Top Country Albums of the Decade (#50-#41)

Country music newcomer Ashley Monroe hasn’t even had a CD released yet, but that doesn’t stop her from appearing on our countdown of the decade’s best albums; Monroe’s 2006 digital-only release ranks alongside the debut efforts from left-of-center mainstreamers Miranda Lambert and Zac Brown Band, while just plain “left” singer/songwriter Todd Snider lands his most revered album at #43. 50 albums and 50 to go; stay with us as we make our way to the decade’s best country album.

• 50. Everything Is Fine (2007) – Josh Turner

  Turner’s only album on the list takes his stellar ability to execute and interpret a country song and applies it to a diverse offering of sexual innuendo, smooth R&B harmonies and a classic country cover, proving the singer is capable of channeling his early radio success into a worthwhile career catalog. With that diversity, however, comes misses like “Trailerhood” and the title track, itself a symptom of Turner’s tendency to rely too much on his baritone and too little on consistent lyrical connections. — Karlie Justus

• 49. American Saturday Night (2009) – Brad Paisley

  Though conservatism rules on Music Row, country king Brad Paisley’s goofball brand of music–part hillbilly satire, part romantic balladry–is a bipartisan pleasure. The release of this year’s American Saturday Night proved once again that his country radio reign–along with this year’s nifty White House invite–is well-earned. Paisley reflects on the ever-changing nature of our culture (the title track, “Welcome to the Future”), but the album remains a deeply-personal artifact with keen snapshots (“I Hope That’s Me,” “Anything Like Me”) drawn from his experience as a husband and father of two. — Blake Boldt

• 48. 12 Ounce World (2008) – Rodney Hayden

  Written, produced, recorded, and released by the artist and his band, Rodney Hayden’s homespun 12 Ounce World is a truly independent project in every sense of the word. And who needs a high-powered record label or a big recording budget when you can make music like this on your own? A brilliantly mixed album that is underlined throughout by the standout guitar work of bandmate Matt Slusher, Hayden’s 2008 disc is one of a rare breed, so good at certain points that it’s easy to forget you’re listening to the songs of a regionally successful Texas act and not a country music legend. “Huntsville” and “Lonesome, Heartbroke and Blue” are two of the decade’s best country songs. Now if there was only a way to fix that artwork… — Jim Malec

• 47. Kerosene (2005) – Miranda Lambert

  Miranda Lambert’s debut album made one thing very clear–she would be no label-crafted, cookie-cutter Nashville Star also-Ran. Kerosene was open-throttle from the first notes of the disc’s explosive lead number, slowing down only for the occasional heart-wrencher (“There’s A Wall”), or for a romp through stark, Texas-flavored traditionalism (“I Can’t Be Bothered.”) But while Kerosene declared–and declared loudly– that Lambert would be her own artist, it was a two-pack of autobiographical vignettes (“New Strings” and “Mama, I’m Alright”), along with a hard dose of friend-to-friend honesty (“What About Georgia?”) which first hinted that Lambert’s greatest strength as a songwriter was not her sass but her sensitivity. — Jim Malec

• 46. It Just Comes Natural (2006) – George Strait

  It Just Comes Natural is solid George Strait gold–and, at 15 songs deep, there’s plenty to enjoy. The album’s release in 2006 allowed Strait to pick up his fourth CMA Album of the year award a decade after winning his third, giving him at least one win in the category in three different decades and the first single, “Give It Away”–which helped propel Jamey Johnson to prominence–pushed him past Conway Twitty for the most Billboard #1s by a country artist. Mr. Reliable keeps on chuggin’. — Brady Vercher

• 45. The SteelDrivers (2008) – The SteelDrivers

  Bluegrass has long been known for its high and lonesome vocals, but The SteelDrivers’ debut changed the formula with great success. First-rate bluegrass vets fiddler Tammy Rogers and banjo-player Richard Bailey joined with honky-tonk rocker Mike Henderson on mandolin and a lead singer (Chris Stapleton) who’d be at home fronting a Southern rock band. The combination worked, as songs like “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey” and “Midnight Train To Memphis” are tailor-made for Stapleton’s gritty voice, and the band earned IBMA, AMA and GRAMMY Award nominations for its debut effort. — Sam Gazdziak

• 44. The Foundation (2008) – Zac Brown Band

  Brown and band deliver best in the fact that they cover genres and styles fluidly, dynamically pulling together musical vibes that range from contemporary country to Americana, blues, island-country, gospel and very traditional country. On The Foundation, the band takes pieces of each of these and weaves them into a sound that’s unique on country radio today, entire culture of American country music squeezed into one outstanding record. — Ken Morton, Jr.

• 43. East Nashville Skyline (2004) – Todd Snider

  Snider’s swan song for the Oh Boy label was the one where everything finally came together, with Snider writing and singing in a voice more incisive and acerbic than ever and the production no longer straining to gloss up his ragged charm. Edging toward his 40s, Snider reined in the sometimes scattered creative impulses of his youth and delivered this focused tour de force, an album mixing hard-luck tales of aging and addiction with sharp-tongued social commentary, always with a glimmer of hope and a good-natured wink. — CM Wilcox

• 42. Satisfied (2006) – Ashley Monroe

  The sole digital-only release on our list belongs to young Ashley Monroe, who earns comparison to Dolly and Tammy with the lilting quality of her voice and the way it seems to issue from her so naturally, without a hint of strain or pretense. Released digitally in 2006 and again (by popular demand) in 2009, hers was undoubtedly one of the most arresting debuts of the decade, as that inimitable tear in her voice gave her largely self-penned ballads (plus a few rockers, including a duet with Dwight Yoakam) such heartbreaking force. — CM Wilcox

• 41. On Your Way Home (2003) – Patty Loveless

  Fresh from the success of Mountain Soul, Loveless applied a modern sheen to her bluegrass leanings with On Your Way Home, a radio-friendly album that, sadly, country radio barely touched. The title track, a Matraca Berg/Ronnie Samoset cheating ballad, is a harsh rebuke to a lying beau. The old-fashioned “Last in a Long Lonesome Line,” mourns the loss of traditional country and the heart-wrenching “The Grandpa That I Know,” does the same for a deceased patriarch. Throughout, Loveless is like a sympathetic friend: her down-from-the-mountain voice is vibrant, matching these touching and true-to-life songs of solitude. — Blake Boldt

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