Sometimes an artist’s best album is their debut.
It may be a bit counter-intuitive that it can work out that way, but it’s said that an artist’s strongest album is their first because they’ve had their whole lives to write it. Now this often is not the case, of course, but there’s definitely some truth to it. I mean, just think Guy Clark’s Old No. 1, Steve Earle’s Guitar Town, John Prine’s John Prine, or Ryan Bingham’s Mescalito. Those were some legendary debuts.
And each year, a new wave of artists join the rank with the release their debut records.
Sometimes these debut albums come from established artists who have already made a name for themselves through touring and single or EP releases prior to the release of a full debut record, but most of the time it’s a strong debut that catches the attention of a few fans and begins to spread like wildfire through social media word of mouth.
So, in an effort to bring some of these artists and their spectacular debut projects to light, I’ve compiled a list of my top 15 debut records of 2024, along with 10 additional honorable mentions, that all country music fans need to check out. With the debut record now behind them, I am sure that all of these artists and bands will go on to release plenty of even better albums throughout their careers, but all of these are going to be pretty hard to beat.
And before people get upset about it – I didn’t include Zach Top’s Cold Beer & Country Music in this list because, according to Spotify, his self-titled project Zach Top released in 2022 was his debut album. Moreover, if Spotify lists a project as an EP as opposed to album, like The Castellows’ 7-track project A Little Goes A Long Way for example, I didn’t include it either. Lastly, after giving it much thought, I excluded Noeline Hofmann’s impressive debut project Purple Gas, despite it being listed as an album, since two of the seven tracks are different versions of the title track.
It’s becoming more and more difficult each year to determine what constitutes a full length album… But with those disclaimers out of the way now, check out my favorite debut albums of 2024 below:
15. Jayce Turley – Broke Down
14. Nick Taylor – Not Alone
13. Sentimental Family Band – Sweethearts Only
12. Holler Choir – Songs Before They Write Themselves
11. The Honkytonk Wranglers – Hangin’ Around
10. Zach Meadows – Road to Nowhere
9. Fox N’ Vead – Barely Getting By
8. Colby T. Helms – Tales of Misfortune
7. Sam Barber – Restless Mind
6. Kade Hoffman – Relics & Remnants
5. Kimmi Bitter – Old School
4. The Droptines – The Droptines
3. Maggie Antone – Rhinestoned
2. Taylor Hunnicutt – Alabama Sound
1. JR Carroll – Dark Cloud
Honorable Mentions
Make sure to check out these albums, too!
Darby Sparkman – Darling of the Dust
Into the Fog – Carolina Moon
Kassi Ashton – Made From the Dirt
Keller Cox – Good Again, Amen
Luke Grimes – Luke Grimes
Max McNown – Wandering (Love Me Back)
Oliver Anthony – Hymnal of a Troubled Man’s Mind
Secret Formula Band – Roll Them Dice
Shawna Thompson – Lean on Neon
Willow Avalon – Stranger
