50. Real Estate — Daniel (Elton John cover)
The broody and heartfelt Elton John hit gets a punched-up and poppy redo by Real Estate. Shiny and happy as it is, the cover veers off the 4/4 time signature a time or two, a flex that shows the band is serious about craft. But not too serious; this single is not from their Daniel album released earlier in 2024. Maybe their Elton cover is a prankish extension of the mystery around their last album’s title. Was it named for Daniel Tashian, its Nashville-based producer? Or, as the band implausibly hinted on a social media post, Danielle Steel, the romance novelist? Who knows, or cares? It’s great to get reacquainted with “Daniel” some 50 years after its debut, and to see another facet of Real Estate revealed. — Tom McDonald
49. Kesha — Holiday Road (Lindsey Buckingham cover)
I’m not sure when “Holiday Road” turned into a Christmas song, but I’m all for it. Lindsey Buckingham’s song sounds good any time of year, whether it accompanies riding in a convertible or a one-horse open sleigh. Kesha’s cover sounds good too, applying vocoded singing and synth drums to give it a more wintry chill. She even added a bridge, yet managed to shave off 15 seconds or so off the original, making it both nimble and quick, and giving it a vintage 2024 West Coast kick. — Patrick Robbins
48. Rhiannon Giddens ft. Silkroad Ensemble & Benmont Tench — Don’t Come Around Here No More (Tom Petty cover)
Whenever Rhiannon Giddens releases a cover, it’s like she’s teaching a master class. Listening to her version of Tom Petty’s “Don’t Come Around Here No More” will make you feel smarter. Giddens is a trained opera singer turned folkie and music historian who, through her work, connects American popular music with its African roots. Backed by the world music collective the Silk Road Ensemble, as well as the Heartbreakers’ musical brain Benmont Tench, Giddens channels a number of African and Middle Eastern musical styles. Giddens’ earthy vocals, combined with heavy percussion, transforms the song into a spiritual that cuts across time. For the outro, she even includes a bit of banjo, which, as Giddens often reminds us, came to American shores from Africa, too. — Curtis Zimmermann
47. Sierra Hull — Black Muddy River (Grateful Dead cover)
One of Jerry Garcia’s more gorgeous melodies, “Black Muddy River” comes right out the trunk labeled “classic,” as in the ability to conjure up the idea of an ages-old ballad, yet written only yesterday. (Or 1987, splitting hairs.) Superb by the band, it has taken on quite an afterlife in the hands of others, becoming almost a standard, sung by those whose stock in trade is often traditional balladry. Whether Sierra Hull is one such, I am uncertain, but on the basis of this she could well now be. It does no harm that, at 33, she has a wealth of bluegrass awards behind her, as Garcia had such effortless affinity with that genre, even as he switched between his acoustic muse and the more electric muscle of the Dead. Stripped back to mandolin and voice, has the lyric ever sounded less world-weary, becoming a song of hope rather than regret? When the fiddle comes in, the vision is complete. — Seuras Og
46. Rising Appalachia — The Bones (Maren Morris cover)
In late 2023, country singer Maren Morris created headlines when she said of the country genre, “I thought I’d like to burn it to the ground and start over. But it’s burning itself down without my help.” The genre seems unwilling to let her go, as evidenced by Rising Appalachia’s gorgeous acoustic cover of Morris’ smash “The Bones.” A sisterly duo, Rising Appalachia plays up the track’s roots, singing it as a quiet country ballad with stellar harmonies. The only problem is that this cover would never have a chance of making it onto country radio, ’cause it’s too darn country – such is the state of the genre in 2024. — Curtis Zimmermann
45. Justin Townes Earle — Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Justin Townes Earle recorded “Dreams” back in 2018, but it didn’t see the light of day until six years later, four years after his passing, when it appeared on the rarities collection All In. It served as a welcome if painful reminder of his talent, gone far too soon, and his ability to transform a song. Nobody’s claiming that he stole “Dreams” from Stevie Nicks; that’s a song that forever belongs to its writer. What he did was far more difficult — he threw into relief the lush pop perfection of the original “Dreams” by scaling back, accepting and not defying, and rebuilt it in a dry country image that sounds like a different song altogether, even as it keeps the melody and lyrics, and stands beside it as an equally great accomplishment. — Patrick Robbins
44. Pet Shop Boys — All the Young Dudes (Mott the Hoople cover)
The Pet Shop Boys’ cover of the David Bowie-penned Mott the Hoople classic “All the Young Dudes” is what you would expect from the British electronic duo. The pair recorded the song as a piece of ‘80s-style techno pop. Listening to it conjures up images of dancers in a discotheque in Thatcher-era London with big sunglasses, hair spray and multi-colored plastic, studded jackets. It could have been a smash dance hit in 1984, instead of just a great cover from 2024. — Curtis Zimmermann
43. Lucinda Williams — While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles cover)
Amazing, really, because Lucinda Williams’ …Sings The Beatles from Abbey Road, the seventh record in her Lu’s Jukebox series of covers albums, only came out in early December, yet already people are talking about many of its 12 tracks being up there with the “Best Beatles Covers Ever.” One in particular: “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” So what’s so good about the Louisiana singer’s roots-rock reinterpretation of the George Harrison-penned song that famously featured blues god Eric Clapton on the yearning guitar solos? Well, right from the off, there’s the fantastic crunch and jangle of the supreme interlocking guitarists in her band: Doug Pettibone and Marc Ford. Then there’s that Williams voice: that gravely, world-weary yet still powerful instrument of a 71-year-old still recovering from the debilitating stroke in 2020 that left her unable to play guitar. Then comes former Black Crowe Ford, offering up the gutsiest of guitar weeping (not especially “gently”), all steeped in magic from having been recorded in the actual London studio where the Beatles recorded the White Album original: Abbey Road. It’s the darkest and dirtiest and most bruised and heartfelt cover of the song that you’re likely to hear, ever. — Adam Mason
42. Ethel Cain — For Sure (American Football cover)
Like Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea or Talk Talk’s Spirit Of Eden, American Football’s self-titled indie-emo-dreamy debut album took years to be fully appreciated. 2024 marked the album’s 25th anniversary, and its mini-majesty was honored with the one of the greatest compliments a singular studio LP can receive: A tribute album. American Football (Covers) features renditions of every track by esteemed artist-fans like Iron & Wine, Manchester Orchestra and the incredible Ethel Cain. The latter’s version of “For Sure” is a mindblower. She reshapes the fragile and lovely three and a half minute original into an ethereal, nine-minute epic that’ll make you dizzy with bliss. It is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. — Hope Silverman
41. Bat For Lashes — Home (Baauer cover)
British singer Bat For Lashes, aka Natasha Khan, joined the ranks of Madonna, Sharon Van Etten, and Laura Marling in 2024 by releasing an album on the theme of first-time motherhood: The Dream of Delphi. She set it apart, however, by aligning it with her ideas of paganism and witchcraft, which gave rise to much in the way of cinematic soundscapes and ambient atmospherics. These were offset by a quietly intimate, piano-led version of the beautifully melodic “Home,” originally by New York DJ/producer Baauer and featuring British vocalist Bipolar Sunshine. You wouldn’t know it from this, but the original came from a 2020 dance album called Planet’s Mad, on the theme of a rogue planet crashing into Earth and filling the place with aliens looking to party (yes, that old chestnut!). That’s because Khan found maternal meaning in the song as a result of it being her daughter Delphi’s favorite, of which she said: “We just played it over and over and over again every time we got in the car and she’d giggle and squeal.” Khan sings it exquisitely, in her pure soprano voice, evoking not so much the song’s sci-fi origins, as a sense of “home” as a sacred place shared between mother and daughter. — Adam Mason
Wow so many great versions Terrific work
Thanks for a fascinating year, gang!
Thanks for this incredible collection.
I would put Ethel Cain’s cover near the top of the list but otherwise great work! This is a wonderful site with fantastic writers. Thank you!