Staff Picks: 10 Best Country Albums of 2024

Because country and country-influenced songs by singers like Beyoncé, Post Malone, Morgan Wallen, and Shaboozey topped numerous charts this year, country music was at the forefront of popular music. Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion both peaked at number one on the Billboard 200, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 19 weeks, and the Post Malone/Wallen collaboration “I Had Some Help” dominated the chart for six weeks.

Beyond all-genre chart hits, this year witnessed a rise in artists showcasing their unique artistic ideas for their albums. These artists were unreserved in their ability to create music that resonates with their listeners and in their ability to produce songs that provide in-depth glimpses into their personal lives and viewpoints.

These musicians published a variety of country albums in 2024, some of which were influenced by hip-hop, gospel, and rock, while others relied on the more conventional sounds of country music, with a focus on the 1980s and 1990s. While some chose to work on expansive projects that allowed them to experiment with a variety of styles, others made albums that were strictly structured and primarily concept-driven. Each of these albums showcases the songwriters’ efforts in creating music that has struck a chord with listeners this year, in addition to the skills of musicians in the country genre.

 

 

 

10 Jelly Roll, Beautifully Broken

Our ten favorite country albums of 2024, as chosen by the Billboard editorial staff, include Shaboozey’s Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, Megan Moroney’s Am I Okay?, Don Louis’ Liquor Talkin’, Scotty McCreery’s Rise and Fall, Wyatt Flores’s Welcome to the Plains, and the compilation Twisters: The Album, which features a variety of artists.
Even though Jelly Roll seemed to be everywhere in 2024, his music was still the most noticeable. Jelly Roll made his first and rightfully first appearance at the top of the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts with his follow-up to his country breakthrough, Whitsitt Chapel, released last year. Although many country musicians have been candid about their mental health issues, few have written about them in such frank, visceral fashion. By doing this, Jelly Roll is redefining what great country music can be, whether it’s “Winning Streak,” which transports listeners to a 12-step meeting, or “Liar,” which addresses the deceit of people, places, and things, or “I Am Not Okay,” which is a heartbreaking midtempo track about depression and anxiety that ends in optimism. Beautifully Broken, if nothing else, tries to convey that we are never alone, even when we feel most alone. His rough voice always ring true. — MELINDA NEWMAN

 

9 Miranda Lambert, Postcards From Texas

In addition to being Lambert’s tenth studio album, Postcards From Texas was her first after joining Republic Records (in partnership with Big Loud). Lambert thus experienced a creative renaissance with Postcards, revisiting and praising her Lone Star State roots on the CD. Lambert and her collaborators cover a wide range of topics in the album’s 14 tracks, including love songs (“January Heart”), post-heartbreak reflections (“I Hate Love Songs”), and defiant letters (“B-ch on the Sauce,” “Alimony”), as well as languid collaborations (“Santa Fe” with Parker McCollum), crazy story songs (“Armadillo”), and even a David Allan Coe cover that she skillfully transforms into her own song, “Living on the Run.” Here, Lambert demonstrates once more that she creates music according to her own terms and that she is obviously enjoying exploring her creative side. — JESSICA NICHOLSON

8 Zach Bryan, The Great American Bar Scene

Bryan’s creative output appears to be endless, as evidenced by this, his sixth full album in five years. He sticks to his frugal methods, mostly using stripped-down, acoustic guitar-led songs that frequently focus on small moments that grow into significant ones. The devil is in the details, and Bryan, who receives help from veteran artists Bruce Springsteen and John Mayer, is able to distill a phrase that conveys a whole story into a few lines. Take the percussion-heavy song “28,” where he declares, “Took twenty-eight years of blood pumpin’ through me/ To feel loved on my own birthday,” or “Bass Boat,” where he tragically acknowledges that “even with my baby sitting next to me/I’m a self-sabotaging suicide machine.” honest, unvarnished, and approachable. — M.N.

7 Zach Top, Cold Beer & Country Music

Since the release of his first country album, Cold Beer & Country Music, earlier this year, Washington native Top has received a great deal of praise for his breakthrough hits, “Sounds Like the Radio” (which does sound like it was lifted from 1990s country radio) and its follow-up, the steel guitar-heavy “I Never Lie.” Top is one of the leading performers in the neo-traditional trend of country music, which has seen a rise in recent years, mostly from up-and-coming musicians. He collaborated on this album with other songwriters Carson Chamberlain, Wyatt McCubbin, and Mark Nesler. Together, they created a seamless, non-stop album where each track stands alone, whether it’s barn burners like “Ain’t a Heartbreak,” aching ballads like “Use Me,” or acoustic-leaning songs like “There’s the Sun.” Every track seems effortless thanks to Top’s mellow twang, which tops it all off. — J.N.

6 Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter

Cowboy Carter, who debuted in a 2024 Super Bowl commercial featuring the stoic “Texas Hold ‘Em” and reflective “16 Carriages,” reflected on Beyoncé’s country upbringing in Houston and the criticism she received following her performance at the 2016 CMA Awards. Carter created an all-encompassing piece that welcomes everyone, from new Black country artists like Shaboozey, Willie Jones, Brittney Spencer, and Reyna Roberts to legendary performers like Dolly Parton (Bey also remade “Jolene”), Willie Nelson, and Linda Martell (the first Black woman to ever play the Grand Ole Opry). With elements of soul, pop, and rap in addition to country influences on many of the tracks, the music was as diverse as the guests. It should come as no surprise that fans and Grammy voters embraced the album, but country radio did not: “Texas Hold ‘Em” became the first Black woman’s song to reach the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, and she garnered a 2024-best 11 Grammy nominations. In addition to being a significant musical achievement, it is a cultural declaration and a reclaiming of the crucial role played by Black musicians in the development of country music. — M.N.

5 Red Clay Strays, Made By These Moments

Red Clay Strays, a five-piece band from Alabama, has been playing music together for a number of years, but their song “Wondering Why” made them a Billboard chart hit last year. After the popularity of the song, the group collaborated with producer Dave Cobb to create the full-length studio album Made By These Moments, which features its amazing blend of deep blues-tinged country songs and fiery, hard-charging rock. From the free-flowing “Ramblin'” to tracks that directly address the complicated emotions surrounding a variety of difficulties, from spiritual warfare to battling with self-worth, as on “Devil in My Ear” and “Wanna Be Loved,” the album is a musical jewel that is worth listening to again and again. The band’s hard-fought, tightly-woven sound and lead singer Brandon Coleman’s commanding, thunderously soulful (and occasionally rockabilly era-tinged) rumble of a voice are unmistakable throughout it all. — J.N.

4 Jamey Johnson, Midnight Gasoline

Red Clay Strays, a five-piece band from Alabama, has been playing music together for a number of years, but their song “Wondering Why” made them a Billboard chart hit last year. After the popularity of the song, the group collaborated with producer Dave Cobb to create the full-length studio album Made By These Moments, which features its amazing blend of deep blues-tinged country songs and fiery, hard-charging rock. From the free-flowing “Ramblin'” to tracks that directly address the complicated emotions surrounding a variety of difficulties, from spiritual warfare to battling with self-worth, as on “Devil in My Ear” and “Wanna Be Loved,” the album is a musical jewel that is worth listening to again and again. The band’s hard-fought, tightly-woven sound and lead singer Brandon Coleman’s commanding, thunderously soulful (and occasionally rockabilly era-tinged) rumble of a voice are unmistakable throughout it all. — J.N.

3 Cody Johnson, Leather (Deluxe Edition)

One of the most talented songwriters in country music, Johnson, put a lot of effort into his first new solo studio album in 14 years. Over the course of three weeks, he recorded 30 songs at Cash Cabin (the set is the first in a number of albums in the Cash Cabin Series). The musicality and depth of the 12 songs on Gasoline, which honor those who have lost their lives in the line of duty on “21 Guns” (Johnson is an ex-Marine), draw on the finality of loss on the moving “One More Time,” and chronicle Johnson’s own journey of quitting alcohol, “Sober,” are sure to please both Johnny and June. Johnson, a two-time CMA winner for song of the year, creates a cozy and welcoming connection between contemporary country music and his songwriting heroes of the past, such as Haggard, Kristofferson, and Nelson. — M.N.

 

Cody Johnson released his album Leather last year, which featured the hits “The Painter” and “Dirt Cheap,” along with excellent album cuts like the title track and “Whiskey Bent,” a collaboration with Jelly Roll. Every album that Johnson puts out solidifies his status as a producer of neo-traditional country treasures with outstanding songwriting and accessible plots, all fueled by steel guitars, fiddles, and Johnson’s unmistakably country voice. He keeps up that goal on the deluxe edition of Leather, which includes a number of outside cuts in addition to a variety of songs that Johnson co-wrote. This results in a dynamic project that includes the sweeping story arc of “The Fall,” the heartfelt father-daughter ode “C’mon Cowgirl,” the melancholic “How Do You Sleep at Night?” and a nod to resolute spirits on “Mustang.”

The power and control of Johnson’s voice are evident when he goes note for note with one of country music’s most formidable vocal talents, Carrie Underwood, on the soaring ballad “I’m Gonna Love You,” even though his voice typically lets the song take center stage and leans more conversational than dynamo. Johnson asserts his claim to staying firmly country, and given his proficiency in the genre, providing his fans with what they have come to expect is a smart choice, even as other country musicians increasingly include pop, rock, and hip-hop into their songs. — J.N.

2 Lainey Wilson, Whirlwind

With the assurance of a performer who has completely found her voice, Wilson’s follow-up to her CMA and ACM Award-winning Bell Bottom Country blazes. As she reflects on love with the seductive “4x4xU” and amiable “Counting Chickens,” breakups with the poignant “Broken Hearts Still Beat,” and life on the road with the thrilling breakneck pace of “Hang Tight Honey,” the pulsating title track, written with The Heart Wranglers (the moniker given to the songwriting team of her, Trannie Anderson, and Dallas Wilson), attempts to explain what her life has been like over the past few years. Wilson demonstrates that she is staying true to her country roots and is content to take the lead in that genre, although many of her peers are content to blend pop and country. — M.N.

1 Post Malone, ‘F-1 Trillion’

Post Malone’s debut into country music with F-1 Trillion earlier this year put the musical and genre chameleon at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. Thanks to collaborations with a wide range of country stars, such as Brad Paisley (“Goes Without Saying”), Morgan Wallen (“I Had Some Help”), Dolly Parton (“Have the Heart”), and many more, the album is a strong combination of songwriting and star power. However, he also contributes heartfelt solo ballads (“Yours”), and the album is elevated with its Long Bed edition, which includes a number of Post Malone solo country songs. This edition also features some of his best performances on the album, including songs like “Who Needs You” and “Back to Texas” that wrap up in a variety of country and country-adjacent styles, including Western swing and honky-tonk. When taken as a whole, the album demonstrates Post’s dual status as a singular genius and an enthusiastic student of the genre. — J.N.