
NPR's Best Songs of 2024 List Highlights Berklee Alumni Arooj Aftab, Adrianne Lenker, Tiny Habits, and more made the cut on NPR's roundup of this year's top tracks.
By
Tara Bellucci
December 6, 2024
Adrianne Lenker performing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Image by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
Tis the season for year-end lists, and NPR just dropped one. The public radio institution picked 124 songs to include on their Best Songs of 2024 list, and several choices feature Berklee alumni.
NPR broke the songs into categories based on genres like pop, jazz, and beyond ; favorites from partner public radio stations; and what they are calling the best of the best, a curated top 25 songs of the year.
Here are some of the songs by or featuring Berklee alumni that made the list:
Arooj Aftab
Image courtesy of the artist
Arooj Aftab, Raat Ki Rani The song is a pure crowd-pleaser, as the Pakistani-American singer sets her atmospheric, decidedly Sade-esque yearning against sumptuous harps and a portentous piano line, says Stephen Thompson of Aftab BM '10.
Sabrina Carpenter, Espresso Amy Allen '15 has written some of the most iconic pop songs of the last decade, and Sabrina Carpenter's summer smash Espresso is one of them. NPR named it a Best of the Best, with Stephen Thompson saying, Espresso' was the shot [and] Please Please Please' was the chaser.
Deerlady, Masterpieces Lars Gotrich says that Magdalena Abrego's [BM '15] guitar solo at the climax of this beautiful and brooding indie rock song gurgles with molten life over crackling shoegaze riffs.
Madi Diaz, God Person Robin Hilton says that this was the rare song that absolutely wrecked me this year. The song by Diaz '07 is partly about finding joy and purpose in life's smallest moments-time with friends, gazing at the sky or the ocean. But it's also about realizing that maybe those moments are precisely where god' and the ultimate meaning of life exist.
Adrianne Lenker, Sadness as a Gift Ann Powers calls Lenker BM '12 to many, the most gifted of her own cohort of singer-songwriters, and says the song offers a breakup ballad ideal for a generation redefining the way ties bind: You could write me someday, and I think you will.'
Nourished by Time, Hell of a Ride Marcus Brown PD '16 made a soaring, blissful ode to dissolution, a better to have loved and lost' anthem stripped of all clich that also reads as a valedictory for late-stage capitalism, its consumerist focus and lack of third spaces, says Sheldon Pearce. Somewhere at the center of R&B and art-pop and post-punk lies Brown's rousing voice, which is so compelling it can make even parting feel like a balmy, loving embrace.
Tiny Habits (left to right: Judah Mayowa, Maya Rae, Cinya Khan)
Image courtesy of the artist
Tiny Habits, Wishes The intimacy of close harmony singing has rarely served a song the way this young trio's blend does in this heartfelt expression of the human tendency to feel unmoored within one's own skin, Ann Powers writes about Tiny Habits' Judah Mayowa '21, Cinya Khan BM '23, and Maya Rae BM '24. NPR named the song a Best of the Best pick, with Powers adding, Each member takes a verse, confessing sorrows with painful honesty; then, in the choruses, their voices gently connect, like fingers intertwining. This is what empathy sounds like.
Chappell Roan, Good Luck, Babe! Justin Tranter '01, the hitmaker behind numerous chart-toppers, cowrote this larger-than-life pop anthem, recognized as a Best of the Best track. Has anyone who's nonchalantly muttered, It's fine, it's cool,' ever actually felt fine or cool? asks NPR's Elle Mannion. Chappell Roan, this year's biggest breakout pop star, is anything but low key.
Did we miss anyone? Let us know.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Rihanna sings during the Concert for Valor in Washington, DC, November 11, 2014.
Image by EJ Hersom / CC-BY-2.0
This Rihanna Song Has Secret' '80s Easter Eggs The SOS songwriter revealed a nostalgic twist to the lyrics, and it's going viral on TikTok.
Latest
MAMO is one of seven Berklee acts performing at the Snowport holiday market.
Image courtesy of the artists
Berklee Artists Perform at Boston Snowport Holiday Market The performances are a result of a partnership between the Snowport, Mohegan Sun, and the Berklee Popular Music Institute.
Michael McDonald, one of yacht rocks icons.
Image by Soul Train/Getty/Courtesy HBO
Yacht Rock: Smooth Sailing on Rocky Waters Read about how the soft-rock genre has weathered the test of time, and listen to a playlist of some of the best yacht rock songs, from Christopher Cross and Toto to Steely Dan and Thundercat.
Applications Open for the Berklee Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant The deadline for the grant application is December 6, 2024.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
North America Stories
19/03/2026
Live sports production increases complexity, with dynamic audio levels and an overall philosophy that encourages transient volume spikes
Fourteen years ago, Am...
19/03/2026
Advanced Systems Group, a technology and services provider for media creatives and content owners, announced the appointment of Peter Thordarson to the newly cr...
19/03/2026
For this senior from the Bay Area, the speed and pressure of live sports production play right into her strengths
In the live-sports-video industry, the future...
19/03/2026
Grass Valley has expanded its long-term partnership with University of Pittsburg...
19/03/2026
Audio-Technica has released the ATV-SG1 and ATV-SG1LE On-Camera Shotgun Microphones, designed for use with DSLR, mirrorless SLR, and other cameras.
The ATV-SG1...
19/03/2026
Harmonic (booth W2831) announces updates to its XOS Advanced Media Processor aim...
19/03/2026
DAZN and Top Rank have announced a multi-year partnership that will bring Top Ra...
19/03/2026
IHSE, a provider of KVM systems, has announced a partnership with Cyviz AS, a provider of technology solutions for collaboration and mission-critical operations...
19/03/2026
Net Insight has appointed Larissa G rner-Meeus as Chief Product Officer. She joins the company's executive management team.
G rner-Meeus holds a Dipl-Ing. ...
19/03/2026
Leader Electronics of Europe has appointed Rob Stanley as Regional Sales Manager for the UK and Northern Europe. In the role, he will manage key accounts and ha...
19/03/2026
FIFA has announced that YouTube will be a Preferred Platform for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Under the agreement, FIFA's Media Partners will be able to publis...
19/03/2026
New features across mobile, connected devices, and automotive platforms undersco...
19/03/2026
PSSI Global Services has appointed Ben Bradshaw as Director of Product and Netwo...
19/03/2026
Cobalt Digital has announced its NAB 2026 product lineup, which includes additio...
19/03/2026
Sportradar has released a new report, Innovation in Sports Media: The Next Era of Sports Viewing, examining how the sports viewing experience in the U.S. is evo...
19/03/2026
Matrox Video has been awarded a three-year framework agreement to supply its Con...
19/03/2026
CBS Sports' Jason Cohen and TNT Sports' Chris Brown lead the charge on n...
19/03/2026
A1 Dave Grundtvig and his team deploy plenty of mics to capture the sounds and energy from the stands as well the court
March Madness is a tournament in which ...
19/03/2026
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, is pleased to announce the appointment of Rob Stanley as Regional Sales Manager - UK & Northern Euro...
19/03/2026
The recently announced joint venture between Accedo One and Magine Pro has been officially launched as Leyra. The new company will combine the two complementary...
19/03/2026
Budapest, Hungary, March 2026 - Demand for traditional matrix switching remains strong across live events, rental and staging markets. With a reputation for rel...
19/03/2026
DPA Microphones adds to its CORE microphone selection with the 4097 CORE Micro Shotgun, which delivers a new level of clarity, headroom and sonic transparency...
19/03/2026
Starfish Technologies will present the latest releases of its TS Splicer (Win) and TS Splicer (K8) at NAB Show 2026, together with a new Monitoring Dashboard de...
19/03/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming solutions, has announced that TrueVisions NOW, a leading streaming platform in Thailand, and part of the TrueVis...
19/03/2026
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced significant enhancements to its XOS Advanced Media Processor that lower the cost of broadcast distribution while enablin...
19/03/2026
Cobalt Digital, the leading designer and manufacturer of award-winning signal processing products, and a founding partner in the openGear initiative has announ...
19/03/2026
Magewell a developer of innovative, high-performance video I/O and IP workflow solutions will be at the 2026 NAB Show on booth C6113. In addition to several...
19/03/2026
Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting and quality assurance solutions, today announced it will showcase...
19/03/2026
2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Preview
April 19 22
Las Vegas
Booth N.1328
Summary:
At the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, Imagine Communications will showcase the lat...
19/03/2026
Broadcast playout leader highlights innovation and industry collaboration
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist...
19/03/2026
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is highlighting remarkable advances in performance at NAB Show (booth N1...
19/03/2026
Intinor will showcase several new developments to the Direkt platform at NAB 2026, including enhanced SRT monitoring, expanded HDR transport capabilities and su...
19/03/2026
Broadcasters are rebuilding live operations workflows around IP delivery as satellite and dedicated fibre distribution decline, according to new research from C...
19/03/2026
Berklee Popular Music Institute's 24th Showcase Channels '80s Prom Nosta...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/03/2026
How Chris Bolte Builds the Sound of PlayStation Games Chris Bolte '16 is a technical sound designer at Sucker Punch Productions, where he helps create the...
19/03/2026
Back to All News
The Highest Performing ISPs of 2025
Product
19 March 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Canada, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and th...
19/03/2026
Back to All News
The Alpha Males Are Back: Season 5 Premieres on April 17 on Netflix
Entertainment
19 March 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Watc...
19/03/2026
Real-time 9:16 AI-Generated Autocropping; Software-Defined Station in a Box; and...
19/03/2026
It's a double feature on GFN Thursday. This week, GeForce NOW offers smoother sights in virtual reality (VR) and a sprawling new land to conquer.
Streaming...
18/03/2026
Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4.
Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...
18/03/2026
SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...
18/03/2026
The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...
18/03/2026
(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...
18/03/2026
SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations
Brie Clayton March 18, 2026
0 Comments
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...