This week, the album at No. 1 on the charts is one everyone saw coming: With the biggest streaming numbers of 2025 and strong sales to boot, Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem is the chart-topper it had always seemed destined to become.

This year artists working within the orbit of the unstable category "roots music" got personal even as they explored complex cultural lineages and challenged the rules of established scenes and forms.

This year artists working within the orbit of the unstable category "roots music" got personal even as they explored complex cultural lineages and challenged the rules of established scenes and forms.

In this four-song set, the country artist delivers her songs with clear-eyed passion.

Both artists could have used their new albums to make good on their pop crossover potential. Instead, they managed to reaffirm their ties to their genres of origin without sacrificing creative growth.

After a global dance hit, the country star returns from lockdown with an intimate new album — and a new son, who helped inspire it.

After a global dance hit, the country star returns from lockdown with an intimate new album — and a new son, who helped inspire it.