2023 was not only an exceptional year for established country artists. If it was such a fantastic year for our genre, it’s also due to a lot of young and talented singers and songwriters, who released their first LP record this year. That’s why I considered necessary to make a ranking of the best debut albums. With such tremendous quality, I came down to the choice of 7 albums. Here are these seven gems, that I strongly recommend you to listen to, if you haven’t done it yet.
#7 Ritch Henderson – Fallacies and Four-Letter Words
Ritch Henderson is a young artist from Cullman, Alabama. Brilliant storyteller, he wrote all the songs of his debut album. “Fallacies and Four-Letter Words” is an impressive debut album. Songs like “Finally Comin’ Round” and “Down To The Wishing Well” are authentic gems. We’ll be waiting with impatience the future work of Ritch Henderson.
#6 Abby Hamilton – #1 Zookeeper (of the San Diego Zoo)
I recently reviewed this great album (you can read the review here). Abby Hamilton is a young singer and songwriter from Wilmore, Kentucky. After two excellent EPs, her debut album was very awaited an definitely, it was worth the wait. “#1 Zookeeper (of the San Diego Zoo)” is brilliant and authentic, with wonderful songwriting and excellent music. Abby Hamilton sings with a lot of sensibility and its brings us a lot of emotion. She’s undoubtedly an artist who we need to keep an eye on.
#5 Logan Halstead – Dark Black coal
Logan Halstead is a young artist, born in Kentucky and raised in West Virginia. His impressive debut album is full of stories from Appalachia. The title track, that he wrote when he was 15 years old, is a beautiful song about the life working in a coal mine. “Man’s Gotta Eat” is a fantastic tune, written with both heaviness and humor, that makes me think a lot about Tyler Childers. Other outstanding songs are “Mountain Queen“, with beautiful mandolin, and “Uneven Ground“, featuring Arlo McKinley.
#4 Vinnie Paolizzi – Self-Titled
Vinnie Paolizzi’s debut LP is an excellent album that I recently reviewed (you can read the post here). It’s a brilliant record with quality music and production, excellent songwriting and a lot of great collaborations. Indeed, we can appreciate, all along the album, the importance of the collaborations between artists, as a stimulating way to create beautiful and relatable songs. “Left My Heart Behind“, cowritten with Nate Fredrick and Meg McRee, is an absolute gem.
#3 Jake Worthington – Self-Titled
If you love traditional country music, this is the album that you need. Jake Worthington’s debut album is a gem, full of pedal steel and fiddle, with great songwriting and a classic country style from the beginning till the end. With this Texas native artist, what you have is authentic country tunes sung with a beautiful voice. A timeless record for all country lovers.
#2 Jade Marie Patek – Song In My Head
After a brilliant EP, reviewed on this blog (you can read the review here), Jade Marie Patek released her debut album this year, “Song In My Head“. Recorded at Yellow Dog Studios, with the collaboration of Adam Odor, who also cowrote the splendid “Beautiful Liar” and “Passing Through“, it’s a wonderful record, that includes several gems, like “Voodoo Child“, with its excellent bass and guitar. The quality of the songwriting and storytelling is impressive. Fantastic job!
#1 Tanner Usrey – Crossing Lines
I loved Tanner Usrey’s debut album, “Crossing Lines”, at the first listen, and I had it on repeat all along the year. This record is absolutely impressive, for its musical quality and the excellence of the songwriting. It includes excellent collaborations with Ella Langley, for the splendid “Beautiful Lies“, Graycie York, for the excellent “Last Goodbye” and Jessi England, for “Evelyn’s Eyes“. ”Give It Some Time” is part of my very favorite songs of 2023, with its excellent music video. “Crossing Lines” is Country Music France’s debut album of the year.
Nicolas Davelu
Country Music France 