1) Kacey Musgraves – Deeper Well She raised her game to a new level. The insight and emotion in some of the songs on this record really do make me think that cardinal was John Prine. I’m not sure there’s been a better song ever about growing up than the title track.
2) Billy Strings – Highway Prayer Strings probably filled more arenas this year than any musician bar Taylor Swift. Based on what he’s covered live and guest spots with other artists he could have gone in a myriad of more popular directions with this record. Thankfully, he doubled down on his roots.
3) Jamey Johnson – Midnight Gasoline Fourteen years since his last studio album. I’m not sure anything is really worth that wait, but this one is pretty epic. Let the fancy stars get indignant about how some of America sees the rural part, and then listen to this for stories about how real people face their challenges.
4) Kaitlin Butts – Roadrunner One of the newer artists on my list and garnering lots of acclaim. Probably my favorite single of the year: You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me).
5) AJ Lee & Blue Summit – City Of Glass I may be biased by how good they are in person, but this record certainly gives the band a base of new material to stretch out on in a live performance.
6) Sierra Ferrell – Trail Of Flowers Kind of like Strings, she shows up everywhere, plays with anyone, and they all sound better.
7) Dwight Yoakam – Brighter Days Another artist that took his time to put out a new release, and again worth the wait.
8) Hurray For the Riff Raff – The Past Is Still Alive Hard to put this band in a category, and no good reason to because the record appeals to just about everyone.
9) Ruby Joyful – The Pie Chart Of Love A debut album twenty years in the making and as much fun as the band’s name implies.
10) Karen Jonas – The Rise & Fall Of American Kitsch Like stepping into the way-back machine when Elvis was king.
11) The Red Clay Strays – Made By These Moments
12) Gillian Welch & David Rawlings – Woodland
13) Sarah Jarosz – Polaroid Lovers
14) Amy Speace – The American Dream
15) India Ramey – Baptized By the Blaze
16) Kevin Gordon – The In Between
17) Rebecca Frazier – Boarding Windows In Paradise
18) Loose Cattle – Someone’s Monster
19) Hannah Connolly – Shadowboxing
20) Jenny Don’t & the Spurs – Broken Hearted Blue
21) Charlie Crockett – $10 Cowboy
22) JP Harris – JP Harris Is A Trash Fire
23) Teddy & the Rough Riders – Down Home
24) Melissa Carper – Born In Ya
25) Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.