@Allison kennedy

YoungBoy Never Broke Again released his first tracks in the '10s, at an age when his peers were probably focused on passing 8th grade math. With a wise-beyond-his-years weariness, he's a true descendent of Baton Rouge's colorful lineage of street storytellers like Boosie and Kevin Gates, channeling not just danger but deep sorrow: On “Untouchable,” he unloads a lifetime of struggle and persistence in his nimble, half-sung drawl, while in “Graffiti,” YoungBoy says a gut-wrenching prayer for incarcerated friends and his own life.

Country music has always had a tight relationship with the idea of home, and that feeling of kicking back and slowing down when you get there. Mixing rootsy and crossover tunes new and old, this playlist is meant to help you unplug. Our editors regularly refresh these tracks. If you like a song, add it to your library.

Whether you’re just waking up or in the homestretch of a tough workout, here’s a set of stomping tunes—the kind that tip their hats to outlaw country and Southern rock in equal measure—to give you that extra boost. We regularly rotate fresh music into this collection of new and recent songs; if you hear something you like, add it to your library.

“Hey Siri, play the Tailgating playlist.”

There's something democratic about country's rowdy side, the sense that it doesn't take a lot to have a crazy good time. From happy hour to last call, from tailgate to after-party, these songs capture country at its most lit up and ready to go. Our editors regularly refresh this playlist. If you like a song, add it to your library.

It's only natural that neo-trad country stars like Clint Black were influenced by George Strait's modern blend of Texas honky-tonk and butter-smooth crooning. But even pop-country crossover king Tim McGraw shows fealty to the man; look no further than McGraw's twangy, old-school shuffler, the lovingly titled “Give It to Me Strait.”

“Hey Siri, play the Lake House playlist.”

In the mid-'70s, mavericks like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, who'd been struggling to find their place in country amidst Nashville’s slick countrypolitan dominance, quit trying to fit into the mainstream and carved out something for themselves. With stripped-down production, rock and soul influences, and a rebellious, countercultural mindset, they injected new life into country music, creating the outlaw country movement in the process. Outlaw auteurs like Guy Clark and Mickey Newbury were coming more from a singer/songwriter head, but their outside-the-box concoctions were part of the mix too. Of course, outlaw country didn't die out when the decade ended. Fresh faces like Steve Earle continued the conversation in the ‘80s, and even after the transformation of the country music industry by the turn of the millennium, artists like Jamey Johnson and Sturgill Simpson who'd grown up on classic outlaw country brought their own idiosyncrasies to the table.

A good country song already has the capacity to cut to the heart of nearly any emotional matter, so why not take it a step further and boil the sound down, too? Focusing on the mellow and acoustic, this playlist of contemporary country strips out the frills and leaves you with the essence—that humble, direct, to-the-bone intimacy that probably drew you to country in the first place. Our editors update picks weekly, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.