Nate Smith Is The First Artist On Dub’s Playlist For 2024

Nate Smith is the first artist on Dub's playlist for 2024. He's on fire right now, Nate has had two big hits in a row. "Whiskey On You" and "World On Fire" have both gone to number one. I don't know if Nate plans to release this song as a single, but if he does, I think it will be another hit for him. And here's the funny thing, the first time I heard this song, I wasn't sure who it was singing, but I knew I liked it

Let me tell you the story about how I first heard this song. Cody and I were down in Waynesboro shooting a video. We were going into a bunch of the different shops in Downtown Waynesboro to get footage. One of the shops had a country playlist on, and this song was playing in the store. As I was walking though the store, I couldn't help but listen, and I instantly loved this song. However, I didn't know who sang it.

Now cut to last week. I was riding in my truck and I was listening to some of the best albums of 2023 on Apple Music. Nate Smith's debut album was on there, and I realized I hadn't listened to his album in a while so I put it on. Right there in the middle of the album was this song! The same one I'd heard in Waynesboro that I loved but didn't know who sang it. Now I knew it was Nate Smith!

Like I said before, I think this song could be his next big hit. I think y'all might agree after you hear the song too.

By the way, if you want to keep up with what's new with Nate, just click here.

If you want to go back and check out all of the songs that have been featured on Dub's Playlist in the past, click here.

This is my song of the week, it's called "Better Boy"

Apple Music had Nate's album as one of the best of 2023. Check out my favorite country albums from last year.

It's time to share my favorite country albums of 2023. As you know, a lot of awesome music came out this year. I tried to listen to as much of it as I could. However, like it is every year, certain albums stuck out to me a little more than others. There were certain albums I just kept going back to.

I look forward to Fridays for a lot of reasons. First off, it's the start of the weekend of course, but all of the new music always comes out on Fridays as well. When I wake up on Fridays the first thing I do is look to see what new music is out. After I see what all is out, I decide what I will listen to first, then second, and so on.

There were lots of big time country stars who released albums this year. And for the most part the ones I was really looking forward to didn't disappoint. The way I'm doing this is just based on the albums I really liked this year. This list is in no particular order. The only order I tried to do is sort them based on when they came out during the year.

If you're looking to listen to what I thought was the best of the year, then you'll wanna binge these albums. However, I'm betting that y'all have already heard a bunch of these, and I also bet y'all probably loved them as much as I did.

You're about to see my list, but these are the albums Billboard thought were the best of 2023. You can check out their list here.

For more lists, photo galleries, articles, and videos from The Kicks Wake Up Krew, click here.

So, let's get to it!  Here are my favorite country albums of 2023.

This album came out in January, and I've been cranking it all year long! HARDY went half country half rock on this album. The first half is country and the second half is rock, but it's all good! Some of my favorite songs off "the mockingbird & THE CROW" are "red", "drink one for me" and "SOLD OUT".

Of course this album was going to be on the list! It came out in March.  March was a huge month for new country albums, and this was one of the ones everyone was looking forward to hearing, and it didn't disappoint. Some of my favorites off this one are "Man Made A Bar", "'98 Braves", "Whiskey Friends" and "In The Bible".

The two biggest stars in country music both dropped new albums in March. Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs. Of course I've been cranking them both in my truck all year. This was the second half of Luke's "Growin' Up And Gettin' Old" project. I can say, Luke brought it on this album, just like he always does! Some of my favorite songs off "Gettin' Old" are "Grown' Up And Gettin' Old", "Joe", "See Me Now" and "The Part".

This one came out in May, and from the first time I heard it, I said that it was one of the best of the year. I really dig Parker's music. Some of my favorites off of his latest album are "Hurricane", "Things I Never Told You", "Burn It Down" and "Lessons From An Old Man".

This album came out at the beginning of June, and it has been one of the most popular albums since it came out. I love the variety on this album. There are uptempo rockin' songs and awesome slower ballads. Some of my favorites from "Whitsitt Chapel" are "Church", "Behind Bars", "Unlive" and "The Lost".

This album came out in August. I really got into Zach Bryan's music last year. I couldn't get enough of his last album "American Heartbreak", so I was really fired up when I heard he was releasing another full length album. His songwriting is next level, the whole album is good but these are some of my favorites. I love " East Side Of Sorrow", "Hey Driver", "Overtime" and "El Dorado".

This one came out in October, and I was really looking forward to hearing it. It had been a few years since Riley Green released a full length album, and this one was worth the wait! Some of my favorite songs off Riley's new album are "They Don't Make 'Em Like That No More", "Mississippi Or Me" "Damn Good Day To Leave", and "My Last Rodeo".

November was another big month for big country albums. This was one of the albums that came out at the beginning of November. There aren't many Jason Aldean albums that I don't like, and this one was no different. Some of my favorites off of this one are "Let Your Boys Be Country", "Knew You'd Come Around", "Get Away From You", and "Changing Bars".

This one came out the same day as Jason Aldean's new album. They're both awesome. Cody Johnson hasn't released a bad album yet, but this one might be his best one ever. Some of my favorite songs off of "Leather" are "Dirt Cheap", "Whiskey Bent", "Watching My Old Flame", and "Leather".