2026 country log
It's the time of the year when I start HANKERING for some new country. Luckily country/Americana/roots w/e artists are all trying to get their albums out ahead of spring and summer, so now is the time. I'll just add albums as I listen. Might include some blues too or whatever else works well for kicking back and drinking a Rainer to.
I'm opening this up to 2025 albums too, but I'll label them as 2025. |
| 1 |  | Garrett T. Capps
I Still Love San Antone
3.6/5
A fun oddball country album and follow-up to a previous album loving on San Antonio. Solid but some of it is indecipherable not being from San Antonio. Check out his 2025 album Life Is Strange for some killer country mixed with heavy doses of slacker rock too. |
| 2 |  | Johnny Blue Skies
Mutiny After Midnight
3.7/5
Not exactly country, but it's Sturgill Simpson so I gotta include it. It's a fun funk/disco/country album that I could see growing on me. |
| 3 |  | Charley Crockett
Age Of The Ram
3.7/5
Review at link. It's a solid ending to the trilogy but isn't quite as strong as the preceding albums. |
| 4 |  | Flatland Cavalry
Work of Heart
4.2/5
Flatland regains their footing after a bit of a misfire on Wandering Star. They got some of their older energy back and aren't just playing ballads. |
| 5 |  | Whey Jennings
Baptized By Fire
3.5/5
This was a solid listen, much better than his debut LP. He's still struggling to hit the highs from some of his EPs, but I dug this. |
| 6 |  | Clay Street Unit
Sin and Squalor
3.9/5
Smooth country/bluegrass that's at its best when it's leaning into the bluegrass or letting the instrumentals space out a bit. |
| 7 |  | The Infamous Stringdusters
20/20
4.2/5
Great bluegrass, as expected. |
| 8 |  | Jesse Daniel
Son of the San Lorenzo
2025 release
4/5
From punk drummer and convict to country is the type of arc I really respect. Great album. |
| 9 |  | Jake Worthington
When I Write The Song
2025 release
4.2/5
Great 90s throwback country that feels fresh. The dude got second place on The Voice back in like 2013 or something, and turned down offers to do bro country. Instead, he's been pumping out great neotraditional and 90s inspired country records. This one kicks ass, give it a spin. |
| 10 |  | Garrett T. Capps
Life is Strange
2025 release
4.1/5
Great Texas country mixed with slacker rock. |
| 11 |  | Brennen Leigh
Don't You Ever Give Up On Love
2025 Release
4.3/5
Extremely catchy little album that delivers exactly what it sets out to, which is old-timey country with smart, heartfelt lyrics. |
| 12 |  | Kashus Culpepper
Act I
3.8/5
Great soul-infused country album that could be just a tad shorter. I'm excited to see what he does next. |
| 13 |  | Josh Weathers
Neon Never Fades
2.8/5
Grok, generate 90s throwback country. Make sure there's nothing in here that could get in the way of people dancing, like opinions, unique songwriting or memorable moments. Grok, is this braindeath?
Ok it's not that bad but it's pure 90s worship. It's smooth and competently made, but just does nothing for me. |
| 14 |  | Zach Bryan
With Heaven On Top
3.3/5
Absolutely dreading having to listen through this, but I feel like it's required listening considering how big he is.
But for the love of all things unholy, can we please stop making marathon albums? Cap it at 55 minutes, max, and call it a day.
update: It's fine. Would probably be close to a four if he'd focused in and cut this down to 10 to 15 songs. |
| 15 |  | Luke Combs
The Way I Am
3.2/5
Just last year my man was bemoaning album bloat, and lo-and-behold a year later he drops an album that's just as long as Zach Bryan's latest lol
After listening I think the marathon format actually works better for this style of radio-friendly country. It went by pretty quick. Still diminishes the individual song though and could have lost like 25 minutes and been better for it. |
| 16 |  | Those Poor Bastards
Black Tongue
1.5/5
Truly disappointing, but listening through some of their other recent stuff and I guess it shouldn't be surprising. Some of their albums circa late 2000s to early 10s are classics, but this is not it. It's all the same atmosphere and wears out its welcome within minutes, but sticks around for a full LP. Gone are the interesting songs of yesteryear, now replaced by half-formed ideas only interested in being creepy. Come on guys, I know you have a good album left in you at the least. |
| 17 |  | Langhorne Slim
The Dreamin' Kind
4/5
Great slab of indie folk alt-country Americana whatever. Smooth and enjoyable. I'll probably come back and can see the score going up. |
| 18 |  | Ryan Bingham
They Call Us The Lucky Ones
upcoming on May 15
The first of two Yellowstone adjacent albums on this list. Of course, Bingham was a musician long before the TV show aired, so I'm excited to hear his new record. |
| 19 |  | Shakey Graves
Fondness, Etc.
upcoming on May 15 |
| 20 |  | Jackson Taylor & The Sinners
Red Lights
2025 release
3.3/5
Jackson Taylor has been pumping out albums for more than a quarter century without ever really shaking up his formula. If you've heard one of his albums, you know what you're getting into. This one is at times a bit more soulful but still Jackson Taylor at its core and that's fine with me. Check out his live album for one of my favorite live country albums of all time. |
| 21 |  | Margo Price
Hard Headed Woman
2025 release
3.4/5
It was decent, lost some steam when it slowed down though. |
| 22 |  | Brown Horse
Total Dive
3.7/5
It's enjoyable country rock that could use a bit more energy. Lots of halftime grooves and nice melodies that work more often than not. |
| 23 |  | Luke Grimes
RedBird
3.8/5
Damn this one actually surprised me. I wasn't expecting Kayce Dutton to have some chops, but this was a smooth and well executed little country album. |
| 24 |  | Zachary Baker
Dark Horse
2.6/5
Can the rhythm guitarist from Avenged Sevenfold make good country? Let's find out.
update: It's like punk with a country skin applied, which normally I like, but it just doesn't click for me here and I'm not sure why. A lot of the lyrics feel a bit too trite, but not in a way that's somewhat self-aware like big country radio acts which affords the artist and the listener some flex room to just listen to fun music. |
| 25 |  | The Droptines
Drought Flower
3.6/5
A good album and I'm glad to see they're breaking through, but I remember their self-titled being a little more compelling. Gonna have to give it another listen. |
| 26 |  | Jason Aldean
Songs About Us
Gonna be bad but we'll see just how bad |
| 27 |  | Treaty Oak Revival
West Texas Degenerate
2025 release
3.6/5
Solid, catchy country rock that really brings some energy. |
| 28 |  | Willi Carlisle
Winged Victory
2025 release
3.6/5
Awesome oddball country/Americana album. |
| 29 |  | Brit Taylor
Land of the Forgotten
3.7/5
Catchy and engaging country that echoes 2000s sounds while still feeling modern. |
| 30 |  | William Clark Green
Watterson Hall
4.1/5
Expertly written and heartfelt full-band country that feels modern and timeless. Catchy and groovy with mostly smart and engaging lyrics. |
| 31 |  | Taylor Campbell Band
Never Quite Enough
3.4/5
Serviceable Americana/country band with strong roots rock elements. A good sophomore album but not a particularly memorable one. Would be good summer bbq music though. |
| 32 |  | Trey Hensley
Can't Outrun the Blues
3.9/5
Some really killer bluegrass on here. My main intro to playing country and bluegrass was via bluegrass jam circles so the genre will always have a special place in my heart. |
| 33 |  | Big Richard
Pet
4/5
I'm a sucker for this type of gutterpunky bluegrass. Not sure if they'd call themselves streetgrass, but I dig it and it definitely is adjacent to streetgrass and folk punk. This style of music walks a fine line between being gritty and theatrical or being clownish. Despite the clown makeup here, this is definitively and thankfully not clowncore. Pet is at times beautiful, pulse-raising at others. We love to see it. Roll on down that line, Big Richard. |
| 34 |  | Asher Brinson
Midnight Hurricane
I'm not going to rate this one since the kid is 16 and I gotta give him mad props for recording this album. I'll say this though, it's an enjoyable bluegrass record and I could see him really going places if he sticks with it. One to keep an eye on for sure. |
| 35 |  | Tyler Halverson
In Defense Of Drinking
3.6/5
Fun and engaging with enough musical variety to make the half hour go by quickly. Might just be because I'm listening to this on a Friday afternoon waiting for my last bit of work to roll in, but it kind of went in one ear and out the other. |
| 36 |  | Jeremy Ivey
It's Shape Will Reveal Itself
3/5
Don't have much to say about this. Didn't hate it, just didn't do much for me. Leans a lot on 60s sounds but doesn't feel like it has a ton to say. |
| 37 |  | Pokey LaFarge
Travelin' with Pokey Lafarge
3.5/5
Characteristically idiosyncratic easy to listen to music from Pokey. |
| 38 |  | Sassparilla
Honey, I'm Using Again |
| 39 |  | Houston Bernard
Oklahoma Stars |
| 40 |  | Sierra Hull
The Movements
3.8/5
A nice and snappy instrumental EP that showcases some serious chops. Well worth the 15 minutes. |
| 41 |  | Chloe Hoecker
Missouri's Country Sweetheart
4.1/5
Man this one really knocked my socks off. It's just over 20 minutes, to the point and packs a giant punch. Memorable songwriting and a surprising amount of musical diversity in six short songs. |
| 42 |  | Charles Wesley Godwin
Lonely Mountain Town
2025 release |
| 43 |  | Natalie Prauser
Everything Is Fine |
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