If anyone tells you 2024 was anything less than an absolute win for new music, they clearly spent the year with their head stuck in a bin. While the world outside might have been doing its best impression of a dumpster fire, our headphones have been blessed with an embarrassment of riches. From bright-young-things becoming even brighter to established faves finding new gears, the last twelve months have delivered more golden moments than we can count.

That's where this list comes in. Over the next few days, we'll be celebrating the very best tracks 2024 had to offer – from chart-destroying anthems to underground gems that deserve their moment in the spotlight. So grab your party hat, pour yourself something fizzy, and join us as we count down the defining songs of 2024.

100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1

Master Peace’s ‘Start You Up’ essentially does what it says on the tin - it pushes the accelerator flat to the floor and gets things immediately fired up. The ultimate hype song, ‘Start You Up’ is the kind of track that will soundtrack your most questionable decisions, but fill you with enough energy to see them through and laugh about it afterwards. Combining the nostalgic tones of 2000s indie sleaze with a more modern attitude, it’s a highlight of Master Peace’s outrageous debut album, and feels like the realisation of all the potential he has shown more and more glimpses of over the last few years. It’s been a landmark year for Master Peace, and there’s no signs of Peace hitting the breaks any time soon - with tracks as good as ‘Start You Up’, why would anyone want him to? NEIVE MCCARTHY

2024 was the year where big personality and unrestrained, joyous honesty grabbed hold of pop's big steering wheel and refused to let go. While big 'Brat' summer and Chappell Roan's queer-pop revolution may have won big, Billie Eilish proved that even the established A list were taking ownership of their own narrative by being unashamedly themselves, no apologies offered nor required. 'Lunch' landed with maximum impact – just prowling bass, knife-edge guitars and the kind of confession that makes perfect sense at 3am when the world gets properly quiet. "I could eat that girl for lunch / Yeah, she dances on my tongue" isn't aiming for the pride playlist – it's just telling it's lust-laden truth in its messiest, most electric form. What makes it hit so perfectly in 2024 is its beautiful spontaneity. In a year defined by artists finally breaking free from the machine, Eilish reminded us that sometimes the biggest statements are the ones that arrive with nothing but truth, desire and absolutely killer hooks. DAN HARRISON