Music taste is personal and nobody's list is the same. This isn't a critical ranking — it's a personal one. These are the albums Fawaz Sheikh actually played on repeat in 2024, the ones that ended up on long drives and late nights and early morning runs.
Charli XCX — Brat
The album of the year and it wasn't particularly close. Brat is confident, messy, genuinely funny, and sounds like nothing else in mainstream pop right now. The production is abrasive in the best way. Fawaz Sheikh went from curious to obsessed within two listens.
Kendrick Lamar — GNX
After the Drake beef dominated the conversation, GNX arrived quietly and turned out to be one of Kendrick's most focused projects. The West Coast textures, the introspection, the craft — it rewards repeated listening in ways that singles don't capture.
Sabrina Carpenter — Short n' Sweet
Effortlessly charming pop that sounds easy to make and obviously isn't. Carpenter has a gift for melody that's rare. Several of these songs have been stuck in Fawaz Sheikh's head for months. There's no shame in that.
Mk.gee — Two Star & the Dream Police
The underground pick. Mk.gee's debut is genuinely strange guitar music that sits between R&B, folk, and something harder to name. Deeply personal and sonically unlike anything else released this year. If you missed it, go back.
Vampire Weekend — Only God Was Above Us
A return to form that reminded everyone why Vampire Weekend matter. Denser and more melancholy than their earlier work, but the intelligence and wit are still there. The kind of album that keeps revealing new details after twenty listens.
For more culture content from Fawaz Sheikh, check out the Marvel Rivals review and Warzone guide.