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?

Open Letter to Jake Owen, or Why I Still Love Country Music

It's nights like this when I find myself believing in traditional media again. I find myself believing in country music again, mainstream or not. I find myself laughing and crying and loving and hoping and wishing. Why? Because I watched a couple hours of TV.

GAC, actually.

I fell out of my music television habit long ago. I mean, I used to live on CMT or GAC, whichever our cable provider was carrying at the time (and oh, it was Heaven when it finally carried both). I was flipping back and forth between GAC and CMT Pure tonight and happened to catch Sammy Kershaw's "National Working Woman's Holiday," and I was taken right back to, Lord, I don't even know when. I'll bet I hadn't even hit double digits yet, and I was dancing around the living room singing every word to that song, cheesy video and all. It was back in the days when CMT and GAC still played music all the time. It was so wonderful. Those channels were like oxygen to me.

As I grew, both channels still managed to play some role in my life, but over the last two years as my relationship with mainstream country itself has fallen apart and these channels went the route of MTV and started programming ridiculous shows instead of music (although I do have to admit I'm a recent convert to My Big Redneck Wedding. If you ever need to feel normal, just watch an episode of that show. Oh my goodness). I can't honestly tell you the last time I sat down and meant to turn on one of the music channels. I can't even tell you when I ended up watching one on a whim as I surfed through. It doesn't happen anymore.

But PBS was supposed to be showing a Faith Hill Christmas special this year, and I searched and searched our listings, trying to find play times, unable to find anything. The other night, I was spending time with a friend whose roommate had left GAC on the TV in the background, and at some point the Faith Hill special came on. I didn't really watch it then, but I realized that if it was on once, it would likely be on again, so I made a mental note to watch out for it when I got home and set it to record. Tonight, when I finally remembered to do so, it was just starting. So I watched it.

First of all, Faith Hill is the classiest lady in country music, hands down. There are some other classy ladies, for sure, some of whom can even sing, but Faith Hill, folks, is the reigning queen. She treated those Christmas songs with the respect and reverence such classic songs should be treated with, and when the two originals came out, her "Where Are You Christmas," from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and her new "A Baby Changes Everything," we really got to see the singer in her. And yes, the second brought me to tears. It was that good.

But then, because I watched the concert rather than recording it, I got sucked into what was programmed next. A live talk show kind of show from the CMA Festival. Obviously a rerun, but nothing I'd ever seen before. I got to see interviews with Sara Evans, who looked stunningly beautiful, seemed immensely happy, and was seriously hilarious. Joe Nichols knocked the damn socks off of me with his wit and silliness, and even the Jake Owen-Bucky Covington matchup was entertaining to watch. Something I really realized, or maybe just remembered tonight, is that this is what country music is about. It's why I always loved it. It's not just about the music, and believe me, sometimes I wish country radio had much higher standards, but it's about the people behind the music. It's about the down home, down to earth, genuine people singing the songs. You don't have to be from a ranch, or raised in the rodeo, you don't have to wear a cowboy hat, you didn't have to be a member of 4H or the FFA, you don't even have to be from a small town to get country music, for it to belong to you. That's what I've always loved about it. It's not an exclusive little club. It's for everybody, if they'll just take it.

And, um, anything that'll put Jake Owen in front of me a little more often? I'll take it. He's pretty.

Dear Jake Owen,
Be my boyfriend? I'll be in Tennessee soon!
Love,
Courtney