New Music Video From Dean Brody - "Good Man"

New Music Video From Dean Brody - "A Man Without A Woman"

New Music Video From Dean Brody - "Friend of Mine"

New Music Video From Dean Brody - "Drink Around"

Canadian Country Best-Seller Dean Brody Drops New Album and Single/Duet With Mickey Guyton on "Boys"

Artist: Dean Brody

Album: Boys

Label: Scurvy Dog Music

Release date: November 18, 2020

Canada’s most celebrated country artist Dean Brody continued his improbable and historic run with the release of his 8th album Boys, his first full release on his own Scurvy Dog Music record label. The album dropped last week with the debut of Brody’s new single by the same name, a duet with country upstart Mickey Guyton. You can listen to and hear the new single below. 

“My fans and I have created so many happy memories together with music as the soundtrack and I wanted to be able to keep that going, particularly during these unprecedented times,” said Brody of today’s release. “I love sharing my experiences through song and am so appreciative of everyone who has joined my musical journey this year, which is why I’m excited to share the next step with you today – especially as this single features the incredible vocals of Mickey Guyton.” 

Staying true to Brody’s deep storytelling roots, the new album brings to life the passage of a boy growing into a man through life’s most notable moments. The title track and new single “Boys,” brings this theme to the forefront, comparing the mindset of being a boy vs. a man and what Brody himself has learned so far through this journey.

Though created during the pandemic, Brody was still able to collaborate and work with fellow Canadians such as Donovan Woods (“Stay Up”) and Travis Wood/Emily Reid (“Boys”). Produced by Todd Clark (Phillip Phillips, James Barker Band, the Reklaws) and Matt Rovey (Alan Jackson, Billy Currington)   the album keeps one foot planted in Brody’s traditional country music sound, all while pressing forward into new territory, a further nod to the album’s growth narrative.

Earlier this fall, Brody hit one of his biggest career milestones when “Canadian Summer” was crowned Canada’s most played track ever at Canadian country radio in a one-week period, landing the #1 position on the Nielsen BDS Country Airplay chart and the Mediabase chart. The single pulled in a record 1,817 spins, setting the record for the highest one-week spin total on the BDS Country airplay chart and surpassed the record he previously held on his duet with The Reklaws on the GOLD-certified “Can’t Help Myself.” Both tracks can be found on Boys.

Boys Tracklist:

Boys

Lightning Bug

Can’t Help Myself

I’d Go To Jail

Stay Up

Canadian Summer

Bucket List

Always You 

New Music Video From Dean Brody - "Black Sheep"

New Music Video From Dean Brody - "Dose of Country"

New Music Video From Dean Brody - "Time"

That Nashville Sound's Top 100 (and something) Songs of 2016

2016 was another fabulous year of country music. Traditional country, bluegrass, modern country and Americana were all represented well and this list proves that out- we’ve cast a wide net over that definition of roots-oriented music.

Here are the rules by which this list was selected. It had to be released off an album that was released in 2016, is an independent release not on any other project, or is an already-released single off a to-be-released album. If the album came out in 2015 or before, it couldn’t be included- even if it wasn't released as a single until 2016.

Let us hear what you think. Anything we missed? Without further ado, here is That Nashville Sound’s Top 100 (and something) Songs of 2016.


Best of the Best

1. Jack Ingram - "The Sailor and The Sea"- Listen here - Jack released a fantastic collection of songs off his Midnight Motel album this year, but our favorite track from the Texan was this little-heard dedication to his good friend and late legendary songwriter Guy Clark- about a story that he told Ingram about riding out a hurricane in a boat.  "He told me a story about riding out Hurricane Carla, 1963, in the bay at Rockport on a boat he had helped restore & was scheduled to sail to Florida the next week. Hurricane Carla took out Galveston. It was a big one. He anchored the boat out in the bay with 100 lb test rope. He tied 10 lines of rope to the anchor, each one 10' ft longer than the previous. As one would break there would be 10 more feet of line & the boat remained steady. Storm passed. Made a few minor repairs & sailed the boat to Florida." Symbolically, there might not be a better premise for a song and Jack delivers a profoundly insightful dedication to Guy. "I loved Guy. I didn't need him to but he let me know in ways he knew I'd know that he was glad I was in his world. That felt really fuckin' good. He knew I needed that from him and he gave it to me. Guy Clark took moments of absolute CLARITY and turned them into songs that were clearer than the original moment." Call me sentimental, but this ode to one of our generations finest songwriters who was lost this year is my favorite track of the year.

2. Jenny Gill – “Your Shadow” – Listen here - When your father is Vince Gill, perhaps the most-awarded singer in country music history, there’s a double-edged sword when you’re carving out your own career as Jenny Gill is doing. Name recognition is a positive, but constant comparisons and unfair accusations of “carpetbagging” are bound to arise. On this powerful and autobiographical piece, Jenny provides and emotional and raw look at this head-on. She covers the power of the musical compass that her father has laid out for her and the risks of being burned by the spotlight and not living up to the high standards the Gill name has in Nashville and beyond. It’s phenomenally well-written, providing a glimpse into what it must be like making your own name in a field in which your (last) name has already been made. As someone who followed his own father both in name and in career, “His Shadow” tells a story that hits close to home and tells part of mine as well. Incredibly, Jenny carves out a substantial piece of art under her own name out of a tribute to where she comes from.

3. Joey + Rory – “In The Time That You Gave Me” – Listen here - Joey’s tragic death early this year has been well-documented by nearly every news group across the nation and one of the feel-good stories of the year was the duo’s album of hymns not only going number one in its first week of sales, but being their first album to go Gold after just a few weeks of its release. But this track isn’t off of that project. Released off of Rory’s emotional documentary film released this fall about the birth of their daughter Indiana and the last two years of his wife’s fight, To Joey, With Love, this soundtrack didn’t get the attention or love it deserved. If you’ve seen the film or followed the story, there’s a undeniable poignancy to this song that’s equal parts foreshadowing and comforting as you hear Joey outline the days beyond her earthly ones. This is why music is so powerful, at times comforting and forever reminding even after the voice has been silenced.

4. Evan Webb and the Rural Route Ramblers - "Dry Up or Down" - Listen here - This talented band released a song and video that smartly describes the losses that small towns incur across the US when they're forgotten about after both physical and economic impacts hit the community. It's a poignant portrayal of dying cities and the despondency of the people that live there. The video that accompanies this haunting song was shot following the floods McLure, Illinois (pop. 400) and it brilliantly gives visuals to the gritty and honest lyrics.

5. Raelynn - "Love Triangle" - Listen here - Anyone critical of artists like Raelynn who end up making their mark through the reality television circus should take heed. Sometimes, dues are paid not by miles on the road or smoky bar rooms played but by life lived. This is one truly special example. RaeLynn wears her heart on her sleeve on this gut-wrenching ballad, co-written with Nicolle Galyon and Jimmy Robbins. The track underscores the impact her parents's divorce had on her at such a young age. "Sittin’ on the front step, little white suitcase, hearing that diesel 'fore it hit the front gate," she recalls on the first verse. "His headlights burnin’ down a Friday night. Southern Belle statue standing in the screen door watching her whole world head for an old ford with a man that can’t look her in the eye." RaeLynn then lays out all her emotions on the chorus. "Then I run...to him. Big hug, jump in. And I cry for her out the window. Some mommas and daddies are loving in a straight line take forever to heart and take a long sweet ride. But some mommas and daddies let their heart strings tear and tangle, and some of us get stuck in a love triangle."

6. Darrell Scott - "It's Another Day" - Listen here - Darrell Scott, one of this generation's best songwriters, convened in his living room back in 2001/’02 with bassist Danny Thompson, drummer Kenny Malone, and famed pedal and lap steel man Dan Dugmore. Together they recorded 14 tracks, (9 originals, 5 covers) live to tape. But those tapes sat collecting dust for fifteen years until Scott recently revisited them this year. Here, Scott channels his inner-James Taylor and delivers a song for the ages about mortality and what matters- and how its only our children, memories and musical legacies that carry on after we're gone. Just as he's done time and time again, Scott eloquently delivers a message of depth with a poets touch.

7. William Michael Morgan - "I Know Who He Is" - Listen here - Serious lists have serious songs on them and this ode to a dying father battling dementia is equal parts sentimental and emotive. It's a dedication in the best sense of the world- never sugar-coating a heartbreaking situation while devoting a full chest full of love for a parent.

8. Brandy Clark - "Big Day In A Small Town" - Listen here - No songwriter or singer has the ability of capturing the nuances of small town rumors, gossip, confession and the necessary truths of daily living than Brandy Clark. And no song does this better than the title track from Clark's genuinely fantastic sophomore album. It's community self-examination that's more likely to come at a psychiatrists office than a songwriter's room and its genius. It celebrates the hilarity of the challenges that the down-and-outers face with a humor, compassion and an ear for small details that's so difficult to do in just three short minutes. No one is writing a narrative for rural America like Clark right now and this funky track is damn near perfect.

9. David Nail (with Lori McKenna) - "Home" - Listen here - Out of all the male major label artists out right now, no one is putting out the quality and consistently terrific albums time and time again like Nail. The fact that he pulls in the elegant songwriter Lori McKenna on this self-analytic ballad about the power of your hometown. It's not about gravel roads, pick-ups and drinking beer. It's about sentimentalism and a landing spot for failures and successes alike. "It's where you're from/it's your oldest friend/ you think it'll forget you when you go but you know it'll take you back in," croons Nail. It's a beautifully produced track with a touching narrative and McKenna's harmony only adds to the timelessness.

10. Jamie Floyd - "The People You Knew" - Listen here - You may not know this fantastic songwriter, but you do know her work. Jamie is the pen behind Ashley Monroe's "The Blade." Floyd released a terrific EP earlier this year entitled Sunshine & Rainbows and this terrific song ranks as its very best. She took her very real heartache and turned it into a compassionate message of understanding. “It’s important to realize that you are not the only one who hurts this much," she told AXS.com. The lyric is painfully open: 'I don't even know where you are now/And you don't know what I'm thinking/Or what I've been through without you/We don't even know what we're missing/We let go but we didn't mean to/Oh when the people you know/Become the people you knew.'

11. Sarah Darling - "Montmarte" - Listen here - Unless you were a supporter of her crowd sourced upcoming album Dream Country, it's likely you haven't been blessed to listen to this song that whisks you away to the cobblestone streets of Paris. It highlights Darling's ethereal voice and is a powerhouse of a auditory celebration that fills the imaginary visuals in the corners of your mind.
 

12. Dean Brody – “Time” – Listen here - Brody’s debut album still ranks as a highlight in my record collection and while subsequent projects have hits and misses when it comes to substance, there’s always one or two gems that have lots of heart. “Time” is that track off his most recent fall release, Beautiful Freakshow. Brody eloquently outlines the questions of how time is best spent and remaining in the moment as well as making choices that will create long-lasting memories of importance. It’s very well-written and delivered with a simplicity in production that matches the message. The song, itself, is time well-spent.

13. Muddy Magnolias - "Take Me Home" - Listen here - Soul personified. That's the best thing that can be said about this beautiful track from this female duo. NPR says, "(Jessy) North and (Kallie) Wilson lean their vocal styles toward each other in a blend that isn't seamless, but rather mutually respectful: Trading runs and sharing high notes, they stand for a musical — and, by implication, personal — interconnection that keeps each player's home truths on equal footing with the other's." Here they call for the comfort of home with its muddy waters and whispers of memories with a beautiful acoustic guitar bed and towering vocals that showcase the ladies fantastic pipes.

The Top 50 - Narrowly Missing the Dirty (Bakers) Dozen (alphabetical):

Aaron Lewis - "Mama" - Listen here
AJ Hobbs - "The Bottle Let Me Down" - Listen here
Ashton Shepherd - "I Just Need A Minute" - Listen here
Becky Warren - "Stay Calm, Get Low" - Listen here
Brent Cobb - "Down Home" - Listen here
Brent Cobb - "Solving Problems" - Listen here
Brent Cobb - "Down in the Gulley" - Listen here
Brothers Osborne - "Stay a Little Longer" - Listen here
Charles Kelley - "Leaving Nashville" - Listen here
Cody Jinks - "Church at Gaylor Creek" - Listen here
Cody Johnson - "Half a Song" - Listen here
Craig Morgan (with Mac Powell) - "Hearts I Leave Behind" - Listen here
David Nail - "Old Man's Symphony" - Listen here
Dierks Bentley - Can't Be Replaced" - Listen here
Dolly Parton - "Forever Love" - Listen here
Drake White - "Makin' Me Look Good Again" - Listen here
Henningsens - "Texas Is a Woman" - Listen here
Holly Williams - "Settle Down" - Listen here
Jack Ingram - "Blaine's Ferris Wheel" - Listen here
Jamey Johnson - "Mama's Table" - Listen here
Jen Lane - "1st Day of Spring (in Saskatchewan)" - Listen here
Jenny Gill - "Whiskey Words" - Listen here
Joey+Rory - "I Surrender All" - Listen here
Jon Pardi - "She Ain't In It" - Listen here
Keith Urban - "Blue Ain't Your Color" - Listen here
Lockhart - "On My Way To You" - Listen here
Lori McKenna - "Halfway Home" - Listen here
Maren Morris - "My Church" - Listen here
Mark Chesnutt - "So You Can't Hurt Me Anymore" - Listen here
Megan Conner - "Love Me Slow" - Listen here
Miranda Lambert - "Tin Man" -  Listen here
Mo Pitney - "It's Just a Dog" - Listen here
Phil Vassar - "Ballad of Pretty Mae" - Listen here
Randy Houser - "One Way" - Listen here
Randy Rogers Band (with Alison Krauss & Dan Tyminski)- "Look Out Yonder" - Listen here
Ryan Beaver - "Dark" - Listen here
Tim McGraw - "Humble and Kind" - Listen here
Trent Tomlinson - "For The Life of Me" - Listen here
Vince Gill - "Like My Daddy Did" - Listen here
William Michael Morgan - "I Met a Girl" - Listen here
Wynonna & The Big Noise (with Jason Isbell) - "Things That I Lean On" - Listen here
Zac Brown - "Grandma's Garden" - Listen here

The Top 100 (and something) - The Best of the Rest (alphabetical):

Aaron Lewis (featuring Willie Nelson)- "Sinner"
Ashton Shepherd - "It's You"
Aubrie Sellers - "Liar Liar"
Aubrie Sellers - "Losing Ground"
Aubrie Sellers - "Loveless Rolling Stone"
Aubrie Sellers - "Magazines"
Becky Warren - "Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time"
Billy Ray Cyrus (featuring Joe Perry) - "Tulsa Time"
Brady Clark - "Broke"
Brandy Clark - "Since You've Gone To Heaven"
Brandy Clark - "Three Kids, No Husband"
Brent Cobb - "Black Crow"
Brothers Osborne (featuring Lee Ann Womack) - "Loving Me Back"
Charles Kelley - "Who Gets Me"
Charles Kelley (featuring Dierks Bentley & Eric Paslay) - "The Driver"
Charlie Daniels Band - "Nighthawk"
Charlie Daniels Band - "Old Chisolm Trail"
Church Sisters - "7 Years"
Cody Jinks - "Give All You Can"
Cody Johnson - "The Only One I Know"
Darrell Scott - "Big River"
Darrell Scott - "Down To The River"
David Nail - "Babies"
David Nail - "Fighter"
David Nail - "In The Ghetto"
David Nail (featuring Brothers Osborne) - "Good at Tonight"
Dierks Bentley (featuring Elle King) - "Different for Girls"
Dierks Bentley (featuring Maren Morris) - "I'll Be The Moon"
Dolly Parton - "Can't Be That Wrong"
Frankie Ballard - "Little Bit of Both"
Frankie Ballard - "Wasting Time"
Garth Brooks - "He Really Loves You"
Green River Ordinance - "You, Me and the Sea"
Heather Rankin (featuring The Rankin Family) - "We Walk As One"
Henningsens - "Hank"
Henningsens - "World's On Fire"
Jack Ingram - "All Over Again"
Jack Ingram - "Champions of the World"
Jen Lane - "Fools"
Jon Pardi - "All Time High"
Jon Pardi - "California Sunrise"
Keith Urban (featuring Carrie Underwood) - "The Fighter"
Kenny Chesney - "Noise"
Kree Harrison - "How To Dance"
Kree Harrison - "The Time I've Wasted"
Kree Harrison - "This Old Thing"
LOCASH - "The Fighter"
Lori McKenna - "Giving Up On Your Hometown"
Maggie Rose - "Broken"
Mark Chesnutt - "Neither Did I"
Mathew Mayfield - "History"
Megan Conner - "Aftermath"
Miranda Lambert - "Highway Vagabonds"
Miranda Lambert - "Keeper of the Flame"
Mo Pitney - "Behind This Guitar"
Mo Pitney - "I Met Merle Haggard Today"
Randy Rogers Band - "The Things I Need To Quit"
Ryan Beaver - "Vegas"
Sarah Darling - "Tell That Devil"
Trent Tomlinson - "That's What's Working Right Now"
Vince Gill - "One More Mistake I Made"
William Michael Morgan - "Backseat Driver"
William Michael Morgan - "Lonesomeville"

Dean Brody Readies Beautiful Freakshow For Release Next Month

Artist: Dean Brody

Album: Beautiful Freakshow
Label: Universal
Release date: Oct. 21, 2016

Multiple-time Canadian Country Music Association Award-winner Dean Brody has announced that he'll be releasing his sixth new record late next month. According to the press release, The new project is a combination of new and old school influences, from modern country to a classic twist with a few guests to help out.  In an interview with Stephen Cooke from Local XPress.com, Brody talked about the new project:

"This new record is kind of a conglomerate of chaos," says Brody with a chuckle. "This is the problem with me, I love writing so much that I'm always trying different things. I don't know if it's a weakness or a strength. There's a reggae song that I wrote called Beautiful Girl  — as you know I love Bob Marley and I love the vibe  — that has a country lyric. I try all these different things, but my lyrics are always country. I try to stick to that, and tell a country story, but I just can't sit still when it comes to sitting down in the studio and going, 'We can use a pump organ? We can used a hammered dulcimer? We can get away with this? Let's try it!' "

The eclecticism is best exemplified by the title track, which features a whistled hook, harmonica, surf guitar and a vocal contribution by Halifax rapper Shevy Price that combines the California desert with Los Angeles night life.

"It's so old school that it's new," enthuses Brody. "It's arguably the most pop song on the record, but the harmonica part is so amazing, it reminds me of a spaghetti western soundtrack. It's out there, but it's not. It reminds me of old westerns and old Hollywood. There's a baritone guitar that comes in on the second verse, and the song is all about people from two different cultures falling in love and crossing that line. It's just like Romeo and Juliet, or an interracial romance that some in society might find offensive, but it could be a beautiful thing."

Other surprises in store on Beautiful Freakshow include a fun cover of the Sam Cooke classic Another Saturday Night, and the wistful ballad Blueberry Sky, that builds to a powerful climax thanks to a guitar solo assist from one of Brody's idols, Vince Gill.

"Vince's guitar part is soooo good!" he gushes. "I followed the patterns as far as my records go, with stuff that's rooted in traditional country as well as stuff that pushes the edges. I love doing both, and with an old world country song with a Vince Gill solo, it just doesn't get any better than that; you can sense the motive and the drive that goes into it. And then Time has a lyric that is reminiscent of a Clint Black kind of song. But then we've got songs like Bush Party and Beautiful Freakshow that are more towards the Sam Hunt end of the country spectrum. That's what I love about our genre, it's the ability to infuse it with so many different instruments and production elements."

New Music Video From Dean Brody- "Monterey"

New Music Video From Dean Brody- "Love Would Be Enough"

New Music Video From Dean Brody- "Bring Down the House"

New Music Video From Dean Brody- "Upside Down"

New Live Performance Music Video From Lindi Ortega and Dean Brody- "Let It Snow"

New Music Video From Dean Brody- "The Woodshed is Full"

New Music Video From Dean Brody- "Mountain Man"

New Music Video From Dean Brody- "Another Man's Gold"

New Music Video From Dean Brody- "Crop Circles"

From 'Dean Brody - Crop Circles' (Open Road Recordings)

That Nashville Sound's Top Albums of 2013

Much has been discussed and theorized about 2013 being the Year of the Woman in country music. While the guys of the radio dial generally compete with each other about whose trucks are bigger and whose back dirt roads are better, a quiet resurgence of thoughtful and introspective female songwriters have put out some incredible music this year. Seven of this year's top ten albums- including the top three on this chart- feature a female singer/songwriter. My grandfather used to tell me that "he had my grandmother right where she wants me." Perhaps this same assessment applies this year in county music as well. These fairer sex artists have us right where they want us. And aren't we lucky bugs for it?

Over 300 different albums were reviewed, most completely, a few partially. Lyrical depth rules more often than not and grabs the proverbial attention lapels. That's not to say that a good dance song and steamy groove won't entertain. It can actually augment and build around some wonderful musical poetry found elsewhere on the album. But as a close friend once told me, "country music is an entire novel written in three minutes. It’s a Broadway show in three minutes. It’s an entire lifetime in three minutes. A great country song can be a guiding post for someone’s life." Good storytelling gets bonus points. Originality gets extra credit.

That Nashville Sound is looking back on the year behind us and reminded that in the day of digital music, the amount of quality music available to the listener is near limitless. Looking back, it rivals or bests past years. Our favorite 2007 album was the Alison Krauss & Robert Plant album Raising Sand, the top spot on our 2008 list went to Lee Ann Womack’s Call Me Crazy, 2009 went to Eric Church's Carolina, 2010 was Zac Brown Band’s You Get What You Give, 2011 was Pistol Annies' Hell on Heels and last year was Marty Stuart's Nashville Volume 1- Tear The Woodpile Down.

But 2013 had some terrific albums as well that will go down as some of my big music collection’s favorites. The 30 albums are a wide variety of country genres from more contemporary country to bluegrass to honkytonk to traditional country. We present to you… That Nashville Sound’s Top Ten Albums of 2013…

1. Brandy Clark - 12 Stories- If you hear a little Kacey Musgraves (more on her album later) in this upcoming phenomenal album from Brandy Clark, there's a good reason. They're songwriting partners and friends who penned Miranda Lambert's "Mama's Broken Heart" together. She writes realistic snapshots from the underbelly of real life in this fantastic collection of tales of cheating, smoking, jail-time- all with a wit that bites the listener and won't let go.  She's aware of the flaws of both herself and her community and celebrates them both in a way that gives both a depth rarely heard from an artist- especially one relatively new to country music. One of our favorite tracks of the year is "Stripes," a tale where a cheating boyfriend's only saving grace from being shot by his jealous girlfriend is that her fashionista sense won't let her wear those stripes in jail.


2. Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer Different Park- This album and our favorite track of the year, "Follow Your Arrow," just could be the most important album of the year, if not just our favorite. Country music hasn't been the most open-minded of genres over the years. While there has been many exceptions like Dolly Parton, social and racial evolution has been slow moving with country fans and artists alike. That's what makes Musgraves album and "Arrow" so refreshing. "Follow your arrow, wherever it points," she croons. It doesn't matter to whom, love who you love. It doesn't matter your passion, do what you do. The debate to whether the track could be a radio hit amongst the country music industry is a VERY healthy one. And despite the fact that it might not ever see a release to those same radio executives, the fact that it's being discussed is important as hell. Kudos to Sirus/XM for seeing the light and spinning the track consistently through the 2nd quarter of 2013.

3. Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison - Cheater's Game- She is carrying the torch for female honkytonk singers. He is the singer/songwriter with #1 records cut by the Dixie Chicks, George Strait, and Tim McGraw. Married and singing together, they have put together an incredible album that truly belongs in the echelon of Tammy and George. Together they are the first couple of Texas music, and, they have finally recorded together. Each song is a polaroid of life, none more stripped down and revealing than "Leavin." That song is a snapshot of the album, showing the ups and downs of married life can be truth and inspiration in songwriting.

4. Sturgill Simpson - High Top Mountain- Forget the wannabe mainstream artists that are calling themselves outlaws like the legends of Cash, Jennings and Nelson. Sturgill channels his inner-Waylon on this unbelievably great album that meets where the 1970's and modern day production collide. It's a masterpiece of outlaw country that just doesn't pay lip service to doing things different. It pays tribute to an entire genre of music the way it should be done- with an album of original materials that carry the torch and move the rock down the road.

5. Jason Isbell - Southeastern- The former lead singer of The Drive-By Truckers contemplates love and sobriety on this introspective songwriters dream of an album. It's where he contemplates life and death on "Elephant" is where he shines the brightest, however. It tells the tale of a friend, perhaps a past lover, who is facing the end of their battle with cancer. "I buried her a thousand times/  Giving up my place in line/ But I don't give a damn about that now/ There's one thing that's real clear to me/
No one dies with dignity/ We just try to ignore the elephant somehow." It's revealing, heart-wrenching, personal and a tribute to a fallen friend all wrapped up in one amazing song.

6. Logan Brill - Walking Wires- The minute the album starts out with the outstanding track, "There's No Such Things As Ghosts," the listener recognizes the power in the album. The sound is fresh and the lyrics are poignant. At only 22, her storytelling belies her age. The depth of the emotions conveyed through the performances relate well to her soulful voice, particularly when singing of loss and heartache. Says Brill, “I really like putting myself into that mindset because it’s not necessarily an everyday thing to be brooding. It’s interesting to put myself into those situations in songs and experience things that way, trying to get into a character. I enjoy drama every once in a while.”

7. Erin Enderlin - I Let Her Talk-  Enderlin has achieved success (and awards) as a songwriter for country legends such as Randy Travis, Terri Clark and Joey + Rory- and covers a handful of her own compositions here including “Monday Morning Church” (Alan Jackson); “Last Call” (Lee Ann Womack) and “You Don’t Jack” (Luke Bryan).  Want a recommendation? Miranda Lambert says, "That girl is a badass." I Let Her Talk is an incredible record about emotional reactions, love, alcohol and loss. The killer of the album is “I Let Her Talk,” a tale of a woman who meets her husband’s lover in a bar, without revealing her identity. The spurned spouse then buys his lover drink after drink as she spills details of the affair.  She sings, “A careless drunk will tell the cold, hard truth”. It's three chords and the truth with a heartache chaser.

8. Holly Williams - The Highway- Legacy. It's a word that can be a burden or it can be a word that can act as a generational compass to follow and continue on a tradition started by our forefathers. For Williams, it's the latter. In her case, the shadows of her grandfather, Hank Williams, Sr., and her father, Hank Williams, Jr., simply provided a charted course of songwriting and storytelling. Following their lead and doing in distinctively her own way, she has quietly delivered her third highly emotive album of incredible stories that puts her in the high echelon of Nashville songwriters. Co-produced by Williams and Charlie Peacock (The Civil Wars), The Highway boasts guest appearances from Jackson Browne, Jakob Dylan, Dierks Bentley, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The standout track on the album is the fragile "Drinkin" in which Williams describes: "This may not be my story at this time in my life (thankfully) but it’s the story of many people around me. Growing up in the south and seeing so many small town tales was really the catalyst for this song. It’s the sad story of a spinning wheel that won’t cease.”

9. Ashley Monroe - Like a Rose- Country music insiders have known about Ashley Monroe's beautiful voice and incredible songwriting skills for years. But it wasn't until the spotlight from Pistol Annies that she was able to put together this Vince Gill-produced album that was truly something special. The semi-autobiographical title track, one of the best songs of the year was co-written with the legendary songwriter himself, Guy Clark. While much of the male country world is posing with their rock and roll infused country, Monroe followed her own muse, unwrapped her outer proverbial onion layer, and let us in to here that honest inner voice discover life through traditional country music sound.

10. Band of Heathens - Sunday Morning Record- The Band of Heathens has evolved its sound on each of its four studio albums, and Sunday Morning Record may be the most apparent departure from the band's rock and roll-ish debut - a decidedly more mellow, mature, worn sound.  They time travel back to when the Eagles were putting some of their most timeless "Hotel California"-era material. There is a healthy mix of swirling organ, rock guitar, and on point harmonies that are combined with some smart and engaging lyrics: a recipe for success.

11. Dale Watson - El Rancho Azul- No one else is quite carrying the flag for traditional country music quite like Dale Watson. El Rancho Azul marks his 20th album release and like many of the albums before, this is a collection of great traditional, time-honored country music with just the right mix of attitude mixed in. It's all pure Honky Tonk record filled primarily with drinking songs. Ironically, the two love songs standout above the rest except for perhaps the terrific “Where Do You Want It?” which chronicles the night that country music legend Billy Joe Shaver allegedly shot a man outside a Waco, Texas bar.

12. Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver - Roads Well Travelled- If Dailey and Vincent are the face of new bluegrass, Doyle Lawson certainly can be the face of classic bluegrass on this list. That being said, Lawson and the boys flirt towards a traditional country sound on a couple of tracks including the phenomenal and heartbreaking, "How Do You Say Goodbye to 60 Years?". "When Love Is All You Want (It's All You Need)" is another bluegrass/country blend that showcases the band's outstanding vocal harmonies and stunning musicianship.

13. Drew Kennedy - Wide Listener- Perhaps no other album on this list better represents the prioritization of putting languid melodies and introspective lyrics ahead of radio hooks and clichés. Here, on Kennedy's sixth album, the listener doesn't dare take their attention from paying attention to every word as to not miss a keen observation or unique take on the mundane and universal philosophies alike. Honest. Heartfelt. Smart. They're hallmarks of previous Kennedy albums and hallmarks of this one as well.

14. Lori McKenna - Massachusetts- My friend and incredible music writer Juli Thanki described McKenna the best, "Lori McKenna doesn’t write so much as lay open a vein with each new lyric." It's so true. As a mother and a wife, no one can detail out the trials and tribulations of the ups and downs of everyday life like McKenna. "How Romantic Is That" stands out as the perfect example. Those that have had the beautiful opportunity to fall in love and spend years, if not decades, with the one they love recognize that the expression of love isn't always done with passion and rose petals. That's where McKenna is at her best- highlighting the minute details that couples find special enough to maintain that spark. She speaks equally well from the light and the dark side of that equation and delivers another stunning collection of songwriting on this album.

15. Chris Wall - El Western Motel- With Lloyd Maines at the producer's helm, Wall released an album full of songs that are sharply written, and, while they are plainly written and sung, the lyrics hide great subtlety and feeling. This is his first album in over a decade and each song is a new take on the oldest country themes in the business including love lost, failures and heartache. Most importantly, however, Wall writes how he deals with those with an emotional fragility that belies his rough exterior. The title track stands out as the albums best work. And if you don't believe me, trust Ray Wylie Hubbard who says, “In this lawless terminal age where music is made for the sole purpose of creating revenue for corporations, Chris Wall is a cowboy savior/hero/poet who with his words and music gives us redemption from the atrocities of this illusion that is presently known as country music.” Truer words have never been spoken.

16. Guy Clark - My Favorite Picture of You- This album might as well be called "Heavy."  The reigning sage of Texas singer/songwriters sets the stage with the incredible title track, a plainspoken paean to Susanna Clark, his wife and fellow songwriter for more than 40 years, who succumbed to cancer in 2012. Throughout the album, he intersperses poetic tributes/songs about a returning Iraq war veteran with PTSD (“Heroes”), Mexican immigrants left in a van to die (“El Coyote"), and a heartbroken young woman hitchhiking out of town (“Rain In Durango”). A voice worn down by the ages only gives each track a texture to grip on to.

17. LeAnn Rimes - Spitfire- All of the well-documented drama surrounding LeAnn's personal life over the last few years made for great fodder and inspiration on this terrific album. The project plays out like an unspooling of her diary entries from the last four years set to music. On “Borrowed,” she eloquently speaks with ache and longing from being the other woman and the haunting “What Have I Done” is centered around her lamenting the hurt that she has brought others through her infidelity. The backing vocals on the latter song by Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski only add to the emotion.

plays out like an unspooling of her diary entries from the last four years set to music
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/news/leann-rimes-new-album-spitfire-review#WSBclfUVIw7kGAKj.99

18. Vince Gill & Paul Franklin - Bakersfield- Vince Gill has reached the point in his career where radio play (unfortunately) and record sales quantities aren't even on the radar for making music. (Not that they were ever a large driving force to begin with.) It is quite evident that, through his numerous backing vocal projects, his work with the Western band The Time Jumpers and through this project, a tribute to the legendary California sound made famous by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, it's only his muse that is driving that ship. "This is just as much a guitar record for me as it is a singing record," Gill says, "But, it was fun for me to sing a whole record of the greatest songs ever. What I'm real proud of is that when it's one of Buck's songs, I sing it very much in that vein. And the Haggard songs are very much in the vein he sang. With Buck's songs, you won't find much vibrato in my vocals, and with Merle's, it will come down to a low note and that quiver."

19. Pistol Annies - Annie Up- While perhaps not as strong as their debut album, the sophomore album by Ashley Monroe, Miranda Lambert and Angaleena Presley is still a fantastic group of spirited and feisty women anthems that stands on it's own right. With southern sass, the ladies lower their outlaw image for a slightly more mature of life as country women. It's less woman empowerment and reverse sexism, and a little more about family and loving. Considering that the ladies are settling down, that all makes sense as they're writing what their experiencing. Here's hoping it's not all wine and roses down the road in their songwriting, making hay and hell is what they do best.

20. Joey + Rory - Made to Last- The married- and now expecting- duo of Joey and Rory Feek quietly changed their approach to records after the appropriately named Album #2. Whereas Joey played the role of main vocalist and Rory played the role of songwriter, their third project, His and Hers, was the first to feature them trading vocal duties on every other song. Both projects they released this year, this one followed a Christian release called Songs of Faith and Family, follow a similar approach. And despite having Joey's beautiful voice cut from half of the songs, the mixture of voices allow Rory's personality and songwriting prowess to shine. The key standout on this album is one that's bittersweet: Tim Johnson’s “To Do What I Do” waxes poetically on the privilege of being able to sing music for a career, but it's also a sweet dedication to their songwriter friend who passed away this past year. The album is appropriately named. There's many songs on here that will endure the tests of time.

21. Julie Roberts - Good Wine and Bad Decisions- If trials and tribulations make for good song inspirations, Miss Julie Roberts has had no shortage of material to work with. Between a Nashville flood wrecking her home to a The Voice stint that was much too short to a fairly recent public reveal that she suffers from MS, Roberts seems to have had more than her fair share of heartache to work with. She puts it to amazingly good work here on Good Wine and Bad Decisions, the first new Sun Records release in 30+ years. While only one track from the old Sun catalog made the cut- Roberts fell in love with Bobby Gentry’s "He Made a Woman Out of Me"- there's an undeniable classic feel to all 14 tracks. That soulful southern voice is as good as it's ever been and the material is outstanding. She leans on two of country's best on the two stand-out tracks. Vince Gill provides some incredible harmony on the heartbreaking "Old Strings" and the Chris Stapleton-penned "Daddy Doesn't Pray" is solid classic country gold. Here's hoping that Sun Records rises again with more projects from Roberts.

22. Dailey and Vincent - Brothers of the Highway- Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent's beautiful harmonic vocal blend has garnered them 13 IBMA awards over the last six years. On this outstanding new bluegrass album, the duo takes a compelling step forward with self-penned original songs, as well as tunes by The Louvin Brothers, George Strait, Vince Gill, and the father of Bluegrass himself, Bill Monroe. "The Hills of Caroline" is a jaw-dropping combination of instrumentation, harmony and songwriting- check it out HERE.

23. Brett Eldredge - Bring You Back- When I had the opportunity to introduce Eldredge up on stage earlier this year at our Golf & Guitars Children's Charity Concert, I told the audience that when I grew up, I wanted to have the soulful swagger that Eldredge has. That soulful swagger is on full display here. With a vocal style parked somewhere between Marc Broussard and Bruce Springsteen, Eldredge lays down a groove like a country Marvin Gaye. Traditional country this isn't. But if you like your country music flavored with some Delta blues, drenched in Memphis soul, and delivered with powerhouse vocal chops, Eldredge's Bring You Back delivers in a big way.

24. Dean Brody - Crop Circles- While most in the lower 48 states aren't going to know about Brody and this terrific album, Canadian country fans know him well. Brody has won nearly every available award up north and this makes his fourth release. "Bounty" is a terrific story told and sung with Lindi Ortega" about a man who saves his love from a predator and has to move to Mexico. "Another Man’s Gold" talks about loss and treasuring what you have been given and "Kansas Cried" is a great Civil War-themed track about a song about a brave solider and his love. It's storytelling at a very high level.

25. Gary Allan - Set You Free- For nearly two decades now, Allan has blended his unique gravelly voice, his Bakersfield roots, career-defining ballads and a rock and roll mentality to put together a discography that can match up against any other modern-day country artist. Set You Free continues that legacy well. If it feels independent in spirit, there's a good reason. Says Allan, "I recorded the album during the transition of label heads and no one realized what I was doing until I turned it in...When you have one producer, you sometimes allow a song to get in there as an album cut. But with different producers, each one is competing to have the best songs and hopefully songs that are good enough to be released as singles, so I think the overall album and the quality of songs were better because of it. I forced myself to stretch on this one, because I had time, and I think you need to do something new to keep reinventing yourself."

26. Kellie Pickler - The Woman I Am- My friend and Engine 145 writer Blake Boldt said it best on his review of this outstanding album, "On The Woman I Am, her fourth album and first with new label Black River Entertainment, Pickler affirms her status as an authentic personality and, more importantly, an intelligent picker of songs. For 40 minutes, she proves how a current hitmaker can emphasize the genre’s traditions while still engaging with contemporary sounds and themes. Amidst a sea of interchangeable male performers, Pickler would be a welcome addition at country radio with her effervescent and distinctive voice. Hers is a straight-ahead twang that bends and curls around notes, trading power in favor of pure subtlety. That down-home attitude may be best represented on the title track, which reminisces about the days when traditional singers ruled the airwaves: “I miss songs like that,” she sighs, referring to Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces.” By keeping one foot in the door of modern-day country, Pickler is doing her part to resurrect the past and move it into the future."

27. Steeldrivers - Hammer Down- Murder and mayhem might sound like the recipe for a nice long stay at Folsom Prison, but for the bluegrass band, the Steeldrivers, it is a foundation for a fantastic third album that builds on the critical success of their first two. "When You Don't Come Home" exemplifies the dark genius of the album as a wife confronts her cheating husband with a .45. The musicianship on the album, lead by the great fiddle work by Tammy Rogers, is without compare. This marks the first album sung by new lead singer Gary Nichols. He has stepped in flawlessly for Chris Stapleton and retained that passion and delivery that made their first two releases so fascinating. This is one terrific album.

28. Statesboro Revue - Ramble On Privilege Creek- Led by the strong and unique lead vocals of  Stewart Mann, The Statesboro Revue have delivered a terrific surprise collection of tracks that rank amongst this year's very best. While leaning a little more on the Americana side of things, the band reminds of some of Zac Brown Band's best work. At times, the guys deliver an intimate acoustic feel, but turn right around and crank it up Southern Rock style with electric licks, organ, harmonica and steel guitar. The songwriting is impeccable, diving into great depths of relationships and love lost. If you haven't heard of this band before, do yourself a great favor and get them (quickly) on your radar. It's great work by an indie.

29. Charlie Worsham - Rubberband- Warner Music Nashville is the new home for newcomer Charlie Worsham who presented his debut album this year, titled Rubberband. The 11 track release, which features his first radio single, "Could It Be," was entirely co-written by Worsham. The album includes a very special collaboration between Worsham, Marty Stuart and Vince Gill- two of his biggest musical idols- for the track "Tools of the Trade." The Tennessean appropriately praised Worsham s unique sound, calling out that he has an "instantly identifiable voice, a guitar style full of virtuosity, surprising shift and subtle humor... a descriptive lyrical style that is all his own."

30. Tracy Lawrence - Headlights, Taillights and Radios- Co-producing the album with his long-term collaborator Flip Anderson, Tracy offers up some great storytelling and good old-fashioned honkytonk country music. The album's high-water mark is “Saving Savannah,” where the lines, If I have to burn down Atlanta, I’m bringing Savannah back home" tell the story of a sibling going off to the big city to bring his homeless sister back home. It's powerful stuff and a welcome return from an artist we hope to continue to hear more from.