Courtesy: Sony Legacy
Country music is big business nowadays. One need only look at shows like The Voice and America’s Got Talent to see that. Also, look at the ratings for the Country Music awards shows that air on television every year, as well as the overall record sales and the glut of country music stations airing the past, present and future of the genre nationwide.
Keeping in mind the popularity (and ongoing success) of said genre, it is only fitting for the genre to get its own list of the year’s top new albums. Phil’s Picks has compiled its own list of those albums, and it — like the noted radio stations — features a who’s who of country music’s past, present and future.
Topping this year’s list is Willie Nelson’s new album Last Man Standing. The “Red-Headed Stranger” is in fine form in this latest offering, contemplating mortality, friends lost along life’s long road and some other, deeper topics. Musically speaking, Last Man Standing is just good, old-fashioned country; everything that country music purists enjoy.
Second on this year’s list is fellow country musician John Prine and his new album The Tree of Forgiveness. The soul in his lyrical themes and his performance make this song so powerful. It is an album that every country music purist needs to hear.
Taking the third spot in this year’s list is Shooter Jennings, Waylon’s boy. Shooter is everything that audiences have come to expect from him over the course of his career. Yet again, listeners get more growth both musically and lyrically from the outlaw country musician that continues to place Jennings in his very own place separate from his contemporaries. Again, this is another must for those who want to avoid all of the pop country that currently pollutes the country music scene today.
Moving on, the rest of this year’s list features some unexpected names and some more familiar names mixed in for good measure. As always, the list features 15 total names and titles. The top 10 are the best, and the next five are honorable mention titles.
Without any further ado, here is the Phil’s PIcks 2018 top 10 New Country Music Albums list.
PHIL’S PICKS 2018 TOP 10 NEW COUNTRY MUSIC ALBUMS
- Willie Nelson — Last Man Standing
- John Prine — The Tree of Forgiveness
- Shooter Jennings — Shooter
- Old Crow Medicine Show — Volunteer
- Jason Charles Miller — In The Wasteland
- David Michael George — 1,000 Yard Stare
- Eric Church — Desperate Man
- Pistol Annies — Interstate Gospel
- Kenny Chesney — Songs for the Saints
- Brothers Osborne — Port Saint Joe
- DeVotchka — This Night Falls Forever
- Dierks Bentley — The Mountain
- Devin Dawson — Dark Horse
- Patricia Vonne — Top of the Mountain
- Sugarland — Bigger
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