10 Best Country Albums of 2025: Staff Picks

Caylee Hammack, Bed of Roses

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Hammack has a voice that swoops and soars through her songs, blanketing them with a soothing caress. Here, she took the notion of a concept album one step further by releasing a companion novel with each chapter taking its title from a song on the album. But the story is totally complete within the song cycle, which mines heartache and healing. The deceptively jaunty and slightly foreboding “Breaking Dishes ” compares smashing plates to the man who is trying to break her spirit, while “Back Again,” is a heartbreaker about not going back to where you’ve been, delivered with a tear in Hammack’s voice. Hammack isn’t afraid to be ambitious here, even taking on a cautionary cover of “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.” The project should have gotten way more attention than it did. — MELINDA NEWMAN

Jake Worthington, When I Write the Song

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With his sophomore album When I Write the Song, Worthington continues serving as a keeper of the flame for sounds that feel pulled directly from the dusty, intimate dancehalls of Worthington’s native Texas. His vocal’s twangy purism is poured over song structures that feel enduring and ageless, with unfiltered storytelling on “I Only Drink When It Rains,” the Western Swing of “My Home’s in Oklahoma,” the romantic “I Feel You” (featuring Mae Estes) and the gorgeous, somber Miranda Lambert collab, “Hello, S–tty Day.” As the album title suggests, Worthington had a hand in writing nearly every song on the project, giving the album a cohesiveness of vision and further solidifying Worthington as one of the most worthy newcomers in the genre. — JESSICA NICHOLSON

Riley Green, Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe Edition)

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This has undoubtedly been Green’s year. After scoring his first top five Country Airplay hit in 2018, he’d been chugging along for years, but he soared into overdrive over the last several months with three No. 1s, including two on the original Don’t Mind If I Do: the sexy, urgent “Worst Way” and wistful title track with Ella Langley. The deluxe version, issued in August, continues the winning hand with six new songs — among them “Make It Rain,” a cleverly written heartbreak of a song about how he can make his girlfriend cry with his callous treatment, as well as the bittersweet “I Just Need You,” another gorgeous co-ed duet (this time with newcomer Hannah McFarland), and “Ode to Willie,” which features the legendary Willie Nelson on guitar. It’s the perfect holdover until a full new album arrives next year. —M.N.

Trisha Yearwood, The Mirror

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With Yearwood as a co-writer on each of the album’s 15 tracks, the country legend’s The Mirror marks her first project in which her skills as a songwriter are on full display. Collectively, these inspired songs reflect on decades of lessons learned and hard-won confidence, especially on “Fearless These Days” and “The Mirror,” while also folding in songs of female empowerment and camaraderie (“Girls Night In”) and long-view songs of faith (“Calling the Angels”) and rest (“Goodnight Cruel World”). These are songs of maturity, complexity and emotional nuance, all delivered with Yearwood’s signature powerful voice. —J.N. 

Morgan Wallen, I’m the Problem

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At 37 tracks, Wallen’s latest is a lot and could have used a good editor, but the set also features some of the country superstar’s finest work to date. The album already spawned five No. 1s on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, including the bittersweet, yearning “Just in Case,” as well as a No. 1 on the Hot 100 with the sweetly ambivalent “What I Want,” a duet with Tate McRae. While much of the album mines familiar territory for Wallen as the perpetually loser at love, he stretches out here beyond bad romance on a few tracks that show a different, yet equally appealingly vulnerable side to Wallen: “The Dealer” (with ERNEST) looks at soldiering on despite life’s vagaries and “I’m a Little Crazy” tries to navigate a world that seems increasingly bonkers. Throughout, Wallen is trying to make sense of what’s going on around him, just like the rest of us. The album debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums in May and has never left the top spot. — M.N.

Turnpike Troubadours, The Price of Admission

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Turnpike Troubadours’ new album, produced by Shooter Jennings, again proves why this versatile group has been long lauded for their musical ingenuity. The dynamic opener, “On the Red River,” written by Turnpike’s Evan Felker with Old Crow Medicine Show’s Ketch Secor, immediately sets the stage for an album steeped in themes of longing, connection, growth and mortality. One of the most affecting moments comes with “Heaven Passing Through,” written by Felker, which finds the song’s narrator reflecting on fatherhood as he raises his own child. Elsewhere, the band takes an introspective look at leaving home and appreciating it more as time passes on “Leaving Town (Woody Guthrie Festival).” Overall, this album marks an essential addition to the band’s already rich catalog. — J.N.

Treaty Oak Revival, West Texas Degenerate

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Debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock & Americana charts, the Odessa, Texas band’s latest is its most realized, cohesive album yet, full of lovable (and not so lovable) reprobates who are often struggling to make it through the day with assistance from illicit substances and what’s left of the rapidly fraying rope they’ve been hanging onto. Like tourmate and fellow Texan Koe Wetzel, TOR blends country and rock in a passionate, persuasive blend anchored by lead singer Sam Canty’s stripped-down, raw vocals. Whether it’s on sordid tales like the title track, “S–t Hill” and “Withdrawals” or a tender love song like “Sunflowers,” West Texas Degenerate is an authentic gem that will vault the quintet to the next level. — M.N.

Carter Faith, Cherry Valley

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With her debut album Cherry Valley, gifted singer and songwriter Faith proves she more than knows her way around crafting a resplendent melody and an attention-grabbing lyric. She finds a soul-healing trinity in “Sex, Drugs and Country Music,” and then dives headfirst into honkytonk grit, capturing the essence of a heady romance with a small-town “Bar Star.” Elsewhere, she leans into elements of smooth countrypolitan, while her dynamic, polished vocal gives powerful ballads such as “If I Had Never Lost My Mind” an ethereal elegance. Overall, this marks an impressive, impactful debut that should give anyone plenty of faith in her career’s longevity. – J.N.

Zach Top, Ain’t In It for My Health

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Reigning CMA new artist of the year Top broke through with the retro-leaning charm of songs including “Sounds Like the Radio” and “I Never Lie,” from his 2024 album Cold Beer & Country Music. On the new set, he continued blending classic country with elements of bluegrass and plenty of modern storytelling, creating an album that elevates his artistry, and reinforces his place as a torchbearer for timeless sounds, while still giving them a fresh patina. The album’s “Good Times and Tan Lines” brought a lighthearted, summery feel, whereas “South of Sanity” delved into deeper emotional terrain, and “Honky Tonk ‘Til It Hurts” and “Livin’ A Lie” sound like instant classics. — J.N.

Eric Church, Evangeline Vs. The Machine

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