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By Tyler H —

This week the trend is 2024

This week the trend is 2024

It’s the end of 2024 so here’s a list of my favorite songs, albums, movies, shows, books, and even a few products and articles. This was also republished for my Liisten newsletter.

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 on 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 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 them, here are my top 10 12. This order could, of course, change at any time.

  1. Kiki’s Delivery Service
  2. From Up on Poppy Hill
  3. The Wind Rises
  4. Spirited Away
  5. Whisper of the Heart
  6. Only Yesterday
  7. My Neighbor Totoro
  8. Howl’s Moving Castle
  9. When Marnie Was There
  10. The Secret World of Arrietty
  11. Castle in the Sky
  12. 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 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:

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