Great year. These are rough rankings with some favoritism to things that have had staying power for most of the year versus more recent discoveries.

1. Doug Paisley – Strong Feelings
2. Damon Albarn – Everyday Robots
3. Ags Connolly - How About Now
4. Jonny Two Bags – Salvation Town
5. Mary Gauthier – Trouble & Love
6. John Fullbright - Songs
7. Del Barber - Prairieography
8. The Loudermilks – S/T
9. Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers – World of Strangers
10. Lucinda Williams – Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone
11. Sturgill Simpson – Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
12. Jeffrey Martin – Dogs in Daylight
13. Sweetwater String Band – River of Rhymes
14. Rodney Crowell – Tarpaper Sky
15. Joe Henry – Invisible Hour
16. The New American Farmers – The Farmacology Sessions
17. Jim Lauderdale – I’m A Song
18. Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison - Our Year
19. Willie Nile – If I Was A River
20. Jesse Winchester – A Reasonable Amount of Trouble
21. Fauna Flora – S/T
22. Phil Ajjarapu – Sing Along Until You Feel Better
23. Luke Winslow King – Everlasting Arms
24. Candi Staton – Life Happens
25. Ronnie Fauss – Built to Break

Honorable Mentions

26. Trevor Alguire – Miles Away
27. Sean Rowe - Madman
28. Laura Cantrell – No Way There From Here
29. The Iguanas - Juarez
30. Eric Brace & Karl Straub – Hangtown Dancehall
31. Nickel Creek – A Dotted Line
32. Grady Kelneck – Take My Hand
33. Roddy Frame – Seven Dials
34. Riley Etheridge Jr. – The Straight & Narrow Way
35. Tony Allen – Film of Life
36. Deacon Blue – A New House
37. Skank - Velocia


I also really like John Murry's Califorlornia but I didn't include it since its only an ep

Dig it! Thanks Billy!

I think Sturgill is our only crossover, Beeg, but good list: a couple of things on there I've been meaning to check out.

Zero overlap. Not surprised, and that's ok.

Sturgill was also my only common album, which is expected. Definitely some things on there I should check out.

agree it was a great year, but obviously for different reasons. our only crossover = Damon Albarn and Tony Allen -- kinda cool with a The Good, The Bad & The Queen album slated for release in 2015.

I figured that I probably wouldn't have much more than 1 or 2 albums overlapped with people with the most common overlap being Sturgill Simpson followed by Phil and then maybe Lucinda Williams (although I haven't seen that much mention of that album here which I'm a little surprised by because I think it might be her best).

I put together a spotify playlist with a song each from the albums from my top 25 which are available there:

http://open.spotify.com/user/bg90027/pl ... 44YBSrQ1p5

I've been meaning to come back and post short blurbs for some of the albums that are maybe less known or not getting much attention here but should. I'll try to get to that soon.



Had not heard that. Great news indeed.

Doug Paisley – Strong Feelings

I really love this album. There’s a strong easy going, early 70’s singer songwriter/southern roots rock/country rock vibe on it. The playing is great and his voice is deep and rich and suits the music wonderfully. Play this on random with the Band, the Byrds, Hoyt Axton, Kris Kristofferson, and Tony Joe White and it will fit right in. I suppose that’s in part because Garth Hudson plays keyboards and piano all over this thing. Really great album which isn’t getting near the attention that it deserves, even among Americana press. Perhaps that’s because he’s Canadian? I don’t know but it gets my highest recommendation. It’s not on spotify so here’s a small taste:





Damon Albarn – Everyday Robots

I played this to death in the first half of the year. As many of you may remember, The Good, The Bad & The Queen is one of my favorite albums of the last ‘00’s. Everyday Robots features different collaborators on largely different instruments than the Good, the Bad and the Queen. It doesn’t sound much like that album either, but it does share the same ethos. Its very melancholic built on strong slow rhythms and layers of sounds. I wouldn’t say that its quite as good as the Good, the Bad & the Queen but it scratches the same itch for me and I would think that it would appeal to most fans of that record. I’m probably close to alone on this but I like it more than any Blur album.



Ags Connolly – How About Now?

Country Music People Magazine calls him an English Willie Nelson. That’s probably actually not a bad riyl for Ags as he plays countrypolitan music with strong pop underpinnings. For my money, this was the best country album released in 2014.



Jonny Two Bags – Salvation Town

Jonny Two Bags is the nickname of Johnny Wickersham, best known as the lead guitarist for Social Distortion since the original guitarist’s death in 2000. Salvation Town, his first solo album, is a roots rock affair and thoroughly Southern California album that should appeal to fans of the Blasters, the Hacienda Brothers and Los Lobos. He’s backed on the album by a large list of pedigreed players including David Lindley, David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), Jackson Browne, Greg Leisz, Pete Thomas (The Attractions), Gaby Moreno, Joel Guzman, Davey Farqueher and Zander Schloss (Circle Jerks). I think a lot of the roots rocks fans on here would dig this.



Mary Gauthier – Trouble & Love
Gauthier’s first album since the amazing “The Foundling” is no less depressing. Recorded in the aftermath of her breakup with a long time girlfriend, the album is a raw recount of heartbreak and healing. It’s not something that you can throw on everyday but it’s a really beautiful record and very close to if not quite the artistic equivalent of “The Foundling.”



John Fullbright – Songs

I was a big fan of Fullbright’s debut album, but this one took awhile to grow on me. It’s a very sparse affair – just piano and vocals with the songs put front and center. It really grew on me with repeat listens. This is probably not a fair comparison at all but the best one I can make is to the songs Neil Young plays on piano like on Massey Hall.



Del Barber – Prairieography

Prairieography is a roots/country rock record with a strong pop sensibility. He sounds a lot like Glen Phillips might if he was a bit more country.



The Loudermilks – S/T

The Loudermilks are led by brothers Alan and Chad Edwards, the frontmen for the 90’s alt country band “Lou Ford.” They took the name Loudermilks from the real last name of the Louvin Brothers which is a pretty good indication of the sound they are going for with lots of harmonizing although they are much more upbeat than the Louvin Brothers, much more like a Roots era Everly Brothers.



Zoe Muth – World of Strangers

Zoe Muth is a female alt country singer/songwriter and this is her first album since relocating from Seattle to Austin. She’s got a beautiful voice and writes pretty good songs. Maybe it comes down to personal preference, but I like her a lot more than Lera Lynn, Lydia Loveless, Nikki Lane and other similar female artists that are getting a lot more attention than she does.

I’m going to skip Lucinda Williams and Sturgill Simpson under the assumption that people inclined to like those albums don’t need my encouragement to check them out.



Jeffrey Martin – Dogs in Daylight

A beautiful indie folk album that should appeal to fans of Damien Jurado and Iron & Wine. It was a late discovery or it might be higher on my list. It’s in really high rotation for me right now and continues to grow on me with repeat listens. This is a really deep year though. If I listen to anything from my top 20 when in the proper mood for it, and I could think it should be in my top 3.

I’ll post more blurbs later.

That Mary Gauthier really grew on me, would play it on repeat in the car. I never got that she was so lesbian (I know duh), but boy, she sings like she means it. Lucinda Williams is not on your list? You always have interesting taste, some things that I would swear is your cup of tea, you'll say don't work for you. When a Billy goes cold...

On my list at #10 and Sturgill Simpson was #11. I was just saying they probably don't really need my pimping to get people's attention. I assume most people have a good idea of whether either of those two are up their alley and worth checking out.

That Doug Paisley track sounds great, but the melody feels so familiar that I would assume it's either a cover or actually an old recording.

Though it's not something I would usually listen to I have to say that I really like a few of the songs on that John Fullbright...I just like the guy's voice.

Lucinda is probably the only one I've heard here, but I agree it was really good. Been meaning to check out Joe Henry.

Senile and blind, sorry. I think this is her best since Tire Wheels...

Great choice for your #1. #4 on my year-end.
Not much in the way of overlap, but it gives me a lot to investigate which I'm happy to do when it comes to your year end list. Also, I had no idea Mary Gauthier had a new record.

Really liked the duet with Jason Isbell on that Candi Staton album.

Really didn't like the Lucinda Williams. Every song seemed to clock in at almost exactly the same length, and that length was around the 5 minute mark. That spells r-u-t to me. Admittedly more energy expended than on most of her recent work, but my hopes that she'll ever equal a song like "Crescent City" have been entirely extinguished.

Lucinda Williams – Where the Spirit Meets The Bone

I’d about given up on Lucinda putting out another album that I’d like. Her recent work that I’d heard mostly bored me. If It weren’t for loving the song which she sang lead on Rodney Crowell and Mary Karr’s KIN and liking a few songs that I heard on a podcast, I probably never would have sought this out. It’s commonly thought to be her best album in a long time, but I’d go further than that. I think its her best album period. What separates it for me from the rest of the work as how great it is musically. Greg Leisz produced it and plays all over it and they assembled a crack band which includes Tony Joe White, Val McCullum, Pete Thomas, Davey Faragher, Ian McLagan, Jonathan Wilson, Patrick Warren and Bill Frisell.



Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music

I don’t like this nearly as much as his debut but its still a fine album. He deserves all the recognition that he’s getting.



Sweetwater String Band - River of Rhymes

Pretty fine “cello driven” bluegrass from this young Sierras based band. There’s some fine playing on this and great harmonizing.



Rodney Crowell – Tarpaper Sky

Another fine solo album – his 14th – from Rodney Crowell, who I’d put just a notch below guys like Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt among great country artists of the last 40 years.



New American Farmers – The Farmacology Sessions

A fine album of guitar driven west coast psychedelic country rock which is very in debt to the sound of the Byrds I don't think its on spotify so here's a taste:





Jim Lauderdale - I’m a Song

Jim Lauderdale is by all accounts the sort of artist that should have by right up my alley (at least the last five or so years) but until this album, he’s always been someone that I’ve respected more than really liked. I’m not sure what it is about this album that speaks to me more but I like it much more than anything I’ve ever heard from him.



Kelly Willis & Bruce Robison – Our Year

Husband and Wife team released a fine follow-up to “Cheater’s Game” which was my #2 last year. They provide some of the best country close harmonies this side of Gram and Emmylou and Brad Jones on production infuses it with a pop sensibility. I don’t like it as much as “Cheater’s Game” in part because its dominated by covers, but it’s a really nice album and it not being higher on my list is demonstrative of what a great year it was.



Willie Nile – If I Was A River

While every Willie Nile album is good for at least a couple of good songs, I really haven’t liked any of the albums he’d released between “Streets of New York” and this one. I’ve always thought Willie Nile excelled at piano ballads (Streets of New York and Yesterday’s Dreams are my two favorite songs of his) and this album is all piano ballads. Its easily his best album since “Streets of New York.”



Jesse Winchester – A Reasonable Amount of Trouble

Jesse Winchester is one of the greatest songwriters of the last 50 years. He would be much better known if not for spending the prime of his career in exile in Canada for refusing to serve in Vietnam. Jesse Winchester died from cancer in April 2014 and these final recordings were made during a brief remission and released posthumously. Its far from his greatest album but a welcome addition to his catalog.



Fauna Flora – S/T

Fauna Flora features Steve Ward (Cherry Twister) and Joe Pisapia crafting intelligent and lushy arranged pop songs. The album write-ups suggest that this album was written by Steve Ward but Joe Pisapia sings most of the lead vocals and I can feel his imprint in the arrangements. I don’t like it quite as much as “Daydreams.” Unlike Daydreams, there is a song or two which I don’t like and there is nothing on here that blows me away like “Dancing Partner” does but if you were to remove the best and the worst songs from both albums, they would be pretty close. I really love Joe P’s vocal phrasing on many of these songs. If you are fan of his and somehow missed this album, you should seek it out.



Phil Ajjarapu – Sing Along Until You Feel Better

If I were a bigger fan of Beatlesque Pop, this would be much higher on my list. That is really not my sweetspot at all. That said, I’m really impressed by the quality of the album and even more by the quality of the songs. I always knew that Phil had a great voice and was an excellent bass player, but I didn’t know that he had these songs in him. There are still a few songs that still aren’t really my thing but I was impressed by how many of the songs grow on me. Pop songs generally have the opposite effect on me – there is something immediately likable about them but they lose their flavor like stale bubblegum with repeat listens. That’s not the case at all here, quite the opposite. My favorite songs are the melancholy ones where Phil wears his heart on his sleeves – “Every Day” and “The Wedding Song.” If the rest of the album were more like those, it would probably be in my top 5 but with the exception of one or two songs I like the whole thing. Strike me impressed.



Luke Winslow King – Everlasting Arms

When I heard Luke Winslow King’s debut, I didn’t really like it – it was a little too bluesy for me and the songs just didn’t seem that great. There was something about him though that told me that he was an artist to pay attention to. On Everlasting Arms, he seems to have taken a big step forward. It’s a more musically rich sound with the blues enriched with New Orleans Jazz, Pre-War Pop and even some latin touches. It’s a really strong album that might have appeared higher if I had heard it earlier in the year.



Candi Staton – Life Happens

With the exception of Solomon Burke’s recent work, I really haven’t been a big fan of any of the newer albums by soul greats including those by Candi Staton. This one though is close to the level of those Solomon Burke albums. As Radcliffe mentioned, Jason Isbell plays guitar and provides harmony on one song. More importantly though, it was recorded in Muscle Shoals with Rick Hall on production (the first time they’ve worked together since 1974) and it has that classic Muscle Shoals sound on it.