10 Best Country Albums of 2025: Staff Picks

In 2025, country music proved yet again that it is one of the most dynamic and emotionally resonant genres — and this year, many artists issued releases that pushed their artistry to new levels. From chart-topping hitmakers to rising newcomers, this year’s releases collectively reflected a reverence for country music’s traditional sounds, while also pushing past creative boundaries.

On 2025’s year-end Top Country Albums chart, Morgan Wallen dominated the top three spots, continuing his commercial and cultural dominance. 2025’s I’m the Problem reigns at the pinnacle, followed by his albums One Thing at a Time and Dangerous: The Double Album. Meanwhile, this year has also seen artists like Zach Top, Megan Moroney, Riley Green and Treaty Oak Revival all reach new career highs, sharpening their artistic identities while creating albums that resonated across radio, streaming and/or live audiences.

The creators of the albums proliferating this year’s Billboard staff picks for the top country albums of 2025 range from individual established artists to newcomers and bands, with the uniting factor being that each project has revealed something new about the act and its journey. Some albums lean into out-of-the-box, story-driven project territory, while others offer up succinct observations of the world at large, with the selections spanning and merging country and other styles.

Billboard‘s picks for the top 10 country albums of 2025 are below (in descending order). Honorable mentions go to Dierks Bentley’s Broken Branches, Megan Moroney’s Am I Okay?, Margo Price’s Hard Headed Woman, Emily Ann Roberts’ Memory Lane and Tucker Wetmore’s What Not To.

Also, check out Billboard staffers’ picks for the top 10 country songs of 2025.