The 9513 Staff Picks for Top 10 Albums of 2010

Staff

Click a name or scroll down to view that staff member’s top ten.

• Blake Boldt
• Sam Gazdziak
• Pierce Greenberg
• Karlie Justus
• Ken Morton, Jr.
• Juli Thanki
• CM Wilcox
• Brady Vercher
• Brody Vercher

Blake Boldt

10. A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There Is No C), Ray Wylie Hubbard
Ray Wylie Hubbard, an Oklahoma native, is revered as one of the key innovators and mentors on the Texas music scene. His latest album A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There Is No C) opens with the title track, an homage to Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven,” and winds through the wilderness on the sound of Hubbard’s rugged but powerful voice. Other notable cuts include the Hayes Carll co-write “Drunken Poet’s Dream” and the greasy “Down Home Country Blues,” where Hubbard praises the virtues of twin passions: his lady and his music.

9. Achin’ and Shakin’, Laura Bell Bundy
One of the most talented Nashville newcomers of 2010, Laura Bell Bundy is a Broadway veteran who stands out in the mass migration of pop culture stars towards the safer confines of Music Row. She has model looks, an engaging stage persona and, most importantly, a smoky contralto that purrs sweetly in one moment and then exudes sassy attitude in the next. Her proper debut, Achin’ and Shakin’, is a stirring effort that’s split into halves. The second side is a marvelous wreck, with zippier numbers that mirror her infectious personality. It’s the ballads though where Bundy, with a gentle warble echoing her inner conflict, is at her best.

8. Harlem River Blues, Justin Townes Earle
Earle’s third album was likely overshadowed by his criminal hijinx of the past year, but Harlem River Blues, a master class of gospel, retro country and folk-pop, offers ample evidence that the family legacy of music and mischief will last for years to come. His plaintive tenor bumps up against these tales of heartache and hardship to form a compelling work. Key tracks include “Move Over Mama” and the knee-slapping title cut.

7. Welder, Elizabeth Cook
Working with producer Don Was, Cook also calls on A-list talents Buddy Miller, Dwight Yoakam and Rodney Crowell for an eccentric album that boasts a number of musical styles—bluegrass, rockabilly, Americana—all mixed together with her colorful twang. Few women working in country music could pull off the witty honky-tonk shuffle “Yes to Booty” and then follow with something as mournful as the acoustic ballad “Heroin Addict Sister.”

6.Up on the Ridge, Dierks Bentley
After stalling both creatively and commercially on last year’s Feel That Fire, Bentley fully realizes his immense potential on Up on the Ridge, a minor artistic detour that digs deep into the history of traditional country and bluegrass. These songs explore the darker side of life—death, late-night drinking and spoiled love affairs—and producer Jon Randall Stewart chimes in with crisp, vibrant arrangements that unearth new layers of Bentley’s talent.

5. Downtown Church, Patty Griffin
Downtown Church, recorded in Nashville’s Downtown Presbyterian Church, begins and ends with Griffin singing from the pulpit about love and loss, and how those concepts can test and even strengthen one’s faith. With Hank Williams’ “House of Gold” as a brilliant launching pad, Griffin wraps her soulful voice around these gospel standards with a simple, understated elegance. A gifted songwriter in her own right, she offers a pair of compositions (“Little Fire” and “Coming Home to Me”) that fit in comfortably with these surroundings.

4. Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, Marty Stuart
As one of the key stewards of traditional country music, Marty Stuart has also crafted a number of exemplary albums that speak to the still-beating heart of the common people. His harmonizing with wife Connie Smith on two songs is alone worth the price of admission, but the best track is “Hangman,” a riveting tale written by Johnny Cash mere days before his death. Stuart pays homage to his musical heroes—Elvis, the Louvin Brothers, Ray Price—and testifies to all the grace and power that can fit in a four-minute country song.

3. Speak Now, Taylor Swift
On the punk-country rave “Better than Revenge,” a caustic rebuke of a romantic rival, Swift declares her intentions: “You might have him,” she sneers over a pop-punk beat, “But I always get the last word.” That message is her muse on Speak Now, inspiring the blue-eyed soul of “Dear John,” a detailing of her dalliance with rocker John Mayer, and the hillbilly hoedown “Mean,” where she targets her nasty critics with playful panache. Her quavering soprano echoes a woman-child’s awkward journey into adulthood.

2. Notes to the Coroner, Chely Wright
In a year where she released a memoir detailing her painful coming-out process, Wright emerged with a wonderful collection of songs produced by Rodney Crowell. From pop-gospel (“Heavenly Days”) to coffeehouse folk (“Broken”), she explores a variety of musical styles, matching these arrangements with her cut-to-the-bone confessionals. “Notes to the Coroner,” a wry elegy sung from a dead woman’s perspective, is the year’s best track.

1. The Guitar Song, Jamey Johnson
On The Guitar Song, the gold standard for country music in 2010, Johnson examines the heart’s darkest hours in a search for clarity and strength. Covers of honky tonk classics such as Vern Gosdin’s “Set ‘Em Up Joe” and Mel Tillis’ “Mental Revenge” receive faithful treatments from the ornery troubadour, but his own contributions—”Heartache,” “Can’t Cash My Checks,” and “Even the Skies are Blue,” among others—are worthy companions. Johnson’s rumbling baritone lends gravity to even the lighter material.

Sam Gazdziak

10. Freight Train, Alan Jackson
This year saw country veterans trying to sound like people 30 years their junior (Reba, The Judds) or release some of the weakest singles of their storied careers (George Strait, Brooks & Dunn). Meanwhile, Alan Jackson banged out another solid album, which should not be taken for granted. It’s hard to go wrong when you have duets with Lee Ann Womack and songs from the Fred Eaglesmith and Vern Gosdin catalogs, as well as the typically simple yet well-written Jackson originals. God help us all if he ever gets a mid-life crisis.

9. Women and Country, Jakob Dylan
Pop crossover acts like Darius Rucker and Uncle Kracker (shudder) are having the country hits, but Wallflowers frontman Dylan is the one making the best music. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, it never really drifts into a “T-Bone Burnett Production featuring… ,” because songs like “Down on Our Own Shield” and “Lend a Hand” transcend the sound that he’s used since producing the Plant/Krauss pairing. Having Neko Case and Kelly Hogan providing background vocals is never a bad thing, either.

8. A Patch of Blue Sky, Kevin Welch
One of the best songwriters around, Welch made his latest album after moving from Nashville to Texas, and he had the help of son Dustin (guitar, banjo) and daughter Savannah (vocals, along with the rest of her group The Trishas). Songs like the title track and “The Great Emancipation” are excellent, but the very best is “Marysville.” Singing about an Australian town destroyed by wildfire, Welch manages to evoke both the despair of such a catastrophic loss as well as the hope of a rebirth.

7. Goodnight Lane, Colin Gilmore
While it would be nice if Colin Gilmore released albums more than once every five years, it’s hard to argue with the results. With songs like “Circles in the Yard” and “Laughing Hard or Crying,” Gilmore released some of the most infectious music this year. It blends classic rock energy with sharp songwriting rooted in the country/folk tradition. Buddy Holly, a Lubbock native like Gilmore, would be proud to have someone like Gilmore carrying his torch.

6. The Guitar Song, Jamey Johnson
I’m not one of those who thought that Johnson would have been better served honing this down to one album. I wish he would have made two “gray” albums instead of one “black” and one “white,” as Disc One does get pretty damned dark. Still, that’s quibbling. Some well-chosen covers and superb originals like “Macon” and “That’s Why I Write Songs” (which does everything right that Brad Paisley’s “This Is Country Music” does wrong) make Johnson one of the few people in country music who can get away with releasing double albums.

5. Reckless, The SteelDrivers
Chris Stapleton left the band with a bang, as the quintet put together one of the best bluegrass albums of the year – one of the best albums, period. The songs vary from traditional bluegrass-sounding tunes (“Midnight on the Mountain”) to blues and Americana (“Ghosts of Mississippi”), but the ‘Drivers sound at home in any genre. The addition of Mike Henderson’s National guitar was a most welcome one, also.

4. Dancing on the Gallows, Rose’s Pawn Shop
This album his right in my sweet spot, combining country, bluegrass and a few dashes of Celtic punk rock thrown in for good measure. Sure, the album sounds great, thanks to John Kraus (guitar, banjo) and Tim Weed (fiddle, mandolin). But frontman/guitarist Paul Givant is a talented writer as well, shifting from the traveling musician’s lament of “Pine Box” to the heartbreak of “Strangers.” “Danger Behind the Wheel,” a semi-true story of willfully falling for the absolutely wrong kind of woman, will wear out the repeat button on your car stereo.

3. Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, Marty Stuart
A “statement album” that succeeded in actually making the right statement (take note, Sugarland), Stuart created a classic country album that still sounds right at home in 2010. Referencing the likes of Waylon Jennings, Porter Wagoner and the country-rock of The Byrds, Stuart still makes every song his own. “Hangman” got most of the notice, because Johnny Cash helped write it days before his death, but “Branded” and “Little Heartbreaker” showcase Stuart at his best. Plus, who else in today’s country world would make such great use of Connie Smith and steel guitar whiz Ralph Mooney?

2. Up on the Ridge, Dierks Bentley
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Bentley could put together a standout bluegrass album. He’s been showing off his bluegrass writing and vocal chops on every album he’s released. The impressive part is that he so successfully blended bluegrass into mainstream without creating a diluted half-hearted effort. “Draw Me a Map” is one of the best singles of the year, but “Bad Angel,” “Fiddlin’ Around” and “Love Grows Wild” are just a few of the must-listen tracks.

1. Messenger, Joe Pug
It’s a little unfair to compare someone to Dylan and Prine based on his first full release, but that’s what happened to Joe Pug. It’s to be expected, though, when you release an album that contains such wonderfully written lyrics. The uncertainty of “Not So Sure” and the sadness of “The First Time I Saw You” are beautifully expressed, and the sparse accompaniment helps to put the proper emphasis on Pug’s words and rough-hewn but expressive vocals. “Bury Me Far from My Uniform” is a show-stopper, sung from the point of a fallen soldier.

Pierce Greenberg

10. Easton Corbin, Easton Corbin
Easton Corbin’s self-titled debut album may not be the tenth best album of 2010, but he manages to stay true to his roots while still surviving in the mainstream country radio world. That deserves extra points. Corbin has a terrific voice and adapts that to songs in a Strait-esque manner. The Strait comparison has been brought up a million times—and it’s still yet to be determined if Corbin can have that kind of staying power. Regardless, his debut album didn’t skimp on fiddle, steel, and just-plain-good songs. His popularity is also a sign of hope for a new, welcome trend on Music Row.

9. Homecoming, Joe Diffie
From the moment Joe Diffie and Rounder Records walked down the aisle to slicing fiddle and mandolin music, a beautiful marriage was born. Diffie had a string of hits during the Garth-dominated 1990’s, but he was always just too country to appeal to the suburban and international audiences that Brooks captured. But throw Diffie’s thick twang in front of some of the best bluegrass pickers (and singers) in town and you’ve got a great album. Diffie pays respect to the murder ballad (“Till The End”) and the upbeat romp (“Hard To Handle”). Hopefully this marriage lasts.

8. You Get What You Give, Zac Brown Band
The Zac Brown Band’s first release, The Foundation, was a solid effort, but seemed to drag at times. Still, ZBB made the wise choice of releasing the best songs as singles (a revolutionary concept for Music Row) and that catapulted them to stardom. On You Get What You Give, the 13-song set would probably benefit from a trim, but overall the sound and personality of the album are still high quality. There is cheery thoughtfulness on “Let It Go” and regretful reflection on “Colder Weather.” The music is as relatable as any other mainstream release without most of the fluff.

7. Ghost Train: Studio B Sessions, Marty Stuart
On Ghost Train, Marty Stuart pays homage to classic country in a fresh, new way. Whoever says classic country can’t sound cool in 2010 is flat-out wrong. Stuart manages to unearth some old tunes and write new ones that sound just as good today as they would 40 or 50 years ago. There is a lot of solemn to go around, including the Johnny Cash co-write “Hangman” and the self-explanatory “Porter Waggoner’s Grave.” But fun outlaw songs like the opening tune “Branded” keep the energy pumping throughout.

6. Red Wing, Trent Wagler & The Steel Wheels
Red Wing is probably one of the most underrated albums of the year—perhaps because Wagler and the boys are based out of Virginia, rather than Nashville or Texas. Regardless of geographic location, these guys can play, sing, and write. The Steel Wheels weave blues, bluegrass, and folk into an unbreakable tapestry of musicianship. Most of the numbers are upbeat, regardless of subject matter, which is a welcome break from some of the more heavy releases this year. “Hymn for the Unsung” is one of the better songs of the year, as well.

5. Welder, Elizabeth Cook
Elizabeth Cook isn’t new to country music, but Welder opens the door to some of Cook’s darkest personal moments. It’s hard to imagine the lady who penned “Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be a Woman” turning around and singing “Heroin Addict Sister,” but Cook masters it. She combines her quirky grace with an emotional heart-tug, and the result is country music at its finest.

4. Up On The Ridge, Dierks Bentley
Most mainstream country artists gush about their aspirations of making albums outside their sometimes-bland realm of music. “Yeah, I’d love to make a gospel record some day,” they sometimes say. But few ever have the flexibility—or possible profitability—to act on those words. Not Dierks Bentley. Even though he had to mesh a contemporary country and bluegrass album into one, the product still turned out top-notch. Bluegrass holds a special place in Bentley’s heart—and when he pours his sweat and blood into the music, it’s going to be good. Upon On The Ridge is a fresh blend of progressive bluegrass with a contemporary bent. Collaborators from the best of both worlds really push the album to an elite level.

3. Harlem River Blues, Justin Townes Earle
As much as Nashville would probably hate to admit it, good country music can be inspired by places above the Mason-Dixon line—way above it. Justin Townes Earle broke geographic walls with Harlem River Blues, creating a stunningly diverse collection of tunes. There are Cash-esque ramblers (“Move Over Mama”) and NYC-based Americana (“Working For the MTA”). Both sound great side-by-side and help make Harlem a fantastic album.

2. Country Music, Willie Nelson
One of Willie Nelson’s trademarks is his ability to move past the stereotypes of genre names and wrap his talents around a wide umbrella of music. On Country Music, Nelson delivers with sparse arrangements of country classics. T Bone Burnett borrowed his buddies from the Raising Sand project, and the result is another Americana gem.

1. The Guitar Song, Jamey Johnson
There’s not a whole lot to say about Jamey Johnson’s The Guitar Song that hasn’t been said before. Even words like “epic” and “masterpiece” don’t seem to be entirely fitting. But that might be the thing that makes Johnson’s double-disc set stand above the rest: its ambiguity. Johnson is straight-up at times, but he has a way of intertwining words and phrases that allow the listener to decipher what the music means to them. And that journey is what makes The Guitar Song, simply, the best.

Karlie Justus

10. Album Number Two, Joey + Rory
Few artists today possess the authenticity and simplicity of husband/wife duo Joey + Rory, two important characteristics carried over from its debut to sophomore effort Album Number Two. This time around, husband Rory Feek takes a bigger role in the vocal department, bolstering the acoustic harmonies and feel-good declarations of love and devotion that come so naturally to this pair.

9. I Am What I Am, Merle Haggard
Somewhere, somehow, there’s a joke here about Merle Haggard aging like a fine wine, and his fans wanting to just stay here and drink it. Forced puns aside, I Am What I Am is a welcome addition to a portfolio of songs, records and performances so strong they transcend genres and decades. This edition finds Haggard on a new label, but not so much a new way of thinking – he’s still telling it like it is, even the not so nice parts.

8. Up On the Ridge, Dierks Bentley
“Brave” and “daring” are two adjectives rarely used to describe most albums modern mainstream released by current radio favorites. While tinges of bluegrass and traditional country kept Dierks Bentley’s Up On the Ridge off radio airwaves, standout songs such as “Bad Angel” and “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)” showed a new side to the singer and caught the attention of fans and industry insiders alike. On top of that, Bentley was wise enough to share the adventure with help from Jamey Johnson, Kris Kristofferson, Del McCoury and Miranda Lambert, among others – good company, indeed.

7. It All Happened in a Honky Tonk, Jon Wolfe
Before his record label folded in 2007, Jon Wolfe was set to debut with “She Won’t Be Lonely Long” as his first single, a song that catapulted Clay Walker back into mainstream country conversations. Three years later, Wolfe rebounds with a neo-traditional album full of similarly charismatic songs just as smooth, fun and effortless as the one that got away. It’s rare to come across a debut that sounds like it could be a greatest hits collection, a testament to Wolfe’s experience on the Texas country circuit.

6. Homecoming, Joe Diffie
It turns out that one of country’s finest, most versatile neo-traditionalists also has a few bluegrass tricks up his sleeve. Joe Diffie’s Homecoming combines stellar songwriting and an all-star cast with equal doses of humor and joy, showcasing the singer’s talent for pulling, stretching and molding his voice any which way he wants, like a long, sticky rope of taffy on its pull. It’s an exciting addition to Diffie’s long list of country hits – and a whole lot of fun.

5. They Call Me Cadillac, Randy Houser
How does one overcome the moniker “That Guy Who Sang ‘Anything Goes’”? Release a collection of country songs that combine modern and traditional, rock and blues, and swagger and sadness. It’s contrasts like these that add a much-needed depth and foundation to Randy Houser’s personality and explosive voice, and make They Call Me Cadillac at once commercially friendly and critically interesting.

4. Easton Corbin, Easton Corbin
It’s no wonder newcomer Easton Corbin decided to go with his own name for his debut album, considering its combination of jaunty, steel-laced love songs and effortless country credentials also had people buzzing about his obvious influences: George Strait, Joe Nichols and Alan Jackson. Producer Carson Chamberlain amplifies Corbin’s natural neo-traditional charisma, while strong, straightforward co-writes show the singer’s songwriting potential. In 2010, Easton Corbin was a fresh addition to the country landscape, and a show of promise from a potential country star.

3. Freight Train, Alan Jackson
For a man often criticized for playing it safe, Alan Jackson has managed to keep his fans on their toes for the last few years. After a brief romance with adult contemporary music, a gospel tribute to his mother and a collection of songs penned entirely by himself, Freight Train is, in a sense, a return to the normal, everyday Jackson album. When you’re one of country music’s few remaining legends still getting radio airplay, however, “normal” and “everyday” are compliments well-deserved for an album full of wise additions such as its titular cover song and a gorgeous duet with Lee Ann Womack.

2. Carryin’ On, Dale Watson
Although similarities between Dale Watson and Merle Haggard are striking, they go beyond the obvious vocal comparisons: On Carryin’ On, one of Watson’s best albums to date, the Texan also channels the legend’s poignant, stark delivery on Haggard-caliber songs. And while the Nashville outsider recorded the album in Music City, its sound is a far cry from mainstream fare – a differentiation that works well for the singer’s no holds bar approach to traditional country music.

1. The Guitar Song, Jamey Johnson
I first pushed play on Jamey Johnson’s follow-up to That Lonesome Song with a bit of trepidation, unsure if any collection of songs could begin to touch the rawness and electricity of his breakout album. It turns out more is more with an artist of Johnson’s caliber, as it delivered an overwhelmingly satisfying mix of Southern rock, simple truths, spitting disdain, and “are they or aren’t they?” covers done somewhere between a growl and a knowing grin. Twenty-five more songs, please.

Ken Morton, Jr.

10. Dandelion, Becky Schlegel
With a singing style somewhat reminiscent of Jewel, Schlegel floats and flutters like a dandelion on a breeze–hushing to a whisper and then flying into falsetto on the same line. There’s an emotional charge that belies her soft delivery on several of the tracks: pitiful heartache on “So Embarrassing,” lonely sexual regret on “When It Rains” and anticipatory trepidation on “Reunion.” Combined with terrific musicianship from the likes of Randy Kohrs’ resonator guitar work, it’s a haunting piece of perfection.

9. Welder, Elizabeth Cook
This quirky album can be considered an acquired taste, but it has some of the most memorable tracks recorded this year. It has a family full of skeletons in the closet with “Mama’s Funeral,” a look at loss and southern revelations, “Heroin Addict Sister,” a haunting and somber take on a wayward sibling, and “I’m Beginning to Forget,” written by Cook’s mom. The best track on the album is “El Camino,” a 1970’s tale of falling in love with a guy that won’t give up his bell-bottomed mojo. It’s trashy and loose- and genius.

8. The Age of Miracles, Mary Chapin Carpenter
The Age of Miracles sees Mary Chapin parting a bit from her recent folk(ish) sound and returning to her roots of country music–musically and sonically. She does it with a literacy and lyrical depth that exemplifies why she is one of this generations most underrated songwriters. Historical storytelling is the album’s strength, with the biographical “Mrs. Hemingway” and “4 June, 1989,” told from the perspective of a young Chinese soldier ordered to clear the protesters from Tiananmen Square. Miracles is a terrific poetical take about the mysteries of love, fate, imagination, life and the world.

7. Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, Marty Stuart
Stuart recorded Ghost Train in hallowed ground with his talented bride, who helped co-write nearly every track, and delivers a theatric collection of traditional country stories. Whether it’s the last song Johnny Cash ever wrote like “Hangman,” or the gorgeous duet he sings with his bride on “I Run to You,” Stuart never loses sight of his mission of honoring the roots of his musical legacy. The themes of Middle America easily blend the classic covers and the brand new material.

6. Reckless, The SteelDrivers
Chris Stapleton makes his SteelDrivers swan song one to remember on this outstanding combination of dark delta blues and traditional Appalachian bluegrass. It delivers fresh takes on traditional bluegrass themes with a flair for the history of the area. The tragic ending of the protagonist on “Good Corn Liquor” is told in sharp dobro notes representing shots ringing out. While that little bit musicianship is just a snapshot of the album, it makes a great analogy to the rest of the album as it captures the imagination of scenes in song on almost every track.

5. Homecoming, Joe Diffie
The album instrumentation is modern bluegrass but draws on Diffie’s strength of a traditional country approach with song topics that celebrate family, faith and community, and includes my favorite single of the year in “Route 5 Box 109.” It’s a reflection on days gone past filled with nostalgia, such as Martha White’s Flour, childhood fishing for brim and Schwinn bicycles. It forgoes all the common radio clichés of down home living and why the country is so much better than the city and concentrates on his own powerful reflections of the sentimental minutia that made his upbringing so special and memorable.

4. American VI: Ain’t No Grave, Johnny Cash
As I reviewed back in March, Rick Rubin put together an incredible collection of songs that has Cash commenting on his own passing and reflecting on the afterlife. The emotionally fragile American V dealt with June Carter’s death and Cash’s own mortality. VI turns the page and incredibly reflects his passing and that all is right. The album ends with quite possibly the most appropriate swan song ever recorded in “Aloha Oe.” The symbolic farewell phrase of Hawaii isn’t an accident. It’s a carefully chosen reflection that Cash has finally made his way to paradise and we can only surmise that he’s hand-in-hand with June looking down on us. The album is an eulogy in song.

3. They Call me Cadillac, Randy Houser
On Cadillac, Houser combines soulful country and honky-tonk rocking steeped in the blues. A great example is “Somewhere South of Memphis” which starts with an uneven acoustic guitar about a place “where music isn’t about business” that explodes into a great bluesy guitar riff. That line of the song is appropriate, as Houser has made an album that is intentionally less commercial in its appeal and more representative of who he is as an artist. His outstanding and passionate delivery contrasts beautifully with the heavenly harmony with Lee Ann Womack on “Addicted.” This is self-discovery by an artist at its best.

2. The Guitar Song, Jamey Johnson
Johnson does an incredible job of demonstrating the art of songwriting on this album. No track better exemplifies this fact than the stark “That’s Why I Write Songs.” Johnson talks and sings his way through a perfectly believable acoustic and sparsely produced song of why he sings like he does. “I knew what I was born to do,” he croons as he pays sweet dedication to the songwriters “that gave us chills” both in lyrics and in sound. The songs are simple, yet emotionally charged and filled with a spiritual depth. Music production does the same and the result is a great example of why Johnson’s music is so different from what we’re hearing today on modern country radio. It makes you feel.

1. You Get What You Give, Zac Brown Band
With two band members added to the Zac Brown Band, You Get What You Give has a richer, fuller and more robust sound than its predecessor. With country as its heart and soul, these incredibly talented musicians borrow from several different genres and put the instrumentation equal to the lyrical importance. Escapism is the common theme throughout the album–the ZBB boys can sing about a laissez-faire lifestyle as well as anyone. And therein lies the paradox that makes the album so unique and special. The music is about not caring about the world while they’re playing their instruments like the world depends on it.

Juli Thanki

10. Freight Train, Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson’s records are, for the most part, reliably solid. Freight Train (the title track is an excellent cover of a Fred Eaglesmith song) is no different; it’s typical Jackson and comfortable as a lived-in pair of boots. His duet with Lee Ann Womack on the Vern Gosdin’s “Till the End” is worth the price of the album.

9. The Box, Brennen Leigh
With her rich voice and unflinchingly honest songwriting, Brennen Leigh delivers some of the best country music you’ll hear all year. The Texan’s most recent album is a collection of midtempo, wistful traditional-leaning country. Though there isn’t a bad song to be found on the record, pay special attention to the superb “Are You Stringing Me Along,” featuring brother Seth Hulbert, a song which sounds influenced by close harmony duos like the Louvins or Delmores.

8. Up on the Ridge, Dierks Bentley
It’s about time Dierks Bentley released a bluegrass record. Well, a bluegrass/alt-country/folk record, to be more accurate. Though the singles from Up on the Ridge haven’t seen the chart success of Bentley’s previous singles, the record—which boasts a bevy of insanely talented guest stars—includes some of his best work, like the boyishly charming “Fiddlin’ Around” and “Down in the Mine.” The standout track is a cover of U2′s “Pride (In the Name of Love),” which features the Del McCoury’s high lonesome holler.

7. Genuine Negro Jig, Carolina Chocolate Drops
2010 was the Chocolate Drops’ breakout year. The trio’s infectious blending of the old Piedmont string band sound with a wide variety of influences old and new, rural and urban, creating what could be called modern front porch music. Oldtime tunes like “Cornbread and Butterbeans” seamlessly fit next to more contemporary songs like covers of Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose” and the infectious revenge song “Hit ‘Em Up Style.” The result is one of the year’s most enjoyable albums. In 2011, make sure to lace up your dancing shoes and go see one of their captivating live shows.

6. Dailey & Vincent Sing the Statler Brothers, Dailey & Vincent
These bluegrass brothers from different mothers have never shied away from paying tribute another set of differently-mothered brothers, peppering their first two albums with a few Statler songs like “More Than A Name on the Wall” and “Years Ago,” plus including some guest vocals from the Statlers’ Harold Reid. Sing the Statler Brothers is one of the year’s best tribute albums, with solid song selections and the flawless harmony singing that’s come to define both groups.

5. Reckless, The SteelDrivers
Reckless is Chris Stapleton’s final album as a SteelDriver, but at least he goes out with a bang. He and bandmate Mike Henderson make for a fine songwriting team here, collaborating on 11 of the record’s 12 songs, all of which are strongly written and supported by top notch picking. Whether the band is tackling earthly vices (“Good Corn Liquor”) or contemplating the hereafter (on the tender “Where Rainbows Never Die”), they—especially fiddler/harmony vocalist Tammy Rogers—are simply a joy to hear.

4. Old Highs and New Lows, Hellbound Glory
Old Highs and New Lows was the year’s most pleasant surprise. Raspy frontman Leroy Virgil proves to be a thoughtful and clever songwriter on “One Way Track Marks” and ode to codependence “Be My Crutch.” The Reno band’s scrappy sound, which Virgil defines as “scumbag country,” is highly influenced by outlaw singers like Johnny Paycheck and Waylon Jennings, but never feels derivative or boring.

3. The Guitar Song, Jamey Johnson
After That Lonesome Song, Johnson was anointed as country music’s savior by fans and critics alike. The Guitar Song, divided into black and white albums, largely confirms the hype, with over 90 minutes of music that includes well-written originals and covers of classic tunes like “Mental Revenge,” “For the Good Times” and “Set ‘Em Up Joe.”

2. Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, Marty Stuart
With his decades of experience and collection of memorabilia, Marty Stuart preserves country music history in more ways than one. On Ghost Train he incorporates several country legends: a man has an otherworldly encounter on “Porter Wagoner’s Grave,” while “Hangman,” a stunning executioner’s ballad, was one of the final songs that Johnny Cash co-wrote. Wife Connie Smith appears on the lovely duet “I Run to You” and steel virtuoso Ralph Mooney is at the top of his game on twangy boogie “Little Heartbreaker.” Don’t let Ghost Train leave you at the station.

1. Carryin’ On, Dale Watson
On Carryin’ On Dale Watson pays tribute to the Nashville of the 1960s and ’70s with polished shuffles and smooth, poignant ballads. He’s backed by some of Music City’s best session musicians (Lloyd Green, Pete Wade, and Pig Robbins), and his songwriting is sharp as ever. If there’s one song from 2010 that you should hear, it’s the Bakersfield-sounding “Hey Brown Bottle,” which sounds as though it could’ve been a hit had Merle Haggard recorded it in his prime.

C.M. Wilcox

10. Reckless, The SteelDrivers
Embraced by critics and fans alike on the strength of their Rounder Records debut and popular live shows, The SteelDrivers seem to delight in stretching out a bit on Reckless, dipping further into the wells of soul and blues, broadening their instrumental palette (bring on the resonator guitar!), and allowing departing frontman Chris Stapleton even more opportunities to kick his affectingly raspy low tenor up to a bluesy wail. The songwriting team of Stapleton and Mike Henderson provide another set of inspired material, highlighted by “Where Rainbows Never Die.”

9. Welder, Elizabeth Cook
One of country’s sharpest, quirkiest female voices is here and there and everywhere on this musical mish-mash of an album that would’ve ranked higher if it had lived up to its title a little better. Working for the first time with Don Was, Cook pretty much does whatever she wants and leaves the welding of all these disparate identities up to us. The results are a little uneven at times, but the best of these songs – “El Camino,” “Heroin Addict Sister,” “Mama’s Funeral” – more than take up the slack. In fact, they’re downright stunning.

8. Old Highs and New Lows, Hellbound Glory
Johnny Cash didn’t shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die, but this outlaw country band based in the area sounds like they might know who did. Frontman Leroy Virgil sings like he’s been chewing on gravel and writes with the wit of a haggard Roger Miller, characterizing the partners in the dysfunctional relationship of “Either Way We’re F**ked” as “mutual parasites,” bristling at being treated as “nothing but debris” on “In the Gutter Again,” and elsewhere managing what could very well be the first seamless integration of the word “sclerose” into a country song. This is brash, boozy outlaw music of uncommon intelligence.

7. Homecoming, Joe Diffie
Joe Diffie returns to his bluegrass roots to make a career record. While “Free and Easy” and nostalgic album highlight “Route 5, Box 109″ keep Diffie in a familiar pocket, pairing his usual country vocals with lovely rootsy arrangements, other tracks like “Tall Cornstalk” and Grascals collaboration “Rainin’ On Her Rubber Dolly” give him a full bluegrass workout. He rises to the challenge vocally and chooses all the right musical co-conspirators, from Aubrey Haynie and Rob Ickes to Rhonda Vincent and Bradley Walker. Good stuff.

6. Keeping Up Appearances, Amber Digby & Justin Trevino
It’s not easy to sneak a covers album into my Top 10, but Digby and Trevino managed it. Of course, you’d have to be a pretty well-versed student of country history to even recognize some of these as covers, as songs like “Wrong Company” (a minor hit for Wynn Stewart and Jan Howard in 1960) and the title track (Lynn Anderson and Jerry Lane in 1967) are of pretty obscure origin. Even on more common selections like “After the Fire Is Gone,” these two Texan traditionalists manage to breathe new life into familiar tales of marital discord. And they sound terrific together doing it.

5. Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, Marty Stuart
A rich, carefully curated collection that radiates love and affection for real country music, from the echoes of Haggard in “Branded” and “Hard Working Man” to the recitation of “Porter Wagoner’s Grave.” Connie Smith shows up to duet with her husband on “I Run to You” and Stuart briefly cedes the floor to steel legend Ralph Mooney so he can bend and slide his way through a gorgeous “Crazy Arms” instrumental. “Hangman,” cowritten with Johnny Cash just days before he died, is indisputably the showpiece, but the rest isn’t that far behind. This is Stuart’s best since The Pilgrim, and possibly his best ever.

4. Up On the Ridge, Dierks Bentley
After years of successively less interesting albums, Dierks Bentley tapped back into the bluegrass tones that made his major label debut such a revelation at the time of its release. Originally conceived as a straight bluegrass album, Up on the Ridge became something markedly funkier with the liberating influence of producer Jon Randall Stewart. And so we get, for example, Bentley joined by both the progressive Punch Brothers and elder statesman Del McCoury on a cover of, of all things, U2′s “Pride (In the Name of Love).” Bentley and Stewart have created a weird, highly listenable world where a lot of stuff happens that could only happen here.

3. American VI: Ain’t No Grave, Johnny Cash
It seems like there’s a new ‘last’ Johnny Cash record coming out every other month, but this sixth (and, I believe, final) installment in Rick Rubin’s American Recordings series is the definitive capstone. Where the late Cash recordings leading up to it were shot through with darkness and decay, Ain’t No Grave finds the legend finally, mercifully moving beyond. Gone are what Chris Willman termed the “folk-alt-rock karaoke selections of previous American discs.” Far from a bunch of leftovers, this might be the most carefully-assembled collection of them all. Everything here points to transcendence, culminating in “Aloha Oe,” where Cash drifts off into the great beyond with reassuring, magisterial lightness. Aloha, Mr. Cash… and thank you.

2. The Box, Brennen Leigh
She’s not even out of her 20s yet, but Brennen Leigh has so thoroughly immersed herself in the worlds of Emmylou Harris, George Jones, Melba Montgomery, and the Louvin Brothers that she seems naturally disposed to write songs that sound like they predate her own birth by at least a good twenty or thirty years. The Box is filled to the brim with new songs that sound like old friends, all presented in a lovely, understated acoustic style at the intersection of traditional country and folk. Leigh has set a pretty high bar for herself with this one.

1. The Guitar Song, Jamey Johnson
Johnson makes following That Lonesome Song seem deceptively easy, neatly sidestepping the problem of ‘matching’ his previous work by giving us something different enough that it defies one-to-one comparison. Where That Lonesome Song was a lean, concise wonder modeled after Waylon Dreaming My Dreams, The Guitar Song is a sprawling epic that finds Johnson exploring a wider range of sounds and emotions over two ‘Black’ and ‘White’ themed discs. The extended length left some critics wishing Johnson had pared it down a bit, but it’s testament to the quality of these compositions that there’s little agreement on which tracks should have been axed. Even if we could all agree on three to cut, there’d still be 22 deserving of this top spot.

Brady Vercher

10. Sing the Statler Brothers, Dailey & Vincent
9. Rambler’s Call, Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers
8. The Box, Brennen Leigh
7. Freight Train, Alan Jackson
6. The Jukebox In Your Heart, Mike Stinson
5. Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, Marty Stuart
4. Up On the Ridge, Dierks Bentley
3. Carryin’ On, Dale Watson
2. Reckless, The SteelDrivers
1. The Guitar Song, Jamey Johnson

Brody Vercher

10. Up On the Ridge, Dierks Bentley
9. Heartaches and Dreams, Junior Sisk & Rambler’s Choice
8. Hard Times, Adam Carroll & Michael O’Connor
7. The Box, Brennen Leigh
6. Carryin’ On, Dale Watson
5. Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions, Marty Stuart
4. The Jukebox In Your Heart, Mike Stinson
3. Patch of Blue Sky, Kevin Welch
2. Reckless, The SteelDrivers
1. The Guitar Song, Jamey Johnson