10. Songbird by Waylon Jennings (country)
The great label Thirty Tigers offer previously unreleased songs from Waylon Jennings’ best years (1973-1984). Jennings was and is, in my view, the best of the outlaws. That’s right, the best. Not Cash. Not Kristofferson. Jennings. In addition to the titular Christie McVie cover, there’s songs by Cash, Hank Williams Jr, JJ Cale, and, of course, Jennings himself.
Waylon’s The Best but Here’s the Rest:
A Few More Great Country Albums From ’25…
- Evangeline vs. The Machine by Eric Church, wherein he covers Tom Waits(!)
- Hey Country Queen by McKenzie Carpenter
- Corn Queen by Hailey Whitters
- Price of Admission by Turnpike Troubadours
9. If You Asked For A Picture by Blondshell (indie pop)
Great songs and, frankly, sexy as all get out. Out of all the albums on this list, I think this one surprised me the most this year. A deluxe edition was released later in the year that the band Folk Bitch Trio covering Change. FBT’s 2025 album was also pretty great–worth checking out.
8. Home? by Wretch 32 (grime/R&B)
Wretch 32 has been on the scene for many years but up until now he hasn’t made an album worth noting. His best work has been features on songs by Ghetts or Giggs. Which is why I was so unprepared for Home?, an absolutely brilliant collection of slick hip hop/R&B with bars that may actually break your heart. Kano features on Home Sweet Home, paying tribute to his own brilliant work, and you’ll also find Skip Marley, Ghetts, Little Simz, and others.
7. Snipe Hunter by Tyler Childers (Country Rock)
Snipe Hunter is not the easiest Tyler Childers album to enjoy (that would be Purgatory), and it’s not the most experiential (that would be his 3-disc “Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?”), but Snipe Hunter is his most unusual. Childers slides from punk to country, from traditional to ultra-modern, with content that moves from Eastern spirituality to a dog’s view of hunting big game–and manages to make this still feel like a complete album and not a hodgepodge of randomly selected songs.
