Nominees for the 2017 Saving Country Music Album of the Year
For the last few years, in the humble estimation of Saving Country Music, it has been a somewhat down era for excellent, legacy-caliber releases in country music and independent roots, with deference paid to the releases that did leave high water marks here and there. But 2017 was a different story, especially the first half, leaving us with difficult choices of what to consider to be the best of the year, let alone where to start whittling down the field. But here we are, and we’ll try and do our best.
More so than most years, a slew of projects will not make the cut as Album of the Year candidates, and this feels like a crying shame. Jason Eady‘s self-titled effort was right on the bubble, and would have been included if the candidates weren’t cut off at 10. Dori Freeman once again impressed just like she did in 2016, and was also right on the bubble. Billy Strings arguably put out the best bluegrass album of the year with Turmoil & Tinfoil. The Brother Brothers and their Tugboats EP can’t be overlooked. Colter Wall put out a high caliber, self-titled effort, and at only 22-years-old, will certainly get more shots at Album of the Year in the future, as will Parker McCullum, who set the pace for forward thinking country coming from Texas and beyond.
That’s to say nothing about Chris Stapleton‘s two installments of From A Room, or Willie Nelson‘s God’s Problem Child, which very well might be his best effort in a decade, or decades. And if it wasn’t for the relative un-country-ness of Shinyribs‘ I Got Your Medicine or JD McPherson‘s UNDIVIDED HEART & SOUL, they may have been included here as well.
But all of these records and more will be included on Saving Country Music’s much more expansive ESSENTIAL ALBUMS LIST, which will be published later in December, so don’t go crying about what has been left off. Further albums will also be reviewed, and be made eligible for the Essential Albums List as the end of the year nears.
As always, your feedback isn’t just requested, it will be included in the final calculus of the winner. So if you have an opinion, pipe up. However, THIS IS NOT A STRAIGHT UP AND DOWN VOTE. Your opinion will count, but it will count even more if you put the effort out to convince us why one album deserves to rise above the others. And please, no “You Forgot!” comments. You think something has been unfairly omitted? By all means use the comments section to inform us. Because ultimately this isn’t an exercise to make music into a competition. The purpose is to expand the knowledge base for great music in a vetting exercise that is open to everyone, and respectful to all the music we think is the year’s best.
Jaime Wyatt – Felony Blues
Incredible singing, songwriting, and production in a heavily-thematic effort that hits straight at the heart.
For many of the best practitioners of country music, they don’t choose to pursue country music as a profession, country music chooses them. It becomes a necessity of their circumstances bred from hardship, bad decisions, a misspent youth, or other situations where the burdens of life grow so heavy, the only way to alleviate the load is to put those personal histories and bad experiences into song. With stories spun directly from Jaime Wyatt’s stained history, Felony Blues has the right style, as well as the real world-authenticity that true country music needs to not just send your toes tapping, but to stick to your bones as the real testaments of a life-worn soul.
Exquisitely produced and recorded with an excellent crew of musicians that includes Ted Russell Kamp, Gabe Wincher of The Punch Brothers, and fellow California country artist Sam Outlaw on the duet “Your Loving Saves Me,” the autobiographical, 7-song record is striking in how full and real it sounds, especially when held in contrast to the rather extended era of uninspiring output we find ourselves amidst in independent roots and country music. Though the album was made on a meager budget, no expense was spared if the song called for it, including steel guitar and backup singers, giving this otherwise West Coast country project plenty of Southern textures. (read full review)
Tyler Childers – Purgatory
Traditional/Outlaw country at its finest. A star is born.
Timing is the intangible quantity that is often overlooked for why sweet lady luck smiles upon certain artists and allows their music to succeed, and why others fall flat, or never seem to find the success their relative talent deserves. If Sturgill Simpson had started his career in earnest at age 23, he may have become a known quantity in music way before he was ready, typecast as just okay, and not be in a position where if he randomly chooses to produce an album from some unknown Kentucky songwriter, it immediately results in a necessity to pay attention.
Just like Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers was playing and writing music for many years before he was ready to become a part of the national country music conversation. It was only after years of failure, perseverance, tempering in the fires of everyday life and dues paid on small stages that Tyler was able to find enough wisdom furrowing his brow and the proper resources beneath him to take it to the masses.
It’s that nexus between rural, real-world vernacular, filtered through an intelligent perspective, and gifted with poetic insight that makes an album like Tyler Childers’ Purgatory more infectious than your average throwback country effort. This album makes no apologies, and no attempts to sand down the rough edges, speaking candidly about drug use and womaizing similar to those early underground records from folks like Hank3 that helped set the table for the current country insurgency, yet is still distinctly Kentucky in perspective, steeped in the hollers of coal country, where the action happens down winding roads shaded from the sun due to the looming hills, and debauchery is so easy to discover if you know where to go looking. (read full review)
Lilly Hiatt’s – Trinity Lane
This is the 2017 sleeper.
With her third record, second generation alt-country performer Lilly Hiatt has offered up a career-defining album full of songwriting gems and inspired performances that is spirited to the heights of infectious listening by smart and considerate production. This personal and galvanized work finds the full realization of Lilly Hiatt’s vision, voice, and potential as a songwriter and performer, stepping out of the shadow of a famous name, forging her own sound and identity, and announcing her participation in discussions of who is worthy of praise in a new generation of emerging artists energized by rock and country in equal measures.
Trinity Lane is not just a record for people who like music, but for those dedicated acolytes of the art form who would travel two states over for a festival, or fork out money to buy their favorite artist’s new record on vinyl the day of release. Whether it’s incorporating the time stamp of the day David Bowie died in an alt-country song, or one of Trinity Lane‘s standout songs called “Records,” this particular work doesn’t just speak to what it’s like to have your heart broken, it speaks to having music help you through those moments, and how it can act as the backdrop to certain memories.
Trinity Lane is named for the specific street where Lilly Hiatt resides. But beyond the emotional breakup that inspired this record, it also reminds the true music fan what a place apart music can be for the troubles of the mind and heart—where it can create intimate landscapes inside each of us to escape to. There is us, and then there is us when we are lost in those moments all to ourselves that only the best music can provide—music like the stuff found on Lilly Hiatt’s Trinity Lane. (read full review)
Zephaniah OHora – This Highway
An ideal specimen of classic country in the modern context, and the best-produced album in the bunch.
Zephanaiah OHora’s This Highway just very well might be a modern classic country masterpiece. It’s flawless for what it is, which is a reawakening of everything brilliant and beautiful about the Countrypolitan era of country music, while leaving all the superfluousness of strings and choruses and other overproduction aside. In fact in a strange way, Zephaniah OHora, some 60 years after the original Countrypolitan era, has represented the essence and spirit of what made that era so great even better than some of the original artists and albums that helped define that epoch of American country music.
And don’t let me hear a peep about how some slicked back guy from the Big Apple is incapable of singing country music. Just listen to This Highway, and that perception is immediately discredited. If you want a good excuse to disregard Zephaniah OHora and This Highway, I offer my sincerest apologies. It is still eclectic to take this type of vintage approach to country music, and it won’t put Zephaniah on the Sturgill Simpson trajectory to superstardom. But for what it is and how it’s presented, This Highway leans heavily towards perfection. (read full review)
Marty Stuart – Way Out West
Country music’s best conceptualized record of 2017.
This album is steeped in a moment when forces thought to be so diametrically opposed in culture began to cross breed in ways we are still trying to match the creativity of today. Being a tireless student of the music as he is, Marty Stuart has gone and made a record that delves into this era with such authority and enthusiasm, it comes as close to matching those original moments as anyone since.
Just like The West itself, Marty Stuart’s new album is vast and diverse. You have the Marty Robbins-style desert ballads, you have the California country Clarence White influence, you have the Native American and the Mexican represented since they have such a profound influence on the land, and it’s all interwoven with the wonder that the American West inspires.
As much as Marty Stuart is a student of country music—and always has been from his days of playing in the bands of Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash—he’s also a teacher. And with a refreshing boldness, and frankly a little bit of guts from running the risk of being misunderstood by some of the fuddy duddy fans of traditional country, Marty Stuart encapsulates a critical time in country and all of American music when country music became cool. And even better, with Way Out West, Marty Stuart proves it still is. (read full review)
John Moreland – Big Bad Luv
The best songwriting of 2017, hands down.
Moreland has always been the apex predator in the songwriting department since he began releasing albums, even preceding Jason Isbell for those who put the effort out to seek Moreland out and listen. But the production of his records has always left a little to be desired. It’s hard for an artist who is used to performing solo to sit in a studio and know what to do with additional musicians, and this came through in the recording process. Don’t mistake this as a desire for Moreland to have a “produced” sound. That would suffocate his music faster than anything. But releasing music that is infectious, that honors groove, that finds a fetching melody is just another way to broaden the audience for John Moreland songs and enhance the experience, and shouldn’t been seen as somehow disrespecting or misunderstanding what’s at the heart of his appeal.
Big Bad Luv is exactly the type of album that John Moreland needed to make, where his songcraft suffers none, but is bolstered by the virtue of a more compositional approach to the music itself. And this is the only place he could improve or “evolve,” because the songwriting was already at the pinnacle. This album works like memories do. Salient, yet immersed in longing. Warm, but tinged with a little bit of pain. The song ends, but the message remains in your heart—and on this album, the melody and beat still frolicking in your toes, while presenting maybe even a more elevated songwriting effort from previous Moreland works, if that is even possible. (read full review)
Sunny Sweeney – Trophy
A victory from a once major label star who found her voice, and her home.
With Sunny Sweeney’s new album Trophy, it’s country, it’s Texas, and most importantly, it’s Sunny Sweeney all the way. It is the full package. It is a homecoming for Sunny. Like she says so well in the song “Nothing Wrong with Texas,” we all get so swept up in thinking there’s greener pastures, and better opportunities in latitudes and locations beyond our own, we forget that sometimes the things we go searching for in life are right under our noses. It’s not always a compromise to settle. Sometimes there’s nothing better than what you already have.
Trophy is the name of Sunny Sweeney’s fourth record, and a song about an attitude problem of an ex-girlfriend or wife. But the title is also indicative of a victory. The problem with money and fame is that you can always have more of it. The true victories in life are the ones earned when you discover something about yourself, and achieve a goal that is personal to you. Sometimes this comes with the earning of great wealth and recognition, and sometimes it comes at the compromise of them. But the measurements of fame and wealth are arbitrary and capricious. What’s most important is the personal discoveries you achieve. That is the point of the pursuit of happiness, and what is at the heart of Trophy. (read full review)
Turnpike Troubadours – A Long Way From Your Heart
Has to be considered one of the strongest contenders in a strong field.
The Turnpike Troubadours are the greatest country music band in the world right now. The Turnpike Troubadours very well may be the the greatest country act overall—male, female, duo or group. Unlike other big non-commercial names like Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, and Sturgill Simpson, the Turnpike Troubadours are not polarizing in any way to the population of music fans. Unlike Stapleton and Simpson, they are truly independent. You don’t shy away from the Turnpike Troubadours in any way from some perceived political affiliation or other potential acrimonious issue. And unlike Isbell, Stapleton, and Simpson, the Turnpike Troubadours are solidly, undeniably country.
The appeal for the Turnpike Troubadours crosses age groups, gender, geographic location, and social status. The Turnpike Troubadours are the independent band that even your mainstream-listening friends and family love. The Turnpike Troubadours are energetic and youthful, yet mature. Their music has an infectiousness, yet is still incredibly deep. The Turnpike Troubadours are all things to all country music people, and continuously prove their universal appeal whenever given a chance. And with a head full of momentum and a growing mantle of critical accolades and commercial accomplishments, the Turnpike Troubadours may have just released their most gratifying album yet.
Where other promising acts of independent country seem to almost invariably veer towards the rock or indie side of music as they make their career ascent, the Turnpike Troubadours have stuck to their country roots. If anything, they’ve added more twang to their sound by incorporating a sixth permanent member into the band recently in steel guitar player “Hammerin’” Hank Early. The Turnpike Troubadours are a band that won’t break your heart as a country fan. They won’t abandon you to follow some big trend, or attempt to set one for themselves. Like the rising and setting sun, the Turnpike Troubadours are steady. They are there for you, while remaining remarkably fresh and avoiding anything the feels even close to a stale routine. (read full review)
Joseph Huber – The Suffering Stage
Not to be overlooked, a strong display of songwriting and instrumentation, combined with excellent, unique production.
It’s hard to say enough about Joseph Huber’s songwriting, and how he’s able to evoke melancholy and forlornness in both timeless and timely narratives, or his ability to step behind most any instrument and pull the magic out of a melody that is eerily perfect for the desired mood and message. But something that can’t be emphasized enough about Huber’s music, and what is at the heart of why his songs have this naturally mournful, yet warming sensation, is simply the way his record’s sound, boiled down to perfunctory recording technique. It’s wholly immersive on the senses, like the smell of the inside of your grandfather’s suitcase.
The Suffering Stage makes reference to the Buddhist philosophy of life as suffering, and to life as a “stage” that we’re all simply players on. Whether it’s a spiritual journey or a theatrical movement, the point is to walk away with something learned; something gained. This is what Joseph Huber delivers on this record. Old, forgotten memories get stirred to the forefront. Theories on life are recalled and reflected upon. And you don’t end up more happy like music is supposed to do, you end up a little sad and nostalgic, but in a way that’s strangely comforting in a manner simple happiness is incapable of delivering. (read full review)
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – The Nashville Sound
A tour de force from Isbell. The Album of the Year in Americana, for sure.
Jason Isbell’s The Nashville Sound is a career record. Put it right up there with his 2013 breakout, Southeastern. It is an important record for our time, and not because it relies on raptly polarizing political ideologies as the basis for its message and creative assertions, but because Jason Isbell, a native of Green Hill, Alabama, who is as Southern as the day is long, who is as sharp and in tune with the rhythms of culture in his time as anyone, is like a living, breathing embodiment of the modern day American experience, with all the dichotomies, guilt, glory, fortitude, humility, fears, and vices we all face encapsulated into one perspective, all capped off with his newly-found illumination via fatherhood.
The Nashville Sound is not a country album. It’s a Jason Isbell album. We want to claim it as country because it’s just so damn good regardless of what you call it. Country music should be proud to have Isbell within its ranks, and that’s the same reason so many try to extract an artist like Sam Hunt. A track like “Anxiety” isn’t really country at all. It’s not like any song we’ve heard from Isbell in the past. But it’s good, and most every roots-based genre will look to claim it.
We have lost so much in the last 18 months in the United States and beyond, even those of us who may have won political victories. The polarization and vitriol has inflicted its acrid state of mind on nearly every sector of life, including sports and leisure, and things that are supposed to take our minds off everyday trouble and conflict. At some point there must be a firewall, and music not meant as political insult shouldn’t be taken as such, or characterized so. Especially music that carries such enjoyment, wisdom, and is able to evoke emotions like The Nashville Sound does. (read full review)
Thomas Rhett – Life Changes
Yeah right.
Remember:
1) Please feel free to leave who YOU believe should win in the comments section below, as well as a list of your top albums of 2017.
2) Your feedback is strongly encouraged and will factor into the final decision, but this is not an up or down vote.
3) A much more expansive Essential Albums List will be posted in later December, so no bellyaching about what is “missing.” Make a suggestion of what you believe deserves greater recognition. This list is not just intended to reinforce who you already like, it’s purpose is to help fill in gaps in everyone’s knowledge base about great country and roots music.
December 4, 2017 @ 11:48 am
My top 11 albums I own, for 2017:
JD McPherson, Undivided Heart & Soul
Charley Crocket, LIL G.L.’s Honky Tonk Jubilee
Turnpike Troubadours, A Long Way From Your Heart
Tyler Childers, Purgatory
Zephaniah O’hara, This Highway
Shiney Ribs, I Got Your Medicine
Kasey Chambers, Dragonfly
Timothy Seth Avett as Darling, IV
The Mavericks, Brand New Day
John Moreland, Big Bad Luv
Jason Isbell and the 400 unit, The Nashville Sound.
I think I’d pick John Moreland, Great song writing and emotion. Hoping to catch him live to concrete my choice.
December 4, 2017 @ 6:59 pm
Tyler Childers.
December 5, 2017 @ 3:54 am
ive been jamming tyler childers here lately and purgatory is a great album.
December 5, 2017 @ 9:52 am
Joseph Huber might be the best songwriter of this generation.
December 5, 2017 @ 10:25 am
Agreed!
December 5, 2017 @ 11:24 am
Natalie Hemby. And it wasn’t particularly close for me.
December 5, 2017 @ 12:24 pm
in a reply that won’t be reviewed, concerning an original comment that won’t be reviewed, I’d like to say that Pat’s comment above is inaccurate. pat, while i appreciate your affection for natalie hemby’s album, it was not as good as Joseph Huber’s album. Thanks, me.
December 4, 2017 @ 12:01 pm
In the oder I’ve spun them the most:
1. John Moreland
2. Lilly Hiatt
3. Jason Isbell
4 Turnpike Troubadours.
Great list! Looking forward to he more expansive ‘must haves.’ That’s always an expensive read for me.
December 4, 2017 @ 12:04 pm
Normally a new Turnpike release would win it for me. And their recent release may be their best effort yet. But Tyler Childers blew me away. That album is perfect.
1. Childers
2. Turnpike
3. Moreland
December 4, 2017 @ 12:05 pm
Tyler Childers..
December 4, 2017 @ 12:08 pm
Among the listed, Marty Stuart, Isbell & the 400 Unit, and Zephaniah Ohora are my picks. 🙂
Among my other faves:
Rhiannon Giddens, ‘Freedom Highway’
Hurray for the Riff Raff, ‘The Navigator’
Lee Ann Womack, ‘The Lonely, the Lonesome & the Gone’
Dori Freeman, ‘Letters Never Read’
Valerie June, ‘The Order of Time’
Angaleena Presley, ‘Wrangled’
Alison Krauss, ‘Windy City’
Joan Osborne, ‘Songs of Bob Dylan’
The Mavericks, ‘Brand New Day’
Chris Stapleton, ‘From A Room’ vol. 1 & 2 (especially 2)
Ray Davies, ‘Americana’
Rodney Crowell, ‘Close Ties’
Jim Lauderdale, ‘London Southern’
Margo Price, ‘All American Made’
December 4, 2017 @ 12:11 pm
In order:
A Long Way From Your Heart – Turnpike Troubadours
This Highway – Zephaniah O’Hora
The Nashville Sound – Jason Isbell
December 4, 2017 @ 12:11 pm
I know it doesn’t really count, but nonetheless the George Jones collaboration with the Smoky Mountain Boys recorded in the 70s, and (I believe at least) hitherto unreleased, is a real pleasure.
Loved the Jaime Wyatt album. A really solid set of songs!
December 4, 2017 @ 12:20 pm
Great list for sure. Isbell, Sweeney, Childers in no particular order. Ray Wylie Hubbard could have easily been in here. But hey, now I have a few unfamiliar names to look into.
December 4, 2017 @ 12:26 pm
Chris Stapleton- From a Room Vol. 1 & 2.
Kendell Marvel- Low Down and Lonesome
Lee Ann Womack-The Lonely, The Lonesome and the Gone
December 4, 2017 @ 1:38 pm
I like Kendell Marvel’s album too. Good stuff!
December 4, 2017 @ 12:37 pm
Oh my, where did all the country ladies go? Everyone complains about ‘bro country’, but most of the folks here have named only men singers..
If I were contemplating a new career, I might become a country singer, seems like there’s a lot of room in that category.
December 4, 2017 @ 12:42 pm
Seems like there is a bit of a Golden age for good female artists right now . Rhiannon Giddons, Elizabeth Cook, Whitney Rose, Sierra Hull, Sunny Sweeney, Margo Price ….I’m missing a bunch but there is a wealth of great lady singer / songwriters / musicians
December 4, 2017 @ 4:28 pm
I’ve been saying this for a few years now. The Golden Age of Performing Female Songwriters. No other era comes close.
December 4, 2017 @ 6:58 pm
Molly Tuttle. My all time fav is Kelly Willis.
December 4, 2017 @ 1:54 pm
So… if you think Turnpike or a male artist had the best album this year, you don’t have a right to complain about terrible music. That makes a lot of sense.
December 4, 2017 @ 12:38 pm
To me it’s between Marty Stuart’s ” Way Out West” and Tyler Childers ” Putgatory”. Both great records and different from each other . “Way Out West ” is a audio masterpiece with the best working band today ( The Fabulous Superlatives ) so I’m going with it .
December 4, 2017 @ 1:02 pm
Agreed. One issue with Way Out West, is that to my ears, the production and mixing leaves a lot to be desired. The tonal nuances seem muted, and the overall album just seems to not have as clear of a soundscape as it could or should have. It’s not horribly done, but I was surprised that the final mix wasn’t higher quality.
December 4, 2017 @ 1:35 pm
I agree. Really like the record. I think it’s some of Marty’s better songwriting of late, but was kind of surprised by the pedestrian production/mixing. Especially with Mike Campbell doing the producing.
December 4, 2017 @ 12:38 pm
I do not envy you, Trigger, for the painstaking decision of having to pick from such a strong list. Earlier in the year, I had a hard time picking between Colter Wall’s eponymous album, Moreland, and Tyler Childers’ Purgatory, but when Turnpike released A Long Way from Your Heart in October, that changed everything.
I think A Long Way from Your Heart is the most consistently solid start to finish. Purgatory has some skippable tracks, and the album really loses steam in the second half. I can’t find it in me to skip a single song on Turnpike’s new effort, and the album also feels cohesive and seamless, despite not really having a common thread or theme.
Turnpike gets it hands down for me. I look forward to reading who SCM selects!
December 4, 2017 @ 3:37 pm
I’ve gotta give it to Turnpike as well. Childers might have won out in the end, but I really don’t care for the production on “Universal Sound”. I see what he was going for there, but that track didn’t quite land for me, whereas Turnpike’s new one is just about perfect from beginning to end.
December 5, 2017 @ 7:08 am
Yes, Turnpike album is so damn good. It’s a toss up for me, John Morland and TT. Both albums out of this list are hands down some of the best music from start to finish.
I love Isbell but he wins awards all the time. Let’s make some room for some new guys. All of the albums on this list are deserving, I’m happy I’m not the one picking.
December 5, 2017 @ 12:36 pm
It would appear that the Okies dominated in 2017!
December 4, 2017 @ 12:46 pm
This is a tough crowd.
1) Moreland
2) Isbell
3) Sweeney
but damn, I feel like I’m doing a disservice to Turnpike and Childers. I couldn’t argue against either of them.
December 4, 2017 @ 12:47 pm
My picks:
Tenderheart – Sam Outlaw (WINNER)
A Long Way from Your Heart – Turnpike Troubadors
Nashville Sound – Jason Isbell
Rule 62 – Whitney Rose
December 5, 2017 @ 7:12 am
Drew, I’d not heard of Sam Outlaw but added him to my playlist. Thank you for that. Incredible stuff.
December 4, 2017 @ 12:50 pm
Gotta go with:
1. Sunny
2. Childers
Sunny because I love this record and for the personal story already mentioned. She said screw the machine, went home, figured out who she was and what she wanted to so, and did it. She’s a pretty nice gal too.
Childers because it’s hard not to get emotionally attached. That writing too….
December 4, 2017 @ 1:01 pm
1) Childers – raw, uncompromising, playable on repeat
2) Turnpike – ready for their national spotlight
3) Isbell – solid effort, not on par with Southeastern or Something More Than Free, and not the highs of Here We Rest, but still worthy
Looking forward to essential list
December 4, 2017 @ 1:03 pm
For me, the best would have to be Alison Krauss’s “Windy City” . With an honorable mention to From A Room Vol 1 & 2 by Chris Stapleton.
As far as releases more in the mainstream of country music, I’d say Midland’s On the Rocks would have to be.
December 4, 2017 @ 1:03 pm
My personal AOTY competition was down to Tyler Childers, The Steel Woods, and Jason Eady. Since two of those amazing albums went included in this list my vote goes to Tyler. Had he been included it probably would have gone to Jason Eady.
December 4, 2017 @ 1:05 pm
I love a lot of these albums, especially Tyler Childers, and Purgatory may be my most played album of 2017, it’s a close race with Colter Wall.
That said, I believe Marty Stuart’s Way Out West is far and away the album of the year, and here’s why.
Many of these albums are filled with great songwriting–Moreland, Wyatt, Isbell, Turnpike, Sweeney, Childers, also Jason Eady. And songwriting is perhaps the one slight weakness of Way out West. There’s not an album-defining song, but that’s part of the point, that it’s one cohesive experience. In a time when the album concept as a whole is being lost, and even some of these great albums here are really just collections of great songs–after all, we’re living in the age of the song–Marty Stuart released a concept album that has to be explored all the way through to be fully appreciated. And moreover, in a genre that relies so heavily on lyrics and storytelling, that concept is played out in the music and mood of the album. Take “Please Don’t Say Goodbye,” for example, which is probably the best lyrical moment of the album. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the West lyrically, yet it fits perfectly on the album because it’s linked to the rest through the style and mood. Also, there’s the fact that Marty added the Native American and Mexican influence–Southern Family from 2016 is an excellent record, but it lacks the African-American influence so integral to the South. Lastly, this is fresh and forward-thinking and had the potential to be ignored and misunderstood by a lot of traditionalists. This, for me, perfectly captures how country music should evolve and stay fresh in 2017, yet there’s no doubt this is a country record. It’s not Americana, or some other blend of country. True, it’s not the most country on the list–that honor would go to Zephaniah Ohora–but this is an example of the country genre staying connected to its roots while still moving forward and introducing something entirely new. It’s unfortunate in a way because there are so many great albums from this year that could have been the best in any given year, but this is just on another level, and is easily my 2017 album of the year.
December 4, 2017 @ 1:31 pm
I’d vote for Marty’s guitar solo on “Wait for the Morning” as the SCM instrumental of the year.
When I first heard it, I imagined him singing the song to Connie over coffee, and got to admit I got a little choked up. But when he brought in that guitar? I just about had to pull the car over.
And the reason is that it’s so unmistakably him, playing the perfected thing, each call that goes up followed by a response that lies down with complete dignity.
December 4, 2017 @ 2:13 pm
That comment made me stop and go play that track, your right, Clarence White’s tele sounds so good in Marty’s hands. that solo is spot on!!Added it to my show tomorrow night.
December 4, 2017 @ 1:05 pm
Josh Morningstar – Whole Lotta Crazy
December 4, 2017 @ 1:12 pm
Josh Morningstar Whole lotta crazy. Hands down best out this year
December 4, 2017 @ 1:21 pm
Joseph Huber is my vote for Album of the Year. Songwriting and production is prefect. This guy is the Townes Van Zandt of our time.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:03 pm
It’s shameful how underappreciated he is. This site might be the only one that knows he exists.
December 5, 2017 @ 7:25 am
His music truly is lightning from the north.
December 4, 2017 @ 1:31 pm
After a long dry spell where I felt like “great” albums where few and far between, this year kicked off right with Sunny Sweeney’s “Trophy.” Then “Big Bad Luv,” “Nashville Sound,” and “Long Way From Your Heart” were all terrific albums, plus the solid-if-not-spectacular “From A Room” volumes. I truly enjoyed listening to new music for the first time in a long time.
If I had to choose a winner, I think I would have to go “Big Bad Luv,” with “Trophy” and “Nashville Sound” right on its heels.
December 4, 2017 @ 1:32 pm
Evan Ogden – For Hire
December 4, 2017 @ 1:34 pm
2017 new release favorites:
1. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit -The Nashville Sound
2. Valerie June
3. Zephaniah O’Hora
4. John Moreland
5. Turnpike Troubadours
6. Justin Townes Earle
7. Tyler Childers
8. Jason Eady
9. Joseph Huber
10. Whitney Rose
11. Ags Connolly
12. AJ Hobbs
13. The Steel Woods
14. Porter Union
15. Skunk Rukus
16. Moot Davis
17. Steve Earle
18. Parker McCullum
19. Chris Stapleton
20. Aaron Vance
21. Jeremy Steding
22. Union Sound Tready
23. Tiff Merritt
24. Jaime Wyatt
25. The Plott Hounds
Sent from my iPad
December 4, 2017 @ 1:36 pm
1. Childers
2. Turnpike
3. Jaime Wyatt
While i’m a big fan of both Moreland and Isbell, I was disappointed with their albums compared to their older stuff.
December 4, 2017 @ 1:40 pm
Zephaniah O’Hora’s THIS HIGHWAY
December 4, 2017 @ 1:49 pm
Agreed that 2017 saw a lot of good, new music and you really can’t argue with the uniformly high quality songwriting, musicianship, production and overall feel of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – The Nashville Sound.
One record that is worth a second listen for the top 10 is Sean McConnell – Undone, the acoustic remake of his eponymous record. Extremely compelling vocals with simple accompaniment. My final nominee is Nikki Lane – Highway Queen; this record has spunk and spirit to it, a welcome jolt of caffeine.
A TOUGH JOB TO SORT IT ALL OUT, BUT I AM CONFIDENT YOU CAN DO IT!
December 4, 2017 @ 1:53 pm
As I have been thinking about my top ten list on and off for the past month or so, one position that hasn’t changed is the top spot. Purgatory by Tyler Childers. Knocks me out.
Here’s what I got:
1. Purgatory – Tyler Childers
2. Robyn Hitchcock – Robyn Hitchcock
3. Trinity Lane – Lilly Hiatt
4. The Nashville Sound – Jason Isbell
5. Down Hearted Blues – Eilen Jewell
6. Bobby Fuller Died For Your Sins – Chuck Prophet
7. Freedom Highway – Rhiannon Giddens
8. Big Bad Luv – John Moreland
9. The Lonely, The Lonesome, and The Gone – Lee Ann Womack
10. Hi Rhythm – Robert Cray
Honorable Mentions:
A Long Way To Your Heart – Turnpike Troubadors
Way Out West – Marty Stuart
Kids in the Street – Justin Townes Earle
Letters Never Read – Dori Freeman
So You Wannabe An Outlaw – Steve Earle
Colter Wall – Colter Wall
Other good’uns by: Ray Wylie Hubbard, David Rawlings, Whitney Rose, Valerie June, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton (2), Jim Lauderdale, Nikki Lane
I passed on Sarah Shook’s Sidelong in 2015, but saw the light in 2017. If it was a 2017 release, I think it would be in my top five.
December 4, 2017 @ 1:58 pm
I gotta go with Zephaniah OHora for best country album of the year. Lilly Hiatt would be a close second.
December 4, 2017 @ 2:00 pm
I think The Nashville Sound is the best album released in 2017 in any genre, but it may be the least country-sounding release on this entire list. After Isbell, I would go with Turnpike Troubadours and Marty Stuart in that order. And I definitely think Close Ties by Rodney Crowell, Highway Queen by Nikki Lane, and God’s Problem Child-probably Willie’s best release in a decade-belong on the list. Overall a very strong year in Country/Americana.
December 4, 2017 @ 2:00 pm
My top 5 as the standard is so high, and also I think in UK we have a different attitude at times to what is country or Americana, I like to think great country music.
Jason Eady self titled album has been my choice for most of the year as songs like Barabbas and Black Jesus are just so bloody well written. Also the instrumentation is spot on and never gets old.
Dori Freeman, Letters never read. great voice but Teddy Thompson’s production elevates the whole album even higher as he is so sympathetic to the voice.
Zephaniah O’Hora The Highway is a great album, if not a little too much of a homage to the past, yet he got it so right.
Lukas nelson and Promise of the real. Is just a classic album, in a way for me it harks back to a time when albums ruled over singles, as it seems like if the song is right its on the album not its on the album because it could be a single. If that makes sense?
Last but not least, Parker McCollum Probably wrong. Love everything about this album, its modern, yet it still has that truth that you find in a great country record.
ps, thank you for finding such great music and highlighting it. My show would not be the same without saving country music.
December 4, 2017 @ 9:31 pm
Barabbas is such a good song.
December 5, 2017 @ 7:16 am
Eady’s album is some of the best songwriting on a country album. I love the strip down production of it and it’s honesty.
December 4, 2017 @ 2:20 pm
I vote
1. On the rocks- Midland
2.from a room vol1 and 2
3. Good ole days- Tracy Lawrence
4.sagebrush- Ned LeDoux
5. Sweet southern sugar- kid rock
6.california sunrise -jon Pardi
7. Ttwo-Miranda Lambert
8. Land of cotton-Jonathan east
9.when the good guys win – granger smith
10.never gets old -joe Nichols
11.kinda don’t care – Justin Moore
12. Slowheart – kip Moore
13.behind this guitar – mo Pitney
14.ol wheeler – wheeler walker jr
15.vinyl – William micheal Morgan
16. Welcome home – Zac brown
December 4, 2017 @ 2:22 pm
1. Marty Stuart because (as has been mentioned), he pulled the concept off exceptionally well. The album transplants you out to the twangy wild west. And as far as musicianship, it’s just the best darn band around.
2. Zephaniah O’Hora because his album ain’t bluegrass, or outlaw, or folk, or rock, or americana or singer/sonwriter. It’s flat out 100% country.
December 4, 2017 @ 8:15 pm
-politan. ZOH album is countrypolitan. It is a masterpiece in that style.
December 4, 2017 @ 2:27 pm
My Album Of 2017 List:
Gretta Ziller – Queen Of Boomtown
Jeannie Seely – Written In Stone
Ashleigh Dallas – Lighthouse
Lee Ann Womack – The Lonely, The Lonesome & The Gone
Adam Harvey & Beccy Cole – The Great Country Songbook Vol.II
Tania Kernaghan – All Australian Girl
Lee Kernaghan – The 25th Anniversary Album
Liam Kennedy-Clark & Cassi Hilbers – Duo
Fanny Lumsden – Real Class Act
Richard Lynch – Mending Fences
Donna Ulisse – Breakin’ Easy
Lorrie Morgan & Pam Tillis – Come See Me & Come Lonely
Jaryd Lane – American Country Southern Rock’n’ Roll
Courtney Lynn – Pretty Things
Amber Joy Poulton – How It Used To Be
And The Winner Is…well…not so fast.
My EP Of 2017 List:
Liam Kennedy-Clark – Travelling Lines
Reid Farris – Reid Farris
Jacinta Laws – On A Whim
Kenna Danielle – Like A Tumbleweed
Justin Michael Bell – Green Light
Wade Proctor – EP
And The Winner Is…we will see.
December 4, 2017 @ 2:34 pm
Triggers Album Of The Year List: Sunny Sweeney – Trophy
Great album but not her best album. That’s why Trophy is not on my personal list.
December 4, 2017 @ 2:49 pm
what’s her best? I’m listening to some tracks on YT, and she has a great voice and wit.
December 4, 2017 @ 3:38 pm
All four of them are pretty good. Provoked is probably the most fun.
December 4, 2017 @ 4:30 pm
My favourite Sunny Sweeney album is Provoked. I think she sounds a little bit fresher on Provoked.
December 5, 2017 @ 11:12 am
I think both Concrete and Provoked, especially Provoked, are better albums than Trophy. Trophy is solid, but it’s not an album of the year for me just because it’s not as good as some of her other work. It was the album I was most looking forward to coming into early 2017, and it was a little disappointing for me.
December 4, 2017 @ 2:35 pm
1. Tyler Childers – so excited to finally see some of the masses discover his incredible songwriting. Absolutely electric live shows that everyone owes themselves to see, and they recently added an insanely talented fiddle player (amongst other instruments) to the band adding another layer of bliss.
2. Nikki Lane – killer new album, truly the baddest gal in country IMO
3. Zepanaiah Ohora – one of the best “classic country” releases in years
4. Turnpike Troubadours – more of the same from them, which is a big compliment
While I love Moreland and Isbell and have seen each of them countless times, these are the weakest efforts from them IMO.
December 4, 2017 @ 2:42 pm
Zephaniah OHora
December 4, 2017 @ 2:50 pm
Top 5 in order:
1. Turnpike Troubadours
2. Tyler Childers
3. Old 97s
4. James Carothers
5. Jason Isbell
Also:
JD McPherson
Cale Tyson
Charley Crockett
Chris Stapleton
Country Side of Harmonica Sam
Jason Eady
Natalie Hemby
John Baumann
John Moreland
Band of Heathens
Gregg Allman
Pete Schlegel
Kody West
Steve Earle
Zephaniah Ohora
Aaron Vance
Aaron Watson
Alison Krauss
AJ Hobbs
Parker McCollum
December 4, 2017 @ 3:19 pm
1.Bid bad Luv
2.Purgatory
3.Nashville Sound
December 4, 2017 @ 3:20 pm
Parker McCollum definitely should earn a spot on the Top 5, Sunny Sweeney, no way – Turnpike killed it, but Tyler Childers – winner hands down!
December 4, 2017 @ 3:35 pm
From this list, Turnpike, Moreland, and Hiatt in that order. Outside of the list, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Old 97’s, and Angeleena Presley were favorites.
December 4, 2017 @ 3:39 pm
1.Childers
2. Colter
I’m totally fucking biased though
December 4, 2017 @ 3:43 pm
Tyler Childers and Jason Eady
December 4, 2017 @ 3:57 pm
“A Long Way From Your Heart” is, in my mind, one of the finest examples of what modern country music can (and should) be. As much as I love guys like Isbell and Moreland for their songwriting abilities, their music tends to be a bit hit or miss for me, but The Turnpike Troubadours have lyrics that rival those two but backed by melodies that will leave those lyrics running through your head for days.
Tyler Childers’ “Purgatory” is my runner up, and actually reminds me of more Appalachian flavored Turnpike record (Childers’ songwriting very much reminds me of Evan Felker’s). Really, the only thing holding back from being my album of the year is the song “Universal Sound” with it’s U2-esque guitar (I can’t stand U2).
As Trigger mentioned above, JD McPherson’s “UNDIVIDED HEART AND SOUL” isn’t even remotely country, but it is such a good rock ‘n roll/ soul album that I feel that it should be mentioned. I enjoyed McPherson’s first two records, but UHAS finds him experimenting a bit with his throwback, rock and roll style, creating an album that is head and shoulders above the first two.
December 4, 2017 @ 3:59 pm
Sunny Sweeney gets my vote. I’ve watched her progression and growth in country music and she’s never once veered off the true country path. If this is Saving Country Music, then Sunny has been at the forefront and deserves the “Trophy”
December 4, 2017 @ 4:00 pm
I never thought anything would replace The Nashville Sound as my favorite of 2017.
And then came Purgatory. Childers all the way for me, no question.
December 4, 2017 @ 4:14 pm
Purgatory is just scratching the surface of what’s to come! From top to bottom, I love every song. What a songwriter Tyler is!
December 4, 2017 @ 4:30 pm
Sunny Sweeney’s trophy should win hands down, it is by far the most true traditional country album in this list. Purgatory was great, but it’s really not traditional country, you guys know that. It’s a more roots/folk approach, and here’s how that can be proven: I have friends that like Tyler Childers but don’t like Buck Owens or George Jones, etc. The Nashville Sound should not even be in this list, and I really can’t believe you guys put it in. It’s quality music, but by no means country music. I think it’s impor to differentiate these 2 different genres, because you guys don’t do it too much. There are people that love Sturgill (mostly Sailors guide) and Isbell and Stapleton, but have zero interest in true traditional country. This is because it’s a different genre!! So “Trophy” should win this for sure.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:53 pm
Your definition of genre is weird. I could listen to Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, or George Jones for days on end (I have. Many times). But I can’t do that with Waylon Jennings. Taken individually, he’s got a whole handful of my all-time favorite songs, but as a whole I don’t really get the appeal.
By your definition, does that mean Waylon wasn’t country? Was he just roots/folk? He’s not even close to my favorite, but I’ll argue like hell that he’s country AF.
December 4, 2017 @ 4:42 pm
Surprised to see that Jeremy Pinnell’s Ties of Blood and Affection hasn’t been mentioned yet.
December 4, 2017 @ 7:13 pm
Actually i did mention it and kind of surprised it was never reviewed but there’s only so much one person can do.
December 4, 2017 @ 10:18 pm
I have been mentioning it periodically for months. It is definetly a top 5, or at least top 10, album for 2017.
December 4, 2017 @ 4:55 pm
1. Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real – Self Titled
2. Turnpike Troubadours – A Long Way From Your Heart
3. John Moreland – Big Bad Luv
4. Zephaniah Ohora – This highway
5. Nikki Lane – Highway Queen
Honorable Mentions:
Chris Stapleton Volume 1 & 2
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
If you haven’t seen Lukas Nelson live please go see him. Him and his band are incredible! Seems like a real humble guy, talked to all the fans after the show, signed autographs etc. I know his album isn’t strictly country but I love it.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:06 pm
Hands down Trophy by Sunny Sweeney Classic Traditional Country. Best main stream albums in no specific order Chris Stapleton From a Room Volumes 1 and 2, Brad Paisley Love and War, Midland On The Rocks, and Joe Nichols Never Gets Old.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:18 pm
1. Purgatory
2. Suffering Stage
3. Colter Wall (self-titled)
A really good one from the rock world is “Wick” by Royal Thunder. Probably best vocals on any album I’ve heard this year.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:22 pm
Last year Cody Jinks album was easily my clear cut favorite, this year it’s between Tyler Childers, Zephaniah Ohora and a album that I really enjoyed this year but didn’t see on anyone else’s list Bob Wayne’s Bad Hombre.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:27 pm
Tyler Childers
December 4, 2017 @ 5:28 pm
Zephaniah put out the best SOUNDING record this year.
Lukas Nelson and POTR put out the most RE-PLAYABLE record this year.
Tyler Childers put out the most FUN record this year.
Colter Wall put out the best INITIAL RELEASE of the year.
Marty Stuart put out the most CREATIVE record of the year.
Isbell put out the most POIGNANT record this year, one that will always sound exactly like 2017 to me,
I also loved the offerings from Turnpike, Moreland, Jamie Wyatt, Willie, and the Waylon demos record.
Overall was not a bad year.
December 4, 2017 @ 9:38 pm
Check out the Porter Union release from this year.,…might not be top 10.. but close..
December 5, 2017 @ 11:44 am
I forgot about it but I liked it a lot. Great harmonies.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:30 pm
Also, Hellbound Glory’s Pinball should be in conversations for something.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:33 pm
“Americana” by Ray Davies is way on up there for me. “Modern Pressure” by Daniel Romano would be as well.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:46 pm
I thought about it a bit more and I’m giving the slight edge to Childers over TT. Absolutely loved TT’s and there were many moments that made me feel feelings. Hard feelings. But Childers didn’t just make me feel feelings, he made me question my very fucking existence.
Just try listening to “Universal Sound” when you’re a little fucked up, makes me second guess my very approach to life. Every time, even sober. And then “Purgatory” doesn’t make me question my life necessarily, it’s just such an unbelievably great song. Terrific premise and songwriting, terrific musicianship, terrific singing.
Childers’ album was so great I even give him a reluctant pass on the man bun-and I’ve never given a pass on a man bun.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:50 pm
TYLER CHILDERS—PURGATORY His album does what your website set out to accomplish. It literally saves country music because it is steeped in tradition yet has a contemporary sound. Do it.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:51 pm
I got
1. Colter Wall
2. Tyler Childers, Purgatory
3. Lukas Nelson & POTR
4. KASEY CHAMBERS, DRAGONFLY
(NOT TO BE MISSED)
5. Jason Isbell, The Nashville Sound
Others
Steve Earle, So you wannabe an outlaw
Charlie Parr, Dog
Jamie Wyatt, Felony Blues
Dragonfly is essential. Kasey Chambers never caught my attention until this album. 20 songs, and they’re killer. Amazing songwriter.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:54 pm
1. Turnpike Troubadours – Long Way From Your Heart
2. Jason Isbell – Nashville Sound
3. Allison Krauss – Windy City
4. Infamous Stringdusters – Laws of Gravity
5. Tyler Childers – Purgatory
December 5, 2017 @ 3:34 pm
Glad to see someone mention that Stringdusters album. It’s great!
December 4, 2017 @ 5:55 pm
Tyler Childers – Purgatory.
December 4, 2017 @ 5:58 pm
Porter Union
December 4, 2017 @ 9:41 pm
Agreed…it’s a soild release…😊
December 4, 2017 @ 6:08 pm
I have to go with Mary Stuart’s “Way Out West” as #1, Zephaniah Ohora at #2 and Lilly Hiatt at #3.
Marty’s album wins for me because the album takes you on a journey from start to finish, much like the classic Johnny Cash “theme” albums would do. Not a bad song on the whole album. “Old Mexico” is a beautiful song with layered harmonies. Marty and Kenny demonstrate excellent, inventive guitar work throughout and the whole band is operating at their best. They can play any genre of music—surf, doo wop, country, rock, blues, bluegress, gospel, and R&B. Marty and his Fabulous Superlatives are simply the greatest live and studio band working today.
December 4, 2017 @ 6:17 pm
Three I haven’t ssen in lists above:
Ags Connelly – Nothin’ Unexpected – I think this would make my personal Top Ten
Travis Meadows – First Cigarette
John Baumann – Proving Grounds
Moreland to me is the best, followed closely by Sunny and Isbell.
Just spreading some love. Looking at Trigger’s list and all the comment lists just reminds me how much great music was released this year.
December 5, 2017 @ 10:34 am
Travis Meadows…..most definitely!
December 4, 2017 @ 6:24 pm
My 2003 car has a 4 CD changer. Loaded are Isbell, Turnpike, an old Ragweed, and Steve Earle’s Outlaw. I really enjoy all those guys and go to all the shows when they pass through the Carolinas, but I keep going back to Steve Earle. The guy is a genius and churns our album after album of great music. Can’t believe Earle’s Outlaw didn’t make the cut.
Anyway:
1. Steve Earle
2. Turnpike
3. Isbell
4. Son Volt
5. I don’t care
December 4, 2017 @ 9:01 pm
Really liked the new Son Volt record,
December 4, 2017 @ 6:26 pm
Make sure you check out James LeBlanc’s new album “Nature of the Beast” produced byGrammy winner Jimmy Nutt. James is a songwriter based out of historic Muscle Shoals, AL.
After spending a career writing song for top musicians such as Travis Tritt ( Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde). James has begun singng his own songs. Each song on this album speaks diectly to his audience l with subjects such as the turmoil of deciding beween the
good or the dark side of his soul to the nostalgic memories of his childhood home. Nature of the Beast is full out country ballads, but even the fans of “everything othet than country” take notice.
James was recently listed in Rolling Stones Top Ten new country artist to wat h for. You also might be familiar with the talent of James’ son Dillon LeBlanc. Please make time to listen to ‘Nature of the Beast’. I guarantee, you won’t be disappointed.
December 4, 2017 @ 6:55 pm
Purgatory hands-down.
December 4, 2017 @ 7:16 pm
Zephaniah OHora/ This Highway. This wasn’t funded by any label, and it is pure country gold. The fact that Zeph is not only from NYC, but thanks Dale Watson and Merle Haggard in the liner notes justifies the gorgeous songs you hear when you listen to this.
Honorable Mentions:
Alex Williams/Better Than Myself
Cody Jinks/Less Wise Modified
Dale Watson/Live At Big T’s, Chicken Shit Bingo
*Also, Dale has a new record out Dec 15th – “Black Jack”….Add that to my list too.
December 4, 2017 @ 7:32 pm
I read SCM almost every day and I have never felt a need to comment until now. I have to vote for Tyler Childers. I haven’t been able to stop playing “Feathered Indians” since the first time I heard it.
December 4, 2017 @ 7:58 pm
Thanks for the vote OldRed.
December 4, 2017 @ 7:58 pm
Childers by a country mile, most amazing, jaw dropping album since Metamodern
December 4, 2017 @ 8:05 pm
Personally I would vote “The Nashville Sound” over everything else. I think it’s pretty clear that every album listed here is amazing, but Jason Isbell has done more than just make an amazing album. He made waves. He got a nomination for AOTY at the CMA’s for a reason, he had a #1 for a reason, and we’re still talking about how this is a career record for a reason. This is the album I’ve listened to the most and the album I’m least tired of. Funny enough that you would single out “Anxiety” when that’s the only song on the album that I skip when listening through. Ironic. But regardless, Jason Isbell deserves the accolade. He’s the standout here for sure
December 4, 2017 @ 8:18 pm
A Long Way from Your Heart – Turnpike Troubadors
Trophy – Sunny Sweeney
Pinball – Hellbound Glory (because Leroy Virgil at his worse is still better than 95% of what’s out there)
December 4, 2017 @ 8:42 pm
Jason Isbell and 400 Unit
December 4, 2017 @ 9:08 pm
Great crop of music this year! This was a tough call between TT and Childers. But in the end it is about the cause and potential for greatness. Here are my top picks:
1. Childers
2. TT
3. Isbell
Other favorites, in no particular order:
– Charley Crockett
– JD McPherson
– Old 97s
– Jonathan Parker
– Lukas Nelson
– Sam Outlaw
– Dalton Domino
– Colter Wall
– Chris Stapleton
– Susto
– Ryan Adams (not country, but not sorry)!
December 4, 2017 @ 9:31 pm
Hmmm… Turnpike, Isbell, Childers, O’Hora… Moreland…great albums…Eady is there too…Porter Union…? Got to be in the mix somewhere…
December 4, 2017 @ 10:57 pm
The bad news: I don’t know nearly enough of these albums to comment with too much authority.
The good news: I have a lot to put in rotation now, with confidence, based on the repeated mentions of some in particular, and will get to listen to some good new (to me) music. That’s why I love this time of year.
FWIW:
Marty
Isbell
Wall
Turnpike
Earle
And one of my favorites, that I don’t see here or in the comments, This Seeet Old World by Lucinda Williams. It’s a “remake” so maybe it doesn’t count, but damn I like it.
December 4, 2017 @ 11:16 pm
I have a hard time casting a vote, since I’ve not really listened to the majority of the albums. I’ve played through them once or twice, maybe some for a week or two, but most of them I only get a feel for the album and move on. That’s not to knock any of them, just a busy life, with limited time to actually sit and appreciate music.
That said, I would enthusiastically vote for Way Out West, for many of the reasons that have been mentioned. As an album, it’s fantastic with the western theme throughout. It transports me to another place. (I love what someone else said about it feeling like a movie.) I appreciate that it’s firmly country, but there are glimpses of different sub genres: rock, Gospel, the Mexican influence, the Native American influence. And, with the Fabulous Superlatives, you know the musicianship is superb.
Not long after Mr. Stuart’s album was released, my wife had a business trip to Vegas and I got to tag along. We took a few days to visit southwest Utah and Zion National Park. “Way Out West” became our soundtrack. I’m a Midwestern hillbilly from southwest Pennsylvania and, though I’ve been out west a couple times (trips to Grand Canyon and Sedona), it’s still very big and different and amazing to me. I can’t listen to “Way Out West” and not think of driving and hiking through canyons and red rock, up and down mesas and ridges. My point is, to me, Mr. Stuart’s album fits being “Way Out West.”
December 5, 2017 @ 12:05 am
Tyler Childers!
December 5, 2017 @ 12:52 am
Purgatory without a doubt. And listening to all the other songs he’s been playing live lately I reckon he’s got a hell of a next album laid away.
December 5, 2017 @ 2:20 am
My vote: Zephania OHora
December 5, 2017 @ 6:01 am
My vote is for the Troubadours and Moreland. I’m from Oklahoma so I may a bit biased. 🙂 But those are the two I’ve listened to the most.
December 5, 2017 @ 6:04 am
Turnpike!
December 5, 2017 @ 6:47 am
It has definately been a great year for independent music, and while every one of these albums are really good, there is one album in my opinion that stands above all others. This album and artist has captured my attention like no other album since High Top Mountain from Sturgill Simpson. It has amazing songwriting and brilliant instrumentation that is very unique. While I own many of the albums on this list, there is one that I keep going back to more than any other. My vote would go to Tyler Childers for Purgatory.
December 5, 2017 @ 7:38 am
Mo Pitney – Behind This Guitar
Rodney Crowell- Close Ties
John Mellencamp-Sad Clowns And Hillbillies
Willie Nelson- God’s Problem Child
Darius Rucker-When Was The Last Time
Brad Paisley- Love And War
December 5, 2017 @ 7:44 am
Lots of incredible stuff on this list! For me, Sunny Sweeney’s ‘Trophy’ album really seems to come straight from Sunny’s life and experience in a VERY vulnerable way. Bottle By My Bed, Pass The Pain, Trophy…the whole damn thing! It’s all incredible and I can’t help but think this would be a Top 10 album if she were on a major label. If you haven’t listened to it in it’s entirety, you are missing out.
December 5, 2017 @ 8:27 am
Childers, Wall, Parr, OHora
December 5, 2017 @ 8:52 am
It’s hands down Zephaniah O’Hara for me, with John Moreland a close second.
December 5, 2017 @ 9:34 am
Childers
December 5, 2017 @ 9:37 am
Sunny Sweeney – Trophy
This album is a must for any country music fan. Each song tells a story if it’s own, but play it from beginning to end and the flow of songs is even better. Sunny threw her whole heart and soul into the album, and like a fine wine she is getting better and better with age!
December 5, 2017 @ 9:41 am
1. Colter Wall
2. Colter Wall
3. Colter Wall
Just get lost in You Look to Yours and Fraulein (:
December 5, 2017 @ 10:38 am
Can’t even assign an order. Ultimate favorites this year:
Jaime Wyatt – An unforgettable, full album in only 7 songs – amazing.
Tyler Childers – The real deal.
Marty Stuart – An album that plays out like a novel.
John Moreland – Unreal.
Sunny Sweeney – So much beautiful honesty.
Turnpike Troubadours – I feel like I hear something new every time I listen to this record.
Dori Freeman – What a voice, what depth.
Checking out Jeremy Pinnell now, and that’s definitely some good stuff too. I wouldn’t put it #1, but it’s another good find.
December 8, 2017 @ 10:44 am
Definitely on the Pinnell comment. There has got to be some sort of back-story on his lack of coverage here (Pinnell’s acclaimed prior album also got no mention)…..it’s definitely not an album that should fall into the category of the many low budget / amateur country albums that are ok, but not good enough to rise out of the “SCM can’t always cover every new release, there are only so many hours in the day” category.
December 8, 2017 @ 10:44 am
….or, if it is in that category, I would love to hear why.
December 8, 2017 @ 6:54 pm
There is no “back-story.” Your comment is the perfect example of how folks make the most wild-eyed assumptions simply because I can’t cover every single record released in country. At this point, you’re comments have angered my obstinate side to the point where I may purposely avoid the record just because you won’t shut the hell up about it.
December 8, 2017 @ 7:41 pm
We are well beyond your decision to avoid it, trigger. You were pissed you didn’t pick it up on release date and learned about it from the comment section, so no going back now. I get it. You had plenty of time to cover it. In the time it took you to write the non-story Timberlake post (one of many examples), you could have easily written a quick review of this very deserving album. Or hell, just replace the oddly long (for such a mediocre album) Parker McCollum writeup with a Pinnell review, and you would have had it made.
December 8, 2017 @ 9:12 pm
“You were pissed you didn’t pick it up on release date and learned about it from the comment section, so no going back now.”
That’s another assumption.
I get suggestions from the comments section all the time. I also use comments as a barometer for what people are listening to, and how they feel about certain artists and music. What do you think the whole point of an article like this is? I could be like every other fucking website and just post a list of my favorite albums and act like it’s the Holy Grail. Or post a poll and make it a popularity contest. Instead, I’ve created a forum where not only people can share their own opinions, but others read them and take those suggestions to heart.
A lot of the work I do for this website, nobody sees. For every article written, dozens of emails are exchanged, research is done, music is screened, correspondences with publicists, managers, labels, etc. happens. The first time I heard about Jeremy Pinnell was an email from a guy named Brian Penick on April 25th, 2014. After that, I corresponded with Pavement PR about Pinnell on nearly a dozen occasions. I have listened to his music extensively, just I have hundreds of artists at this point that I haven’t written a word about. I still haven’t ruled out covering Pinnell. But if I do, it won’t be because you have insulted my integrity. It will be because I have something to say.
Years ago there was a Southern Rock band named Fifth on the Floor. They put out a couple of records that I never reviewed, and never talked about. It was a big controversy in the Shooter Jennings camp, because Shooter was involved in the band as a producer and confidant. I was accused of being bias, trying to keep them down, purposely avoiding one of the best bands of our generation because there was no other reason I couldn’t write glowingly about how awesome they were. Dozens, maybe hundreds of people stopped reading this website because of the rank bias I showed for NOT covering them.
In 2016, the front man for Fifth on the Floor, Justin Wells, won the Saving Country Music Song of the Year for “The Dogs.” Why did I avoid Justin and Fifth on the Floor for half a decade, and then all of a sudden give him one of the biggest awards all year? It’s because he earned it. He inspired me with his music. He gave me something to say. He motivated me to want to share his music with the world.
If I wanted to write what others wanted me to, I would have quit this a long time ago. I write about whatever I’m inspired to write about at a given time. It’s dependent on the artists to inspire me if they want me to write about them.
Never say never.
December 8, 2017 @ 10:00 pm
That’s all well and good. It’s your site. But as long as you have an open comment section, you will have opinions shared, and you should learn to not get so bent out of shape over someone recommending a very deserving artist. No matter if it is mentioned 10 times. The Justn Wells story is not applicable here. Pinnell isn’t putting out half baked stuff like wells previously was….his album is solid. I guess Pinnell just needs to cut a track that is basically a tired U2 rock bass line (aka The Dogs) to “inspire you”. I mean, it’s “dependent on the artists to inspire” the almighty Trigger “if they want” Trigger “to write about them”, right?
December 8, 2017 @ 10:59 pm
Trig –
It’s because he earned it. He inspired me with his music. He gave me something to say. He motivated me to want to share his music with the world.
Otherwise, every review would say the same fucking thing and readers would start tuning you out!
December 8, 2017 @ 7:48 pm
And I’m not the only one mentioning Pinnell in the comment sections. Big oversight on the part of SCM, but you can’t catch every new release. Nobody expects you to. If you learn about a great album after the fact, though, you shouldn’t shy away from covering it. I could care less whether you decide to not write about Pinnell simply because I have mentioned him here a handful of times. But, I will keep spreading the word. Here and elsewhere. It is that good of an album.
December 5, 2017 @ 10:40 am
My vote would be for Sunny Sweeney’s Trophy…. a great album. Not a single bad song on it. The lyrics, attitude, emotions. Makes you laugh and choke up too. Just the way good country songs should do. She has a great talent for making even a cover song her own.
December 5, 2017 @ 10:49 am
Twangy voice? Check. Country chords? Check. Heartbreak and ass-kicking? Check. Honest songwriting without any mention of trying to prove “how country she is”. THIS ladies and gents is country music and Sunny Sweeney’s Trophy is it!
December 5, 2017 @ 11:29 am
From the above list it has to be Tyler Childers.
From my list nothing gets near Amber Cross incredible album ‘Savage on the downhill’
December 5, 2017 @ 11:54 am
Amber Cross is new to me. What I’ve heard so far on YT is real and good. Thanks for the pointer.
December 5, 2017 @ 1:03 pm
I bought the Isbell, Sweeney and Stuart albums. Haven’t heard any of the others. For whatever reason, I hadn’t listened to Isbell before this album, I’m so glad I did, bought Southeastern and Something More Than Free a few days after I listened to The Nashville Sound. I’m so excited to go to his show in January. I vote for him for Album of the Year. However, Sweeney’s “Bottle By My Bed” is the kind of song that should win Grammys and CMAs. Incredibly affecting. That’s my Song of the Year.
“
December 5, 2017 @ 2:37 pm
Bottle by my Bed is amazing. Totally agree with ya on the Grammy!
December 5, 2017 @ 2:17 pm
For me, someone who just doesn’t have the time to listen to anywhere near all the albums listed on this site, which means that first impressions are VERY important to me. I have sampled songs from most everyone listed above. The music has to grab me and make me set time aside to fully listen and digest an artist or album. Which leads me to my pick for best album of the year, one that, yes, I was familiar with both artists going into, which usually helps for me, American Grandstand. Hands down, not even close the most traditional country album of the year. Daryle Singletary & Rhonda Vincent nailed that one to the wall. Excellent
December 5, 2017 @ 2:24 pm
What about Ryan Koenig’s album Two Different Worlds? It’s so good!
December 5, 2017 @ 2:25 pm
Tyler Childers hands down.