10 Most Anticipated Country Albums of 2021

2021 is poised to be a big year for new music, especially when it comes to new country albums. 

The events of 2020 put the brakes on live music, so when many artists found themselves with no tour dates on the books, they turned to the studio to keep busy. Lucky for fans, a lot of the music recorded last year will likely be released in 2021. While the album release calendar has yet to be finalized, we’re placing our bets on these artists releasing new albums this year. 

Here’s a look at the 10 most anticipated new country albums of 2021. 

Morgan Wallen 

Morgan Wallen is blessing fans with a new album just eight days into the new year. Wallen’s long-awaited sophomore project, Dangerous: The Double Album, will certainly be well worth the nearly three-year wait as it features a whopping 30 tracks. 

Carrie Underwood 

After releasing her first-ever Christmas album last fall, Carrie Underwood surprised fans with the announcement of her very first Gospel album, My Savior. Set to release before Easter, the project will include some of the superstar’s favorite hymns.  

Eric Church 

It’s been nearly a year since Eric Church revealed that he wrote and recorded 28 songs in 28 days while on a writing retreat in North Carolina. Since then, the newly crowned CMA Entertainer of the Year has gone on to release several new tracks, including “Doing Life With Me,” “Bad Mother Trucker,” “Crazyland,” Through My Ray-Bans” and his latest single, “Hell Of A View.” While specific album details have yet to be released, some fans are speculating that he’s preparing to release a double (or even triple!) album due to the red, blue and purple covers of his latest singles. 

Maren Morris 

After canceling her 2021 tour due to the ongoing pandemic, Maren Morris revealed that she’s currently working on her third studio album. The yet-to-be-announced project will serve as the follow up to 2019’s GIRL, which took the Texas native’s career to new heights with the success of the title track and follow up singles “The Bones” and “To Hell & Back.” 

Blake Shelton 

Blake Shelton has been quite open about the fact that he no longer believes in making full albums, but many fans are still holding out hope that the superstar will release a new album in 2021. Shelton’s latest project, 2019’s Fully Loaded: God’s Country, only included a handful of new tracks in addition to several previously released songs. Now that “Happy Anywhere” and his upcoming single, “Minimum Wage,” don’t have an album to call home, perhaps he’ll change his stance and release a full-length project sometime this year. 

Kane Brown 

If you follow Kane Brown on Instagram, you know that he’s almost always working on new music. The superstar has even shared several clips of new songs in recent months, leading fans to believe a new album is on the way. He also teased a duet with his wife that has yet to be released, so here’s to hoping it lands on his next studio album. 

Carly Pearce

Carly Pearce released her sophomore project less than one year ago, but life changes in 2020 prompted the songstress to get back into the writing room and studio to pour her heart into new music. Since then, she’s released “Next Girl” and “Show Me Around” and has teased several new tracks via social media. If these songs are any indication of what’s to come on her new album, get ready because it’s poised to take her already blossoming career to the next level. 

Dan + Shay 

Dan + Shay are long overdue to release a new album. The duo’s latest full-length project dropped in the Summer of 2018 and it’s safe to assume that fans are more than ready to get their hands on Dan + Shay’s next record. Although the duo has yet to release any details about their next album, the project is expected to include “10,000 Hours,” their collaboration with Justin Bieber, as well as their latest single, “I Should Probably Go To Bed.” 

Scotty McCreery 

American Idol alum Scotty McCreery recently gave fans a taste of what’s to come on his highly anticipated new album with the release of “You Time.” The singer/songwriter has been hard on work in the studio and says a lot of the album is already complete. His next project will serve as the follow up to 2018’s Seasons Change. 

Thomas Rhett

With his 2020 headlining tour put on hold, Thomas Rhett spent the first part of last year writing songs for his next album. The superstar often shared acoustic clips on Instagram to gauge fans’ interest in his new music. After the overwhelming response to “What’s Your Country Song,” he went on to release it as the lead single from his forthcoming album. Rhett has yet to share any album specific news, but fans are definitely ready for it.