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1. Lucero “Macon if We Make It”
I’d never call it a comeback, but Lucero’s last album, When You Found Me, was very disappointing for this hardcore fan. The exploration of classic and somewhat progressive rock left me flat - I don’t blame them or slight them for following their artistic leanings anywhere they want to go - it just wasn’t for me. The new record, Should’ve Learned by Now, is an absolute return to form. My favorite song of the year, “Macon if We Make It” is a rip-roaring, country-tinted heartland rocker of an anthem I can’t wait to sing along with at shows. If this was a best lyrics list, this song would not be here, but sometimes it’s about what you do with them, and Lucero gave us their heart and soul and made it catchy as hell.
2. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit “King of Oklahoma”
What more can be said about this one? Everybody has their own thoughts on Isbell and his music, and to be honest, I was of the thinking that he’d never make another album I thought was a masterpiece. I was wrong. Weathervanes is amazing, and “King of Oklahoma” rides a bullet into the stratosphere of Isbell/Unit classics. Conversational, timely, and dropping in a smidgen of dark humor, “KOH” will be on the setlist for years to come.
3. William Prince “Tanqueray”
The dude with the smoothest vocals in Americana/Canadiacana? music nailed his 2023 album, and this tune fought off “Easier and Harder” and “When You Miss Someone” to be crowned as my favorite.
4. Joe Stamm Band “Dollar General Sign”
5. Bella White “Marilyn”
6. St. Paul & The Broken Bones “Magnolia”
If you don’t like this song, you should try sex.
7. Cory Branan “Gatlinburg” (song starts at 1:20)
8. Gabe Lee “Merigold”
9. Charles Wesley Godwin “Family Ties”
10. Lydia Loveless “Summerlong”
11. Pony Bradshaw “Safe in the Arms of Vernacular”
12. Turnpike Troubadours “The Rut”
13. Deer Tick “The Real Thing”
14. JD Clayton “Long Way From Home”
15. Chris Stapleton “The Bottom”
16. Metallica “You Must Burn!”
17. Bully “Hard to Love”
18. Caitlyn Smith “High”
19. Zach Bryan, Maggie Rogers “Dawns”
20. Lori McKenna “Happy Children”
Next 20 (Unranked)
Jake Worthington “Closing Time”
Ashley McBryde “Learned to Lie”
Esther Rose “Chet Baker”
Brent Cobb “When Country Came Back to Town”
Miles Miller “I Wish”
Lance Roark “Better Man”
Old Crow Medicine Show “Daughter of the Highlands”
Tyler Childers “In Your Love”
The War and Treaty “Dumb Luck”
Jason Hawk Harris “Roll”
Sundy Best “Bad Imagination”
Whitney Rose “Can’t Remember Happiness”
Flatland Cavalry “Only Thing At All”
Jaime Wyatt “Love Is a Place”
Colby Acuff “Western White Pines”
Jeffrey Martin “Sculptor”
Brandy Clark ft. Brandi Carlile “Dear Insecurity”
Lillie Mae “Razor Love”
Brennen Leigh “Mississippi Rendezvous”
Willie Tea Taylor "Bakersfield"
