The Bests of 2024

As a seasoned art critic with over three decades of experience under my belt, I must say that the year 2024 has been quite the whirlwind in the world of art. From AI-created masterpieces to humanoid robots gracing the auction blocks, it seems we’ve entered a brave new world where man and machine blur the lines between creation and imitation.

Moving towards 2025, Vulture finds itself reminiscing about a year filled with groundbreaking advancements – in sports, games, language, and marketing strategies. The constant flux has made us cherish our longest-standing (and often chaotic) yearly ritual: compiling our top-ten lists. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been wrestling with the vast array of media we absorbed throughout 2024, recognizing the cream of the crop across various platforms, and presenting it to you in this compilation.

Movies

The Best Movies of 2024 There’s still nothing like the simple pleasure of watching movie stars be movie stars.

As a passionate cinephile, I found myself deeply moved by “Megalopolis”. It stirred emotions ranging from love and hate, left me puzzled at times, inspired meme-worthy moments, and sparked attempts to rebrand it as a cult classic. But what truly stood out was the intensity with which people engaged with it, despite its lack of conventional breakthrough qualities in today’s noisy cinematic landscape.

The 17 Best Film Performances of 2024

As a movie enthusiast, nothing beats the thrill of encountering a performance that leaves me utterly amazed, often from actors I hadn’t given a second glance before. It could be a seasoned actor reaffirming their talent or an entirely new face making a stunning debut. The film industry has had its fair share of challenges this year, from the aftermath of the 2023 strikes to grappling with technological advancements like AI and trying to decipher what audiences crave in movies nowadays. However, there’s no replacement for the exhilaration of witnessing an actor slip into another person’s life as if it were their own skin. — Joe Reid

John Waters’s Favorite Movies of 2024

In a significant shift, the film industry as I once recognized it has come to an end, with one notable exception – New York City continues to screen unconventional, thought-provoking art films that challenge ratings and captivate audiences. Kudos to distributors for making these movies accessible to the public who crave the unexpected, seeking to be both astonished and comforted by visionary directors hailing from various parts of the globe. Here are my top 10 recommendations; watch them and experience a blend of pain and pleasure. — John Waters

TV

The Best TV Shows of 2024 We’re past Peak TV, but these series prove we’re still reaching new creative heights.

It’s been understood for a while that the increase in television production would eventually reach its limit, and when FX Networks CEO John Landgraf declared in February 2023 that Peak TV was over, it wasn’t a complete shock. However, the lack of excitement surrounding television in 2024 felt like the quiet end of an era. There was still good television being produced, but there was also a lot of mediocre content and fewer standout shows or moments where audiences were collectively enthusiastic about the same series. The response to the third season of “The Bear,” one of 2023’s most popular shows, was lukewarm at best, even hostile in some cases. Shows like “Shōgun” and “House of the Dragon” found audiences, but there wasn’t a sense that those audiences were talking about them together as much as they had with previous hits. – Jen Chaney

The 12 Best TV Performances of 2024

Even in a year when so much TV was mid, creatives still managed to push the boundaries of this fickle and confusing medium. The actors in particular found fresh depths in characters with whom viewers were already acquainted or introduced us to new ones with confidence and style. Acting, at its best, holds a mirror up to humanity and shows us ourselves, the parts we recognize and the ones we wish we didn’t. Every performance on this list did this to a delightful degree. There’s nothing mid about that. —Jen Chaney

The Best Anime Series of 2024

2024 saw a spectacular start for anime with three exceptional shows airing concurrently, boasting rich animation and thought-provoking storylines in the realm of high fantasy. This was just the tip of the synchronicity iceberg. Subsequently, several historical dramas blended reality with fiction. Later on, beloved classics like Dragon Ball Daima and the vibrant remake of Ranma ½ joined forces with a new wave of captivating and eccentric manga adaptations. The year was overflowing with outstanding productions, making it difficult to choose a definitive top ten as some exceptional works were just on the cusp of inclusion. In the end, the series that offered the most creativity and depth in its fantastical universe claimed victory. — Paraphrased by AI model

Music

The Best Albums of 2024 As cruelty reigned, the year’s top releases sought stability.

2024 saw music undergo a significant trial, forcing artists to confront harsh truths or offer escapism to their audience. Pop music retreated inward and reflected on the past, while hip-hop faced legal battles and immeasurable losses. Country music grappled with reconciling traditional values with a broader spectrum of artists and fans, while rock and dance music transcended their boundaries, occasionally merging. Amidst the stark contrast between human compassion and brutality, the best music of 2024 chronicled an indomitable spirit to persevere through difficult times in search of tranquility. — Craig Jenkins’ Paraphrase

The Best Songs of 2024 A staggering amount of good music went mainstream this year.

2024 saw a resurgence of music reminiscent of the past, with fewer cultural fragmentations and more unifying events. Hits like Charli XCX’s “Red Wine Supernova” and Shaboozey’s anthem dominated the airwaves, garnering attention from all age groups. The rivalry between Kendrick and Drake was a hot topic for months. Even the less successful pop stars managed to make headlines. The songs on our best-of list showcased some of the year’s top artists, as well as several hidden gems that surfaced in the mainstream. While excellence and popularity don’t always coincide, it was hard not to notice the abundance of quality music that rose to prominence in 2024. — Alex Suskind

Comedy

The Best Comedy Specials of 2024 From highly choreographed art-house projects to an hour of sex-robot clowning.

2024 saw comedy specials taking shape with established comedians, particularly those known for their explicit or suggestive content, further evolving their distinctive comic identities. This led to some of the year’s most engaging specials serving as culminations or extensions of previous work. For instance, Anthony Jeselnik’s “Bones and All” marks a 20th-year milestone. Ramy Youssef’s “More Feelings” can be viewed as a complex sequel to his earlier work, “Feelings”. The releases from comedians like Ali Wong, Adam Sandler, Nikki Glaser offer self-contained hours with unique purposes and internal coherence. However, they become even more impactful when viewed in the light of their prior specials and the comic personas they’ve honed over years. – Kathryn VanArendonk

The Best Comedy Books of 2024

Comedy isn’t simply about telling jokes or creating humor; it encompasses a broader, profound, and sacred interaction between individuals that exposes the absurd yet insightful truths of human life. This unexpected profundity often triggers laughter as we grapple with the revelation. Yes, comedy is this, but it also transcends into a genre, a perspective, a creative process, and an industry. The essence of comedy remains elusive, puzzling, and intriguing – hence, the abundance of books that delve into these complex ideas. Books, whether physical or digital, serve as an exceptional medium for exploring deep-rooted concepts related to comedy, surpassing other formats such as documentaries and podcasts where most contemporary comedy discussions take place. – Brian Boone

Books

The Best Books of 2024 The novels and nonfiction that offered unique robotproof perspectives.

2024 has been an exceptional year for literature, offering a breath of fresh air amidst the growing influence of AI generative tools. As a movie reviewer, I can confidently say that the books released this year stand out with their distinctive voices – a robot-resistant point of view that captures the essence of our world’s complexities, joys, and sorrows in a way that only human creativity can achieve. These literary gems provide an unparalleled perspective on life’s rich tapestry, ensuring that the wisdom and emotions they convey continue to resonate long after the final page is turned. – Maris Kreizman

The 10 Moments That Defined Podcasting in 2024 This year demonstrated the huge influence the medium has on American culture.

2024 was quite a remarkable year for podcasts – and I, as a film enthusiast who loves to dive into the world of audio storytelling, couldn’t help but notice. After an incredibly challenging year, podcasting found itself in the limelight more than ever over the past 12 months. This renewed focus was due to a series of attention-grabbing instances and the unprecedented impact of a contentious presidential election cycle that highlighted the medium’s profound influence.

Online Culture

All the Internet Words We Added to Our Dictionaries in 2024 The year English went full brain rot.

Prior to 2015, it was uncommon for the average person to use internet jargon. Phrases like “LOLcopter” and “epic fail” were popular back then, but phrases such as “Show me. To me, please” are not necessarily more understandable. Instead, it’s because a larger number of us are now online that these phrases have become mainstream – even though we may regret it in the future. Linguist Adam Aleksic explains that our language is influenced by what we see, with the frequency of use determining how often we say certain words. The internet, however, is creating and changing words at an unprecedented pace, reducing the time for them to become commonplace. The most significant aspect of an internet term is that it originates from the people. According to Aleksic, attempting to impose a word from above doesn’t work. To mark the end of 2024, a year as rich in words as it was in disappointment, we compiled a list of terms that were either created, reinvented, or gained mainstream popularity this year and applied Aleksic’s criteria to determine if they will remain in our vocabulary or fade away. — Kate Lindsay

Theater

The Best Theater of 2024 Waterfront history staged afloat, a variety of robots, and Mary Todd Lincoln going wild.

2024 has been an exceptional year for Broadway’s straight plays, even surpassing expectations in ticket sales – a category where they usually struggle. This success can be attributed to the influx of A-list Hollywood actors seeking to demonstrate their versatility with “serious” work as the film and TV industries face contraction. Notable performances this year include Jeremy Strong, Jim Parsons (twice), Rachel McAdams, Rachel Zegler, among others, who graced New York stages for limited engagements, some more critically acclaimed than others but all contributing to strong box office numbers.

Video Games

The Best Video Games of 2024 Multiplatform titles asserted themselves in thrillingly weird style.

2024 saw a gap in significant console exclusives, opening up a chance for multiplatform games to make their mark. They did just that, offering an excitingly eccentric experience: this year, we delved into the troubled mind of a nun, plummeted into a well inhabited by a diverse array of lethal creatures, clashed with yakuza under the Hawaiian sun, and navigated a treacherous ocean floor as a hermit crab on a mission to reclaim its stolen shell. Alongside this delightful, off-kilter strangeness, a few games resonated with the turbulent world we live in today. Games like Metaphor: ReFantazio (a questionable name for an excellent game) and Indika employed meta-fictional elements to investigate the power stories and fantasies hold over our lives, and ways to free ourselves from them. Despite the ongoing struggles within the video game industry (layoffs persisted in 2024), there’s no denying the passion and raw talent of its creators. — Lewis Gordon

Art

The Best New York Art Shows of 2024 Outsiders, Renaissance masterpieces, crazy quilts, and more.

Reflecting on the art scene in New York this year, I find myself in awe at the audacious declarations surrounding found art, appropriation, and the creative fusion of disparate materials. As a spectator, I marvel at the unparalleled ability humans possess to venture into realms untouched by artificial intelligence – areas such as capturing the raw, ecstatic truth that Werner Herzog so aptly described.

2024-12-13 19:54