Here's which albums Londoners were listening to in 2024

Londoners spent the last year listening to music, and record store owners say the city's 2024 soundtrack was a mix of trending hits and nostalgic favourites.

"Every year I'm surprised about what catches on," said Troy Hutchison, the owner of Grooves Records. "What ends up being the most popular is really hard to predict."

At the end of December, Hutchison compiled a Top 10 list of Grooves Records' best selling albums of 2024 and posted it to social media. 

At the top of the list was pop singer Chappell Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, which was released at the end of 2023 and is nominated for album of the year at the upcoming Grammy awards.

"It's one of those rare releases that has a little something for everybody," said Hutchison. "Good songs just cut through the clutter and that's one of those albums that just has good songs."

Among other modern-day pop records by artists like Charli XCX and Noah Kahan, Londoners also spent the year purchasing albums that have been out for decades.

"Maybe your whole life you've been listening to an album, but then you just got a record player for Christmas and now you want to have that album you've loved for your whole life on your new record player," said Hutchison.

1997's OK Computer by Radiohead and 1977's Rumours by Fleetwood Mac both made the store's top 10 list. 

Rapper M.F. Doom's 2004 album Mm..Food was popular at both Grooves Records and Odyssey Records & Cinema in Old East Village.

"When that album came out 20 years ago, it was a big underground hit with real hip hop people and the music scene, but it's really strange how much the younger generation has latched onto M.F. Doom [today]," said Odyssey Records & Cinema manager Hank Kajan.

Both Kajan and Hutchison said an "obvious" best-seller at their stores was Taylor Swift, though none of her albums took the number one spot.

"I think the reason Taylor didn't clench number one is purely because of the fact she has so many releases," said Nick Gillette, who works at Grooves Records and said he sees people purchase a variety of Swift albums, rather than rally around just one.

Local London rock group, Pro Wrestling the Band, was a less obvious top album contender. Just short of Grooves' top 10 best-sellers list, but the second most purchased new album of the year at the store, was Falling in Love with Pro Wrestling the Band, which came out in December. 

"You have people like Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan who are so universal that it is inevitable that they'll make the list, but seeing a local band who's LP just came out within the past few weeks shows that the London music community is very strong and supportive of one another," said Gillette, who added that some members of the band also work at Grooves.