Best country albums of 2018

I'm putting together my 'best of the year' list. Which country albums must be on it?

 

Is Kacey Musgrave, Golden Hour, still country? If it is, then there’s one.

 

Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour
Dierks Bentley - The Mountain
Pistol Annie's - Interstate Gospel

 

"Last Man Standing" by Willie Nelson

 

Ashley Monroe - Sparrow
Colter Wall - Songs Of The Plains

 

"WW III" by Wheeler Walker Jr.

 

Ashley McBryde - Girl Going Nowhere

 

El Coyote - El Coyote
Years - Sarah Shook & the Disarmers
Songs from the Deluge - Western Centuries
South Texas Homecoming - James Steinle
Liberty - Lindi Ortega

 

Loretta Lynn
Wouldn't It Be Great

 

Something remarkably special. Country proves aesthetically problematic for me, particularly the modern era, so Sarah is statistically akin to a direct lightning strike.

 

Whitey Morgan & the 78’s - Hard Times and White Lines
Cody Jinks - Lifers
Dillon Carmichael - Hell on an Angel
Ashley McBride - Girl Goin’ Nowhere
Jason Eady - I Travel On

Among many others. It was a pretty good year for country music.

 

I don't think it's been said yet: Brandi Carlile | By the Way, I Forgive You

 

Here's Country Universe's (I find they have good taste) list of the 20 Best of 2018: Click

20. Kim Richey, Edgeland
19. Rosanne Cash, She Remembers Everything
18. John Prine, The Tree of Forgiveness
17. I'm With Her, See You Around
16. Lindi Ortega, Liberty
15. Kathy Mattea, Pretty Bird
14. Ruston Kelly, Dying Star
13. Dierks Bentley, The Mountain
12. Eric Church, Desperate Man
11. Kacey Chambers, Campfire
10. Loretta Lynn, Wouldn't It Be Great
09. Lori McKenna, The Tree
08. Courtney Marie Andrews, May Your Kindness Remain
07. Old Crow Medicine Show, Volunteer
06. Ashley Monroe, Sparrow
05. Tami Nelson, Sassafrass!
04. Brandi Carlile, By the Way, I Forgive You
03. Kasey Musgraves, Golden Hour
02. Ashley McBryde, Girl Goin' Nowhere
01. Pistol Annies, Interstate Gospel

 

I liked Eric Church's Desperate Man
Pistol Annies' Interstate Gospel
Brothers Osborne's Port St. Joe

and, if you get into alt country:

Jason Isbell / Siren of the Ditch
Lindsay Lou / Southland
Neko Case / Hell-On

 

Good gosh man

 

Parker Millsap
Other Arrangements

 

Is Ry Cooder considered?
If so his new record is great

 

I'm not sure I bought any new country that was released last year, it was all reissue and catch up stuff.

 

My word, there's some song titles on that album!

 

Definitely not for sensitive ears. For this list am I scraping the bottom of the barrel?

 

I only just discovered this Country-Rock artist. This is the title track from Ross Cooper's
I Rode The Wild Horses (2018).

 

I can imagine Chris Isaak singing this one...

 

One of my favorites off the album.