The 10 Best Country Albums of 2023: Staff Picks

This year saw country music dominate charts and headlines, for reasons both positive and negative, with a number of country albums residing in the upper echelons of the year-end Billboard charts. Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time album led the 2023 Year-End Billboard 200 consumption rankings, as well as the Year-End Top Country Albums list. Meanwhile, Luke Combs’s Gettin’ Old project reached No. 20 on the all-genre Year-End Billboard 200, and Zach Bryan’s self-titled project was also included in the top 50.

But even beyond consumption rankings, this year has seen country music artists issue a sterling slate of projects, from established stars to promising newcomers. Sonically, these albums run the gamut from Texas country to pared-back, acoustic-leaning projects, as well as sleek pop constructions, singer-songwriter fare and rugged, rock-infused sets. These albums contain rowdy barnburners, uplifting anthems and plenty of songs that could inspire tears. Though women country artists seldom reach the top of the country charts these days (unless you’re Taylor Swift with a re-record of one of your country albums), women are consistently putting out some of the best music, year in and year out.

Here are Billboard‘s picks for our 10 favorite country albums from 2023 — a mix of chart-leading albums alongside some quieter (but no less-stunning) releases. Some top albums are intensely personal missives, while others largely spotlight the talents of many of Nashville’s top songcrafters. This list follows Billboard’s ranking of 10 of our top country songs of the year.