Personal Top 10 Country Albums

I asked a friend to compile her list of top 10 books ever. In return, she asked for my top 10 country albums I thought she should have. Ten is all?! So hard. But here's what I came up with-


Without further ado,
10 (+) Country Albums You Must Have:

1. Deana Carter, The Chain.
A very cool album which consists completely of covers- all music her dad, who is/was a studio guitarist and producer, had a hand in in the original stages. Also includes much collaboration with many of the original artists. Fresh sound. SO COOL.

2. Lori McKenna, Unglamorous.
There's just something about this woman. She was "discovered" by Faith Hill and has tracks recorded by Faith, Tim McGraw, Sara Evans, among man others. Still, the songs are way better when she sings them herself. The last track on this album kills me every time.

3. Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors.
I'm always surprised at how much Tim McGraw music I actually own because I don't consider myself one of his biggest fans or anything, but this particular album has a really organic sound for such a commercial artist. The songs are good, and as a whole it feels timeless. I've owned this one for four or five years and it's a go-to when I don't know what else I want to listen to.

4. Phil Vassar, Shaken Not Stirred.
I DO consider myself a big Phil Vassar fan- he's a great songwriter, lyricist, pianist, and performer. This album is the most cohesive and I prefer the sound of this one to his others. Another to check out might be his Greatest Hits, though. He rerecorded some of the hits he's had as a songwriter for other artists (like Jo Dee Messina's "Bye Bye") and they're really simple, nice recordings.

5. Sugarland, Love on the Inside.
Their music just keeps getting better. I love this one because Kristian does a lot more singing and their arrangements don't feel like stuffy commercial country. Very vocal, very organic. The deluxe fan edition has some awesome stuff at the end like a live Matt Nathanson cover, and that track alone is worth the extra two dollars or whatever it is.

6. Nickel Creek, Reasons Why: The Very Best.
I saw these guys live and never expected any four people (counting the bass player) to be able to make THAT MUCH SOUND come out of those little acoustic instruments. They're perfect in nearly every way and the subject matter isn't so typical, which is refreshing.

7. Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
This girl does real country music up right. She's got attitude and songwriting chops and is not afraid of a good old-fashioned steel guitar.

8. Reba McEntire, It's Your Call.
You have no idea how hard it was for me to pick just ONE Reba album. Pretty much any of her '90s albums, especially the early '90s, are The Tops in my book. Even so, I own almost everything she's done since 1986. Maybe even since before that. No. I'm serious. It's Your Call is full of reasons I really fell in love with her, though. Take It Back, He Wants to Get Married... it's a good album.

9. Brad Paisley, 5th Gear.
Some people just don't get it, but I find Brad Paisley HILARIOUS. He's got a way with melody, too, and can play guitar like a dreeeeeeam. It's traditional with a twist, and I'm all about country sounding like country. Plus, "Online" is a little too appropriate, I think.

10. Sara Evans, Restless.
Girl can SING, and this is probably her best collection of songs as a whole. "Otis Redding" is still my favorite- just paints a lighthearted, romantic little picture.



Honorable mentions go to Dierks Bentley, only because I absolutely could not decide which of his albums you should have. I love them all equally, in different ways, and so just couldn't make the decision. I couldn't even give you a Dierks playlist and pick favorite tracks because I seriously love THEM ALL.

Also to Bethany Dick, whose latest is only 4 tracks long BUT you can download it for free (www.myspace.com/bethanydick)! She's originally a Montana girl like I am, and she and my friend Fiddler actually know each other, so it's kinda cool.




What do you think, country fans? What did I leave out? Anything you wouldn't have included? Which Dierks album would you have chosen?

Road Music

So I just made the big move to Tennessee. From Minnesota. In my car. Why yes, thank you for asking. It was a long drive.

I got to stop in Chicago, though. That was fun.

So anyway, what does one do while driving for a planned fifteen hours, and actual 17 or 18? Listen to music, right?

I loaded up my ipod and then completely trapped my FM transmitter under piles of other stuff, so I didn't even get to listen to half of what I planned. Thankfully, I still had a bunch of my new CDs in my purse, and the great thing about new CDs is that you can listen to them more than once, even in a row. And truthfully, that made the trip seem shorter, listening to fewer CDs. That might seem strange, but it worked out well. So, here's what I listened to:

Jon McLaughlin, OK NOW: twice.
Cadillac Sky, Gravity's Our Enemy: three times.
Rebecca Lynn Howard, No Rules: twice
The Decemberists, The Crane Wife: three times
Deana Carter, The Chain: a whopping FIVE (maybe six, I honestly lost count) times
Keith Urban, Greatest Hits-19 Kids: twice

Other than about a half an hour of radio at the end of each trip (into Chicago and then into Murfreesboro) that got me through 17 or 18 hours of driving. I'd recommend especially The Decemberists for a drive, especially if you're driving by yourself. That is an album that is meant to be listened to front to back in one sitting, and when you've got nothing else to do... it's perfect.

What didn't I get to listen to? The road mix I made specifically for this drive including all sorts of leaving home songs and going to Tennessee songs. Kind of a bummer. Also, a few mixes made by the guy I stayed with in Chicago-- I really wanted to listen to them before I saw him and knew driving would be the perfect time to do it, but didn't get to.

But I can listen to them now.
I'll report back.

What's some of your favorite road music? Do you listen to CDs, mixes on your iPod, the radio? What gets you through a long drive?

My Music, 2008

In no particular order, the music that made 2008 great:
(in other words, everything I bought this year)


Cadillac Sky, Gravity's Our Enemy
Sugarland, Love on the Inside
Chuck Wicks, Starting Now
Jason Mraz, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.
Elevation, Strangelove
White Light Riot, Atomism
Phil Vassar, Prayer of a Common Man
Keri Noble, Fearless
Keith Urban, 19 Kids
Taylor Swift, Fearless
Michael Buble, Call Me Irresponsible
Trisha Yearwood, Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love
Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests
Carrie Underwood, Carnival Ride
The Decemberists, The Crane Wife
Matt Nathanson, Some Mad Hope
Ingrid Michaelson, Be Ok
Ingrid Michaelson, Girls and Boys
Blue Moon Rising, Blue Moon Rising
Cherryholmes, Cherryholmes II Black and White
Punch Brothers, Punch
Lori McKenna, Unglamorous
Bethany Dick, Bethany Dick



Some of this music I was obviously slow to catch on to, but mostly not. I also realize by looking at this that my musical taste really has broadened. I wonder what next year's list will look like...

And of course, that's not all I listened to-- that's just the new stuff. Other music that definitely had its place was

Martina McBride, Waking Up Laughing
Colbie Caillat, Coco
Sara Bareilles, Little Voice
John Mayer, Continuum
...among others


New so far this year, 2009:

Ari Hest, Someone to Tell
Josh Kelley, Almost Honest
Rebecca Lynn Howard, No Rules
Jon McLaughlin, OK Now

And you could count the Decemberists and the Matt Nathanson albums as 2009 albums, really, since I got them both for Christmas and really started listening to them after the new year.


What's on your 2008 list?