Carrie Underwood’s impressive discography tracks a truly impressive run transcending trends and eras in country music. For more than 15 years, no matter what was going on with the rest of country music, you could always count on Carrie to pack huge venues and remain immediately recognizable. From Underwood’s catalog, we’ve ranked her discography from top to bottom (excluding My Savior and My Gift, her gospel and Christmas records, respectively).
7. Denim & Rhinestones (2022)
Before the release of Denim & Rhinestones, Carrie took her longest hiatus from country music to date. What was supposed to be a highly-anticipated comeback effort ended up falling flat with the over-played, though heavily-promoted lead single ‘Ghost Story.’ The album was reminiscent of a cheesy Paula Abdul record, even Beauty and the Beast-esque soundtrack of glitz, glitter, and faux-country sounds that didn’t do Underwood justice at all, though her powerhouse vocals were as brash as ever. With an upcoming deluxe album on the way, the singles remain random and confusing.
6. Play On (2009)
Carrie Underwood’s third studio album Play On did just that: it simply played on. Repeated themes and complete rehashes of previous lyrical concepts made this record extremely average compared to her first two albums. Leading with scorching ‘Cowboy Casanova,’ the track was undoubtedly destined for commercial success, but lacked much deviation from earlier singles. It was almost a cheap remake of ‘Before He Cheats’ or ‘Last Name.’ Play On is chock full of filler tracks, and the album is one of Underwood’s least consistent overall. While ‘Temporary Home’ is very touching, other songs like ‘Quitter’ should’ve been scrapped immediately.
4. Cry Pretty (2018)
With a label change and departure from long-time producer Mark Bright, Carrie’s highly-anticipated Cry Pretty opened the door for more gimmicky country-pop influences courtesy of David Garcia. With co-writing and production credits on all of the tracks except for ‘End Up With You,’ it’s safe to say this was Underwood’s most involved project, turning the page on some of her hand-picked releases from prior records. Commercially, the glittery album’s four singles struggled to climb the country charts, with ‘Cry Pretty’ being the biggest one, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot Country songs chart. The random pop/R&B foray ‘Champion’ featuring Ludacris further ambushed the album’s potential, and it would’ve also been very refreshing to see ‘End Up With You’ sent to the radio.
4. Some Hearts (2005)
Carrie Underwood’s debut record Some Hearts was like jet-fuel to promising career coming off of American Idol. Led by contemporary-Christian smash hit ‘Jesus, Take The Wheel,’ album garnered huge mainstream attention immediately, followed by the karaoke favorites ‘Before He Cheats’ and ‘Wasted.’ There aren’t many filler tracks on Some Hearts, and the debut record is full of carefully-crafted deep cuts that could’ve easily been singles themselves including ‘Whenever You Remember.’ Early in her career, it’s no surprise that she only wrote one of these songs, but the songs on this record served as a worthy introduction to the young star.
3. Carnival Ride (2007)
Carrie’s sophomore effort Carnival Ride effectively held its ground by maintaining her all-American girl country image. This record also included a few more co-writes from the Idol alum to give the ‘Idol’ alum some room to find herself creatively. Leading with the single ‘So Small,’ the Mark Bright-produced record pumped out an impressive five singles cushioned with a cover of Randy Travis’s ‘I Told You So.’ While these singles are still staples of Underwood’s live performances and still get plenty of airplay, the rest of these songs are pretty much filler. However, ‘Flat On The Floor’ stands out with its sassiness and bold pedal-steel.
2. Storyteller (2015)
After truly coming into her own with Blown Away, the 2015 release of Storyteller marked a change of course with twangy country-rock influences thanks to producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church). Co-writing about half of her fifth studio album, Storyteller was impressively cohesive, boasting a strong bevy of singles and memorable deep-cuts alike. ‘Heartbeat,’ ‘Church Bells,’ and ‘Dirty Laundry’ are all outstanding radio songs, and Joyce’s buzzing rock leanings made this a unique and catchy listen from top to bottom.
1. Blown Away (2012)
Shortly after Blown Away’s release, Carrie remarked that she took her time writing this one and allowed inspiration to come to her. The result was her most heartfelt and poignantly dark record to date. The lead single ‘Good Girl’ is a deceptively light opener, followed immediately by a pair of bleak ballads about the deaths of wicked men in ‘Two Black Cadillacs’ and the title track. Overall, it felt like Carrie had finally found a style that was both original and commercial potent, breaking away from the more cookie-cutter concepts of her previous LPs. Blown Away is by far her best release to date with an impressive tracklist of pop-country classics.
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