There’s been a ton of good music coming out in 2023, and there is still plenty to look forward to for the rest of the year.
Artists like Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Drayton Farley, and Muscadine Bloodline, among so many others, have released fantastic records this year, and more new projects from some of the genre’s best, like Turnpike Troubadours and Zach Bryan, are coming soon.
One thing that has surprised me, though, is just how many spectacular debut albums there have already been this year.
I mean, artists don’t always come out swinging with such spectacular work in their first full length projects, but for whatever reason, there have been so many young artists and new groups that have come out with truly impressive debut projects. If you aren’t in agreement with me, then in all likelihood, you just haven’t heard some of this amazing stuff these new artists have been releasing over the past several months.
So, in an effort to show country music fans what they could be missing out there, here are 18 debut albums released thus far in 2023 that I just haven’t been able to get enough of.
Hopefully you find some of your favorite new music from the artists and albums below.
Drew White – Headspace
Song Pick: “Dreaming in the City”
El Dorado – Unincorporated
Song Pick: “Bed of Roses”
Evan Honer – West on I-10
Song Pick: “Too Far Gone”
Jake Worthington – Jake Worthington
Song Pick: “Single At The Same Time”
Jake Ybarra – Something in the Water
Song Pick: “Late November”
JD Clayton – Long Way From Home
Song Pick: “American Millionaire”
Lance Roark – Better Man
Song Pick: “Oklahoma Blacktop”
Lauren Watkins – Introducing: Lauren Watkins
Song Pick: “Camel Blues”
Levi Turner – Allergy Season
Song Pick: “Drunk Driving Airplanes”
Logan Halstead – Dark Black Coal
Song Pick: “Mountain Queen”
Megan Moroney – Lucky
Song Pick: “Girl in the Mirror”
Mighty Poplar – Mighty Poplar
Song Pick: “A Distant Land to Roam”
Miles Miller – Solid Gold
Song Pick: “Highway Shoes”
Myron Elkins – Factories, Farms & Amphetamines
Song Pick: “Factories, Farms & Amphetamines”
Ritch Henderson – Fallacies & Four-Letter Words
Song Pick: “Finally Comin’ Round”
Them Dirty Roses – Lost in the Valley of Hate & Love, Vol. 1
Song Pick: “Ain’t No Need”
Tim Goodin – True Stories and Flat Out Lies
Song Pick: “Son of Appalachia”
Tommy Prine – This Far South
Song Pick: “By the Way”
