Best of 2024
It’s the end of 2024 and so here’s a list of my favorite songs, albums, movies, shows, books, and even a few products and articles.
Albums
10. James Bay - Changes All the Time
9. Clairo - Charm
8. Work Wife - Waste Management
7. Wallows - Model
6. Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Slow
5. Khalid - Sincere
4. Lizzy McAlpine - Older
3. Maggie Rogers - Don’t Forget Me
2. Gracie Abrams - The Secret of Us
1. Leif Vollebekk - Revelation
Songs
These are 10 ~12 of my favorite songs from the year in no particular order. There are plenty of other good songs, however. So, I made a playlist with 30 great songs if you’re curious about more selections.
Baynk - “Grin”
Maggie Rogers - “If Now Was Then”
Coin - “Strawberry Jam”
Eddie Vedder - “Save It For Later”
Smallpools - “Swayze”
Clairo - “Nomad”
Work Wife - “Coeur d’Alene”
Khalid - “Heatstroke”
Beach Bunny - “Clueless”
Gracie Abrams - “Risk” / “Blowing Smoke”
Lizzy McAlpine - “Vortex”
Leif Vollebekk - “Peace of Mind” / “Elijah Rose”
TV Shows
The ranking here is held pretty loosely. Several of these shows are very different and hard to compare directly. Still, the second season of Shrinking was probably the best of the bunch.
As a side note, I did enjoy the third season of The Bear, but it was still a little weird. Don’t miss out of Ripley because it’s in black and white. It was the best visual show of the year.
8. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Prime Video)
7. The Penguin (Max)
6. The New Look (Apple TV+)
5. Hacks S3 (Max)
4. Bad Monkey (Apple TV+)
3. Ripley (Netflix)
2. Slow Horses S4 (Apple TV+)
1. Shrinking S2 (Apple TV+)
Movies
I watched a lot of movies this year but almost none that debuted this year. I added nearly a dozen 2024 movies to my watch list, but whenever I turned to find something to watch I usually opted for a TV show or an older movie. As for Dune: Part Two, it lived up to my expectations and, along with part one, will eventually be an epic movie marathon on a sick day.
3. The Fall Guy
2. Inside Out 2
1. Dune: Part Two
Books
The Ministry of Time was easily my favorite book this year since all the others left me wanting just a little more. I got through a few more books this year, but didn’t hit on anything that lingered.
The thing I enjoyed the most about the The Ministry of Time was its juxtaposition of characters and setting. It’s a romantic comedy with occasional elements of time traveling thriller.
The Ministry of Time
The Heiress
All This & More
Misc.
Studio Ghibli movies
I accidentally fell down the rabbit hole of Studio Ghibli movies. The Japanese animated movies have A-list English dub versions if you’ve never seen any and are curious. After seeing a large chunk of the them, here are my top 10 12. This order could, of course, change at any time.
Kiki’s Delivery Service
From Up on Poppy Hill
The Wind Rises
Spirted Away
Whisper of the Heart
Only Yesterday
My Neighbor Totoro
Howl’s Moving Castle
When Marnie Was There
The Secret World of Arrietty
Castle in the Sky
Porco Rosso
Products
Getting excited about an iPad and AirPods seems boring. These are known products, and yet, they are in near perfect forms in these latest versions. The iPad Pro M4 has become my laptop. It’s the device I take when I leave the house. The AirPods 4 with ANC are so small, sound incredible, and cancel enough outside noise to be useful.
I didn’t know I needed a dedicated digital camera until I got the Fuji X100IV. Before it arrived, I just wanted it. But it’s been indispensable for shooting products for work, while also not being too bulky to bring most places.
Curious about an indoor smoker? It’s an an electric oven that burns pellets and smokes meat. It’s truly great for people without room for a traditional smoker or for people who don’t want to venture out into the cold.
Articles
This year I published over 200 articles across several different sites. A few that I’m proud of:
Connecting with my son in VR - PCMag
Apple AirPods 4 review - Business Insider
Apple Vision Pro review - How-To Geek
Shrinking S2 review - The Streamable