Any suggestions on a shade tree I'd be planting this year to give some shade to our pool? Would love for it to grow quickly so I'm not wating 5-10 years for it to produce any shade. It won't be going around any structures so no worries about growing into foundation or anything.

Paulownia

My grandad planted a 6ft tall oak in front of his house for this very reason. Within 2 years it was 15-20 high. If you’re looking for something faster, try bamboo.

Definitely don't want Bamboo. 2 years is fast enough for me. Was it a specific type of oak?

Thanks for the info

Leland cypress.

I would look at a White or Green Ash. They grow fairly quickly, good shade tree. Another good thing is that after the first heavy frost all the leaves fall, you don't have them falling all the time.
A Shumard Oak is a pretty fall tree, lots of acorns.

I believe it was a pin oak; however, this wouldn’t be ideal if acorns would be an issue for you.

Here’s a list of popular fast growing shade tree from a website I found: 7 fast growing shade trees

Poplar is very fast growing. The prettiest and best shade is a red maple IMO.

I do love a Red Maple.

Next question: anyone know of any nurseries or tree farms around that I could look at. Within an hour or so of Opelika?

I believe there is some incorrect info on the web site you linked. If I read correctly it says Nuttall oak is AKA Pin Oak . They are two different varieties of red oaks.

Probably so, it was just one of the top links I clicked

I second a red maple. Only downfall is having to mow around the roots

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/red-sunset-maple-tree-ca

They have some nice trees but I would try all my local nurseries before ordering online and look for a larger tree to start with.

X 2 on green ash. I like maples too but they can be disease-prone.

I believe Pat Dye has a nursery around there somewhere. Pretty sure he likes Maples too.

Bradford pears are great

Once the roots start popping above the ground, you can backfill around the tree and cover em up.

Riverburch oak

You don't want any kind of tree close to your pool, trust me.

The wildlife group is in Tuskgee and I think they also own the tree farm there? If not you can ask them but there is "tree farm" on the north east edge of Tuskgee national forest that sales trees of all kinds. I know they have several oak selections in the 10-12ft range that a lot of the landscapers around Auburn-Opelika use.