The Best Gospel Albums By Country Artists

Revisit Inspiring Gospel Albums Released By 11 Of Your Favorite Country Singers

Country singers have often found inspiration from their faith, creating a beautiful crossover between the country and gospel music genres.

Carrie Underwood shares her faith in tunes such as “Something in the Water” and “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” Blake Shelton has faith-based songs in his catalog, such as “Bible Verses” and “Savior’s Shadow.” And who could forget Randy Travis’ “Three Wooden Crosses” or Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton’s “When I Get Where I’m Going”?

Christian/gospel music and country music have always been intertwined. As a result, many country artists have been moved to record entire gospel records. Below, we’ve created a roundup of these records, which contain touching songs about faith, hope, redemption, and love.

Loretta Lynn

Country royalty Loretta Lynn released a total of four gospel albums during her long and illustrious career. Her first, simply titled Hymns, was released in 1965 and contained a mix of classic hymns and original songs. Billboard magazine published a review of the album shortly after its release and wrote:

“Loretta Lynn proves once again that whatever she does, she does to perfection and that’s exactly what this glorious program of heartfelt performances contains.” 

Decades later, her most-loved gospel songs were made into a compilation album, All Time Gospel Favorites, which saw two subsequent reissues in the early 2000s.

Reba McEntire

Country Music Hall of Fame member Reba McEntire released her first gospel record in 2017, Sing It Now: Songs of Faith and Hope. The album has two parts: one featuring McEntire’s versions of traditional hymns and the second entirely composed of original songs, including “Back to God.”

Sing It Now won the GMA Dove Award for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Album of the Year and won the Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album. McEntire released a second gospel record, My Chains Are Gone, in 2022.

Randy Travis

Randy Travis has released six gospel albums over the course of his career. His first was the 2000s Inspirational Journey, and his most recent was the 2020s Precious Memories (Worship & Faith).

Travis has recorded many of the world’s most beloved hymns and gospel standards, including “Amazing Grace,” “I’ll Fly Away,” and “Open the Eyes of My Heart.” Many of Travis’s gospel albums have won Grammy and Dove Awards.

George Jones

George Jones famously released The Gospel Collection in 2003. The album was personally significant as he grew up singing songs in church with his mother, Clara. The collection contained Jones’ renditions of classic tunes such as “In the Garden,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” and “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again.”

Jones had previously released another gospel record, We Love To Sing About Jesus, with his then-wife Tammy Wynette in 1972.

Alan Jackson

Alan Jackson released two gospel records, Precious Memories and Precious Memories Volume II, in 2006 and 2013. The first iteration reached the #1 spot on the Top Country Albums and Top Christian Albums charts.

Both albums contain traditional gospel songs such as “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder,” “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” and “Blessed Assurance.” Jackson still regularly includes these songs in his set list as he performs on what is expected to be the final tour of his career.

Carrie Underwood

After years of singing songs about faith, Carrie Underwood released her first-ever gospel album in 2021. My Savior contains thirteen covers of traditional songs, including”How Great Thou Art.” Underwood famously performed the hymn alongside Vince Gill in 2011.

Also included in the record is a duet between Underwood and legendary gospel artist CeCe Winans on “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” My Savior won the Best Roots Gospel Album award at the 2022 Grammy Awards.

Josh Turner

Josh Turner’s faith has long influenced his music, and he finally released his first gospel album, I Serve a Savior, in 2018.

The album features collaborations with Sonya Isaacs on “I Saw the Light” and “How Great Thou Art.” Turner’s wife and four sons sing with him on an original tune called “The River (Of Happiness), which his wife and their eldest son wrote.

I Serve A Savior reached the #2 spot on the Top Country Albums and Top Christian Albums charts.

Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard released multiple gospel records throughout his career. In 1971, he and his band The Strangers released a live, double gospel album titled The Land of Many Churches, which contained 24 tracks.

In 1981, Haggard released Songs for the Mama That Tried, referencing his iconic song “Mama Tried.” The album was dedicated to his mother, Flossie, who posed with him for the album’s cover artwork.

Dolly Parton

Dolly Parton has recorded a wealth of gospel and Christian music throughout her career.  In 1999, she released an exclusive gospel record titled Precious Memories. The album was only sold at Parton’s Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. All proceeds from the album went to the Dollywood Foundation, which supports Parton’s Imagination Library program.

In 2009, Parton was recognized for her contributions to the genre and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash reported leaving his original record label, Sun Records, after they would not let him record gospel music. After signing with Columbia, he recorded two albums simultaneously between 1958 and 1959.

The first was his second country album, The Fabulous Johnny Cash, and the second was his first-ever gospel album. Hymns With Johnny Cash included twelve inspiring songs of faith. An alternate version of his original song “It Was Jesus” was added as a bonus track in 2002.

Cash would go on to record additional gospel albums in his career, but none would match the success of his original collection of hymns.

Charley Pride

Over the course of his career, Charley Pride released not one but two gospel records. The first was 1971’s Did You Think to Pray, and the second was 1976’s Sunday Morning with Charley Pride. In 1971, Pride won a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance (other than soul gospel) for his performance of the original song “Let Me Live.”

RELATED: CHARLEY PRIDE’S GOSPEL SONG REMINDS PEOPLE TO “TAKE TIME OUT FOR JESUS”

Which of these country singers’ gospel albums is your favorite?