Keeping track of country albums released in any given year is a full-time job. In fact, with so much music coming out each month, it's easy to lose count of even the great records.

Some albums push through the crowd and get the attention they deserve, no matter how much competition they face. But others don't, which makes them feel somewhat underrated in the grand scheme of things.

This, of course, begs the question: How do you know (or determine) if an album is underrated? An underrated album is a great record that didn't get the attention it deserved, or an album that fell under the radar due to circumstances outside of an artist's control, or even a release that confounded fans by not fitting into a neat sonic box.

Each of the albums in the photo gallery below falls into one (or more) of these categories. Read on to learn more about The Boot's picks for 2017's five most underrated country albums.

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