Saving Country Music’s 2024 SINGLE of the Year Nominees

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Alright, we ran down the nominees for Album of the Year and Song of the Year. But it’s time to give some love to the songs that simply get stuck in out heads and remind us of the sheer joy of music. We call these the Single of the Year nominees, and they’re the toe-tappers, the boot-scooters, and the earworms. These are the songs you sing at the top of your lungs at red lights while those beside you in traffic give you ugly looks, and you couldn’t care less.

PLEASE NOTE: Just because a song isn’t listed here doesn’t mean it’s being snubbed or forgotten. Picking the best songs is always even more subjective than the best albums. We’re not looking to pit songs and songwriters against each other, we’re looking to combine our collective perspectives and opinions into a pool of musical knowledge for the benefit of everyone.

By all means, if you have a song or a list of songs you think are the best of 2024 and want to share, please do so in the comments section below. Feedback will factor into the final tabulations for the winner, but this is not an up and down vote. Try to convince us who you think should win, and why.

For a Spotify playlist of ALL of the Single of the Year and Song of the Year nominees, CLICK HERE.

George Strait with Chris Stapleton – “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame”

This song sounds like something Merle Haggard and Johnny Paycheck would have cut in the early ’80s as they were both three sheets to the wind and working through the proceedings of their 3rd divorce. This is honky tonk country music at its finest and super fun. We don’t really hear a lot of this hard honky tonk country from Chris Stapleton, or even really George Strait for that matter. But together they knock this one out of the park.

“Honky Tonk Hall of Fame” appears on George Strait’s album Cowboys and Dreamers, and was co-written by Stapleton with Jameson Clark and Timothy James.

Tony Martinez – “Wrong Like The Weatherman”

Tony Martinez is the kind of country music you blast right before hard cussing your boss and walking out mid shift, or leaving your husband or wife and peeling out in the driveway. Get listening to it or get out of the way before it runs you over. This long-time journeyman/side player finally released his debut album titled Everywhere West in 2024, and it will be right in the wheelhouse of any real country fan.

Perhaps no song better illustrates what all the hyperbole is about than “Wrong Like The Weatherman.” Not since Hank Jr. have we heard someone weave meteorological vernacular into a country song so well. “Wrong Like The Weatherman” is a super fun listen, but also happens to be well-written.

Shawna Thompson – “Lonesome and Then Some”

Well deep fry my okra. You want country? You damn well better, and bring your appetite, because Shawna Thompson is serving up heaping helpings of it here. There’s no shrinkflation in twang happening in Shawna Thompson’s universe. There’s more country packed into her album Lean On Neon per square inch then perhaps any other release in the last year. You might want to sequester this album from the rest of your catalog because it just might submit your Celine Dion records with a rear naked choke when you’re not looking.

Many of the 13 songs from Thompson’s Lean On Neon could be selected for this distinction. But “Lonesome and Then Some” embodies the honky tonk attitude alive in every true country music fan.

Pat Reedy – “Make It Back Home”

It’s the simplicity of Pat Reedy’s songs that’s the genius, not the sophistication. It’s the ease at which the melody and rhythms seep into your flesh that makes the music so immediately gratifying. And Pat Reedy delivers it all so confidently and assured because there’s no cosplay involved, and no insincerity to shield the audience from. He sings what he lives and he lives what he sings. Reedy is symbiotic with his music.

The title track of Pat Reedy’s latest album has been swirling out there for a while, but the revolving guitar parts and Pat Reedy’s earthen delivery never get old, and made for one of the most enjoyable songs of 2024.

Sentimental Family Band – “Never Love Again”

One of the most sublime songs released in country music all year, the voice of Camille Lewis is perfectly textured and seemingly born to sing the kind of classic country sentiments this band evokes, finding the little contours in the writing to really emphasize the emotion of a lyric. That’s why when you listen to their 2024 album Sweethearts Only, you’d swear songs like “Never Love Again” have been around for 60 or 70 years, not new compositions.

This Austin-based band won’t gt much heat in the end-of-year lists beyond A-town and maybe the folks paying attention out in Europe. But they deserve national recognition for their spellbinding classic country sound.

Jesse Daniel – “Cut Me Loose”

Whatever deficit mainstream country has accrued in the twang department over the last 20 years, Jesse Daniel’s 2024 album Countin’ The Miles darn near balances it out. Jesse Daniel the producer was patently unafraid to call for more twang and more twang until it might be scientifically impossible to fit any more into these tracks. This all culminates in the final song on his album called “Cut Me Loose” where the lead instruments are allowed extra rounds to get their licks in before the album concludes in a fade out.

Think that country music’s dead? That there hasn’t been anything good in 20 years? Well then you don’t know Jesse Daniel.

49 Winchester – “Fast Asleep”

Frontman Isaac Gibson has got one of those voices that can only come from birthright, and from refining his craft on back porches in the holler from a tender age. The old adage of singing the phone book applies here for sure, because you kind of don’t care what he’s singing about, as long as it’s gracing your ears. “Fast Asleep” from 49 Winchester’s 2024 album Leavin’ This Holler ain’t no phone book though. Like many of 49 Winchester’s best songs, it’s a launching pad for one of our generation’s most gifted singers.

Interesting footnote: The strings on the track aren’t a Mellotron. They’re the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

Zach Top – “Use Me”

(*Also nominated for Song of the Year)

The songs of Zach Top’s album Cold Beer & Country Music aren’t just reminiscent of ’90s country in sound. The writing is also emblematic of the era. The songs are about love and love lost, as well as underscoring country values and wisdom.

When you arrive at the 9th track on the album, the heartbreaking waltz “Use Me,” this is when the striking voice of Zach Top, the top-shelf picking and production, as well as stellar writing align to make something that gives you the same chills all those country gold selections from the ’90s did.

“Use Me” is co-written by Zach with Tim Nichols and Carson Chamberlin.

Silverada – “Eagle Rare”

Mike and the Moonpies? Silverada? The only names you really need to know are Mike Harmeier, Omar Oyoque, Catlin Rutherford, Zachary Moulton, and Taylor Englert. If they’re involved, it’s probably tits. And tits is what their 2024 self-titled album is, along with the song “Eagle Rare.”

The song might be a little out there with its Springsteen-esque beat, and rock opera interlude. But the lyrics are all Mike and the Moonpies … excuse me, Silverada. Exploring new sonic landscapes to keep things interesting while still being tethered to their original sound and influences is what the new “Silverada” is all about. And perhaps nobody knows how better to work the names of obscure liquor brands into songs.

Kimmi Bitter – “I Can’t Unlove You”

(*Also nominated for Song of the Year)

Expect the chill bumps to shoot down your arms and up your spine when you hear what sounds like a ghost from the black and white era of country billowing out of your speakers to sing the heartbreaking “I Can’t Unlove You.”

You get the sense that it kind of doesn’t matter what Kimmi Bitter sings, she sings it to the rafters. Even though her music comes across as lots of style and imagery to evoke a specific era in a kind of kitschy way, this isn’t a gimmick. At this music’s heart is an incredibly gifted and emotive singer choosing to ply her craft in the classic country style, and we should count ourselves as infinitely lucky that she has.

Honorable Mention:


Sierra Ferrell – “American Dreaming”

Muscadine Bloodline – “Tickets to Turnpike” and “Weyerhauser Land”

Charley Crockett – “Crystal Chandeliers and Burgundy”

Kelsey Waldon feat. Margo Price – “Traveling The Highway Home”

Lance Roark – “Big Bad Heart”






© 2025 Saving Country Music

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