The Best R&B Albums of 2024

YAMS' top 15 R&B albums of the year, ranked.

2024 was a great year in R&B. We saw some major comebacks. We received some amazing debut albums. We saw a few people avoid the infamous sophomore slump. But what albums stood out the most for us? For the first time, we decided to rank our favorite albums of the year. With that being said and after much deliberation, these are our top 15 R&B albums of 2024.

15. Rae Khalil – CRYBABY

Yams’ Favorite Track: “OVERCAST/OVERTURE”

14. Fana Hues – Moth

Yams’ Standout Track: “What Speaks”

13. Destin Conrad – SUBMISSIVE2

Yams’ Favorite Track: “SAME MISTAKE” featuring Alex Isley

12. Marsha Ambrosius – Casablanco

Yams’ Favorite Track: “Thrill Her”

11. Chlöe – Trouble In Paradise

Yams’ Favorite Track: “Might As Well” featuring Ty Dolla Sign

10. Tems – Born In The Wild

Yams’ Favorite Track: “Burning”

9. Shae Universe – Love’s Letter

Yams’ Favorite Track: “LOML (Acoustic)” featuring Joseph Solomon

8. NxWorries – Why Lawd?

Yams’ Favorite Track: “Where I Go” featuring H.E.R.

7. Elijah Blake – elijah.

Yams’ Favorite Tracks: “Company” + “Best Friend”

6. Isaiah Falls – Drugs n’ Lullabies

Yams’ Favorite Tracks: “DIVA” + “GOLD ON MY TEETH”

5. Kehlani – While We Wait 2

When making this list, we couldn’t decide between including CRASH or going with While We Wait 2, as both projects were two of our favorites of the year. But While We Wait 2 edged out the W here solely because we replayed it more over the past few months. WWW2 feels like Kehlani comfortably in their element, and in a world that fans love to travel to. But make no mistake, its more alternative sister CRASH is that girl too!

Yams’ Favorite Tracks: “S.I.N.G.L.E.” + “Slow Dance” featuring DIXSON

4. Ravyn Lenae – Bird’s Eye

Ravyn Lenae’s ‘Bird’s Eye’ album is the gentle gift we needed in 2024. A genre-bender at her core, the Chicago native slinks through soft rock and pop influences while staying rooted in soul. “One Wish” alone is one of the most beautiful songs dropped in 2024. We love seeing her get the flowers she deserves.

Yams’ Favorite Tracks: “One Wish” featuring Childish Gambino + “From Scratch”

3. Leon Thomas – MUTT

Leon Thomas hit a pocket with the ‘MUTT’ album that we’ve needed someone in the male R&B space to perfect for a while. He brings a grit and edge to his soulful music without having to cosplay as a rapper. His songwriting? Immaculate. Songs like “VIBES DON’T LIE” paint a picture that makes you feel like you’re living inside the song. And vocally, Leon Thomas is one of the strongest in the genre currently.

Yams’ Favorite Tracks: “YES IT IS” + “LUCID DREAMS” featuring Masego

2. Lucky Daye – Algorithm

With Lucky Daye’s ‘Algorithm’ album, he was on a mission to showcase that good music comes in all different shapes and sounds. While listening to the album, you can hear the influence of everyone from Stevie Wonder to George Michael to Lenny Kravitz. And that made for an amazing listening experience. This album may be an acquired taste for some, but once you acquire the taste – welcome to the club with us. We all fam over here!

Yams’ Favorite Tracks: “Diamonds In Teal” + “Paralyzed” featuring RAYE

1. FLO – Access All Areas

FLO’s debut album has been years in the making. We saw them burst onto the scene in 2022 with the viral hit “Cardboard Box.” And they could’ve rushed a debut album to drop back then. They could have followed TikTok's trends and fallen into the trap that many labels lead their artists into these days. But instead, they went through a lengthy period of ✨artist development✨. We saw them grow in real time. Stronger vocals, stronger performances, stronger chemistry, stronger sonics. With consistent collaborators like MNEK – they allowed themselves to figure out exactly who they wanted to be and what they wanted to sound like. And now that the debut album is here, we can’t have asked for it to have been done any other way.

Yams’ Favorite Tracks: “AAA” + “On & On” + “Shoulda Woulda Coulda”