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Staff Picks: 10 Best Country Albums of 2024
Billboard reveals staffers' selections of the top 10 best country albums of 2024.
Bryan, who gets assists here from veteran stars John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen, knows the devil is in the details — and he can turn a phrase that tells a whole story in a few lines, like on the percussive “28,” when he declares ““Took twenty-eight years of blood pumpin’ through me/ To feel loved on my own birthday” or on “Bass Boat,” when he heartbreakingly admits that “even with my baby sitting next to me/I’m a self-sabotaging suicide machine.” Confessional and raw and relatable. The album is a top-to-bottom musical gem worth repeated listens, from the freewheeling “Ramblin'” to songs that aim straight at complex emotions surrounding an array of struggles, and from spiritual battles to wrestling with self-worth, as on “Devil in My Ear” and “God Does.” Throughout all of it, lead singer Brandon Coleman’s commanding, thunderously soulful rumble of a voice is undeniable, as is the group’s hard-fought, tightly-woven sound. He continues that aim on the deluxe edition of Leather, which features a mix of songs that Johnson helped write as well as many outside cuts, making for a dynamic project that includes the sweeping story arc of “The Fall,” the tender father-daughter ode “C’mon Cowgirl,” the moody “How Do You Sleep at Night?” and a tip of the hat to determined spirits on “Mustang.”
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