Country music has come a long way in the last 25 years. The new millennium also brought a new wave of music, both embracing the past while fearlessly pushing the boundary lines of the genre.
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We found four absolutely gorgeous country albums that define the 21st century.
1. "Traveller" by Chris Stapleton
Traveller is Chris Stapleton's freshman album, released in 2015. After years of Stapleton being lauded for his songwriting, with other artists trying desperately (and often failing) to mimic his demos, Stapleton came into his own with Traveller.
The record included hit songs like "Tennessee Whiskey," "Nobody to Blame," "Parachute" and more. But even more importantly, Traveller proved what plenty of country music fans already suspected: that country music really is three chords and the truth. Stapleton stayed true to who he was, wrote authentic lyrics, recorded them without much fanfare, and made the entirety of country music better as a result.
2. "Kerosene" by Miranda Lambert
Few artists have had success with their first album like Miranda Lambert did. The Nashville Star contestant released Kerosene in 2005. Surprisingly, none of the singles from the record, including the title track, were big hits at radio, but that didn't matter.
With Kerosene, Lambert proved that she could go from being fiery in the title track, to being tenderhearted with "Me and Charlie Talking," the first single from the record. 20 years later, Lambert is still expertly switching emotions and song styles, and likely will for the next several decades.
3. "Rolling Up the Welcome Mat" by Kelsea Ballerini
Kelsea Ballerini bravely bared her soul with Rolling Up the Welcome Mat in 2023, chronicling the end of her marriage to Morgan Evans. What Ballerini meant as a cathartic exercise in processing the grief of her divorce, turned into a Grammy-nominated record.
Songs like "Just Married" and "Leave Me Again" felt like real-time dialogue with Ballerini. Few artists have had the bravery and bravado to bare that much of their soul in an album. But then again, few artists are Ballerini.
4. "Chief" by Eric Church
Chief is Eric Church's third studio album. Released in 2011, the record kicked off a new era for Church, and for country music. More than great songs like "Drink In My Hand," "Springsteen" and "Like Jesus Does," the project became an impetus for Church's now massive fanbase, one that has grown exponentially after the release of Chief.
It also showed country music who Church unashamedly was as an artist.
"I get so tired of artists and people in general who just won't take a stand," Church told The Boot when the record was released. "I've always been a fan of people who, even if I didn't agree with them, I liked that they said something. They had a point of view. ... Love me or hate me, but I'm not a guy who's ever going to produce something that's background. It's going to have a point of view. "
