The Golden Elephants: Best Country Albums of the Decade

The men and women of country music, for the most part, have a great history of actually being talented singers.  At a time when having vocal talent is just a bonus, country music is always a safe haven for those looking for singers who can sing.  So with all of this talent, country artists have the rare opportunity to record music that’s good because of the vocals, not because of the synths.  Best albums of the decade are chosen based on quality of content, and don’t necessarily correlate with sales.

• Play On, by: Carrie Underwood
  • Ms. Underwood’s third studio album is not only far and away her best yet, but also one of the best albums we’ve heard in recent memory.  Underwood walks a fine line between country, pop, and rock with ease; something few of her contemporaries can tackle as seamlessly.  The brilliance of Play On isn’t in the big production that characterized Carnival Ride before it, but in the sheer talent and growth of Underwood and in the variety of the CD.  With nearly half of Play On co-written by Carrie, this CD also gives a rare glimpse into what the usually-private singer is thinking.  Play On is the kind of positive growth that all artists should exhibit, and Carrie leads the pack on doing that well.  To read a full review, click here.
• Revolution, by: Miranda Lambert
  • Country music’s token “bad girl” (Lambert) continues to have attitude and grit on Revolution, but this time that spunk seems to have taken a back seat (or at least the passenger seat) to the vocals and the writing.  This big switch comes as a welcome surprise after years of burning things down with “Kerosene” and taking out her man with “Gunpowder and Lead”.  Though the aforementioned songs are among her best, it’s great to see Lambert broaden her horizons.  Like Ms. Underwood, Lambert is showing positive career growth, and it seems to be paying off; Lambert’s latest single, “White Liar”, is storming up the charts on a track to number one if all goes well.
• The Lonesome Song, by: Jamey Johnson
  • Jamey Johnson himself is a polarizing figure.  He left my children asking me “why is that homeless man on stage” after he accepted his CMA honors, and his songs about some not-so-mainstream topics are sure to put off a few.  But when you look past that, Johnson isn’t “weird” or “creepy”, but rather he is just an honest guy that’s singing about stuff that really matters to him.  And though his songs aren’t going to be the next big thing on radio, each track is really real, and that’s not something you see often in modern music.
• Mud On the Tires, by: Brad Paisley
  • Brad Paisley could have gone pop/country with his third album and probably would be bigger than he is today.  Had that been the case, however, the highlight of Paisley’s career so far would have gone unrecorded, which would be a crying shame for country music fans across the board.  Mud On the Tires is filled with fun and easy country tracks, including hits “Celebrity” and of course the title track.  But the real gem on the gem that is Mud On the Tires is the Alison Krauss duet, “Whiskey Lullaby”.  This emotional tear-jerker is one of the defining country songs of the decade and will surely always be viewed as a classic.  Not only that, but I spent around 5 years trying to decide if that was Shania Twain in the music video.
• Home, by: The Dixie Chicks
  • Yes, we realize The Dixie Chicks weren’t fans of President Bush and they voiced that opinion.  A lot of people weren’t fans and made much more offensive statements, the only difference is that those people weren’t famous.  For those, like us, that don’t care about that scandal, The Dixie Chicks music, especially on Home, is among the best in the business.  On Home, The Chicks went a little more country compared to previous efforts, but didn’t leave behind their proven formula.  Listening back over the deep and meaningful songs of Home, like “Landslide” and others, makes us realize just how unfortunate it was that their short career had to come to an end after only 4 studio albums.
• Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love, by: Trisha Yearwood
  • Sure, Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love never really got anywhere sales-wise, but we certainly think it should have.  Yearwood’s long-standing policy, whether planned out or not, has always been to avoid fluff and go straight for the meat, or songs that have meaning.  This CD is nothing short of 13 tracks of said “meat”.  Whether it’s the sassy title-track or a ballad like “This Is Me You’re Talking To”, Yearwood sings with a convincing tone and makes everything her own.  If her label, Big Machine, would just back off of their golden girl T-Swift for 5 minutes and promote Yearwood, we’d love to hear a follow-up of Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love.
• There’s More Where That Came From, by: Lee Ann Womack
  • There’s More Where That Came From appeals to the classic-country fan in all of us, or at least, those who have a classic-country fan inside of them.  Lee Ann bucks the trend that’s common in traditional country singers by actually becoming MORE country, rather than dumping the genre that got her where she is and climbing aboard the pop-wagon.  There’s More Where That Came From is a great collection of beautiful ballads and true country tracks that would have fit nicely many years back when Dolly was at her heyday.

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Thanks for reading!

Rick

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