Album Review: Brent Cobb - Shine On Rainy Day

Review by Trailer

The inviting warmth of John Denver, the deceptive simplicity of Kris Kristofferson, and the swampy grooves of Tony Joe White. Comparisons are the crutch of a lazy critic, but I'll be damned if those three traits don't fairly aptly describe Brent Cobb's sound. Throw in a little Van Morrison sublimeness for good measure. If I'm gonna go the easy route, I may as well go all out.

Hailing from a musical Georgia family, Brent Cobb gets both his chosen career path and his sound honest. His dad and uncles were songwriters (in fact, they wrote one of this album's strongest cuts, "Country Bound" when Brent was 5) and cousin Dave, well, you know Dave. He's helmed a few records you might have heard before. He's at the board on this one too, and Shine On Rainy Day stands as a fine first full-album collaboration between the Cobbs.




Distilled to its most central theme, Shine On Rainy Day is an exaltation of home and simple living. Where the typical Nashville writer might see a party spot or a mudding hole, Cobb takes you on a thoughtful stroll through the cattails and dragonflies. It's an appreciation rather than an exploitation; one that shows respect for both the craft and the audience.

You might even say this was a further exploration of the themes of this year's Southern Family compilation (produced by Dave and including Brent and many other rootsy artists). It's certainly similar in atmosphere…the kind of music you'd rather have a front porch seat than a front row seat to enjoy.

"Solving Problems" opens the set with a knowing look at the simple joys of just hanging out with an old friend. "We ain't up to nothing, just solving all the problems of the world" Brent sings, imbuing the moment with an emotional weight that belies the self-deprecation.

"Diggin' Holes" has passed this way before; it's a release from a 2012 self-titled EP and was one of my favorite songs that year. It holds up well, with a sense of humor that recalls Roger Miller and a catchy tune that would fit well in most eras of country radio that aren't this one.

The title cut, previously recorded by Andrew Combs as "Rainy Day Song," is a near celebration of the dark days in life. I know the feeling. It's not about wallowing in misery, but appreciating and feeling the full depth of the lows so you can love the highs …"Laughing ain't a pleasure till you know about crying."

It's a strong and consistent set of tunes without a lull in quality. Shine On Rainy Day isn't a party record but it's light enough for a round of beers on the back porch while the grill smokes away. It's a humid afternoon with a cool breeze. A slow drive down a gravel road on the outskirts of your hometown, with nary a bro in sight. Cobb's debut has all the goods to satisfy both the buzzy ne'er-do-well and the homesick romantic in us all.

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Shine On Rainy Day is available on Amazon, iTunes, etc.

Brent Cobb: The Farce the Music Interview

Brent Cobb: The Farce the Music Interview

By Kevin Broughton

Brent Cobb is an old soul. He’s wise and even-keeled like you’d expect a man twice his 30 years to be. Heck, he sounds old on the phone; his conversational tone matches up with a grizzled roughneck, not the soothing troubadour on Shine On Rainy Day. Critical acclaim poured forth upon the album’s October release, and it finished at a heady No. 4 in the FTM critic’s poll – ahem – no small feat. Our intrepid publisher described perfectly it as “a slow drive down a gravel road on the outskirts of your hometown, with nary a bro in sight.” 

And therein lies the irony. Or paradox. Whatever, the bro issue is inescapable in a discussion of Cobb’s musical journey, and it’s evident that the dichotomy puzzles the man himself. Because this guy – who hasn’t needed a day job outside of music for 10 years – has written plenty of songs that bros and their producers have fattened their wallets on. And while Cobb would never say it, the bros and their auto-tuning technicians commit aggravated musical assault on his art, dumbing it down in the pursuit of (a) filthy lucre; and (b) the approval of millions of 80-IQ drones.

Oh, his frustration occasionally bubbles up, but in an understated way in keeping with his gentle temperament. Except that one time two years ago when he went into the studio to vent; that’s when “Yo, Bro” caught the ear of notable outlets like Rolling Stone. (Though, by the way, Cobb sent it to FTM first.) The magazine was one of many platforms to make the obvious comparison of his parody song to the work of one of the reigning bros, who happened to be a friend of Cobb’s.  It picked up steam to the point the artist felt compelled to preemptively reach out to the pop star in question. “He asked me,” Cobb said, “whether I was making fun of bros, or if it was something I wanted him to record.”

Yeah.

It’s a stretch to say Cobb has a foot in both camps. It’s indisputable, though, that there’s some overlap because of his personal and professional relationships. It gives him a unique perspective into the critical/commercial contrast, and you won’t find anyone with Cobb’s artistic integrity who has such a realistic window into the tragic dumbing down of country music.

When Jody Rosen coined the term “bro country” three and a half years ago, it cut deep with the thin-skinned millionaires whose songs are confined to beer, trucks and heavy petting with loose women. Jason Aldean – who stares at the orange juice can because it says concentrate – remarked, “It bothers me because I don’t think it’s a compliment.”

“You have no idea,” Cobb says, “how personally they take it. You wouldn’t think it would bother them too bad, since all they have to do is go to the mailbox and pick up a check. I don’t know why it bothers them so much, but it does.”

Brent Cobb may never sleep in piles of money; he’ll also never have to worry about the respect of his peers.

On a Sunday in December, Cobb took a break from singing the Frozen soundtrack with his little girl to talk about songwriting. And the music business. And having a cousin who churns out Grammys for the guys program directors ignore. The “bro” thing may have come up, too.

I’d like to start with a question about tradecraft. For a while you made a living writing songs for other people. Is there a different mindset for writing a song for somebody else? I would imagine you attack it differently, for instance, when the goal is to get a song on mainstream radio.

Well, I got lucky, really. I’m with a great publishing company, Carnival Music, that’s always supported people and let them be their own artists and writers. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.  There are a lot of places in town, where you go in and it’s a nine-to-five, and you have to try to write hits and that sort of thing. I’ve never had any of that kind of pressure. And for some reason I’ve gotten lucky enough; the songs I’ve written I’ve always done for myself. And I’ve been fortunate that there have been folks to record them.

About six months before the release of Shine on Rainy Day, there was the compilation from your cousin Dave Cobb, Southern Family. Your song on it, “Down Home,” seems like a preview for the album. Was that a song you’d been working on for a while? Put another way, if Dave hadn’t done the compilation, would that have been the eleventh song on Shine On?

I’m sure it would’ve been, man. It’s funny. I had gotten started on that song and had maybe a half a verse or a full verse. When Dave gave me a call [about the compilation] I knew it would be a perfect fit. But it’s definitely a Sunday in the life of my Southern family. And on my album there’s definitely a lot of that, so yeah, no doubt it would’ve been the eleventh track.

It looks like y’all had a lot of fun recording that one.

Oh, yeah. It was definitely good to get back in the studio with Dave; it had been about 10 years since I’d done that with him. So it was a blast. I’ve said this before, but he kinda produces the way I write. There’s a lot of spur-of-the moment stuff, and if he says, “something doesn’t feel right,” he means from his heart, not technically. And that’s the way I’ve always approached writing songs.

You met your cousin Dave, I believe, when you were about 16. He was an established producer then, but not the big name his is now in the industry. He’s kind of a big deal….

That’s what I’m saying!

…How big an asset is it to have a producer who’s not just blood kin, but the hottest hand in Nashville right now?

Ah, that’s gonna be pretty beneficial. It’s definitely helped me out a lot. When we first met I was 17, and he had produced Put the O Back in Country by Shooter [Jennings], which was one of my favorite records at that time and is still one of my favorites.

And it was funny, man. When I moved up here [Nashville]… well, actually, I moved to L.A. for a minute. I lived in the middle of Hollywood for about four months and went back and forth for about a year and a half. Then I moved back to Georgia, then back to Nashville in March of ’08. And I was looking around trying to find a publishing deal and learning about being a staff writer. And the first thing everybody asks is, “Are you a songwriter or an artist?”

So I would always say, “I thought they were one and the same.” And they said, “Well, we’ve gotta get you a producer.” And I told everybody the same thing, for eight years: I’ve got a cousin who’s a producer, and he’s badass. But folks were a little scared to invest money in someone who’s somebody’s cousin who happens to be a producer. And I didn’t have the money and Dave didn’t have the money, so we sorta did what we had to do there for a second. But now a lot of those naysayers are red in the face, I believe. [Laughs.]

Around the time Something More than Free came out, Jason Isbell talked about the collaborative way he and Dave worked in the studio. Your cousin, he said, had a real knack for knowing where to place a bridge, for example, or whether to start a song with a chorus or a verse. Did you experience a similar chemistry in the studio?

Yeah. Well, definitely on my first album, Dave would structurally set up songs. I was 17 at the time. And there’s still a lot of that because he’s just got such a great instinct for… well, I might think a song is incomplete and he might say, “I think it’s done; let’s just put this little melodic thing at the end.” He’s just fantastic, and that’s why everybody loves him, because he thinks like an artist. Well, he is an artist, not just someone who can afford a bunch of equipment and calls himself a producer.

I imagine he’s as valuable – if not more so – than any great session man.

Yeah! And going back to the staff-writing thing, I approach that the same way Dave does: It’s a collaboration that comes down to “What’s best for the song?”

How long had you been working on this batch of songs? Did you do any writing while in the studio?

Some of them longer than others. Like I said, I’ve always written for myself, so I’ve always had a deep pocketful of songs that kinda lent themselves to this album. But some of them I finished up in the studio in the moment; I might have a melody in mind and I’d say, “What do you think about this one, Dave?” So, a little bit of both.

There’s an uplifting air to this album of yours. There’s sort of a demarcation point, I think, between the first seven and last three songs, but for the most part there’s kind of a contentment running through it. Is this a reflection of your personality and general outlook on life?

I think it has to be. I come from a very musical family, a positive family, a loving family.  For me, it’s been a long decade professionally in music and I’ve seen some people come behind me and excel and surpass me. But I’m still rockin’, professionally. I’ve been able to make a living from just music for almost a decade. So I’ve gotta be positive.

The other thing I wanted to show, you know…I’m friends with everybody on both sides of the fence; I can’t really pick a side because I’ve got so many friends on both sides of this invisible wall. My thing is, I wanted to do country music in such a way that just because you’re going beyond scratching the surface and doing something a little deeper, it doesn’t have to be depressing. You can write something that feels good and also has a little more meaning to it, a little more depth.

So that was always in the back of my mind while I was putting this album together. And also – having a two-year-old – I wanted to put something out where if I never did anything else, my daughter could listen to it and say, “Man, that was my daddy’s album!”

From Brent Cobb's Instagram

You'd easily fit into the mainstream country neo-traditional revival (artists like Stapleton, William Michael Morgan, Jon Pardi).  You've seemingly gone the more straight-Americana/less-commercial route. Was that a business decision, or just staying true to your style and comfort level?

Yeah, it’s just the way I write. If you go the traditional or commercial route, there’s just so many people who have to get involved, and that wouldn’t have been a good representation of what I do. This album is just natural.

And, speaking of the commercial route, let’s talk about an elephant in the room. There are several folks in the “mainstream” camp who’ve recorded your songs. You wrote “Tailgate Blues” and Luke Bryan had a hit with it. (editor’s note: was a popular album cut)  It might be hard for folks to reconcile the songs on Shine on Rainy Day with that one. Was that a case of “well, that’s just what the music-listening public wants, so give it to them?”

No, that song was originally written for me. I had a verse or two, and it was originally called “Mossy Blues.” And I would ask people to go and listen to the lyrics of that song * before they made any judgments like, “Oh, he wrote that song for Luke Bryan.” Because – and I don’t really want to be the one to say it – if they listen to it, it’s structurally different. There are some of the same phrasings, but we’re from the same area. But I think you can tell the differences in depth.

And my co-writer, Neil Medley – it was one of the first songs I’d had a co-writer for, and this was about five years ago – he’s the one who said “Let’s call it ‘Tailgate Blues.’”

Well, that was certainly some foresight, right there.

[Laughs]. Isn’t that funny, man? And look, I’m not saying we were the first ones to write about a buzz, or write about a tailgate or crickets and stuff, because we damn sure were not. But during that time period not a lot of people were saying that stuff. And then, about a year or so after that…[laughs].

What’s more likely to happen: Brent Cobb writing another song about a truck, or Luke Bryan covering “Down in the Gulley?”

Luke would do Down in the Gulley.

Yeah, but would you want him to? Wait. You don’t have to answer that.

Of course I would! I want everybody to do whatever they want to do. Wouldn’t it be cool to hear Luke do Down in the Gully? That would probably change everything.

Well, it would help your bottom line, no doubt… So, you apparently dipped your toe into satire and wrote something called “Yo, Bro.”

[Laughs] Aw, I should’ve sent that to you.

I’d love to hear it, but I can’t, since all traces of it have disappeared from the Internet. Can you clear up this mystery?  

Ah, well…For about four or five years, I averaged doing about 120 dates a year, and when we found out we were having our baby, I decided I’d leave the road and just focus on songwriting. And during that time, it was at the height, the peak really, of the bro country movement, and I couldn’t get anybody to listen to any of my songs.

So I got kinda pissed off. And what happened…I won’t say any names, but I had a couple folks who are kinda high up – Luke WAS NOT one of them – a couple folks in that camp told me, “Man if you could just write some stuff that leaned that way, you could probably have a lot of success.” And it really bothered me because it ain’t that I can’t do that; I just don’t do that.

I decided to write something that was that style of song, and I wanted to do it better than they can write their own style of song. [Pauses] Against them. As a matter of fact, Neil Medley – the same guy who co-wrote “Tailgate” – that’s who I wrote “Yo, Bro” with. And it worked.** [Laughs] It did a lot of what I thought it would do; I figured it would go over a lot of the bro fans’ heads…

That’s not a very high bar, Brent…

And later they were like, “Wait, I think he’s making fun of us, but it doesn’t matter because it sounds so cool.” What I didn’t expect to happen was that a lot of the more traditional fans – I expected them to get the joke – but it kinda backfired on me and said, “Aw, he’s a bro hatin’ on bros.”

[Howls with laughter]…

Yeah, that’s what happened. So, I pulled it off the Internet. Someday I’ll put it back out there, but I took it off before I put this record out because I didn’t want people to be confused and not get the joke. Luckily we’ve got folks like [Trailer] and ole Trigger (Saving Country Music) who do get the joke. But a lot of folks didn’t, so I just didn’t want to deal with that.

Back to Southern Family for a second: It’s become a cliché, what with the mainstream country bros checking all the boxes (trucks, dirt roads, etc.) to show they’re authentically rural on all their songs. On “Down Home,” you touch all the bases yourself, yet it’s valid on its face. Did you write that song as sort of an ironic wink at the bro template?

Nah, I didn’t really think of it that way. The thing is, I’m friends with some of those guys. There was one time we were sitting around in the writing room writing a song, and I had this really cool idea.  Where I grew up my grandpa had a junkyard. He had a hundred acres that my great-grandpa bought for a dollar an acre after World War I, and on one part of it was this junkyard.

So I had this idea about how things rust away in a junkyard, but it can still be beautiful; a really rural song, you know? So this one guy – and man this is one of the top dudes, and again I’m not gonna say any names. He says, “Well, does that pass the Bubba test?” I asked him what the “Bubba test” was. “As in Bubba back home; is he gonna get it?”

It bothered me so much. And I was a young buck, just a low man on the [Nashville] totem pole. I told the guy, “Well, I don’t think we’re gonna be able to write anything together. Ever.” And I just got up and walked out. Who knows; maybe if I hadn’t walked out I could’ve had a bunch of bro hits. [Laughs] But it just bothers me, man. It’s an epidemic, and what I don’t understand is, those guys are from there (the rural South.) They know that things are deeper. I don’t know whose fault it is, whether it’s the fans of that music; I don’t know if it’s the record labels, or the radio, or if it’s just people getting there and selling where they’re from short. I don’t know whose problem it is. But it’s unfortunate, because it’s much richer, where we’re all from.

Yeah. As a lifelong Southerner, it chaps me when in the movies, for example, every Southerner is gonna be a dumb yokel…

Always…

…and these guys, they’re reinforcing that stereotype and lining their pockets. And now they’ve added an element of soft-core porn to it, singing about trying to get in some skank’s pants…

yeah…

…and it’s not healthy.

You know, I hate to name-drop because I know these guys and they’re all heroes of mine. But my wife and I were talking about this the other day. Guys like Kristofferson and Willie, when they talked about a woman, it was so romantic. They did it in a way that was just beautiful, man. You can still do that, dammit. It’s the same way with movies, too. I love the movie Dazed and Confused; it’s funny because it’s real-life, not over the top. What’s happening in all genres of music, not just country, is that it’s over the top and exploitative of whatever the truth is.

Lastly, are you doing any new writing, or is that something that’s perpetual for you? And have you thought about what you might do for your next album?

I have thought about it and I’m really excited about doing the next album. It won’t stray too far from where I am already, though.

Cobb will play a few dates late this month in the U.K., then come home for an extensive tour with Nikki Lane in February. Catch him when you can.

* Seriously, go listen. He’s right, and it’s a great song. When sung by Brent Cobb, of course.

** Oh, man, does it ever work. Since the interview, your humble correspondent received a copy from the artist on the condition of not circulating it. It is brilliant.

Road Dispatch: Brent Cobb, City Winery (ATL), 2/25/22

By Kevin Broughton

“Man, we played Macon last night, and I kinda blew my voice out,” are the first words out of Brent Cobb’s mouth during a brief tour-bus visit before a late February show in Atlanta. And why wouldn’t it happen? Macon’s just 70 miles up the road from Cobb’s hometown of Ellaville; what to expect, if not a rocking show?

 

“The response on this tour has been overwhelming,” says Cobb, who recently released an album of Southern gospel standards, And Now, Let’s Turn to Page… “In places like Manhattan, even, they love it when we play the gospel record live, beginning to end. You’re gonna like this show.” 

 

And yet, there’s one more tour stop, tomorrow in Nashville. Our boy was gonna have to dig deep. 

 

And dig deep he would. Atlanta’s a good bit further from Ellaville than Macon, but there’s a partisan Cobb crowd on hand. It’s largely respectful of the opening act – rising country star Gabe Lee – but there’s a sense of anticipation bordering on rowdy. 

 

As the moment arrives, Cobb and the band make quite the entrance: the front man in a shiny, mother-of-pearl-colored jacket with raised paisley, his bandmates sporting Kelly-green blazers of their own.  The night is actually three concerts in one, as most of the songs from the gospel record make an appearance. After a quick jacket swap – as mother-of-pearl gives way to mustard corduroy – there’s a brief acoustic solo set, followed by a full-band, secular rocker to close things out. 

 

It’s not until the last leg that Cobb’s vocal fatigue peeks in. “So, we played Macon last night, and I kinda blew my voice out,” he tells the crowd, before addressing the sound man. “Could we double up the vocal monitors, please?” And he soldiered on, including this live version of his 2020, tongue-in-cheek “Shut Up And Sing.”

 

Unsurprisingly, the lights come on after the last song of the set, signifying there’ll be no encores. Nobody complains, knowing they’ve watched a native son leave it all on the stage. 

Top Albums Every Year of Farce the Music's Existence

It's almost Year-End List season, (The 2024 albums list should be ready later in December) so it's time for a recap of which albums topped our lists in past years. 

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No links, no summaries, no pretty album covers, just lists.

Who knows? Maybe you'll see something you've been forgetting to check out.

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2023

1. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Weathervanes

2. Lucero - Should’ve Learned by Now

3. William Prince - Stand in the Joy

4. Gabe Lee - Drink the River

5. Deer Tick - Emotional Contracts

6. Bully - Lucky for You

7. Ruston Kelly - The Weakness

8. Charles Wesley Godwin - Family Tree

9. Margo Cilker- Valley of Heart’s Delight

10. Pony Bradshaw - North Georgia Rounder

11. Lori McKenna - 1988

12. JD Clayton - Long Way from Home

13. Turnpike Troubadours - A Cat in the Rain

14. Whitney Rose - Rosie

15. Drayton Farley - Twenty on High

16. Amanda Fields - What, When and Without

17. Willie Tea Taylor - The Great Western Hangover

18. The Steel Woods - On Your Time

19. The War & Treaty - Lover’s Game

20. Jason Hawk Harris - Thin Places

21. Brent Cobb - Southern Star

22. Sundy Best - Feel Good Country

23. Brit Taylor - Kentucky Blue

24. Jake Stringer - Just Happy to Be Here

25. Shaker Hymns - The Highway & The Boulevard

26. Brennen Leigh - Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet

27. Jeffrey Martin - Thank God We Left the Garden

28. Colby Acuff - Western White Pines

29. Colter Wall - Little Songs

30. Jaime Wyatt - Feel Good

2022

1. Kaitlin Butts - What Else Can She Do

2. 49 Winchester - Fortune Favors the Bold

3. Vandoliers - s/t

4. Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You

5. Ben Chapman - Make the Night Better

6. Ian Noe - River Fools & Mountain Saints

7. Aaron Raitiere - Single Wide Dreamer

8. The Wilder Blue - s/t

9. Miko Marks & The Resurrectors - Feel Like Going Home

10. Michaela Anne - Oh to Be That Free

11. Gabe Lee - The Hometown Kid

12. Joshua Hedley - Neon Blue

13. Wade Bowen - Somewhere Between the Secret & the Truth

14. Arlo McKinley - This Mess We’re In

15. Adeem the Artist - White Trash Revelry

16. Kelsey Waldon - No Regular Dog

17. Amanda Shires - Take it Like a Man

18. Tami Neilson - Kingmaker

19. Band of Horses - Things are Great

20. Plains - I Walked With You a Ways

2021

(returned to just me doing the rankings this year)

1. Morgan Wade - Reckless

2. Charles Wesley Godwin - How the Mighty Fall

3. James McMurtry - The Horses and the Hounds

4. Sierra Ferrell - Long Time Coming

5. Mike & The Moonpies - One to Grow On

6. Brandi Carlile - In These Silent Days

7. Billy Strings - Renewal

8. Jesse Daniel - Beyond These Walls

9. Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood & Juanita

10. Emily Scott Robinson - American Siren

11. Margo Cilker - Pohorylle

12. The Steel Woods - All of Your Stones

13. Jason Boland and the Stragglers - The Light Saw Me

14. Olivia Rodrigo - Sour

15. Mac Leaphart - Music City

16. Mastodon - Hushed and Grim

17. John R. Miller - Depreciated

18. TK & The Holy Know Nothings - The Incredible Heat Machine

19. Langhorne Slim - Strawberry Mansion

20. Cole Chaney - Mercy

2020

1. American Aquarium - Lamentations

2. The Wilder Blue - Hill Country

3. Tennessee Jet - The Country

4. Zephaniah Ohora - Listening to the Music

5. Chris Stapleton - Starting Over

6. Ward Davis - Black Cats & Crows

7. Ruthie Collins - Cold Comfort

8. Futurebirds - Teamwork

9. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Reunions

10. Tami Neilson - Chickaboom!

11. Sturgill Simpson - Cuttin’ Grass Vol. I

12. Run the Jewels - RTJ4

13. Waylon Payne - Blue Eyes, The Harlot…

14. Arlo McKinley - Die Midwestern

15. Jaime Wyatt - Neon Cross

16. Ashley McBryde - Never Will

17. Jesse Daniel - Rollin’ On

18. Margo Price - That’s How Rumors Get Started

19. Elizabeth Cook - Aftermath

20. Kathleen Edwards - Total Freedom

2019

1. Vandoliers - Forever

2. Ian Noe - Between the Country

3. Tyler Childers - Country Squire

4. Charles Wesley Godwin - Seneca

5. Mike & The Moonpies - Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold

6. Kelsey Waldon - White Noise / White Lines

7. Jade Bird - s/t

8. Jason Hawk Harris - Love and the Dark

9. Dalton Domino - Songs From the Exile

10. Whiskey Myers - s/t

11. Molly Tuttle - When You’re Ready

12. Cody Jinks - The Wanting

13. Sturgill Simpson - Sound and Fury

14. Black Pumas - s/t

15. The Highwomen - s/t

16. Caroline Spence - Mint Condition

17. Emily Scott Robinson - Traveling Mercies

18. (Tie) Tom Russell - October in the Railroad Earth

18. (Tie) Left Lane Cruiser - Shake and Bake

20. Hayes Carll - What It Is

2018

1. Lucero - Among the Ghosts

2. Jamie Lin Wilson - Jumping Over Rocks

3. Brandi Carlile - By the Way, I Forgive You

4. Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour

5. Cody Jinks - Lifers

6. Joshua Hedley - Mr. Jukebox

7. American Aquarium - Things Change

8. Ruston Kelly - Dying Star

9. Whitey Morgan & the .78s - Hard Times & White Lines

10. Dallas Moore - Mr. Honky Tonk

11. Shooter Jennings - Shooter

12. Sarah Shook & the Disarmers - Years

13. Brent Cobb - Providence Canyon

14. Ashley McBryde - Girl Going Nowhere

15. Caleb Caudle - Crushed Coins

16. John Prine - The Tree of Forgiveness

17. Great Peacock - Gran Pavo Real

18. Blackberry Smoke - Find a Light

19. Sleep - The Sciences

20. High on Fire - Electric Messiah

2017

1. Tyler Childers - Purgatory

2. Turnpike Troubadours - A Long Way From Your Heart

3. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - The Nashville Sound

4. Colter Wall - s/t

5. Chris Stapleton - From A Room, Vol. 2

6. Gregg Allman - Southern Blood

7. Jason Eady - s/t

8. John Moreland - Big Bad Luv

9. Shinyribs - I Got Your Medicine

10. Travis Meadows - First Cigarette

11. The Steel Woods - Straw in the Wind

12. J.D. McPherson - Undivided Heart & Soul

13. Chris Stapleton - From A Room, Vol. 1

14. Zephaniah OHora - This Highway

15. Steve Earle - So You Wannabe An Outlaw

16. Lee Ann Womack - The Lonely, The Lonesome and The Gone

17. Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires - Youth Detention

18. Hellbound Glory - Pinball

19. Lillie Mae - Forever and Then Some

20. Margo Price - All American Made

2016

1. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth

2. Cody Jinks - I'm Not the Devil

3. Lori McKenna - The Bird and the Rifle

4. Brent Cobb - Shine On Rainy Day

5. Austin Lucas - Between the Moon and the Midwest

6. Justin Wells - Dawn in the Distance

7. Flatland Cavalry - Humble Folks 

8. Drive-by Truckers - American Band

9. Blackberry Smoke - Like an Arrow

10. Caleb Caudle - Carolina Ghost

11. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got it From Here…

12. (tie) Jeff Shepherd & the Jailhouse Poets - s/t

12. (tie) The Sword - Low Country

14. Luke Bell - s/t

15. Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial

16. Brandy Clark - Big Day in a Small Town

17. Elizabeth Cook - Exodus of Venus

18. Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward - Bomber Heights

19. Arliss Nancy - Greater Divides

20. Quaker City Night Hawks - El Astronauta

2015

 (2015 was the first year we did a staff-voted list)

1. Turnpike Troubadours - s/t

2. James McMurtry - Complicated Game

3. Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free

4. Chris Stapleton - Traveller

5. Whitey Morgan - Sonic Ranch

6. American Aquarium - Wolves 

7. The Yawpers - American Man

8. Ray Wylie Hubbard - The Ruffian's Misfortune

9. John Moreland - High on Tulsa Heat

10. Jonathan Tyler - Holy Smokes

11. Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear (tie)

William Clark Green - Ringling Road (tie)

Jason Boland and the Stragglers - Squelch (tie)

2014

1. Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

2. The War on Drugs - Lost In the Dream

3. Adam Faucett - Blind Water Finds Blind Water

4. Hiss Golden Messenger - Lateness of Dancers

5. Old 97's - Most Messed Up

6. Lydia Loveless - Somewhere Else

7. Run the Jewels - RTJ2

8. Kelsey Waldon - The Goldmine

9. Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden

10. Lee Ann Womack - The Way I'm Livin'

11. Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires - Dereconstructed

12. Stoney Larue - Aviator

13. Tami Neilson - Dynamite!

14. Cory Branan - The No-Hit Wonder

15. Fire Mountain - All Dies Down

16. St. Paul and the Broken Bones - Half the City

17. Don Williams - Reflections

18. Matt Woods - With Love From Brushy Mountain

 19. Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives - Saturday Night/Sunday Morning

20. Jimbo Mathus - Dark Night of the Soul

2013

1. John Moreland - In the Throes

2. Jason Isbell - Southeastern

3. Sturgill Simpson - High Top Mountain

4. Arliss Nancy - Wild American Runners

5. Drew Kennedy - Wide Listener

6. Run the Jewels - RTJ

7. Brandy Clark - 12 Stories

8. Austin Lucas - Stay Reckless

9. Fifth on the Floor - Ashes and Angels

10. Ashley Monroe - Like a Rose

11. The National - Trouble Will Find Me

12. Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer, Different Park

13. Shooter Jennings - The Other Life

14. Queens of the Stone Age - …Like Clockwork

15. Ha Ha Tonka - Lessons

16. Son Volt - Honky Tonk

17. Guy Clark - My Favorite Picture of You

18. Possessed by Paul James - There Will Be Nights When I'm Lonely

19. Vince Gill and Paul Franklin - Bakersfield

20. Todd Farrell Jr. and the Dirty Birds - All Our Heroes Live in Vans

2012

1. Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires - There is a Bomb in Gilead

2. Marty Stuart - Nashville, Vol. 1 Tear The Woodpile Down

3. Chris Knight - Little Victories

4. The Pollies - Where the Lies Begin

5. Turnpike Troubadours - Goodbye Normal Street

6. The Departed - Adventus

7. Dwight Yoakam - 3 Pears

8. Uncle Lucius - And You Are Me

9. Kendrick Lamar - good kid, M.A.A.D. City

10. The Trishas - High, Wide and Handsome

11. John D. Hale Band - More Than I Can Handle

12. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

13. Lindi Ortega - Cigarettes & Truckstops

14. Shooter Jennings - Family Man

15. Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls

16. Arliss Nancy - Simple Machines

17. Darrell Scott - Long Ride Home

18. Jason Eady - AM Country Heaven

19. Matt King - Apples and Orphans

20. Lucero - Women and Work

2011

1. The Damn Quails - Down the Hatch

2. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Here We Rest

3. Hellbound Glory - Damaged Goods

4. Hayes Carll - KMAG YOYO

5. Jimbo Mathus - Confederate Buddha

6. Cary Anne Hearst - Lions and Lambs

7. Butch Walker and the Black Widows - The Spade

8. The Black Keys - El Camino

9. Adele - 21

10. Ponderosa - Moonlight Revival

11. Austin Lucas - A New Home, In the Old World

12. Kasey Anderson and the Honkies - Heart of a Dog

13. Stoney Larue - Velvet

14. Drew Kennedy - Fresh Water in the Salton Sea

15. Ryan Adams - Ashes and Fire

16. Pistol Annies - Hell on Heels

17. Wilco - The Whole Love

18. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - Scandalous

19. Mastodon - The Hunter

20. Will Hoge - Number Seven

2010

1. Jamey Johnson - The Guitar Song

2. Cee-Lo Green - The Lady Killer

3. Two Cow Garage - Sweet Saint Me

4. Austin Collins & The Rainbirds - Wrong Control

5. Big Boi - Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

6. Joe Pug - Messenger

7. Trampled by Turtles - Palomino

8. Kasey Anderson - Nowhere Nights

9. Rodney Hayden - Tavern of Poets

10. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings - I Learned the Hard Way

11. Paul Thorn - Pimps and Preachers

12. Truth & Salvage Co. - s/t

13. Dirty Sweet - American Spiritual

14. The Black Crowes - Croweology

15. Band of Horses - Infinite Arms

16. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis

17. Randy Houser - They Call Me Cadillac

18. Hellbound Glory - Old Highs and New Lows

19. The Black Keys - Brothers

20. Drive-by Truckers - The Big To-Do

2009

1. Charlie Robison - Beautiful Day

2. Ben Nichols - Last Pale Light in the West

3. Buddy and Julie Miller - Written in Chalk

4. Magnolia Electric Company - Josephine

5. Lucero - 1372 Overton Park

6. BettySoo - Heat Sin Water Skin

7. Wrinkle Neck Mules - Let the Lead Fly

8. Great Lake Swimmers - Lost Channels

9. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Tell 'em What Your Name Is

10. Drew Kennedy - An Audio Guide to Cross Country Travel

11. The Black Crowes - Before the Frost...Until the Freeze

12. Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies

13. Son Volt - American Central Dust

14. The Devil Makes Three - Do Wrong Right

15. Slaid Cleaves - Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away

16. Joshua James - Build Me This

17. Switchfoot - Hello Hurricane

18. Miranda Lambert - Revolution

19. Krizz Kaliko - Genius

20. Mastodon - Crack the Skye

2008 

1. Drive-by Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark

2. Jamey Johnson - That Lonesome Song

3. Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson - Rattlin' Bones

4. Kathleen Edwards - Asking For Flowers

5. Hayes Carll - Trouble in Mind

6. Sun Kil Moon - April

7. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

8. The Felice Brothers - s/t

9. Two Cow Garage - Speaking in Cursive

10. Fleet Foxes - s/t

11. NQ Arbuckle - XOK

12. Blitzen Trapper - Furr

13. Chris Knight - Heart of Stone

14. Metallica - Death Magnetic

15. Reckless Kelly - Bulletproof

16. The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound

17. Justin Townes Earle - The Good Life

18. Bruce Robison - The New World

19. The Steeldrivers - s/t

20. Drag The River - You Can't Live This Way