Since his debut nearly a decade ago, Luke Combs has stunned country music fans across America with his unique vocals, stellar songwriting, and storytelling. He has released 18 singles in his career so far, with 17 of these singles reaching #1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, except “The Kind of Love We Make,” which reached #2. Today, the North Carolina native has secured a spot early as one of his generation’s most successful country stars.
Despite being overshadowed by stars like Zach Bryan and Morgan Wallen lately, every one of Combs’s albums (except perhaps Growin’ Up) deserves a page in the history books for their generational contributions to the country music community. But which of the albums are considered his best? Keep scrolling for Country Central’s official ranking of Luke Combs’ discography.
4. Growin’ Up (2022)
While none of his albums are abominable, Growin’ Up received the last spot on our list because it is far less of a standout than some of the other bodies of work that Luke Combs has released in his country music career thus far.
Telling stories of his youth, which are typically no different than the stories told throughout some of his previous projects, the songs featured on Growin’ Up sound like tracks left on the cutting room floor from the preceding What You See Is What You Get, drawing some similarities to many of the tunes we’ve heard from the North Carolina native in the past. To name a few, “Better Back When” and “Ain’t Far From It” are sonically very reminiscent of “Refrigerator Door” and “1, 2 Many.” ultimately, Growin’ Up comes across as generally unoriginal.
While smash hits like “The Kind of Love We Make,” “Going, Going, Gone,” “Doin’ This,” and more are outliers on this lackluster album, the project as a whole appears to have fallen flat, with none of its album cuts do the talented singer-songwriter justice. Given that Combs slowed down the release of new tunes through the COVID-19 pandemic, seemingly spending three years writing and recording Growin’ Up, expectations were high for his third studio album. Unfortunately, he was unable to deliver what everyone had been hoping for. With the release of Growin’ Up, it sounds like Luke Combs took the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” far too literally, giving fans some songs that stay true to what worked for him in the past but showing little to no evolution or growth like we had been yearning for.
3. Gettin’ Old (2023)
With a song titled “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old” to kick things off and cover art that coincides with one another, country music fans often view Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old as a package deal, with the latter taking the cake if they were going head to head.
Gettin’ Old features fan favorites like “Love You Anyway,” “5 Leaf Clover,” “Where the Wild Things Are,” and more, with the latter serving as one of Combs’s best songs to date, as good as these songs are, the biggest reason it passes up its counterpart is due to Luke’s cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which made waves on both streaming services and the charts almost instantaneously upon its release. In 2023, “Fast Car” made massive waves in and out of country music, peaking when Combs took the stage at the GRAMMY Awards to perform the tune with Chapman herself, a moment that will be logged in the country music history books for years to come.
With “Fast Car” aside, Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old has a lot of similarities, serving as coming-of-age albums that almost anyone can relate to; even so, Gettin’ Old blows Growin’ Up out of the water due to its softer, more introspective side, finding Combs in a reflective state that fans hadn’t seen from the country superstar so far, largely due to becoming a father in 2022. Straying away from the boot-stomping, beer-slinging sounds that listeners have grown to know and love about his music, these more lyrically-driven songs have managed to captivate country music lovers nonetheless. Because the jury is still out on whether Gettin’ Old is a great album or just a success compared to its counterpart, the record has taken the third spot on our ranking.
RELATED: Gettin’ Old Album Review
2. This One’s For You (2017) and This One’s For You Too (2018)
The second spot on our discography ranking is a two-for-one special, highlighting Combs’s debut album, This One’s For You, and its extended edition, This One’s For You Too, which added five new tunes.
Despite being the first project from Combs after signing with Columbia Nashville in 2016, This One’s For You features some of his most notable songs to date, singles that the talented singer/songwriter still performs in his shows in 2024. Despite being lyrically mediocre compared to Gettin’ Old, This One’s For You is the ultimate crowd-pleaser, solidifying the North Carolina performer as a force to be reckoned with in country music; this record’s amiable catchiness makes it a mainstream powerhouse with the right mix of love, heartbreak songs, party songs, and more; indeed, Luke proves that he knew exactly who he was from the early stages of his career. There is undoubtedly something for everyone on This One’s For You, earning it the second spot on this list, only falling short of its successor.
1. What You See Is What You Get (2019) and What You See Ain’t Always What You Get (2020)
Last but certainly not least, What You See Is What You Get and its extended edition, What You See Ain’t Always What You Get, are arguably Combs’ most significant work to date. They feature numerous fan favorites, from the chart-topping tune “Beer Never Broke My Heart” to my personal favorite, “Refrigerator Door.”
Much like Gettin’ Old, which is often considered an extension of Growin’ Up, What You See Is What You Get is a natural consequence of This One’s For You. Simply put, it’s a bigger and better version of his debut album, expanding upon what has seen success both sonically and lyrically, all while staying true to who he is at his core. With songs like “Dear Today,” “Nothing Like You,” “Better Together,” and more showing off a sweeter side to the country superstar, jams like “1,2 Many,” “Lovin’ On You,” “Angels Working Overtime” and more pay homage to ’90s country bangers, making for yet another album that is equally as diverse as it is exceptional, all while adding an overall freshness to his discography. To make the project even more phenomenal, Combs experimented with collaborations on his sophomore album, recruiting the likes of Eric Church, Brooks & Dunn, and Amanda Shires for some of the project’s most significant songs, paving the way for future duets with The Wilder Blue, Billy Strings, Miranda Lambert and more.
What You See Is What You Get is nearly perfect from top to bottom and comfortably trumps the latter three on our list; it best represents Luke Combs and what he’s meant to country music so far as a thoughtful writer with a pragmatic ear for hit songs. He enjoyed the most industry accolades hit singles in this era and ultimately catapulted himself firmly into the A list. Five years later, What You See Is What You Get still reigns supreme over his other three records. After the comparatively less impressive era that spanned Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old, this album still sets the standard for Luke’s fifth full-length effort.
