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Best Country Music Album Art Of 2025
One final list to round out 2025.
At the end of each year, we review the incredible moments in country music, from our favorite records to the best collaborations, our favorite discovered artists, and songs we wish had come out as singles. It’s a great way to look back, celebrate the year, and remember every moment. And each year, I like to look at a part of a project that is often overlooked—the album art.
This end-of-year list is by far my favorite to make, but this year, for some reason, I am finding it extremely difficult to choose who deserves to be on this list. I now only imagine the pressure our Chief Editor, Wes, feels when he has to rank the 40 Best Country Albums of the Year for our year-end list here at Whiskey Riff.
While this list is not as daunting as that task, I am forgoing a numerical list of these pieces of art this year and simply sharing with you all why these artists made the final cut.
So without further ado, here are my top picks for the best country music album art of 2025:
Without further ado, here are our picks for the best album artwork of 2025:
Willow Avalon – Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell
This story is a wild one, and I highly suggest you hear it all by giving Willow Avalon’s Whiskey Riff Raff episode a spin. But long story short, this is truly her mugshot from getting pulled over and realizing she had a warrant out for her.
@whiskeyriff The wild story behind the mugshot image used for @Willow Avalon’s debut record is a must-hear. // The new Whiskey Riff Raff podcast is LIVE now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #willowavalon #southernbelleraisinhell ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff
No staging here, just a good ole picture at the county slammer. The story is truly a wild ride, but it ends with the cop impressed by how photogenic Willow Avalon is, noting that it’s a damn good mugshot.
“I go to take the picture, and I looked like I was on every form of meth you could possibly think of because I was just drenched (in sweat). I asked, ‘Sir, can I brush my hair and put some lipstick on, because my mama raised me not to take a bad picture?’ And he was like, ‘Alright.’
So I’m blotting my face with my handkerchief, I brush my hair, and I put my lip gloss on… they take the picture and the kid that was taking it went, ‘Damn, that’s a good one.’”
So good that it ended up as the album cover for Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell,
Charley Crockett – Dollar A Day
That signature classic country feel from Charley… he never disappoints.
Carter Faith – Cherry Valley
Carter Faith’s Cherry Valley was a standout debut record of the year for me. Cherry Valley transports fans to a fictional place in Faith’s mind, filled with wild nights, heartbreak, growth, and lyrics that cut like a knife.
Faith had previously shared that Cherry Valley is a fictional place in her mind, and I love the vintage-inspired album cover that feels like you’re about to watch a silent film. It’s got a Vaudeville feel that evokes this mythical place and really sets the tone for the immersive experience fans will have when listening to this project.
Tyler Childers – Snipe Hunter
The album cover is filled with clues, mementos, and mysterious trinkets. Tyler Childers’ Snipe Hunter received widespread critical acclaim for the distinct sound he created while working with the legendary producer Rick Rubin. The album is a little funky, yet very good, and the album art perfectly captures that feeling.
Created by Erik Thor Sandberg, a painting of Childers in a fictional library features many nods to the record’s lyrics and hides many little details as well, making it a piece of art you could stare at for hours and still be left with questions.
Whiskey Myers – Whomp Whack Thunder
You can always count on Whiskey Myers to bring the album art and Whomp Whack Thunder might be their best one yet.
Morgan Wallen – I’m the Problem
I’m the Problem was a monster success, regardless of how you feel about Morgan or the album.
Of course, the album comes just a year after Morgan was arrested in Nashville for throwing a chair off the rooftop of Eric Church’s downtown bar, Chief’s. Morgan was charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment, but ultimately pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to 7 days in a DUI education facility.
After the album’s release, in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music’s New Music Daily Radio, Morgan revealed that the album cover for I’m The Problem was actually inspired by a courtroom sketch that he saw while meeting with his attorney during his legal saga:
“I saw old school court drawings in there, and at the same time me and my team were talking about, What’s this artwork going to be?’ I’m like, ‘Ah, I’m not really sure.’ And I saw those old school court drawings, and something just clicked in my head. I was like, ‘That might be cool.’”
Morgan says that he decided to look into the idea to see if any other artists had already used a courtroom sketch for their album cover. And when he realized that it hadn’t been done before, he decided to go for it – although he didn’t want to use an actual photo of himself from court because it would be “too real.”
“I just wanted to just pay a little bit of homage to that and make people say, ‘Hey, is that what that is?’ I feel like we toed the line of it pretty well, and I think it looks cool.”
Cool, it looks, indeed.
Treaty Oak Revival – West Texas Degenerate
A lot going on in this one, and yet, it perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the album… full throttle, in your face, West Texas rock and roll.
Turnpike Troubadours – The Price of Admission
The number one album of the year from us staffers here at Whiskey Riff, and hands down the best album art of the year in my opinion. The thoughtful curation that went into every aspect of this masterpiece from the Turnpike Troubadours truly deserves a chef’s kiss. The album art for The Price of Admission was designed by Cody Hudson, hailing from the design studio Struggle Inc. The images on the front of the album were captured by Justin Gage, with creative direction from producer Shooter Jennings.
Jennings wanted the album art to reflect the album’s natural feeling, which also touches on recurring themes of growth, reflection, and enjoying the journey. The animals featured on the album’s art also embody the sense of rural Oklahoma, the place where Turnpike found their footing, and the pop of the neon orange lettering gives the overall aesthetic a vintage hunting feel.
It’s simple yet effective messaging at its finest.
2025 gave us another great year of music, art, and wild viral moments. 2026, you’ve got big shoes to fill in the country space specifically, but I’m ready to see what you have waiting for us.
Happy New Year from all of us at Whiskey Riff to you.The post Best Country Music Album Art Of 2025 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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