2024 was a banner year for roots music. Artists across the spectrum dropped a massive stack of incredible albums over the last 12 months. Each was packed with carefully crafted songs. Some of those songs will be enjoyable for a time but will likely fall out of heavy rotation in the coming months. Other songs, though, have more staying power. In the latter group is where we’ll find the best-written country and Americana songs of 2024.
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The best-written country and Americana songs of 2024 come from a wide range of artists. Folk singers, country stars, up-and-comers, and more fill out the list below. The entries below were either initially released this year or are featured on studio albums from 2024.
[RELATED: The 10 Best Up-and-Coming Country Artists of 2024: American Songwriter’s Year-End Picks]
10 of the Best-Written Country and Americana Songs of 2024
“When the Pills Wear Off” by Willi Carlisle (Billy Keane, Willi Carlisle)
Usually, artists shy away from putting two sad songs back-to-back on an album. Willi Carlisle—the most punk rock folk singer of the modern age—bucked that convention with his 2024 album Critterland. The album is comprised of ten sad songs and “When the Pills Wear Off” might be the heaviest on the record.
Carlisle looked to the hidden lives and quiet desperation of closeted queer people and the raging opioid epidemic to create this narrative and it’s as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. Lines like I lost friends to heroin, plenty more to lovin’ them and The only time I get these guilty thoughts / Is when the pills wear off exemplify the simple honesty that makes this song so great and so heart-wrenching.
“Spirits” by The Devil Makes Three (Pete Bernhard)
This is the only song on this list that isn’t from an album released in 2024. Released on Halloween, “Spirits” is the lead single and title track from the Devil Makes Three’s forthcoming album. Longtime fans of the band know that Pete Bernhard is one of the finest songwriters of our time. However, he outdid himself with “Spirits.”
This is a study of grief and longing to connect with loved ones who have passed on. Bernhard wrote the song after losing three people who were incredibly close to him. Lines like The place where you used to laugh / Is empty now. / Standing vacant / Hollowed out put this among the best-written country and roots songs of the year.
“Use Me” by Zach Top (Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols, Zach Top)
Zach Top gets much praise for his classic country sound. However, he isn’t just paying homage to traditional country music with the sonic landscape he creates in his music. He also tackles subject matter that many modern artists shy away from. For instance, “Use Me” from Cold Beer & Country Music is a top-tier cheating song.
“Use Me” doesn’t glorify infidelity. Instead, it looks at the desperation, loneliness, and lies on which many illicit relationships are built. As a result, it’s sadder than it is sexy. Lines like And I’ll whisper you’re everything I’ve ever wanted. / I’ll pretend if you pretend too. / Oh, tell me you love me / And use me like I’m using you make it one of the best country songs released this year.
“I Can’t Pretend It Never Happened” by Emily Nenni (Emily Nenni)
Emily Nenni co-wrote most of the songs on her previous releases. However, she got more personal on her 2024 album Drive & Cry, writing the entire album solo. She hoped to find a balance between letting go of her emotions and creating an enjoyable album for listeners. “I Can’t Pretend It Never Happened” is a great example of that balance.
This song also strikes a balance between being deeply personal and widely relatable. While many listeners will hear it and be able to apply the lyrics to a situation in their lives, there is someone out there who will hear this and know, beyond a shadow of a doubt it’s about them. Lines like I’ve been turned down and turned on by my own best friend / It’s got me hurtin’ like my old self again landed it on this list.
“Survived” by Lost Dog Street Band (Benjamin Tod)
Lost Dog Street Band showed longtime fans a new side of themselves with their 2024 album Survived. The record sees a band that almost called it quits returning to the studio with a new energy and purpose. Frontman Benjamin Tod’s personal growth and new outlook on life informed the change.
“Survived” is a return to a long-held Lost Dog tradition—including a sad waltz on the tracklist. Tod called it the best song he’s ever written. While that is up for debate among fans, it’s a high point of an album that was a highlight of this year’s releases. It’s hard to pick standout lines in a song like this. Each line is a piece of the puzzle that bolsters the next. However, the final lines of the chorus Lord, I have survived. / Lord, how have I survived? capture the spirit of the track so well.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” by Charley Crockett (Charley Crockett, Henry Burnett)
Charley Crockett is one of the most prolific artists in country music today. However, he doesn’t sacrifice quality for quantity. “Killers of the Flower Moon” from his second 2024 album Visions of Dallas is proof of that.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” tells the story of a series of murders in the Osage nation in Oklahoma in the 1920s. The 2023 Martin Scorsese film brought the story to the big screen. Before that, David Grann’s 2017 book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI helped bring the story to light. Lines like Grass grows so high, it covers up the graves. / But listen for a while and it might start givin’ names are a look into why the track made this list.
“The Man He Sees in Me” by Luke Combs (Josh Phillips, Luke Combs)
Most fans know Luke Combs for his songs about beer, heartbreak, more beer, and a couple of love songs. Then, earlier this year, he released the emotional hand grenade that was Fathers & Sons. Packed with songs about being a father and son, almost every song on the album is a tear-jerker.
“The Man He Sees in Me” is a beautiful song about trying to be as good a man as his kids think he is. As a father, it’s impossible to hear this song and keep the waterworks in check. Lines like One day between him leavin’ home and drivin’ on my knee / Maybe I’ll finally be the man he sees in me make it one of the best country songs from this year.
“Going to Water” by Pony Bradshaw (Pony Bradshaw)
Pony Bradshaw’s Thus Spoke the Fool might be one of the finest albums of the year. Bradshaw’s writing lands somewhere between literary and poetic. Each of his songs tells a story, giving just enough details for the listener to put themselves in the word he’s building. “Going to Water” is no exception.
Like much of Thus Spoke the Fool, “Going to Water” reads like a character study. Love, addiction, poverty, and resilience populate the song’s lines and turns of phrase. Lines like Our bodies blanched and curved with disease / But we’ve got panache and these few dead teeth land it among the best country songs of the year.
“Ain’t My First Rodeo” by India Ramey (India Ramey)
India Ramey took second place in the Americana category of the 2023 American Songwriter Song Contest with “Ain’t My First Rodeo.” Then, she included it on her 2024 album Baptized by the Blaze. Packed with attitude and Western swagger, “Ain’t My First Rodeo” much like Ramey, is criminally underrated.
“Stillwater” by Wyatt Flores (Cole Miracle, Austin Yankunas, Wyatt Flores)
Wyatt Flores grew up in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the home of Oklahoma State University. As a result, she’s seen many faces come and go in his hometown. “Stillwater” from his debut full-length Welcome to the Plains tells a story of heartbreak after being in a relationship with a college student who left town and didn’t look back after finishing her degree.
Flores paints a vivid picture of life in his hometown and how its ever-changing population impacts the locals. Lines like It’s the best four years of her life until they’re gone / But to me, she wrecked the one place that, well, I call home make it one of the best-written country songs of the year.
Featured Image by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage
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