It was the year Taylor Swift cemented her hold on our charts and hearts, Billie Eilish reached new peaks with Hit Me Hard And Soft, and country music became hip again.

Best was Beyoncé. Cowboy Carter. Texas Hold ’Em was a glorious hoe-down and this sprawling album was packed with gems. Queen Bee empowered Dolly Parson’s Jolene and her opening Ameriican [CORR] Requiem was a blissful gospel-tinged love letter to her Texan roots.

The most promising album of 2024 came from a less feted…