The 17 Best Country (Etc.) Albums of 2026, So Far

Like sands through the hourglass, the days of 2026 are already way more than half gone (somehow!!). Though we are perilously close to year-end list season, I don't think you should have to wait until then to listen to good tunes. Some of these I've recommended already, some I haven't; in such a wonderful year for music — and a time when country is booming on and off the radio — I hope you find something great that you might have otherwise missed! Without further ado, in alphabetical order (you try logically alphabetizing names, band names, and compilation titles...), here are my favorite albums of the year so far.

Land of the Forgotten, Brit Taylor: Classic and contemporary-sounding at once, with Taylor's impeccable voice and radio-ready (in a better world) songwriting front and center. Bangers front to back. 

Signs, Charlie Marie: A collection of rock-solid songs about roaming around America from one of the most memorable and distinctive voices in country music. That vibrato haunts (complimentary)! Thank goodness she's back. 

Peasants Revolt, Creekbed Carter Hogan: The first words on this album are "Order number 69"; an indicator of the self-aware, good-humored, weirdo protest folk within — "music for outlasting trillionaires," in Carter's own words. Even though the times are dire, there are still laughs and beauty and creativity and innovation to be had — this is the soundtrack to it. 

Dan and Peggy Reeder LIVE, Dan Reeder and Peggy Reeder: The first of two live albums included where I've seen the act live — in this case, I believe, I've seen some of the performances included on the record. The father-daughter harmonies are just so wonderful, and this record captures the reverence in those rooms where Reeder's plainspoken art songs were recorded. 

Don't Let It Die: Vol. 1, The Deslondes: I suppose, hypothetically, the Deslondes could make a bad song. I haven't heard it yet, though. This collection of niche covers is characteristically smart, deeply-felt and effortless; their take on Shelby Lynne's "Where I'm From" is pure magic (warning: it will get in your head for weeks). 

Appalachia, Emily Scott Robinson: I'd listen to Robinson sing anything, so that this collection is full of rich, vulnerable songs is just a bonus. 

I Still Love San Antone, Garrett T. Capps: I also love San Antone, but I know there's no way my love matches Capps'. This collection of odes to the best city in Texas is original and endlessly fun — music that doesn't take itself too seriously, because it's so good it doesn't need to. A country song about the stadium industrial complex? "Breakfast Tacos with Satan"? Gold from front to back. It even has its own video game! With David Robinson!! 

Live At The Gorge 2023, The Highwomen: Sure, this record is a direct assault on me — a person who saw the Highwomen live way back in 2019 and then obsessively listened to the album. But damn, it sounds good. The songs just hit — a live version of Maren's "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" right into "My Only Child"??? I would have absolutely lost my mind in person, seeing as I can barely keep it together listening sitting in my house. 

The Birds Know, Jim Lauderdale and the Po' Ramblin' Boys: Jim Lauderdale singing bluegrass is allI I ever need, and his wise, worldly songwriting remains some of the very best. 

The Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music, Marisa Anderson: I love an answer song, and this is an answer album of sorts to Harry Smith's iconic Anthology of American Folk Music. Anderson meets the moment of her own ambitious mandate, offering mind-expanding music with characteristic fluency inspired by both Smith's record collection and American conflict. A musician schooled in American vernacular music breaks down its (always arbitrary) borders. 

Cloud 9, Megan Moroney: I can't shut up about this album, and I can't stop listening to it. Country and rock flourishes are deployed with laser-precision to buoy Moroney's addictively conversational lyrics; Kristian Bush is the producer of the year, to me. A few too-mopey ballads can't drag down this array of jump-out-of-the-speaker pop smashes. "Change Of Heart" still gives me chills; songwriting masterclass, this one. 

Everything Is Fine, Natalie Prauser: Hipster honky-tonkers have their pick of acts these days; that said, in a crowded field Prauser's breezy sound and songwriting stand out. "Maybe he was listening to too much Prine/When he promised me a life in the countryside with peaches and babies and no more lonely nights," she sings on "Tobacco + Water" — a bit of pointed mournfulness over a two-step-ready groove. 

Old No. 1 Revisited: I love a tribute, but rerecording an album this iconic — an album I personally have spent so much time with, writing liners for a reissue and helping research for an anniversary history book — is a daunting task. Luckily, producer Dan Knobler and this all-star task were up to it, bringing verve and joy to these endlessly sing-a-longable songs 50 years into their public life. Margo Price's rousing "Rita Ballou," Erin Rae's haunting "That Old Time Feeling," Kelsey Waldon and Brennan Leigh's hoedown-ready "Nickel For The Fiddler" and "Texas 1947" respectively — it's nearly impossible to pick a high point. If you love these songs, and who doesn't, you'll love the reverence and energy that these artists brought to reimagining them. 

Outlaws' Almanac: This compilation, released on Juneteenth, shows how all the buzz about country at the top of the charts is missing a big part of the story: just how robust the scene for country and folk artists coloring outside Music Row's lines (aesthetically and through radical politics) is right now as well. Friend of the newsletter Lizzie No is at the helm, and compatriots like Nick Shoulders, Kaia Kater, Olivia Ellen Lloyd join in singing down the oppressors and calling for revolution through songs new and old. 

Blackbirding, Queen Esther: A concept album about Gettysburg chock full of original songs that sound ancient (complimentary), crafted with exactly the kind of care and ambition that contemporary roots music needs right now. 

Goddammit, Tommy Goodroad: Pedal steel indie at its most fun and varied; front porch beer-ready grooves to take you through summer and into early fall. 

Tender Country, Thomas Csorba: This album lives up to its title, gentle, sweet and often sentimental (sure, I'm primed for songs about childrearing right now) but it's more than a mood piece. The songs are well-honed and produced with clear care; if you don't get at least a little misty well…you're not me.