MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Twin Cities music fans showed a wide range of musical appreciation with an eclectic mix of old and new favorites in 2024 at the legendary Electric Fetus.
There’s pop, punk, industrial, old school, and alt-country among the most popular records of the year when it comes to vinyl and CD sales. And a few Minnesota bands kept people buying local.
"We love to look back at the top sellers of the year to see which artists really connected with our customers," said Electric Fetus’ music buyer Jim Novak. "This year’s list emphasizes the varied tastes of Twin Cities music fans, and it’s great to see so many local artists measuring up with the big-name pop stars and classic rock juggernauts. This list proves how strong our local music scene is here in the Cities."
Electric Fetus 20 Top Selling Albums of 2024
1. Chappell Roan – Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
The pink pony princess rose from a femininomenon with a cult following to a place in our collective consciousness as this 2023 album reached across genres to find fans everywhere. Trying to ignore it? Good luck, babe. She slayed First Avenue in 2023, but expect a stadium stop for her next Twin Cities visit.
2. Prince & The Revolution – Purple Rain (LOCAL)
This year marked the 40th anniversary of this landmark album from Minneapolis’ purple royalty. The soundtrack from the 1984 movie opens with vows and takes off from there. From hypnotic, danceable Computer Blue to the growling, racy Darling Nicky to the slow build of the epic Purple Rain, this album has no skips and vinyl lovers are still going crazy for it. -Review by Joy Hoggard
3. Hippo Campus – Flood (LOCAL)
Growing pains come flooding out from the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists classmates in their fourth studio release. They refused to let the demons in for a talk by recording in less than two weeks and the result is beautiful, but unpolished. You can catch them at Surly Field in 2025.
4. Taylor Swift – Tortured Poets Department
Have you heard of this artist? The upstart pop singer just finished her $2 billion Eras Tour. I knew she was trouble. (Look what you made me do.) The anti-hero of her own story released Tortured Poets in 2024 as her 11th studio album. It sold more than 3 million copies over the first fortnight.
5. Charli XCX – Brat
Bright green and arial font took over this summer all thanks to this party girl. Her Grammy-nominated album was the apple of many vinyl purchasers’ eyes. She took over stages across the U.S. alongside Troy Sivan with her Sweat tour, but brings her show to Minneapolis solo in April 2025. -Review by Jaelynn Jackson
6. Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft
Bedroom pop from Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell. She collaborated again with brother FINNEAS for her third album, eating the charts for lunch. The siblings are birds of a feather, producing entertaining alt-pop sounds carried by Billie’s beautiful, blue voice.
7. St. Vincent – All Born Screaming
You don't have to be a broken man to enjoy Annie Clark’s 2024 industrial rock record. If Tori Amos and Trent Reznor made an album together, it might sound like St. Vincent. Clark produces and plays all the instruments herself at some point with occasional guests, including Queens on the drums.
8. Brigitte Calls Me Baby – The Future is Our Way Out
This is the way into rock relevance for the Chicago-based band. It’s an impressively above average full-length debut. You’ll hear echoes of Elvis and the divided joy of Ian Curtis in Wes Leavins’ vocals. BCMB has already played three shows in the Twin Cities since 2023, including a freebie at Surly through The Current.
9. Noah Kahan – Stick Season
The Vermont native calls his third album a love letter to New England, but Minnesotans can relate to his northern attitude from lack of sunlight in the winter. Album extras include songs reworked as duets as Kahan teamed up with Kacey Musgraves, Brandi Carlile, and the next artist on this list.
10. Hozier – Hozier
The soulful Irish artist kicked off his career with this eponymous 2014 album. Take Me to Church was his breakthrough single and music lovers are still taking this album off the shelves, even as he toured on the more recent Unreal Unearth album.
11. Green Day – Saviors
Pop punk will never die! But it’s a dilemma if the American dream really is killing Billie Joe Armstrong. This is the Bay Area band’s 14th album since smoothly dropping their first in 1990. Their Target Field stop in August made it a Corvette Summer for the Twin Cities.
12. Jack White – No Name
White secretly released this 2024 album to his vinyl club subscribers and as a companion to purchases at record stores in Detroit, Nashville, and London. Secret concerts followed the secret release, including a First Avenue stop. This is the best rock & roll album released in years. At least that's how I'm feeling.
13. Gracie Abrams – Secret of Us
If you love Abrams, I’m sorry. The singer-songwriter bounced to the big time as an opener on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, but stood on her own at The Armory in September. Her lyrics are heartfelt and a secret of her success may be collaborative work with Audrey Hobert and Aaron Dessner of The National.
14. Bad Bad Hats – Bad Bad Hats (LOCAL)
The new stuff from Macalester's Kerry Alexander and Chris Hoge may be best heard on a Walkman. My heart says if Alexander died and left us her CDs, we'd find a lot of '90s indie pop. You shouldn't need to be bored in the winter to check them out at First Avenue in January.
15. Decemberists – As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again
Oh no! There is no whole collapse to which we will bear witness when it comes to The Decemberists. This 9th studio album is a fresh return to Colin Meloy’s poetic lyrics and it’s best when it's not sung alone. Thousands of fans sang along when at the Palace Theatre in May.
16. Jeff Buckley – Grace
There may never be a last goodbye to this 1994 classic. Buckley’s version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is often credited as the best. He drowned three years after the album’s release, before it achieved much success, perhaps strengthening the ghostly quality of his vocals. His own description of the lead track could describe the entire album: "It's about not feeling so bad about your own mortality when you have true love."
17. Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood
Katie Crutchfield is right back to it with her sixth Waxahatchee album, a 2024 follow-up to the totally not Minnesota-themed Saint Cloud. She declined a larger venue tour and hit St. Paul’s Palace Theatre in April and finally got a long-deserved Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album.
18. Radiohead – In Rainbows
The digital era’s first "surprise album" is a surprising choice for 2024 record store visitors. Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood released a 2024 album with their side project, The Smile. But the ethereal, experimental English rockers released this album in 2007 as a pay-what-you-want download.
19. Melanie Martinez – Portals
The viral pop star finished her first trilogy of albums when we passed through the portals with her. Martinez seemed to die an electropop Death as an alter ego took on darker themes. But the vibe was ecstatic when she packed Target Center in June.
20. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
This iconic 1977 album is a staple on record shelves and it once again appears on this year’s most popular purchases. The perfect holiday gift, Rumours crosses genres and weaves together beautiful tales of friendship, love, and heartbreak. While the album holds a special place in my heart as the first record in my collection, it’s clear it holds a special place on bestseller lists everywhere. -Review by Jaelynn Jackson