into the Neon
Oh look, it’s another excellent neo-traditional country album on this list! There was definitely something in the water with the genre this last year, as we’ve had so many incredible country releases (with even more coming up later!). This is one of the oldest albums on this list, releasing way back in January, and I still can’t get enough all these months later! We’ve done a lot of content with Randall this year, from reviewing this album to seeing him live to even interviewing him, and all of it has given me such a huge appreciation for this album. Don’t get me wrong, it’s long for sure, but it’s packed full of some of the best country songs released this year, and the amazing more than outweighs the good. His vocals are incredible throughout and his songwriting skill has taken another huge leap forward, even though it was already amazing! There’s no wonder I gave it 9/10, and I’d say it may even deserve higher than that after all these listens later. It more than justified it’s spot on this list, and I’d recommend it to any country fan!
Listen to: When my Baby’s in Boots, What Doesn’t Kill You and Burns Like Her
28 – A Circus: Self-Titled
This classic rock super-group’s debut came out of nowhere for me this year, but utterly blew me away. It gives such fantastic Deep Purple/Dio/Rainbow vibes that I can’t help but absolutely love. Every member is amazing throughout the entire near-40-minute runtime, playing their asses off, and wrote something truly awesome. It somehow feels old-school and nostalgic, but also with a modern twist to it. It did get nearly enough love when it released back in October, but we gave it a solid 9.5/10, which I still stand by today. There isn’t a bad song on the album and it had such an incredible flow to it all; the dynamics between slower and more up-beat tracks are awesome. I cannot recommend this album enough to anyone into hard/classic rock, and it easily justifies its place on this list!
Listen to: Burn the Witch, Snow Covered Road and Rainbow Tears
27 – Dominum: Hey Living People
This is somehow the only release from December 2023 that made it onto this year’s list (it runs November to November). However, there was no chance this incredible release was missing out on this list! It’s honestly one of the best debut albums I’ve heard in years, and I become a little more obsessed every time I listen to it. Dr Dead has crafted something truly amazing with this band, which only continues with their new album just released (review here). It’s modern power metal at its very best; heavy and epic and packed full of huge, catchy melodies and choruses just begging to be ringing out over a huge festival crowd. I gave it a 9/10 this time last year when I reviewed it, but I honestly think that with multiple other listens and seeing it live, it may deserve even higher! I absolutely love this band and see a huge future ahead of them, and this album was a very easy pick to make this list!
Listen to: Immortalis Dominum, Danger Danger and We All Taste the Same
26 – Falling in Reverse: Popular Monster
This truly had potential to be a top 10 album for me, but two things went against that. The first is that we heard the lead single for it a whopping almost five years before the album was released, and we’d been drip fed another five of the remaining nine original songs over the following few years as other singles. The second is that, out of those other four tracks we didn’t hear until three album released, half of them are kinda ass. ‘Bad Guy’ is cringily terrible, while ‘NO FEAR’ is an okay rap track, but don’t live up to other hip-hop-style tracks on the album.
Having said all of that, it’s still a damn good album! It still has the tracks listed below alongside the likes of ‘ZOMBIFIED’, ‘Voices in my Head’ and ‘Prequel’. Heck, even the silly country track with Jelly Roll kinda slaps after a few listens. It’ a solid modern metal album and far better than any other full-length release Ronnie and co have ever put out. But it is held back a little in a couple of areas. We gave it a solid 9/10 in our review still, and it more than earned it’s way into this spot on the list!
Listen to: Popular Monster, Ronald and Watch the World Burn
25 – Rvshvd: It’s RASHAD
This country, rock, hip-hop blend of an album is still fucking awesome over three months after its release. As I said in my review too, but this album perfects the formula that everyone from Brantley Gilbert to Shaboozey to HARDY to even Kid Rock have tried in the past. Don’t get me wrong, it suffers the same issues as other country releases throughout this list in that it’s a touch bloated and too long, but there is so much amazing stuff on this that it easily pushes it this high up the list. It’s packed full of awesome guests, be it metal or rap, all blending together with his Georgian country roots. It’s one of the most interesting releases of the year, and I’d recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in country or rock or R&B. It’s easy to see why it got a 9.5/10 from us, and I can easily see 2025/2026 very much being Rvshvd’s years!
Listen to: For the Streets, Cottonmouth and Mapdot Madness
24 – Kyle Daniel: Kentucky Gold
An album that I’d been waiting for for a good while, and somehow it lived up to even the loftiest of expectations. It’s a powerhouse of a Southern rock record, and no wonder it’s gotten so much love globally! I’ve known Kyle for a few years now and know how excited he was to put out this album, and he should be so damn proud of it! I feel like a broken record at this point in the list for saying it, but there really isn’t a bad track throughout this record. Whether it’s the slower, ballad-like stuff or the more foot-stomping rock tracks, Kyle does it all perfectly. It’s very easy to see why we gave it a 9.5/10! It’s another I’d recommend to any country fan or any fan of rock music too in general, and it easily pushed its way this high on the list!
Listen to: Can’t Hold me Back, Me and My Old Man and Summer Down South
23 – Lenny Kravitz: Blue Electric Light
Seven months on and I’m still shocked this is quite as spectacular as it is. I went in with little-to-no expectations, even as a fan, and was blown away. However, all these months later, it still holds up as fantastic blues/pop-rock album. It’s certainly not gonna be for everyone reading this list, but I absolutely love it, and have listened to it a lot over the back half of 2024. After a six year gap between releases, 12 studio albums and at 60 years of age, there is no way this should be as good as it is, but it really feels like a rejuvenation for the guy, and is packed full of highlights! It’s another that got an easy 9.5/10 when it was released, and I fully stand by that today. There was no way this wasn’t making the list!
Listen to: TK421, Human and Love is my Religion
22 – Visions of Atlantis: Pirates II – Armada
As I said in my review of this, while we absolutely loved part I of Pirates, part II ups the ante in every way and is an absolutely phenomenal power metal album. The scale and production on it is epic, as is the writing, and everyone plays their parts to perfection. They are one of the most underrated bands in metal currently, and this release more than proves that point. Yes, at nearly an hour in length it is certainly long, but it doesn’t at all feel it, going by in a flash, and every song is more than worth a listen. It’s another album that got a very solid 9.5/10 from us and I very much feel the same on yet another listen while I write this up! I am desperate to see this stuff live, and it was another painfully easy choice to make it this high on our list!
Listen to: The Land of the Free, Monsters and Ashes to the Sea
21 – Delilah Bon: Evil, Hate Filled Female
Rounding out this part of the list is an album that I loved immediately, and it has somehow grown on me even more with subsequent listens. It’s alt-rap that very much feels like a modern day version of Slim Shady, but I say that in the best way possible and with all the compliment in the world. And, on top of her amazing talents and vocal range, her lyrics are also incredible, speaking her mind and calling out anyone against her, as well as addressing her insecurities. It’s another release on this list that certainly won’t be for everyone, but I absolutely love it and even if it isn’t your thing, surely you can at least appreciate how well crafted and awesome it is! I gave it 9/10 when I reviewed it, but I’d honestly say it’s even higher than that. If it wasn’t for it being maybe a track or two long for me, it could have gotten full marks, but it more than deserves a 9.5/10. It’s incredible, and I’d recommend anyone reading this to give it a try, you may end up loving it too!
Listen to: Hey World, Evil, Hate Filled Female and I Am the Best (Just Ask Your Momma)