Country music had a banner year in 2025. In the past almost 12 months, artists like Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll, Luke Combs, and more have reigned in the top spot on the charts. But while a lot of songs released were fan favorites, not all of the good ones landed at the top of the charts.
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These four songs are among the best that came out in country music this year, even if they weren’t big hits at radio.
“Baggage” by Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Ballerini includes “Baggage” on her 2024 Patterns album. Out in May of 2025 as a single, the song is written by Ballerini, along with Jessie Jo Dillon, Karen Fairchild, Hillary Lindsey, and Alysa Vanderheym.
“Baggage” says, “Clear out a drawer, clear out a shelf / I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else / Everything that’s heavy, I check it at the door / Kind of feel like I don’t need it anymore / I got some bones of old skeletons / From the old house at the dead end / I got baggage, but I’m movin’ in.”
“Baggage” was at least partly inspired by Ballerini’s relationship with her former boyfriend, Chase Stokes.
“It’s the in-between moments,” Ballerini tells Women’s Health. “How do we get to the happy-go-lucky, mushy-gushy phase? This is the process, but it took a lot of sorting through baggage together. I think we’re both really proud of that.”
“Baggage” is in the Top 35 now, seven months after its release. So there is still hope that it could gain some traction in 2026.
“You Had To Be There” by Megan Moroney and Kenny Chesney
Megan Moroney wrote “You Had To Be There” as a gift to country music superstar Kenny Chesney for taking her on his Sun Goes Down Tour. She gave it to him at the end of 2024, with Chesney agreeing to join her on the song.
“You Had To Be There” says, “I see the lights, I hear the band / Feels like the whole world’s in our hands / Soakin’ it up, breathin’ it in / One day we’ll say, ‘Remember when we were so alive?’ / I swear that night there was magic in the air / You had to be there.”
“You Had To Be There” peaked inside the Top 25 for Moroney and Chesney. It did, however, earn them a CMA Award nomination.
“Hands Of Time” by Eric Church
“Eric Church and Scooter Carusoe are the writers on “Hands Of Time”. The song, on Church’s Evangeline vs. The Machine album, peaked in the Top 15.
The song references other songs, songs that were influential to Church. “Hands Of Time” says, “And it’s ‘Back in Black’, ‘Shook Me All Night Long’ / ‘Could You Be Loved’, ‘Redemption Song’ / ‘ Luckenbach’, ‘Home Sweet Home’ / I’m where I belong Ain’t nothing wrong, yeah / We ain’t as young as we used to be / But ‘Young at Heart’ is so easy / When you let some loud guitars / And words that rhyme / Handle the hands of time.”
“Trailblazer” by Reba McEntire, Lainey Wilson, and Miranda Lambert
Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert wrote “Trailblazer” with Brandy Clark. The song’s inspiration is the careers of female country music artists like Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and McEntire. Wilson and Lambert sing on the song with McEntire, which they debuted at the 2025 ACM Awards.
“Trailblazer” says, “Talk about a trailblazer / Cuttin’ one path at a time / Runnin’ like a dream chaser / Livin’ on a prayer and a rhyme.” The song sadly didn’t make the Top 40 at country radio. However, it did set a new streaming record for McEntire.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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