Only 10 Country Albums On Rolling Stone's Best of 21st Century
Only 10 Country Albums Cracked Rolling Stone’s Best of 21st Century
Source: Chris Stapleton receives the award for the Best Country Solo Performance, Traveller onstage during the 58th Annual Grammy music Awards in Los Angeles February 15, 2016. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Rolling Stone released their The 250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far list Friday, likely due to the first quarter of the century passing. Of the 250 albums released between 2000 and the present, only 10 country music albums made the cut.
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Two artists had four albums appear on the list, who coincidentally have also dabbled in country music during the first quarter of the century; Beyoncé and Taylor Swift.
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All but one of the listed records were released in the 2010s, with the only outlier coming from 2024. Here’s the 10 country albums that cracked Rolling Stone’s top-250 best albums of the 21st Century so far:
247. Purgatory by Tyler Childers (2017)
Source: Singer/guitarist Tyler Childers performs at Neighborhood Theatre on September 20, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jeff Hahne/Getty Images)
207. Hero by Maren Morris (2016)
Source: Maren Morris performs at the Billboard Women in Music 2016 event on December 9, 2016 in New York City. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Billboard Magazine)
196. Speak Now by Taylor Swift (2010)
Source: Taylor Swift performs during the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s “All For The Hall” Benefit at Club Nokia on Sept. 23, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
126. Cowboy Carter by Beyoncé (2024)
Source: Beyoncé performs during the halftime show for the game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on December 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
121. Chief by Eric Church (2011)
Source: Singer/Songwriter Eric Church performs during Country Thunder Arizona – Day 2 on April 8, 2011 in Florence, Arizona. (Rick Diamond/WireImage)
103. Traveller by Chris Stapleton (2015)
Source: Chris Stapleton performs onstage during the 2015 “CMT Artists of the Year” at Schermerhorn Symphony Center on December 2, 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee. (John Shearer/Getty Images for CMT)
48. Platinum by Miranda Lambert (2014)
Source: Miranda Lambert performs during the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
43. Metamodern Sound in Country Music by Sturgill Simpson (2014)
Source: Sturgill Simpson performs at The Fillmore on November 20, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)
40. Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves (2018)
Source: Kacey Musgraves performs at Farm Aid at the XFINITY Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut on September 22, 2018. (Ebet Roberts/Redferns via Getty Images)
36. Red by Taylor Swift (2012)
Source: Taylor Swift performs onstage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 22, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Denise Truscello/WireImage via Getty Images)
