From Classics to Hidden Gems: A Complete Guide to the Essential Albums of Austin Hero Willie Nelson. ML
Including last month’s release of “Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle,” the 92-year-old Willie Nelson released two albums this year. He did the same in 2024. And 2023. And … well, the pattern goes back to 2019 when the Red Headed Slacker only released one album. But that’s OK — he had three in 2018.
You’d have to go back to 1992 to find the last year Nelson didn’t release an album — before Ariana Grande or Morgan Wallen were born. Since 1993, he’s released 93 albums in 33 years.
This reckoning is based on Texas Monthly’s “All 155 Willie Nelson Albums, Ranked” list, which includes a mix of original work, releases of older material and joint recordings — although I suppose every Nelson album is a joint recording, so to speak.
If you’re new to Austin or Planet Earth and want to get a sense of who our most legendary musician is, the question becomes: How do you get a handle on 155 albums? Especially when Nelson has gone so many directions. There’s Country Willie, of course. And there’s American Classic Willie. And there’s Bluesman Willie. Heck, there’s even Reggae Willie — though we won’t mention that again.
Fortunately, my main goal for 2024 was to listen to every album on Texas Monthly’s list. With a few hard-to-find albums straggling in earlier this year, I accomplished my goal, save for a single album. (I’m not sure how Titty Bingo’s 2008 album “Bootleggers,” qualifies as a Nelson album, but man, you can’t find that thing anywhere.)
So whether you’re doing some holiday shopping, or just want to get caught up, here’s my quick, opinionated guide to Nelson’s albums.
The 2025 releases
No, neither release would make a “best of” list, but “Oh What a Beautiful World,” released just before Nelson’s birthday at the end of April is the better of the two from this year. All of the songs were written by Rodney Crowell and the warm production enriches the carefully crafted love songs that dominate the album. Nelson’s voice is timeless and his famous guitar, Trigger, sparkles in a sparse supporting role.
“Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle” pays tribute to Nelson’s great, late friend Merle Haggard. The danger of covering Haggard is that it’s hard to match the brilliance of Hag’s baritone delivery. So, it’s a little surprising that the best tracks are where Nelson leans in with his weathered voice, such as on “Silver Wings” and “Today I Started Loving You Again.” It’s a kick to hear Nelson start a song with “We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee …” and almost any version of “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” is bound to be fun.
The undeniable classics
Any list of best Nelson albums is going to include at least some of these.
“Red Headed Stranger,” 1975. Record executives thought this spare Western-inspired concept album was a demo tape. Nope, Nelson said. He wanted to release it just like this. Nelson was right.
“Stardust,” 1978. A big fan of Frank Sinatra and Django Reinhardt, Nelson was never all twang, but record executives hated the idea of their hot-selling outlaw country artist making an album of American pop standards. It remains his best-selling studio album. Nelson was right.
“Spirit,” 1996. By now, there were fewer doubters, but a haunting, classical/Spanish-influenced album with a handful of instruments recorded in an afternoon? It is both critically acclaimed and one of Nelson’s favorites.
“Teatro,” 1998. Swinging the other way with a percussion-heavy album full of decades-old songs, including Nelson’s straight-up murder ballad, “I Just Can’t Let You Say Goodbye,” would have seemed odd for anyone but Nelson at this point.
“Willie and Family Live,” 1978. No, nobody doubted this. Not for a minute. It’s just Nelson and his Family band performing live at the height of their power. It’s been my favorite album for 30 years.
OK, now let’s take it up a notch.
The Nashville years
“… And Then I Wrote,” 1962. When Nashville songwriter Nelson got his first shot at making his own album, he made the most of it, with a bucket full of great songs that he’d record again and again for decades. The backup singers here are the 1960s Nashville stamp, but here at least there’s not a string section covering up the lyrics.
A Willie box set
“A Classic & Unreleased Collection,” 1995. There’s a lot of Nelson box sets out there, some of them really hard to find, but this modest 3-CD set is wonderful. It runs the gamut from Nelson’s very first recordings to a set at the Texas Opry House (before it was reborn as the Austin Opry House) to a collection of Hank Williams covers.
Willie and friends
“Heroes,” 2012. Nelson has made a career out of making music with his friends, from duds with Don Cherry to home runs with Haggard or Kimmie Rhodes. On this one the highlights are beautiful duets with his son Lukas — “Just Breathe” or “No Place to Fly.” When he’s not singing with Lukas, he’s improving “A Horse Called Music” with Haggard or teaming up with Snoop Dogg and others for that one hit you might have heard of… “Roll Me Up (And Smoke Me When I Die).”
Rough and rowdy
“Live Dallas Texas KAFM-FM Radio Show,” 2015. I admit I’m partial to live recordings, but this one from a 1976 radio broadcast in Dallas (recorded just a few days before the infamous 1976 Gonzales Fourth of July Picnic) is two discs and 46 songs of fun, best heard through a haze of smoke and some Lone Star longnecks. Audiophiles will cringe and gasp, but if you’ve ever stood in a field for a Nelson show, this one will take you back.
Old man Willie
“A Beautiful Time,” 2022. You could just as easily go with “The Border” or “Last Leaf on the Tree,” but this album, released on Nelson’s 89th birthday is beautiful because of, not despite, his age. Gentle and inspiring and deep as the ocean — listen to the title track or the near-spoken “Energy Follows Thought” and find a little wisdom.
