Happy Friday!  Last week we gave you our favorite imported bands.  This week, we’re taking things a little closer to home and showing our favorite country artists at the moment.   Make sure you tune in to the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday April 6th!  An open letter to all of you:  there are lots of country fans in NYC, and we would greatly welcome any of y’all round these here parts.

1.  Dan + Shay
This is a huge week for the duo – not only did their debut album, “Where It All Began,” come out on Tuesday, it’s been #1 on the iTunes country charts all week!  Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney also made appearances on Good Morning America and Ellen this week, and will top it off with Sunday’s ACM Awards, where they are nominated for Vocal Duo of the Year.  Pickup a copy of their album on iTunes or Amazon!

2. Kacey Musgraves
Kacey’s no stranger to country music fans, but she made a huge splash at this year’s Grammy Awards where won she performed her powerful song “Follow Your Arrow.”  In light up country boots to boot.  Her album, “Same Trailer, Different Park,” won Best Country Award at the Grammys.  Get it now on iTunes!

3.  Hunter Hayes
We have to give Hunter full credit for getting us into country music.  His self-titled debut is on the top of our favorite albums of any genre, and he’s one of our favorite artists to see live!   We can’t wait to catch him on the We’re Not Invisible Tour with Dan + Shay in May!   You can catch Hunter performing his latest single, “Invisible,” at the ACM Awards!  Pre-order his new album Storyline, out May 6th!

4. Sam Hunt
The Georgia native played football for the University of Alabama before moving to Nashville to pursue a career in songwriting.   He’s already co-written songs for Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban, and is working on his debut album due in 2014.  His single “Raised On It” is on iTunes now!  He’ll be playing a few shows with Hunter Hayes and Dan + Shay this summer!  Check out his official website to download his “Between the Pines” acoustic mixtape for free!

5. Needtobreathe
They’re probably the most traditional country artist on our list, but when we saw them open for Taylor Swift on the Speak Now Tour a couple of years ago, we instantly loved their sound.   Their new album, “Rivers in the Wasteland,” will be out on April 15th but you can pre-order it now and get 4 tracks instantly, including “The Heart!”