2025 has been a great year for country music, and it keeps getting better. Fans have already been treated to a wide variety of new albums and singles this year, and it is only halfway over. There are still plenty of highly anticipated releases coming this summer. The only problem with having all of this great music is constantly walking around with a song stuck in my head. At least they’re good songs.
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If the price of getting so much great music in 2025 is having one of these killer country songs lodged in my mind, I’m willing to pay it. While there are plenty of songs and albums that I keep going back to, the tracks below currently have me in a chokehold.
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1. “On the Red River” by Turnpike Troubadours
No one knew that the Red Dirt country greats, Turnpike Troubadours, planned to release an album in 2025. Then, on April 11, they dropped The Price of Admission on streaming platforms with no preamble. Fans across the country just woke up one Friday morning to a new Turnpike album ready to be played. The album opener, “On the Red River,” set the tone for the record.
Written by Evan Felker and Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show), “On the Red River” had an untold number of fans crying through their morning commute. The song is about a life of hardships, hard work, the effects of alcoholism, and grief. Felker’s vocal delivery turns an already heavy song into an emotional anvil in the best way possible.
2. “Better Than the Bottle” by Cody Jinks
In my opinion, Cody Jinks’ early releases like Less Wise and The Adobe Sessions were top-notch. However, his upcoming release, In My Blood, is shaping up to be better than anything he’s ever released. The album opener, “Better Than the Bottle,” sees the singer/songwriter a few years deep in his sobriety journey.
This song is based on a conversation Jinks had at his kitchen table with one of his old running buddies, co-writer Charles McElvain. They’re both older and sober and took time to reflect on their lives. It’s vulnerable, honest, and some of his finest work.
3. “One Law at a Time” by Jason Boland & the Stragglers
2025 is a great year to be a fan of Red Dirt country. Cross Canadian Ragweed got back together, and both Jason Boland & the Stragglers and Turnpike Troubadours released new albums. The Last Kings of Babylon saw Boland and his band celebrating 25 years as a unit. The musical chemistry they’ve been building for more than two decades shines brightly throughout the tracklist. “One Law at a Time” is a great example of that.
4. “Bad Luck” by Zach Top and Billy Strings
Zach Top included this song on his 2024 debut album Cold Beer & Country Music, but re-recorded it with Billy Strings for their 2025 EP, Me and Billy.
Like many others, I didn’t know I needed to hear these two record together until they released the EP. “Bad Luck” was one of my favorite songs from Cold Beer & Country Music, and this version might be better. Strings added an incredible bluegrass spin to his vocal and guitar parts, elevating something that was already top-notch.
Featured Image by Jason Moore/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
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