RANKED: Which States Are Producing The Best Country Music Artists… Right Now?

What state is pumping out the best country stars right now? Let’s break it down…

Luke Combs recently made the argument that the country music talent in Kentucky is better than anything in the United States, and he’s not wrong… you can definitely make a strong case for the Bluegrass State. Ahead of his Lollapalooza set on Thursday, Luke stopped by the Barstool Sports offices in Chicago, and during an appearance on the Mostly Sports with Mark Titus and Brandon Walker podcast, he surprised everyone with his answer:

“I would biased-ly say Carolina, but truthfully, it’s Kentucky. You’ve got Tyler Childers, Chris Stapleton, Keith Whitley. There’s just… to me the talent in Kentucky is just unmatched. North Carolina is great… Kentucky is a stacked state, in my opinion.”

He added that Texas was a heavy hitter as well, while also acknowledging that Tennessee has a lot of talent come through, but more so from artists moving there:

“Texas is stacked. Obviously (they’ve got) George Strait. There’s a lot of guys from Tennessee: Kenny Chesney, Morgan Wallen. Quite a few guys are from Tennessee. At most, everyone comes there.”

And while you could probably call it a two-horse race between Texas and Kentucky, with Texas probably taking the win over time, a number of comments on Whiskey Riff’s social media mentioned Oklahoma as a sleeper. And to be fair, they’re right… Oklahoma has brought us some country music icons over the years, as well as the incredible Red Dirt scene out of Stillwater.

But it got me thinking… what is the top state RIGHT NOW. Not historically, not all time, forget about the legends who have either passed away or stopped making music… which state is producing the best country music talent in 2025. Now, fair warning… I just sat down and rattled most of these artists off the top of my head or looked for artists we cover more regularly (Wikipedia is useless in this regard) so forgive me if I forgot anyone, I welcome all comments. I also don’t listen to country radio ever so no, I don’t care that Tyler Hubbard is from Georgia too… we’re talking about which state is making GOOD country music.

That being said, here’s my list:

1. Texas

Pretty hard to argue that Texas isn’t the GOAT… and it has been for a long time. You still have legends like George Strait and Willie Nelson making music, you have modern day country superstars like Miranda Lambert, Cody Johnson, and Post Malone, and then you have dozens and dozens of traditional Texas country bands, southern rockers, neo-traditional rising stars…. if you could listen to nothing but artists from Texas, your playlist would be VERY long.

Artists:

George Strait, Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Cody Johnson, Cody Jinks, Whiskey Myers, Treaty Oak Revival, Parker McCollum, Hudson Westbrook, Randy Rogers, Josh Abbott, William Clark Green, Flatland Cavalry, Wade Bowen, Koe Wetzel, Dylan Gossett, Post Malone, Ronnie Dunn, Shane Smith and the Saints, Charley Crockett, Wilder Blue, Jake Worthington, Summer Dean, Randall King, Silverada, Paul Cauthen, Ty Myers, Joshua Ray Walker, Vincent Neil Emerson, Sunny Sweeney, Bri Bagwell, Hayes Carll, The Droptines, Laci Kaye Booth, Braxton Keith, William Beckmann, Drake Milligan, Kat Hasty

2. Oklahoma

Oklahoma is really a two headed monster that has the incredible Red Dirt scene, but they also have a crop of pretty legendary mainstream stars like Reba, Carrie, Garth, Blake, the late, great Toby Keith. And while those aforementioned icons may be in the later stages of their careers, Okies like Zach Bryan, Turnpike, and Wyatt Flores are bringing forth a new era of superstars. I went back and forth between Kentucky and Oklahoma at #2, but because of the number of country music greats still doing it, I have to give them the nod at #2.

Artists:

Zach Bryan, Turnpike Troubadours, Cody Canada/Cross Canadian Ragweed, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton, Wyatt Flores, Jason Boland, Josh Meloy, John Moreland, Kaitlin Butts, JR Carroll, Corey Kent, Ken Pomeroy, Lance Roark

3. Kentucky

Kentucky certainly doesn’t have the numbers that Texas does, or even Oklahoma for that matter, but pound for pound, there is some pretty top level talent there right now. Led by heavyweights like Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers, you also see some mainstream success from artists like Carly Pearce and Dillon Carmichael. But no doubt about it, you’ll find yourself a ton “under the radar” artists in the hollers of Kentucky, making some of the best country music on Earth.

Artists:

Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, Kelsey Waldon, Sundy Best/Nicholas Jamerson, Cole Chaney, Ian Noe, Carly Pearce, Tony Logue, Dillon Carmichael, Jeremy Pinnell, Ole 60

4. Alabama

You could almost make the argument that Alabama deserves to be a little higher on this list… there’s mainstream starpower, there’s phenomenal talent, there’s variety in styles, Alabama is quietly becoming one of the premiere breeding grounds for great country music. But ultimately, I thought the Big 3 of Kentucky (Stu, Chris and Timmy Tyler) were a little too much for Alabama to sneak into the #3 spot.

Artists:

Jason Isbell, Jamey Johnson, Riley Green, Ella Langley, Red Clay Strays, Muscadine Bloodline, Drayton Farley, Alabama, Little Big Town, Kashus Culpepper, Adam Hood, Drake White, JP Harris

5. West Virginia

If you could combine all of Appalachia into one state, you could probably give Texas a run for its money, but… those aren’t the rules are they? Granted, many of eastern Kentucky’s finest (and even some of southern Ohio’s) cut their teeth across the river in Huntington, West Virginia, but even on its own, West Virginia has some of the flat-out best in the business with the likes of Charles Wesley Godwin and Sierra Ferrell.

Artists:

Charles Wesley Godwin, Sierra Ferrell, John R Miller, Brad Paisley, Logan Halstead, Philip Bowen, Mikele Buck, Christian Lopez

6. North Carolina

After Chief and Luke Combs, the list starts to dwindle pretty quickly, but thanks to the technology of AI, Randy Travis is still technically releasing new music. Chase Rice has greatly improved his quality as of late, and you can never sleep on American Aquarium… BJ Barham is one of the best songwriters in the business.

Artists:

Eric Church, Luke Combs, Randy Travis, Scotty McCreery, Chase Rice, American Aquarium, Priscilla Block, Carter Faith, Kameron Marlowe, Town Mountain, Avett Brothers

7. Tennessee

Tennessee obviously has country’s biggest name with the likes of Morgan Wallen, as well as the great Dolly Parton who is still making music, but for as many names that come out of the Volunteer State, you’d like a little more quality to balance the star power. I flipped on Tennessee and North Carolina quite a bit, but it came down to this timeless question. If I was stuck on a deserted island with one or the other, I’d rather survive on Eric Church and Luke Combs vs Morgan, Ern and everything Tennessee has to offer… it was REALLY close though. Ask me again in a few months and I may swap it.

Artists:

Dolly Parton, Morgan Wallen, Kenny Chesney, Ernest, Chris Young, Jelly Roll, Benjamin Tod, Larry Fleet, Gabe Lee, Josiah & The Bonnevilles, Kelsea Ballerini, Emily Ann Roberts, Tommy Prine

8. Georgia

Georgia is a tricky one because they certainly have the numbers, but there is a lack of quality coming out of the Peach State right now, and really over the past decade or more. It seems like the bro-country era was born in Georgia with the likes of Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Brantley Gilbert, Jason Aldean, etc… but these days, the output is getting much better with the younger crop of acts led by Megan Moroney, Brent Cobb, Pony Bradshaw and more.

Artists:

Alan Jackson, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Trisha Yearwood, Megan Moroney, Gavin Adcock, Kip Moore, Zac Brown Band, Blackberry Smoke, Brent Cobb, Pony Bradshaw, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, Willow Avalon, Cole Swindell, Lauren Alaina, The Castellows, Craig Campbell, Caylee Hammack, Drew Parker, Vincent Mason, Channing Wilson

9. Virginia

Once again, if you could add up all of Appalachia, you might have a good argument to dethrone Texas. Virginia certainly packs a small but mighty punch.

Artists:

49 Winchester, Morgan Wade, Maggie Antone, Oliver Anthony, Jake Kohn, Eddie Flint, Juliet McConkey, Low Water Bridge Band

10. Arkansas

Arkansas is one big, rising superstar away from shooting up this list… who’s it gonna be?

Artists:

Justin Moore, Tracy Lawrence, Ashley McBryde, Joe Nichols, Ward Davis, JD Clayton, Waylon Wyatt, Nick Shoulders

There you have it… my top 10. I had Mississippi, Louisiana and California in the honorable mentions, but for the most part, they each had just a couple big names and not much else. Honestly, California could sneak into the 10 spot with the likes of Jon Pardi, Jesse Daniel, and Molly Tuttle.

So what do you think? Let the debate begin…The post RANKED: Which States Are Producing The Best Country Music Artists… Right Now? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.