Favorite Folk & Americana Albums

Adeem the Artist

Anniversary

Producer Butch Walker helps move the acclaimed Americana singer/songwriter into the country mainstream.

Adrian Crowley / Marry Waterson

Cuckoo Storm

An inspired pairing that yields an album of rugged grace and poeticism.

Amos Lee

Transmissions

Following two exploratory covers albums, Lee returns to his original work with a rustically cozy yet still musically daring 11th LP.

Amy Rigby

Hang in There With Me

The great singer/songwriter ponders getting older with clever, witty lyrics, great pop melodies, and lots of hard-won wisdom.

Ani DiFranco

Unprecedented Sh!t

For the first time in her three-plus-decade career, the iconic singer/songwriter collaborates with a producer.

Aoife O'Donovan

All My Friends

A dense, cinematic song cycle inspired by the women's suffragette movement.

Bill MacKay

Locust Land

The Chicago-based guitarist, singer, and songwriter delivers a solo date that reflects his history, improvisational acumen, and compositional skill.

Billy Strings

Highway Prayers

The progressive bluegrass phenom's fourth album is a sprawling, freewheeling set co-produced by Jon Brion.

Blackberry Smoke

Be Right Here

Working again with producer Dave Cobb, the Southern rock outfit prove they can write solid songs as well as riffs.

Chatham County Line

Hiyo

The imaginative bluegrass band steps outside the rules of the genre for a powerfully atmospheric, compelling tenth album.

David Rawlings / Gillian Welch

Woodland

The revered folk duo return to original music and share co-billing on this redemptive set.

Elles Bailey

Beneath the Neon Glow

Using her road band in the studio, the singer/songwriter digs into writing roots hooks across genres, with an excellent production sensibility.

Eric Bibb

In the Real World

The expatriate singer/songwriter and bluesman charts the passing of our troubled world as he unveils a new one.

Haley Heynderickx

Seed of a Seed

After a six-year gap, the folkie's highly perceptive sophomore album finds her, endearingly, still sounding like no one else.

Hurray for the Riff Raff

The Past Is Still Alive

An unusually hushed and warm -- yet typically vital -- album from the folk-punk singer/songwriter.

Jake Xerxes Fussell

When I'm Called

The Durham folksinger's first set for Fat Possum is rich in personality and warmth.

James Elkington / Nathan Salsburg

All Gist

The two fingerstyle guitar aces converge for a third volume of intricate and tasteful duets.

JD McPherson

Nite Owls

The Oklahoma singer and guitarist blends twangy surf and glitter-rock riffs on his evocative fifth album.

Linda Thompson

Proxy Music

The great heroine of British folk-rock recruits a team of artists to sing her songs, and they do so beautifully.

Madeleine Peyroux

Let's Walk

For the first time in her career, the iconic singer writes her own songs, that meld of jazz, gospel, folk, and jump blues.

Marisa Anderson / Jim White

Swallowtail

The second improvised offering by the duo was recorded in Australia by the seaside in a hearty spirit of openness to musical inquiry.

Nathan Bowles / Nathan Bowles Trio

Are Possible

An adventurous and engaging set from a rarely heard instrumental combo of banjo, double bass, and drums.

Old 97's

American Primitive

The Texas alt-country veterans joyfully wing it while pondering the state of things on their lively and engaging 14th album.

Paper Jays

The debut album from this Rhode Island trio hides an experimental spirit in traditional rural folk structures.

Richard Thompson

Ship to Shore

Another confident late period effort of smart songwriting, guitar wizardry, and surprising vigor.

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers

Revelations

Tough, passionate music and fearlessly honest songs on the fourth album from these alt-country firebrands.

Sierra Ferrell

Trail of Flowers

A dreamy, unpredictable collection from a singer/songwriter who finds new ways to tell old tales.

T-Bone Burnett

The Other Side

The great songwriter and producer's first set of new songs in almost 20 years is simple, eloquent, and emotionally powerful.

The Felice Brothers

Valley of Abandoned Songs

A surprisingly cohesive, poetic, lyrically tight album of characteristically ragged indie folk from the Upstate New Yorkers.

The Secret Sisters

Mind, Man, Medicine

Brimming with warmth and composure hard-won through motherhood and the pandemic, the duo's fifth album is even more stylistically broad.

Vera Sola

Peacemaker

The singer/songwriter contemplates how we reckon with the past on her mesmerizing fusions of folk, country, vocal pop, and punk.

Yasmin Williams

Acadia

The Virginia guitarist's first release for Nonesuch is effervescent and adventurous with many collaborators.

The AllMusic 2024

Year InReview

Traditional sounds rode shotgun alongside experimental energy in our favorite folk and Americana albums of 2024, highlighted by standout records from Billy Strings, Yasmin Williams, and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings.

Adrian Crowley / Marry Waterson

David Rawlings / Gillian Welch

James Elkington / Nathan Salsburg

Marisa Anderson / Jim White

Nathan Bowles / Nathan Bowles Trio

Year In
Review