1. James McMurtry/The Horses and theHounds
2. Jose Gonzalez/Local Valley
3. Isla, Josh Rouse/The Mediterranean Gardner
4. The War on Drugs/I Don’t Live Here Anymore
5. Charley Crockett/10 For Slim
6. Todd Snider/First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder
7. The Hold Steady/Open Door Policy
8. Neil Young and Crazy Horse/Barn
9. The Felice Brothers/From Dreams to Dust
10. Nell Smith, The Flaming Lips/Where the Viaduct Looms
11. Daniel Lanois/Heavy Sun
12. Caleb Stine/Life and Times of a Handyman
13. Steve Earle & The Dukes/JT
14. Marisa Anderson and William Tyler/Lost Futures
15. Lucy Daucus/Home Video
16. My Morning Jacket/My Morning Jacket
Other stuff that I either heard this year for the first time or really liked include:
The Old Earthquake – A South Carolina band making really great music. Check out their 2020 release They Knew But Didn’t Tell Us And Sold Stock.
Western Centeries – “Off the Shelf” is such a killer song. Released in 2016 I somehow missed it until this year. Their whole catalogue is a fun listen. Thanks to my brother for turning me on to them.
Henhouse Prowlers – “Gospel in Review” was released in 2021 and deserves a listen from everyone.
Turnpike Troubadours – “The Bird Hunters,” released in 2015 rocked my mind a number of times this year. Such a damn good song. Thanks again to my brother for this one!
Marty Stuart – “I’ve Been Around” was a nice early find in 2021 from the 2020 release Johnny Cash: Forever Words Expanded.
The Runout – With Your Eyes Closed is another great album from a South Carolina band that came out late 2021. I haven’t much time to spend with it, but will remedy that soon with headphones in tow.
Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains (2019) is such a beautiful heartbreaking album. The soundtrack to my early 2021.
Below is a link to some of my favorite songs from my top 16 and the other stuff. Cheers!
RIYL: New starts, Dad jokes, My Cousin Vinny
About the author: Producer, Engineer, Musician and all around music enthusiast.