So I am several days late and several hundred dollars short on this one, but better late than never. On December 15 a collective of like-minded bloggers launched the premiere of The Bird List. This list acknowledges what we in the blogging community consider the best in country music for 2009, while flipping the proverbial bird at the mainstream country music establishment. 30 amazing blogs participated in making this list, and I encourage you to check all of them out. Each blogger ranked their Top 20 albums with each album being rewarded points inversely proportional to their ranking (i.e. Number 1 = 20 points, Number 2 = 19 points, and so on). Here are the Top 20 twang albums for 2009, as voted on by the little people like me:
My number one too! JTE's second full length album was in the top five for 10 different blogs.
I ranked this as #10. I was surprised it was ranked so highly overall as so many bloggers complained about Lucero's use of horns.
I totally missed this one. I will be buying it with the Amazon gift certificated that I got from Santa.
Another one I missed. Grrrrr....
5. Dave Rawlings Machine - A Friend of a Friend
I gave this one a few spins but it didn't do much for me. I will have to revisit it.
A lot of people are raving about this album, but to me it is a glossier version of 2007's Emotionalism. Its a good album, but not great.
The Most Dangerous Woman in America.mp3
Dare I say this album is even better than Isbell's first solo effort? I struggled ranking this one, but I finally landed it at #12.
Good.mp3
I am thrilled to see this album ranked so highly as I think I am the only blogger in this group based in Canada. I ranked it #6.
Another one that a lot of people really liked, but didn't do a lot for me.
I rated this one #7. Like I said in my review, "pseudo-new Drive-By Truckers is better than most brand new releases."
A good effort from Earle, and I appreciate him trying to keep the legacy of Townes Van Zandt alive, but I much prefer the original TVZ recordings. I do like Earle's version of "Lungs."
Lungs.mp3
I didn't get this one until December and didn't have time to properly listen to it before my rankings were due.
The first half of this album is really good, but the second half fizzles out.
And yet another one I never got to.
My best new artist of 2009. There are some great songs on this album. I also rated it #20.
I don't know very much about Miranda Lambert, but I do know that she is one of the few Nashville country artists that still has a lot of credibility among alt country fans.
Its been quite an amazing year in music, especially when you consider that seven of the above 20 albums I never even got to. Can't wait to see what 2010 brings!
2 comments:
Charlie Robison didn't do much for me, either.
Guy Clark and Miranda Lambert are worth checking out. Clark's record is great. Lambert is a rare mainstream artist still doing interesting things.
Another "yes!" for spending some time with the Guy Clark album. It's terrific.
Post a Comment