Hi friends and followers, you might notice that while dated for the end of 2024, this "best of" list for 2024 has been published at the end of May 2025. This was not intentional. I was halfway through finishing this post in late December of 2024 when my beloved cat, Gertie-Socks, took a sudden turn for the worse, spent several days in the vet ER, had one last weekend at home with me, and then died in my arms on the last day of the year. Her genetic heart condition got much worse in 2024, and the medication she took probably gave her a couple extra months with me, but there was nothing that could prevent her early heart failure once it had begun. She was 6 years old, the sweetest tuxie there ever was, and the love of my life. I have been devastated since.

Since moving to Colorado in 2016, this (unpaid, labor of love) site has taken a necessary back seat to many other school, career, and life priorities. And just when I was starting to do more with it again, in 2018 and 2019... live music and the industry drastically changed in 2020, and my life also hasn't been the same since. As a result, writing here has frustratingly become much less of a joy and cathartic release, like it used to be, and more of a guilt-inducing responsibility that I feel dread about not keeping up with. (Hello, ongoing burnout!)

In order to find a more sustainable balance of work and rest in my life, and to release myself from the burden of extra unpaid work that chains me to a computer screen (after 40+ hours a week at my day job, volunteer emails, life emails, and paid freelance writing), I will likely just be doing these once a year "best of's" and whatever strikes my fancy (if anything), for the foreseeable future. It pains me to purposefully take a step back, when I still have so much love for music — but if I don't, I'll become so burnt out that I could lose even that, too. 

However, 2024 was a year with some really great music, and I don't want to forget that. So please enjoy this (delayed) best of 2024 list and playlist. I hate that it's late. But sometimes, I have to admit that done is better than perfect. ​

From beginning to end, 2023 has been both a sprint and a marathon. And while so many things in my life have changed from this time just one year ago, so much has also stayed the same. What always reliably marks the passage of time for me, however, is new music—and 2023 will have created many memories for years to come.

I didn't see much live music, but I did spent a lot of time in my car this year, listening to songs that soothed or spoke to my heart. But by the time it came time to put my feelings about this year's music into words, I was worried I didn't have them. I struggled to finish this year-end review; it felt like the words were there, but blocked from coming out. So tonight, I did what I do best: I put on my headphones and hit play.

There were so many times like that this year: when I worried I wasn't capable of completing something, or wasn't going to finish it in time for it to matter. But each and every single time, I came through. Music played no small part — many of these albums and songs were critical soundtracks to my success. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of finding the right musical companion or cheerleader for the moment, and I hope that some of the below might serve you in this way, like they did for me, in the new year and on. The songs on these albums have been my friends, saviors, soft landings and side-by-side fighters in a year that took everything I had to give, returned the investment, and then still asked for more. 

Music as motivation to keep going and take care of yourself has never seemed more important than now: the world is rather bleak and may feel pointless at this time for many. But "if life is getting old forever / at least we're getting older together," Hannah Cole sings in the heartbreaking chorus of "Hilda," a line that has kept me afloat for the past month. Hang in there, even if it's just to hear another year of amazing music, friends. See you this time next year. 

The first half of 2023 has been nothing but prolific when it comes to the release of new music! I realized not only did I need a way to keep track of it all, but I wanted to be able to share it with others. So here is my “best of” list for 2023 (so far): including a playlist (below), and highlights of some of my favorites (read more). 

I first became enamored with Kiltro when I heard their single “Ofelia” in the summer of 2018 on Denver’s Indie 102.3. Five years later—following their 2019 debut album Creatures of Habit—Kiltro is finally back with their sophomore release Underbelly.
 
They took their time for good reason: the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 shut down much of the music industry, and the ways it changed how we perceive and navigate the world continue to reverberate.
 
“Underbelly reflects everything that happens inside your soul when the world stops on its tracks,” said Chris Bowers Castillo.

Is better late than never? In this case, yes. I didn’t really feel like writing a year-end list for 2022, but I realized that it really is nice to have something to look back on in future years. Sometimes we do things not because they benefit us now, but because they will benefit us later. So here’s my musical time capsule of sorts for 2022 (playlist included).