The amount of great music that has been released into 2019 has been nothing short of remarkable. We live in an incredible time. The internet, YouTube and a variety of digital platforms give independent artists a more playing field to get their music heard than ever before- and as a result, we have more options at receiving that music than at any time in our history. From all parts of the world, artists are contributing to this incredible umbrella of music we call country music. True, a few stakeholders have a clear stranglehold on what's being heard on country radio, but clearly the tide has shifted and we are seeing time and time again, the ability of cream to rise to the top and artists become wildly successful without the support of the radio dial.
Albums still matter. Patrick McGuire wrote this in ReverbNation and I've read it several times and wanted to share: "Albums still matter because they tell the unique story of who a band is at a specific moment of time that one or two singles just don’t have the ability to do. Imagine if the songs from ... The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band were released one at a time over the course of a year. Yes, the songs would still be incredible, but the meaning of these hugely important albums would be far less impactful. Whether it’s a concept album or not, good albums feature some sort of story or larger narrative whether it’s in the lyrics or instrumentation. Singles can’t tell the stories albums can." The platform of the album continues to be a tapestry that unites songs into a thematic quilt.
A handful of those 2019 country music releases stand out above all others. That's where this list comes in.
Here's a list of our favorite albums over the last few years for comparison:
2005 - Gary Allan - Tough All Over (tie)
Lee Ann Womack - There’s More Where That Came From
2006 - Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways
2007 - Alison Krauss & Robert Plant - Raising Sand
2008 - Lee Ann Womack - Call Me Crazy
2009 - Eric Church - Carolina
2010 - Zac Brown Band - You Get What You Give
2011 - Pistol Annies - Hell on Heels
2012 - Marty Stuart - Nashville Volume 1- Tear The Woodpile Down
2013 - Brandy Clark - 12 Stories
2014 - Don Williams - Reflections
2015 - Chris Stapleton - Traveler
2016 - Ryan Beaver - RX
2017 - Jason Eady - Jason Eady
2018 - Ashley McBryde - Girl Goin' Nowhere
These are the albums that struck an emotional chord and moved this listener to fall in love with their projects over and over again.
1.
Erin Enderlin –
Faulkner County – Timeless. In a sin
gle word, that’s how you can describe Enderlin’s new album. It could literally be picked up and dropped into the 60’s with the best of Wynette, the 70’s with Emmylou, Loveless in the 80’s or Womack in her best 90’s (and everything since) music. There’s nary a throwaway line on the whole project. Pain, loss, substance and storylines interweave seamlessly like classic mini movies at the small-town cinema. Producers “Moose” Brown, Jamey Johnson and Alex Kline let the production perfectly compliment the depth of the lyrics. The steel guitar aches like the hearts on those achy love-lost numbers. No song embodies the project more (or rips your heart out) like “Broken,” a story of giving up a child to break the cycle of self-destructive family history. “A broken limb from a crooked family tree. When you have got that kinda history, it’s hard to break free. When’s broken’s all you know, it’s all you know how to be.” It’s poetic virtuosity. Timeless.
2.
Austin Jenckes –
If You Grew Up Like I Did - The album features a seamless blend of blues, folk, and country, combined with his unmistakably soulful vocals from this The Voice participant from season #5. Jenckes’ gift is in conveying vulnerability and isolation in a way not often seen in country music during the recent bro-country era like on tracks “Fat Kid” (a co-write with Lori McKenna) and “If You’d Been Around,” a deeply personal ballad about the father he lost to suicide when he was 16. “I’ve been searching for a long time trying to figure out what I wanted to say with music — I want to connect with people on a deeper level. I don’t want to do it just for the sake of moving my career forward. To me, music is healing and it’s meant for more than just that.” Jenckes vocals are commanding and comforting at the same time, but it’s his rich depth of songwriting that make this project so spectacular.
3.
Jon Pardi –
Heartache Medication – This project is everything that a mainstream major label artist record should be. This is traditional country music at its finest modern moment. Right out of the gate, he makes a statement. Pardi’s “Old Hat” asks what’s wrong about keeping those old-school music traditions alive and asks “when did old-fashioned become so out of fashion?” With a big country sound with plenty of fiddle, it feels like Pardi is making a statement. Pardi is operating in his own lane, but one that’s been paved by all the neo-traditionalists that have come before. He’s developing a sound that pays homage to his heroes and influences, but also works in the modern charts. Pardi may have launched his career in 2014 in the middle of the bro-country movement, but this doubling down of his honkytonk style has Pardi producing one of the most entertaining albums of the year.
4.
Jack Ingram –
Ridin’ High Again – If you’ve ever heard Jack play live, you’ll know that the conversation in-between the songs are sometimes as important, more revealing and entertaining as the songs between the stories. As Jack grows in his role as elder-statesmen of the Texas Music Scene (do he and Ray Benson inherit that role from Guy Clark and Willie Nelson?), he leans on this skill heavily on his latest album. The songs have a lived-in backstage feel to them – almost like you’re in the studio watching demos being cut. But what binds consistently from song to song is a firm handle of songs rooted in stories about real people. One of those, “Sailor and the Sea,” is an absolute devastating dedication to his hero, the previously mentioned Clark. The title itself is a tip of the hat to Jerry Jeff Walker’s 1975 record Ridin’ High, which followed up his well-known Viva Terlingua! classic. The rest of the record has Ingram reconnecting with his Texas roots, including covering Clark’s “Desperados Waiting For A Train,” Kris Kristofferson’s “Jesus Was a Capricorn,” Willie Nelson’s “Gotta Get Drunk,” Rusty Wier’s “Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance,” and Hayes Carll’s “Down The Road Tonight.”
5.
Mike & The Moonpies –
Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold – This album was probably the most ambitious and greatest undertaking of all of the albums on this list. Imagine an Austin-based Red Dirt-born honkytonk band doing a strange, yet brilliant collaboration with the London Symphony. Imagine Elton John’s famed Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra album but in country music form. The depth of the strings are perfect and provide a rich sound behind the skilled songwriting across the whole project. In a world where country acts find the need to collaborate with rappers and pop artists to stretch their boundaries, a country act bringing a modern version of The Nashville Sound is a welcome respite.
6.
Tyler Childers –
Country Squire - Tyler Childers is the Michelangelo of Appalachia right now, producing music with beautiful poetic lyrics, incredible instrumentation, and a cast of backing musicians that will make you appreciate his work no matter where you’re from. With songs rooted in his hometown, they center on life as a blue-collar son and the everyday man, giving them a substantive feel with a heavy influence on their authenticity.
7.
The Highwomen –
The Highwomen – Do you hear that? That’s the revolution headed up by Brandi Carlile against the system. Being a politically-active gay female in this crazy conservative male-dominated (both executives and on radio) music industry might normally be hurdles for success. But tell that to her GRAMMY, CMT and Billboard awards that she’s pulled home as a solo performer. With a big assist from Shooter Jennings, she’s relaunched the career of legend Tanya Tucker- with her producer role on her new album up for another GRAMMY for Record of the Year. And if that’s not enough, she co-founded the country music supergroup The Highwomen with Amanda Shires and Maren Morris, later adding Natalie Hemby to complete the line-up. The record is a whole lot of things. As widely discussed across music media, the entire project came together in a search for female representation in country music. That and the line-up make it noteworthy. But there’s a lot more to this album than that statement. What makes it special is the fantastic songwriting, magnificent harmonies, and powerful performances that take every preconceived notion we had for The Highwomen and exceeds expectations at every turn.
8.
Midland –
Let It Roll – In this age where the amount of music being released is greater than in anytime in our history, it’s harder than ever to develop a unique sound. Midland has done just that, however. This throwback-leaning outfit runs through all the classic country topics including, but not limited to, cheating, drinking, road-dogging and leaving. But there’s such cleverness to how they run through these themes, they make everything old in country seem new again.
9.
Del Barber –
Easy Keeper – Leaning on folk/singer-songwriter stylings as much as country, Barber has a poet’s heart. Imagine a countrier James Taylor and that’s your analogy for this album. The understated productions gives breathing room for the depth of the verse. Throwaway lines are deeper than the wishing well on the song “Leads You Home.” “The bucket couldn’t go deep enough to get the wish that fell.” The project is truly special collection of stories, full of characters with small-town flaws and generally-overseen virtues.
10. Luke Combs –
What You See Is What You Get – Let’s face facts. In 2019, it seems like only the young pretty people get a seat at the table. That’s one of the clear reasons why you know talent has risen its way to the top and made Luke Combs country music’s most improbable superstar. There’s something more authentic and relatable when the artist that’s singing to you looks like us average Joes. With his big booming country voice, Combs knows that his 90’s inspired country honky-tonk rabble-rouser country music is his wheelhouse and he does it really really well. From the complete ear-candy “Beer Never Broke My Heart” to the closing piano-driven “Better Together,” it’s terrific. Song topics never vary from tried and true themes of love, having a good time and good old-fashioned sentimentalism- and that’s perfectly okay. He’s one of us.
11.
Josh Grider and Drew Kennedy –
Live at Main Street Crossing – Quietly and with a growing former regional Texas reach, Grider and Kennedy (best friends and singer/songwriters that call themselves the Topo Chico Cowboys when playing together) have written some of the smartest and richest music coming out of the Lone Star State over the last decade or so. Here on
Main Street Crossing, they play some of their favorite hits and favorite deep cuts while backing one-another. Kennedy has a wicked sense of humor and some of the stories in between the songs are laugh-out-loud funny- so much so, I found myself looking forward to the commentary almost as much as the songs in-between the stories. And that’s what makes the project truly special. Each artist has a gift of storytelling that comes through their songs easily and unforced, bringing the listener along like they were a passenger with them on those long lonesome highways of Texas.
12.
Flatland Cavalry –
Homeland Insecurity – This five-piece band out of Texas released their sophomore album this year and it shines brightly, making it the epitome of the Red Dirt scene. Their songs pour out harsh realities of broken relationships, lessons that learned along the way and ask some questions that are frankly still looking for answers.
13.
Vince Gill –
Okie – As Vince Gill has entered this latest phase of his career, he has chosen a path to make music that lights his fire. Whether it be his Western swing band he plays in weekly, or this, a highly personal collective of songs that reveal the man, they’re rich in message and heartfelt in delivery.
14.
Cody Jinks –
After the Fire/The Wanting – Former rocker-turned-songsmith Cody Jinks released two full albums in back to back weeks and each of them highlight his phenomenal strength as a songwriter. Each record has a somewhat loose lyrical theme with After The Fire focusing on the aftermath of events and The Wanting focusing on opposites like light vs dark and good vs evil.
15.
Sheryl Crow –
Threads – Crow was quoted before this album was released as complaining that the album isn’t valued in this modern age as much as it used to be (or should be). Then she went out an proved just why it’s as important as ever. She called in every favor from every musical friend she knows and put together the strongest collaborative music collection of the year. Guest-names like Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Mavis Staples, Chris Stapleton, Joe Walsh, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Stevie Nicks and more make the project rich in diversity, truly interesting and an incredible tribute to Crow’s own heroes and influences.
16.
Reba McEntire –
Stronger Than The Truth
17.
Cody Johnson –
Ain’t Nothin’ To It
18.
The Rhyolite Sound –
Mojave Gold
19.
Miranda Lambert -
Wildcard
20.
George Strait –
Honky Tonk Time Machine
21.
Brooks & Dunn -
Reboot
22.
Randy Houser –
Magnolia
23.
Whiskey Myers –
Whiskey Myers
24.
Willie Nelson –
Ride Me Back Home
25.
Aaron Lewis –
State I’m In
26.
Stoney LaRue -
Onward
27.
Trisha Yearwood –
Every Girl
28.
Charles Wesley Godwin –
Seneca
29.
The Randy Rogers Band –
Hellbent
30.
Jamie Floyd –
New Girl
