1. The Long Way Home (2009)

It’s a bit hard to define what it is about Clark’s latest that makes it such an intuitive fit for the top slot – certainly, there are one or two missteps material-wise – but perhaps this comes close: Clark is finally singing like she means every bit of every emotion in the lyrics. The force of her commitment is startling, and you’re left with the impression that this is exactly the album she wanted to make. For an artist who has often seemed too willing to compromise in the past, that’s a big deal. Clark rocks as convincingly as ever on the two versions of “Gypsy Boots” that bookend the album, but the heart of the collection is in the ballads, with “Million Ways to Run,” “The One You Love” and “You Tell Me” (the latter two featuring vocals by Vince Gill and Johnny Reid, respectively) being particular highlights.

2. How I Feel (1998)

As far as I’m concerned, the unheralded gem of Clark’s discography. This could almost be classified as a theme album, focused intensely on broken relationships and finding the strength to move on in their wake. Nearly every song focuses on some stage of love lost, from hoping a relationship on the skids can still be saved (“That’s How I Feel”) to cutting your losses and moving on (“I’m Alright,” “This Ole Heart”), hopefully having grown a little older and wiser from the experience (“Everytime I Cry,” “You’re Easy on the Eyes”). The key scene in this disordered dissolution mini-play is “Getting Even With the Blues,” where Clark whispers and wails at her low-down situation with all the poise and nuance of a modern-day Patsy Cline.

3. Fearless (2000)

While the AC style makes this one of the less-played Clark albums for me personally, it undoubtedly deserves some special consideration because it was such a bold shift from her previous recordings, pulled off so remarkably well. The only song from this introspective collection that would have been at home on any previous Clark album was “A Little Gasoline,” and that one was reportedly only included to ease the transition; the rest was uncharted territory. Ten years later, this is still her boldest recording.

4. Pain to Kill (2003)

After the artsy Fearless became her first album not to produce multiple Top 10 hits – or, for that matter, even one – Clark seemed determined to get her commercial career back on track. She did so with a pop-country gem that aims successfully for the charts on “I Wanna Do It All” and the sassy “I Just Wanna Be Mad” (they rose to #3 and #2, respectively), then proves its artistic mettle when Byron Gallimore hands the production reins over to Keith Stegall at the halfway point. Stegall employs a slightly airier production style that gives Clark enough room to sound utterly at ease on album highlights “Working Girl,” “The First to Fall,” and “Not a Bad Thing,” the last of which was later recorded by Trisha Yearwood.

5. Terri Clark (1995)

Clark’s eponymous debut sounds a lot like a textbook mid ’90s hat act release, but represents something more: a strong-willed woman storming the veritable sausagefest that was ’90s hat act country with a set of tunes largely cowritten and convincingly performed by herself. We now take it as inevitable that it worked – as though it was time for a female hat act and Clark merely stepped up to fill the spot – but the truth is that her debut album was a fair deal better than those by many of her male counterparts. Even today, it’s still quite a bit of fun.

6. Life Goes On (2005)

Of the four albums Clark has released in the 2000s, this is arguably the most direct descendant of her ’90s work, characterized by a similar chart-minded honky tonk sheen. The tenor and quality of the material reminds of Brooks & Dunn’s final decade – in fact, “Damn Right” also showed up as an exclusive track on some editions of the duo’s Cowboy Town. A thoroughly proficient and enjoyable album that nevertheless fails to leave much of a mark.

7. Just the Same (1996)

Objectively every bit as good as her self-titled debut, but hews so closely to the same formula that it felt a tad repetitive the second time around. Not exactly a disappointment – anyone who likes Terri Clark will like this too – but an album that put a couple more hits under her belt (and, like the debut, went platinum) without revealing anything new about her identity as an artist.
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In Summary (for Visual Learners)

1. Steers and Stripes (2001)
Hitting a well-deserved platinum, this album started a new decade for Kix and Ronnie and was also a stylistic change of pace from their earlier efforts, with more rocked-up anthems than usual. Diverse styles are represented here, from Latin influences, pulsating ’80s-style rock to searing traditional honky tonk and achingly delicate ballads such as “The Long Goodbye,” and two neglected Kix opuses, “I Fall” and “When She’s Gone, She’s Gone.”

2. Tight Rope (1999)
This album barely scraped gold, and apparently wasn’t a particular joy to make: both Ronnie and Kix worked separately with their own choice of producers, even likening the album’s title to their own career (still ten years away from dissolution). Although their least commercially successful album, it does contain many of the hallmarks which make Brooks & Dunn the most popular duo in country music history, with a melding of rocked-up honky tonk and sensitive ballads.

3. Brand New Man (1991)
With the opening verse/chorus, sung by Ronnie Dunn, the two musicians who had been slogging away on the club circuit for more than a decade were given a hearty welcome by country programmers everywhere, and also started the line-dancing craze. But let’s try and forget that last bit. Five singles were culled from this album, four of which hit the top of the charts. Back then, traditional honky tonk was the order of the day for the duo, and songs like “My Next Broken Heart,” “Cheating On the Blues” and “I’ve Got a Lot to Learn” underline how well they did this.

4. If You See Her (1998)
Maybe not the most popular of choices, this album showed Brooks & Dunn morphing into the dictated-by-radio brand they would become, but it did spawn three number ones, and the quality, if slightly uneven in places, did complement both vocalists nicely. The chart-topping cover of “Husbands and Wives” is as pertinent today as it was when Roger Miller wrote it in 1966, and Ronnie’s vocal on the track exudes warmth. “Born and Raised in Black and White” is a rare B&D duet, a two-way narrative with parallels to the old James Cagney film Angels With Dirty Faces. This exciting, moving story song should be given more retrospective prominence.

5. Waitin’ On Sundown (1994)
The startlingly rockin’ intro of “Little Miss Honky Tonk” introduces a strong collection which contains ballads, ’80s-style rock and honky tonk. Memorable hits like “She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind” and Kix’s only chart-topping hit, “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone,” reverberate down their nearly twenty year career as excellent songs which remain immensely enjoyable.

6. Hillbilly Deluxe (2005)
Southern rock influence finds a welcome home here, on their penultimate, platinum-selling effort which includes rockin’ tracks like “Play Something Country,” the Stones-inspired “She Likes to Get Out of Town” (easily Kix’s best rocker), and beautifully melodic ballads like “Again” and “I May Never Get Over You.” Out of all the hits Brooks & Dunn have had, few stand out more than the gospel-tinged “Believe.” On the downside, however, some tracks like “Her West Was Wilder” and “Building Bridges” struggle to hold their own against the stellar ones mentioned.

7. Hard Workin’ Man (1993)
Picking up where their debut left off, this sophomore effort helped earn the duo’s stripes with five top ten hits, including two beautifully soulful Ronnie showcases in “That Ain’t No Way to Go” and “She Used to Be Mine.” Kix holds up his end of the bargain with a couple of goodies, most memorably the hit “Rock My World (Little Country Girl).”

8. Red Dirt Road (2003)
This album was received well by critics upon its release, but it does take some listening before it finally envelops you with its down home, rough ‘n’ ready style. “You Can’t Take the Honky Tonk” is a marvelous musical nod to The Rolling Stones, one of many pastiches on an album which tilts its cap to Bruce Springsteen (“She Was Born to Run”) and other influences. Ronnie delves supremely into the soulful laments of “I Used to Know This Song By Heart” and “That’s What She Gets for Loving Me.” The best song is easily the title track, an effective – if unoriginal – metaphor for life’s journey. It will probably end up as the song Brooks & Dunn are most remembered for.

9. Cowboy Town (2007)
What can now be viewed as their final album doesn’t hold up to their past efforts particularly well, with much material being suspiciously by-the-numbers. It does, however, have some redeeming features, such as the singles “Proud of the House We Built” and “God Must Be Busy.” The Reba-less “Cowgirls Don’t Cry” was one of the only traditional country songs on country radio in 2008, and is a pleasing (if formulaic) ballad, while “Put a Girl In It,” a wonderfully Stones-esque bopper with sunny lyrics and a driving beat, is one of their finest songs.

10. Borderline (1996)
One of their career songs, “My Maria,” received much attention upon its release, but still doesn’t cut any ice with this listener, being mostly plodding and mundane (like the song itself). Kix shines on the rocker “Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up for Nothing” and Ronnie remembers how to honky tonk on “Redneck Rhythm and Blues” and “One Heartache At a Time.” A couple of Kix mid-tempos stand out – “My Love Will Follow You” and “Why Would I Say Goodbye” – but, mostly, this is a formulaic affair, with the rather dull “A Man This Lonely” claiming most of the afforded airplay at the time of the album’s release.
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In Summary (for Visual Learners)

1. Mud on the Tires (2003)
It’s not difficult to see why Paisley’s third album launched him to headliner status. Mud on the Tires is a dynamic, diverse collection that uses Paisley’s humor and musicianship as a glue to bind disparate strands of contemporary country, classic country, talking blues, bluegrass, western swing, and gospel. This is where Paisley settled into the song types that would come to define his career in the years ahead, from the joke song with a one-word title (here “Celebrity,” later “Alcohol,” “Ticks,” “Online,” etc.) to the sincere/treacly pop-country love ballad (here “Little Moments,” later “She’s Everything,” “It Did,” “Then,” etc.) to the surprisingly artful collaboration with an angel-voiced female singer (here “Whiskey Lullaby,” later “When I Get Where I’m Going” and “Oh Love”). The first time through, they felt fresh. Six years later, this is still the Paisley album to beat.

2. Part II (2001)
Sophomore slump be damned, Paisley’s second outing featured one of the strongest sets of material he has ever assembled. Singles such as “Two People Fell in Love,” “Wrapped Around,” “I’m Gonna Miss Her,” and “I Wish You’d Stay” showed off his crisp brand of modern neotrad to great effect, but it was the three songs he didn’t write – Darrell Scott’s gorgeous “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” the Bill Anderson co-penned “Too Country,” and the standard “The Old Rugged Cross” – that gave the album its lasting resonance.

3. American Saturday Night (2009)
Paisley’s latest is his most ambitious to date, edging into a more mature perspective even as it retains the artist’s trademark boyish charm; imagine Mark Twain penning contemporary country and you’ll have a fair idea of what to expect of Paisley at his best. The title track is the pinnacle of this balancing act, an infectious uptempo that celebrates America by pointing to the range of ideas and influences it represents rather than relying on any reductive notion of essential superiority (I’m looking at you, “It’s America”). Not everything here meets that high mark, but even the lesser material is artfully woven into the whole. Many of country radio’s favored artists have no idea how to craft a compelling album, but Brad Paisley knows exactly what he’s doing.

4. Who Needs Pictures (1999)
It sounds scrawny and perhaps even a bit quaint compared to the work Paisley has done since, but at the time this largely self-written collection clearly signaled the arrival of a major talent. A guitar-slinging, songwriting traditionalist with a keen sense of wordplay that sparkled on uptempo numbers like “Me Neither” and “It Never Woulda Worked Out Anyway” and allowed access to fresh, interesting lyrical twists on ballads like “Who Needs Pictures” and “We Danced,” Paisley debuted with a reasonably strong set of material and more personality than most of his fellow hat acts (even those many years his senior) have ever managed to show.

5. Time Well Wasted (2005)
At the time of its release, this was the first sign of turbulence in my own relationship to the music of Brad Paisley. His first release after attaining headliner status, it was clear from the get-go that something had changed: opener “The World” traded in Paisley’s usually tastefully sparse production for layers and layers of guitars, and the rest of the album followed a similarly amped-up path. If Paisley’s first three albums sounded like products of the ’90s, Time Well Wasted was his belated leap into the new millennium, with glossed-up rehashes like “Alcohol” and “She’s Everything” primed to compete with Kenny Chesney and Rascal Flatts for radio time. Collaborations with Dolly Parton (“When I Get Where I’m Going”) and Alan Jackson (a cover of Guy Clark’s “Out in the Parking Lot”) provided rare moments of calm in an otherwise overcooked collection.

6. 5th Gear (2007)
Feeling a bit like a collection of polished-up castoffs from previous albums, there just wasn’t enough substance to anchor this set. Paisley’s usual shtick wore thin on hits “Ticks,” “Online,” and “I’m Still a Guy,” and the rest of the album flitted forgettably past, with only “Letter to Me” making any sort of lasting impression.
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In Summary (for Visual Learners)

Thanks again, Blake, but I don’t know if I can let you write here again. How am I supposed to follow this?

1. Mountain Soul (2001)
This homage to Loveless’ coal-mining roots blends country and bluegrass masterfully, securing her place as a rare messenger of the musical tradition laid before her. Of particular interest is “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive,” a stunning piece of literature lifted by Loveless’ mountain twang. Here, she’s boosted by her faith in God (“Daniel Prayed,” “Rise Up, Lazarus”) and her own sheer self-reliance (“Sounds of Loneliness,” written when Patty was just fourteen). On an album that so lovingly mourned the death of her father, Loveless herself has never sounded more alive.

2. Sleepless Nights (2008)
Fourteen classic country cuts are given a gorgeous treatment, with standards like Hank Williams’ “Cold, Cold Heart” and Ray Price’s “Crazy Arms” reprised with faithful, flawless versions that lean heavily on traditional country instrumentation. The true standouts, though, are the lesser-known cuts. Loveless is aided by Vince Gill on the title cut, a mournful ballad written by the husband-wife team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. And “The Pain of Loving You,” originally a Dolly-Porter duet, is a simply exquisite showcase of a luminous voice, a lovely melody and a timeless lyric.

3. On Your Way Home (2003)
Whether she’s feeling randy (Rodney Crowell’s “Lovin’ All Night”) or restless (“Nothin’ Like the Lonely”), Loveless accepts nothing but the best out of romance. Just a dozen minutes in, she stops you cold with the title track, a Matraca Berg-Ronnie Samoset cheating ballad that stands among her finest recordings. Confronting her unfaithful husband, she echoes both her anger and still-burning desire to save the marriage. “I might stay here,” she warns, “just to spite you.” Loveless ends this all-acoustic set with “Last in a Long Lonesome Line,” mourning the last gasp of traditional country, and the heart-wrenching ballad “The Grandpa That I Know,” a living, breathing account of a family funeral. Blending the musical backdrop of Mountain Soul with a modern edge, Loveless turned in a true masterwork.

4. Long Stretch of Lonesome (1997)
On this Grammy-nominated disc, Loveless peaks with a pair of mid-tempo numbers where the home fires are barely burning. On Kim Richey’s “That’s Exactly What I Mean,” a country-pop delight, she rings true with a demanding, determined wail. Then, she teams with George Jones on the fantastic “You Don’t Seem to Miss Me,” a duet that met with a cold reception at radio but was rightly awarded the CMA Vocal Event of the Year prize in 1998. The spiritual symbolism in Gretchen Peters’ “Like Water into Wine” also satisfies, as well as the lessons-learned ballad “Too Many Memories.”

5. The Trouble with the Truth (1996)
TIME Magazine listed this platinum-selling set to their all-genre top ten list in 1996, and deservedly so. A pair of No. 1 singles – “You Can Feel Bad” and “Lonely Too Long” – earned the most ink, but the title track is the clear highlight. The truth is her shadow – it hangs around her door; it haunts her dreams; it settles deep into her ever-strayin’ heart. Loveless gives a pitch-perfect testimony, her voice declaring assurance – and fear – in the truth’s presence. “A Thousand Times A Day,” a clever callback to Connie Smith’s classic “Once a Day,” shows Loveless giving up the hard stuff, but not the heartache… or the truth for that matter.

6. When Fallen Angels Fly (1994)
Named CMA Album of the Year in 1995, Angels placed Loveless firmly among the superstars of country music and struck a perfect balance between modern impluses and retro country sounds. Tony Arata’s “Here I Am,” a bleak tale of loss and longing, is sold by the power of Loveless’ aching performance. And spiritual cuts like “A Handful of Dust” and the title track are pure poetry, establishing her as the most eloquent female singer of the mid-’90s.

7. Dreamin’ My Dreams (2005)
With her last album for Epic Records, Loveless kicks off with Richard Thompson’s “Keep Your Distance,” a lyrical gem that leads with a searing steel guitar line. Emmylou’s here for a plaintive harmony part on “When Being Who You Are is Not Enough.” So is Dwight Yoakam (a fellow Pikeville, KY export) for a fun remake of the folky classic “Never-Ending Song of Love.” But Steve Earle is Loveless’ spiritual soulmate on Dreams; his long-gone-lonesome “My Old Friend the Blues” is the emotional centerpiece of this fine effort.

8. Only What I Feel (1993)
If you’re lucky enough to hear Loveless on country radio today, she’s likely singing Harlan Howard’s tongue-twister “Blame It On Your Heart.” Though it remains her biggest commercial hit, it’s the spare ballads that truly shine on this fine set, Loveless’ return after career-threatening vocal surgery. On “Nothin’ But the Wheel” she takes a late-night drive with just her heartache and the highway as company. “What’s a Broken Heart” (“It’s only what I feel,” she swears) stings with her honest, straightforward alto. And of course, the Grammy-nominated “How Can I Help You to Say Goodbye” was a brilliant addition to Nashville’s canon of story songs and established its singer as one of the most compelling vocalists of her time.

9. If My Heart Had Windows (1988)
The title cut became a top ten hit twice over when Loveless sent her rendition to radio in 1988, more than two decades after George Jones went to No. 7 with the Dallas Frazier-penned ode to love and devotion. Steve Earle’s rockabilly jaunt “A Little Bit in Love” followed “Windows” up the charts, topping out at No. 2 and earning Loveless the first of two Horizon Award nominations. It’s a shame that first single, “You Saved Me,” a chill-inducing performance she’d later dedicate to husband-producer, Emory Gordy, Jr., failed to light fire to the charts. The rollicking “So Good to Be in Love” and regret-filled “Baby’s Gone Blues” are also worthy of mention.

10. Honky Tonk Angel (1988)
With five top ten singles, Honky Tonk Angel shows a maturing woman whose modern sensibilities dovetail nicely with her tradition-minded musical stylings. Vince Gill lends harmony on Loveless’ first No. 1 single, the infectious “Timber, I’m Falling in Love,” and Gill’s former bandmate, Rodney Crowell does the same on the best track, the beautiful “Don’t Toss Us Away.”

11. Strong Heart (2000)
Skip the silly opening cut (“You’re So Cool”) and you’ll discover an underrated collection that marked Loveless’ return after a near three-year absence from recording. The lost-innocence story “My Heart Will Never Break This Way Again” (with Trisha Yearwood on harmony) is the best cut, with Loveless willing us – and herself – to believe that the “painful memories will make you strong.” But top twenty single “The Last Thing on My Mind” and the death-did-us-part ballad “She Never Stopped Loving Him” test that hard-won faith.

12. On Down the Line (1990) and 13. Up Against My Heart (1991)
Though neither album matched the commercial results or critical acclaim of Honky Tonk Angel, this pair of early ’90s discs saw Loveless stretching into blues-rock (Up Against My Heart‘s “Jealous Bone”) and pop-country (On Down the Line‘s “I’m That Kind of Girl”).

14. Patty Loveless (1986)
Her self-titled debut disc is generally paint-by-number neotrad country, but Loveless’ composition “I Did” and the Karen Staley stunner “Half Over You” earn high marks.
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In Summary (for Visual Learners)

1. Near Truths and Hotel Rooms (2003)
Am I cheating by starting with a live album? Maybe, but I don’t care. Nothing captures Snider and all his boozy, rambling charm like this live album. Well, except for that five-disc bootleg compilation of his stories and songs, which you’ve certainly picked up by now, right? But as far as commercially-available stuff of consistent sound quality all wrapped up into one neat, accessible package, this is it. For those who haven’t been won over yet, it also handily functions as a damn near perfect introduction to the artist.

2. East Nashville Skyline (2004)
Not just Snider’s best studio album, but one of the finest albums put out by anyone in the past decade. Stephen M. Deusner (who’s now writing at The 9513 too) reviewed it for Pitchfork back when it came out, saying: “Snider has released the wittiest and feistiest album of his career, one that distills the wit, melody, and bristly songwriting of his previous albums into a dozen concentrated songs bolstered by a rowdy backing band that includes long-time cohort Will Kimbrough.” That seems to cover it. This album is everything I like about Todd Snider.

3. The Devil You Know (2006)
Snider followed up the career highlight of East Nashville Skyline with an album that very nearly matched it, earning him some of the best reviews of his career and landing him on several major best-of-2006 lists. Major label backing probably helped with the visibility (he had switched from John Prine’s indie Oh Boy to New Door, a subsidiary of Universal), but it was also a legitimately strong record deserving of the praise.

4. The Excitement Plan (2009)
His first pairing with producer Don Was isn’t as dynamic as some of his other recent efforts, settling into a quiet groove that’s only occasionally broken up by the likes of “Bring ‘Em Home” and the Loretta Lynn duet “Don’t Tempt Me.” Although the songwriting is typically top notch, giving listeners a window into what makes the character of Todd Snider so endearing, it’s not the best exposition of what makes him musically compelling. The two studio albums ranked above this one take more chances musically and have greater payoffs.

5. Happy to Be Here (2000)
It doesn’t get talked about much, but this is an extraordinarily well-balanced album featuring Snider classics like “Long Year,” “Lonely Girl,” “D.B. Cooper” and “Ballad of the Devil’s Backbone Tavern,” as well as lesser-known gems like “Keep Off the Grass,” “Just in Case,” and “Missing You.” Solid all the way around.

6. New Connection (2002)
Could easily swap this for the previous one depending on my mood. I just went through the tracklist and couldn’t figure out which songs to name as highlights: too much good stuff. I think the Oh Boy years were pretty good to Snider, as his previous two releases saw him floundering a bit. Beginning with Happy to Be Here in 2000, he really started to build on the groundwork laid by his debut, up next…

7. Songs for the Daily Planet (1994)
The hidden track “Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues” seems to get a lot of attention, but this disc also includes such gems as “My Generation, Part 2,” the classic “Easy Money,” slacker anthem “Alright Guy” (Gary Allan would record it and name an album after it several years later), and the poignant/melodramatic “You Think You Know Somebody.” How’s that for a beginning?

8. Peace Queer (2008)
Snider is one of the few artists on either side of the aisle that I’d trust to make a political EP of this sort because he has the good sense to tackle serious subject matter without taking himself too seriously.

9. Peace, Love, and Anarchy (2007)
Snider’s “Rarities, B-Sides, and Demos” from the Oh Boy years comprise a very listenable album in their own right, highlighted by collaborations (of the songwriting and singing varieties) with pal Jack Ingram and the unassuming comedic gem that is “Combover Blues.”

10. Step Right Up (1996)
Snider’s sophomore effort wasn’t quite as interesting or as sharp as his debut, but did introduce fan favorites like “Side Show Blues,” “Moon Dawg’s Tavern,” “Tension,” and “Horseshoe Lake” to the beginning of what would soon grow into quite an impressive oeuvre.

11. Viva Satellite (1998)
Not much to say about this one, which would likely fall at the bottom of most anyone’s list. Snider attempted to go rock and it didn’t work very well. Not irredeemably bad by any means, but a misstep for sure.

In Summary

Incidentally, the Keith Whitley spotlight at My Kind of Country last month was fantastic. They’re putting the focus on Tanya Tucker this month, so be sure to check in throughout June for all things Tanya. (My only Tanya insight is that I believe the name should be pronounced “tawn-ya” rather than “TAN-ya.” So apparently I’ve got a lot to learn.)

Now, onward to Trisha Yearwood. As always, feel free to give your own rankings in the comments.

1. Inside Out (2001)
This was the first Trisha Yearwood album I ever bought. It also features my favorite version of my favorite song ever, Trisha’s take on Rosanne Cash’s classic “Seven Year Ache.” Likewise, Trisha breathes new life into Rebecca Lynn Howard’s “I Don’t Paint Myself Into Corners.” Other highlights from this 5 star album include “Harmless Heart,” “Melancholy Blue,” and “Second Chance.” This album has a tinge of sadness running through every track, which is perhaps why it’s my favorite.

2. Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love (2007)
For her debut on Big Machine Records, Trisha Yearwood gave us the most consistent set of her career. There’s not a track on this album that I skip. “This Is Me You’re Talking To” is possibly the finest single she’s released to date. And even the up-tempos become poignant works in Trisha’s hands as ‘They Call It Falling For A Reason” and the title track resonate deeply. “Cowboys Are My Weakness” and “The Dreaming Fields” are also must-haves.

3. Real Live Woman (2000)
Trisha had been dabbling in country-pop for the better part of her career, but dove in head first with this release. The results are nothing less than magic. The title track is honesty and poetry in a beautiful marriage. But Trisha Yearwood’s greatest strength has always been in covering other artists songs. And true to form, the highlight of this album is her take on Linda Ronstadt’s “Try Me Again.” Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Where Are You Now” is also superb.

4. Hearts In Armor (1992)
A gorgeous take on Emmylou Harris’s “Woman Walk The Line,” the marvelous “Nearest Distant Shore” and the Keith Whitley penned “You Don’t Have To Move That Mountain” are just a few of the now classic non-radio singles from this landmark release. Radio embraced “Down On My Knees,” “Walkaway Joe,” and “Wrong Side of Memphis.” Meanwhile, the critics called this the best album of 1992.

5. Everybody Knows (1996)
In 1996, the women of country music were releasing frisky, up-tempo numbers to radio one after the other. And Trisha Yearwood kept with this trend with the release of “Believe Me Baby I Lied” and the title track to this release. Meanwhile, “I Need You” and “It’s Alright” appeased the ballad-lovers.

6. Thinkin’ About You (1995)
This is possibly Trisha’s most introverted and eclectic album, as far as the song selection go. It’s also her most overlooked, having produced two megahits in the title track and “American Girl (XXXs and OOOs)” but also containing Trisha’s take on Gretchen Peters’ “On A Bus To St. Cloud,” Melissa Etheridge’s “You Can Sleep While I Drive” and a cover of the Tammy Wynette hit “Til I Get It Right.”

7. Trisha Yearwood (1991)
Trisha Yearwood’s self-titled debut not only contains her signature “She’s In Love With The Boy,” but also forgotten gems like “The Woman Before Me” and “Like We Never Had A Broken Heart.” With the release of this album, Trisha established herself as a force to be reckoned with during country’s boom years.

8. Jasper County (2005)
This 2005 ‘comeback set’ – released over 4 years after Inside Out – finds Trisha falling back to the days of old as she revisits many of the sounds and themes of her 1990s albums. Ronnie Dunn sings harmony on the dazzling “Try Me” and “Georgia Rain” is as good a song as ever came out of Nashville.

9. The Song Remembers When (1993)
The third album release from Trisha Yearwood also saw Trisha dipping into the songbooks of some of the greatest songwriters of all time. Rodney Crowell provides harmony vocals on the elegant “I Don’t Fall In Love So Easy,” a song he also penned. Willie Nelson steps up to the microphone to add his vocals to “One In A Row.” And the title track is a soaring ode to unrequited love – and one of the first instances of Trisha’s peerless knack for delivery.

10. Where Your Road Leads (1998)
Trisha’s only pairing with the legendary Tony Brown yielded an album that was far less than the sum of its parts. With tracks written by the likes of Don Schlitz, Bob DiPiero, Victoria Shaw, and Carole King, this release is the only album in Yearwood’s storied catalog I would call lackluster. Some gems still shone through with the likes of “There Goes My Baby” and “Heart Like A Sad Song.”

In Summary

1. Barn & Grill (2004)
Shelton’s third album is his best to date, a well-balanced collection of traditional-flavored contemporary fare. With a renewed passion and songs from the likes of Paul Overstreet, Shawn Camp, Roger Murrah, Jim Lauderdale, Leslie Satcher, and Mary Gauthier, Shelton improved by leaps and bounds over the sophomore album released just the previous year. The cover of Conway Twitty’s “Goodbye Time” was a watershed moment for him artistically, his coming-out party as a great balladeer. It came at just the right time, as Shelton was due to either reveal something new about himself or pack up and go home. When this album produced three consecutive top ten hits (his longest string of successes to date), it was clear that he was here to stay.

2. Startin’ Fires (2008)
On his most recent album, Shelton finally seems to have a strong sense of the sound and material that works best for him, but takes so few chances that songs tend to bleed together as a result. This is the first album that seems like a fully-realized artistic statement, with Shelton fully and confidently inhabiting his place as one of the most convincing modern country crooners. But he’s at another one of those junctures where he needs to find new ways of stretching out and challenging himself artistically, as this album is consistency bordering on stagnation. One of the only songs that leaves any sort of lasting impression is the duet with Miranda Lambert on “Bare Skin Rug,” which is also the only song that doesn’t sound aimed directly at the country charts.

3. Pure BS (2007)
There are a few uptempo songs to balance things out (“The More I Drink” being the most memorable), but this feels like Shelton’s ballad album, an outgrowth of the credibility gained by way of “Goodbye Time” on the previous album. Sadly, there isn’t much here to match the quality of that earlier single. Aside from a Chris Knight cover, these are mostly middling contemporary songs penned by the usual suspects; sell them as he might, Shelton inevitably falls short of the high mark set by Barn & Grill. Nevertheless, a pretty listenable collection.

4. Blake Shelton (2001)
Shelton’s debut was a likable (if somewhat scrawny) traditional effort. Although it showed a great deal of energy and promise, there wasn’t much about it to suggest that the artist would still be a relevant market force a couple years down the road, much less nearly a decade later. Shelton’s most surprising trait has been his willingness to grow artistically, so it should be little surprise that his first effort was just that: a beginning. Not one of his better albums, but worth checking out for career highlights like “Austin” and “Ol’ Red.”

5. The Dreamer (2003)
Shelton’s sophomore effort founding him digging deeper into the southern rock side of things to very mixed effect. There are some good songs here, but they’re buried beneath overproduced pap like “Heavy Liftin’” that makes the album as a whole an almost unbearable listen.

In Summary

1. Dierks Bentley (2003)
On his Capitol debut, Bentley offered a sturdy set of refreshingly traditional-minded contemporary country that seemed to owe more to Strait’s coolness than Garth’s theatrics. Not perfect by any means, but its consistency and uncluttered sound made it one of the better mainstream debuts of the early 2000s.

2. Don’t Leave Me In Love (2001)
Before Capitol came calling, Bentley independently released this album, which wore its low-fi charm on its sleeve and settled (albeit perhaps a little too comfortably) into a pretty cool bluegrass-meets-traditional groove. Bentley was still developing his interpretive skills, but was far enough along to acquit himself pretty nicely. A couple of these songs would reappear two years later on his major label debut.

3. Long Trip Alone (2006)
As Bentley’s star continued to rise, he muscled (and polished) up his sound in an apparent attempt to take his live shows to the next level. This was the first full realization of that effort, a cohesive set of thoroughly contemporary country with most traces of the singer’s early traditionalism thoroughly expunged.

4. Modern Day Drifter (2005)
Not so much terrible as it was plain unremarkable, an uncomfortable attempt to repeat the formula of the self-titled debut while pushing Bentley’s sound into more commercial territory (see the hunkified “Come a Little Closer” and “Cab of My Truck”). It had its bright spots, but felt pretty scattered as a whole.

5. Feel That Fire (2009)
Marketed as a major breakthrough album, Feel That Fire falls far short of expectations. Its greatest sin is that it fails to reveal anything new about the artist. Bentley is good, but not so good that he can afford to stop developing now. For him to do so – and indeed even think he should be rewarded with an Album of the Year nomination for doing so – shows a pretty disheartening artistic complacence on his part.

In Summary

I’m not expecting that we’ll reach any sort of consensus; this is just about the exchange of opinions. Hopefully it might also be of some use to people looking to start or add to their collection of a particular artist.

Without further ado, the series launches with a look at the work of Gary Allan:

1. Smoke Rings in the Dark (1999)
Tough All Over would probably be a more popular choice for the top spot, but Smoke Rings in the Dark is really where Gary Allan mastered the art of neotraditional cool. This is a fully-realized artistic statement, eons better than the tentative sophomore effort that preceded it by just one year.

2. Tough All Over (2005)
Allan’s most cohesive album to date, this moody collection found him moving further into rock territory than ever before. Not all the songs are knockouts, but it’s engrossing all the way through.

3. Alright Guy (2001)
Bright, radio-ready contemporary country at its best. This is music that’s both smart and tuneful, thanks to crisp production, characteristically lively vocal performances, and song selections from such left-of-center figures as Bruce Robison, Jim Lauderdale, and Todd Snider.

4. See If I Care (2003)
Splits the difference between the two albums that preceded it, mixing the contemporary sheen of Alright Guy with the neotraditional swagger of Smoke Rings in the Dark. This could probably be a career highlight in another artist’s discography, but falls squarely in the middle of the pack for Gary Allan.

5. Living Hard (2007)
The follow-up to the landmark Tough All Over sees Allan continuing in the rock vein, but frequently squandering his talent on material that just isn’t up to par.

6. It Would Be You (1998)
Mostly by-the-numbers ’90s hat act stuff, but Allan pulls it off more convincingly than most.

7. Used Heart for Sale (1996)
A pretty scrawny debut on the whole, but hints at the arrival of a vital artist pulling on a range of influences – classic country, rockabilly, Bakersfield – who might shake things up a bit in the future.

In Summary