Saving Country Music’s 2021 Essential Albums List
The annual Essential Albums list is Saving Country Music’s most comprehensive guide to the music of a given year. Drawing from the over 100 album reviews published during the year, this is where you come to find what you might have missed in a very busy year for album releases.
Even more so than previous years, the sheer amount of albums released due to the pandemic made it even more difficult to navigate and keep up. Cooped up artists recorded new albums and side projects in 2020, and released them in 2021. Because of this, it is just impossible for any single individual or outlet to cover everything. So please understand nothing was overlooked or purposely excluded. Every effort is expended to cover as much music as possible, and with an emphasis on the artists who regularly go overlooked, or who are not covered elsewhere.
A few ground rules:
- This does NOT include the Album of the Year Nominees since they’ve already had a spotlight shined on them through the nomination process. In the spirit of highlighting what was overlooked, they are not included here.
- There is no specific order to the list, aside from the first albums being considered the “Most Essential,” or albums that just missed the bubble to be considered Album of the Year nominees.
- More albums will eventually end up on the Essential Albums List. More 2021 albums will be reviewed in the comings days into the first few weeks of January before 2022 releases start in earnest. Saving Country Music reviewed over 100 albums in 2021, so please no whining about what was overlooked. Be thankful this free resource to music listeners continues to be offered year after year.
- As always, suggestions of additional albums, lists of your essential albums, and opinions about this list are encouraged, and can be shared in the comments section below. Just no “Hey, this list is entirely bunk because so and so wasn’t included!” or “so and so WAS included.”
2021 Saving Country Music Album of the Year Nominees:
• Garrett T. Capps – I Love San Antone (review) • Melissa Carper – Daddy’s Country Gold (review) • Mike and the Moonpies – One To Grow On (review) • Charles Wesley Godwin – How The Mighty Fall (review) • Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days (review) • Billy Strings – Renewal (review) • The Steel Woods – All of Your Stones (review) • Mac Leaphart – Music City Joke (review) • James McMurtry – The Horses and the Hounds (review) • Blackberry Smoke – You Hear Georgia (review) • Vincent Neil Emerson – Self-Titled (review)
Most Essential Albums
MOST ESSENTIAL – Charlie Marie – Ramble On
Be still your heart, bend your ears, open your mind, but no need to temper your expectations for this highly-anticipated debut album from one of today’s preeminent country singers, the one and only Charlie Marie. Let the waves of classic country goodness wash over you, and extol their virtues upon your very soul, and put you at ease about the future of country music.
Ramble On is nothing less than an assured pronouncement that Charlie Marie from the unlikely port of Providence, Rhode Island should be considered one of our premier recording artists in independent country music at the moment, and at or near the top of the pecking order when it comes to inspiring and confident women. The only question as always is if people will listen. But Charlie Marie has given them little to no excuse not to. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Hayes Carll – You Get It All
Hayes Carll came out promising that his seventh record would lean more heavily on the country influences of the native Texan compared to his previous releases. And sure, You Get It All probably is a bit more country-sounding. But more importantly, it’s a good record. In fact it’s a pretty great one. And country or not, it’s a Hayes Carll record. It’s the kind of record you hope Hayes Carll delivers nearly 20 years into his career.
Don’t go in expecting a hard country record from Hayes Carll here, because you’ll be disappointed. But do expect You Get It All to be one good song after another, with a few great ones too, and most everything you want a Hayes Carll album to be, country or not. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Carly Pearce – 29: Written In Stone
29: Written In Stone, the album includes the seven songs from the earlier EP, as well as eight new ones, giving you almost an entire new album of material, cooling most any criticism of rehashing the same stuff twice. And if anything, the new additions to the project are even more cutting, and more country than the initial songs. Carly Pearce isn’t soft pedaling her move toward becoming a country traditionalist, she mashing the accelerator, and doing so unapologetically.
Now a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and once a prodigy singing traditional country and bluegrass at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Carly Pearce has successfully wedged a broom handle between the cogs of the Music Row machine, escaped the sausage factory assembly line, and successfully done what many of the young women who move to Nashville fully intend to do before they’re gobbled up by the system: become a country star. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Kiely Connell – Camulet Queen
It is my distinct pleasure to introduce you to Hammond, Indiana-native Kiely Connell and her debut record Calumet Queen that will send shivers down your spine and prick the very deepest regions of your soul with its sincere and distinct expressions of an unburdening heart. Exquisitely sung and written, delightfully sparse in aspect, it yearns to leave you with an unsettled feeling, and succeeds in a way that is peculiarly comforting.
Her voice is what strikes you first, confident and expressive, yet burdened with emotion and full of character like the contours of an elder’s face. For some it might be too rich or distinct upon initial exposure, but after warming to it, Kiely Connell’s voice will call to you with appeal. Though you want to pin her voice down as similar to some of your other favorite singers, it’s more accurate to describe it as an amalgam of some of the best voices to grace country and roots music all integrated into one. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Sierra Ferrell – A Long Time Coming
Years of hopping trains, busking and bruising around the United States, being homeless with plenty of harrowing stories to tell has resulted in that real world authenticity baked into Sierra Ferrell’s West Virginia roots. Capturing the creative spirit of these dynamos in a recorded context is often difficult. But as the aptly-titled Long Time Coming illustrates, it’s not impossible.
Sierra Ferrell is one of those one in a million artists born to do this, and bred to excel at it, and forged through real life experience. There is no affectation here. This is all Sierra Ferrell. Like Todd Snider who spied her potential some seven years ago, Tyler Childers who perhaps crossed paths with her in West Virginia, and Sturgill Simpson who wanted to throw his weight behind her, Sierra Ferrell is worthy to be regarded as a generational force in country and roots music. (read review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – John R. Miller – Depreciated
John R. Miller’s music, used cars, and auto repair is officially open for business coast to coast, specializing in swapping out starters and alternators, rebuilding carburetors, selling used tour vans, and peddling songs about hard-hearted women, hand-to-mouth subsistence, and the slow sunsetting of Appalachia.
Once simply a jewel of rural West Virginia beloved by locals, the signal of this singing troubadour and musician-for-hire has now been boosted by Rounder Records through his new album Depreciated, marking John R. Miller as the latest worthy inductee into the swelling regimen of authentic Appalachian singers and songwriters, backed by his band The Engine Lights. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Alan Jackson – Where Have You Gone
You could say Alan Jackson is past his prime, but on Where Have You Gone he’s actually right where he should be, reminiscing on life, enjoying his semi-retirement, and showing fair concern about the direction country music is taking as a country legend with a conscience and an important voice. If Alan Jackson was out there trying to run down a late career radio hit, or trying not to show his age, that’s where he would run into trouble like so many aging country performers do.
Instead, Alan Jackson is being Alan Jackson—a constant, a rock, someone you can count on. It’s the legacies guys and gals like Alan Jackson have contributed to country music that have created the foundation from which everything else is built from. And on Where Have You Gone, Alan Jackson has added a few more stones to that foundation, while also trying to repair some of the cracks that have formed from the neglect and misuse in recent years. (read full review)
***REMEMBER: Album of the Year Nominees are not included on this list***
MOST ESSENTIAL – Emily Scott Robinson – American Siren
Emily Scott Robinson is just composing on such elevated wavelengths of articulative insight and poetic delivery, her music is incapable of comparing to contemporaries or falling into platitude, forcing you to draw correlations with vaunted songwriting legends of the past as peers. She is undoubtedly one of the premier musical scribes of our time, turning what might be stereotypical country themes into emotionally stirring moments.
There’s a lot happening on this record, and it may be one of those that we’re unable to fully grasp or measure until weeks or months have past. Just like all great songwriters, Emily Scott Robinson has enveloped the sentiments she wants to convey, and the lessons she wants to teach in layering and nuance. It takes time to peel back the layers of an onion, and often, many tears. Same goes for the elaborate American Siren. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Bobby Dove – Hopeless Romantic
Get ready to rearrange the hierarchy of your Canadian country music depth charts. Hell, get ready shake it up in the lower 48 and everywhere else as well, because Bobby Dove has just released a record that will have you crying and moaning along with some of the best classic country music composed in new original songs that’s come down the pike in quite a while.
I’m not sure if Hank Williams or Hank Snow kept a mistress in Montreal or Manitoba maybe we didn’t hear about and passed some genes down, or what has possessed Bobby Dove to become like a vessel or channeler for all the great classic country music influences we so sorely miss. But this is some of the most authentically-rendered and true-to-inspiration country music you can root out, while still holding onto enough originality to hit your ears with a welcomed freshness. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Béla Fleck – My Bluegrass Heart
Béla Fleck has journeyed back to his original compass point in his latest album, My Bluegrass Heart. No, there’s no reels about how pretty Jenny broke his poor heart or how Uncle Pen could sure cut a rug. This is still Béla bluegrass, entirely instrumental, fearless in scope, and compositionally astounding. Béla Fleck didn’t just rope in names like Billy Strings, Chris Thile, Brian Sutton, Sierra Hull, Michael Cleveland, Molly Tuttle, and Edgar Meyer to perform on this project to impress you by the depth of his Rolodex. They just happen to be the only players alive out there that can actualize this kind of crazy stuff.
If you want to hear the absolute pinnacle of bluegrass in 2021 when it comes to just sheer blazing imagination and artistry, then accept no substitutes. Béla Fleck and My Bluegrass Heart are it, period. My Bluegrass Heart is a masterwork, and a brilliant love letter to the bluegrass art form articulated by some of its greatest living artisans, led by one of the most creative minds of any musical art form. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Margo Cilker – Pohorylle
South Carolina, a dairy farm in Petaluma, California, Margo Cilker’s been out there working with her hands, carving out a hardscrabble existence in faraway and unforgiving places, accruing a lifetime’s worth of stories, and the ones she didn’t share already on a slew of cobbled together Bandcamp releases comprise this cover to cover debut gem from Fluff and Gravy Records.
Crushing your poor little soul in one song after another, emulating the sounds of a distressed heart, Margo Cilker still somehow also makes it all sound so sweet. Heartbreaking but enduring, sparse but abundantly enjoyable, Pohorylle is a songwriter record that’s country enough, with the attention centered squarely on the songs and Margo’s voice, and backed a hot shot band specifically assembled to make sure these songs are respected. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Jesse Daniel – Beyond These Walls
In country music, one way to consider the quality of a song or album is to ask yourself what a country legend might feel about it. In the case of Jesse Daniel’s Beyond The Walls, I feel confident Tom T. Hall and Don Williams would approve of the way it helps reset your perspective on the simpler things in life. I believe George Strait and Alan Jackson would appreciate the way Jesse takes a straight-laced, straightforward approach to country. When it comes to what the legendary Raul Malo of The Mavericks, we don’t have to assume what he thinks of Jesse Daniel veering into Tejano on this record. By appearing on it himself, we know Raul approves.
Well-produced by Tommy Detamore and performed by a crack team of professional guys, Beyond These Walls establishes that Jesse Daniel should no longer be considered the future of country music. He should be considered the present. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Hope Dunbar – Sweetheartland
Leave behind all of that defanged country, moldy folk, reconstituted indie rock, derivative roots pop, and pallid white boy soul they try to peddle these days as “Americana,” and pin your ears to what this virtually unknown mother from middle America is doing, because it’s leagues better than most, and the ideal of what post alt-country roots music should sound like. You’ve probably never heard of Hope Dunbar before. But my goodness, pipe up a few of her songs, and you’ll be made plenty aware.
How much does a preacher’s wife with teenage boys from nowhere Nebraska have to lend to the Americana conversation? Apparently, quite a bit. Sometimes the emptiness of landscape is more inspiring than the mountains and the oceans by offering a clean palette for the imagination, and the isolation from the creative epicenters insulates you from the adverse influence of trends and the the disruptions of inner conversations that the greatest artists have within themselves. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Flatland Cavalry – Welcome to Countryland
Welcome to Countryland is a worthy introduction and a resounding pronouncement for an important band coming into their own. It’s a step up, a stepping out, and an effort worthy of the buzz and adulation Flatland has been garnering for five years now. Well-written and executed, heartfelt, touching, and honest, it’s an album that doesn’t attempt to barrel you over with emotions, but works to reset your priorities and perspective in a roiled time. And perhaps most expressively, it is country.
Flatland Cavalry sunk their heart into this record, and even if they’re not your thing, you still feel and respect their effort and earnestness by the end. It doesn’t feel like a stretch to declare Welcome to Countryland an arrival for a band that’s already been beloved by many for years now. (read full review)
MOST ESSENTIAL – Rob Leines – Blood Sweat and Beers
Lock your doors and hide your daughters ladies and gentlemen, because this booze hounding, womanizing, honky-tonking and hard rocking country music son-of-a-bitch is blowing through your municipality like a long track tornado, and if he doesn’t charm you with his silver tongue, he just might slay you with his Telecaster.
Where in the hell has all the twang and attitude in country music gone? Well let me introduce you to Rob Leines—a hard-touring 200 shows-a-year kind of guy who’s played everywhere and opened for the likes of Whiskey Myers and Dwight Yoakam. If the country music power trio wasn’t a thing before, it is now as Leines not only growls out his original songs, but let’s it fly with lead guitar chops that would waylay most. (read full review)
Essential Albums List
• Jon Wolfe – Dos Corazones – (read review)
• Dag Erik Ogsvold – Back Then – (read review)
• Cody Jinks – Mercy – (read review)
• Hannah Juanita – Hardliner – (read review)
• Swamptooth – B-Flat Earth – (read review)
• Joshua Ray Walker – See You Next Time – (read review)
• Chapel Hart – The Girls Are Back in Town – (read review)
• Sturgill Simpson – The Ballad of Dood and Juanita – (read review)
• Conrad Fisher – Homemade – (read review) 
• Emmylou Harris – Ramble in Music City: The Lost Concert – (read review)
• Tylor and the Train Robbers – Non-Typical Find – (read review)
• Jason Boland and the Stragglers – The Light Saw Me – (read review)
• Shannon McNally – The Waylon Sessions – (read review) 
• Morgan Wade – Reckless – (read review)
• The Shootouts – Bullseye – (read review)
• Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno – Self-Titled – (read review)
• Pony Bradshaw – Calico Jim – (read review)
• The Divorcees – Drop of Blood – (read review) 
• Triston Marez – Self-Titled – (read review)
• Mose Wilson – Self-Titled – (read review)
• Canaan Smith – High Country Sound – (read review)
• Cole Chaney – Mercy – (read review)
• Lucero – When You Found Me – (read review)
• Charley Crockett – Music City USA – (read review)
• Charley Crockett – 10 For Slim – (read review)
• Summer Dean – Bad Romantic – (read review)
• Elijah Ocean – Born Blue – (read review)
• Silas J. Dirge – The Poor Devil – (read review) 
• Loretta Lynn – Still Woman Enough – (read review)
• Red Shahan – Javelina – (read review)
• Bo DePeña – It’s About to Get Western – (read review)
• Katie Jo – Pawn Shop Queen – (read review)
• Ida Red – Harmony Grits – (read review)
• Drake Milligan – Self-Titled EP – (read review)
• Lord Huron – Long Lost – (read review)
• Brock Gonyea – Where My Heart Is – (read review)
• The Burner Band – Signs and Wonders – (read review)
• Yola – Stand For Myself – (read review)
• Nick Sizemore – Where The Lonesome Roam – (read review)
• John Schneider – Truck On – (read review)
• The Royal Hounds – A Whole Lot of Nothin’ – (read review) 
• Cody Johnson – Human: The Double Album – (read review)
• Ryan Curtis – Rust Belt Broken Heart – (read review)
• Noel McKay – Blue Blue Blue – (read review)
• H. Self – Broken Live On – (read review) 
• Jason Eady – To The Passage of Time – (read review)
• The Barlow – Horseshoe Lounge – (read review)
• Hailey Whitters – Living The Dream (Deluxe) – (read review)
• Nick Shoulders – Home on the Rage – (read review) 
• American Aquarium – Slappers, Bangers & Certified Twangers Vol 1 – (read review)
• Jeremy Parsons – Things To Come – (read review)
• Addison Johnson – Dark Side of the Mountain – (read review)
• Lainey Wilson – Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’ – (read review) 
• Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Jack Ingram – The Marfa Tapes – (read review)
• Bridge City Sinners – Unholy Hymns – (read review)
• Storey Boys – Patterns – (read review)
• Travis Tritt – Set In Stone – (read review) 
• Dallas Moore – The Rain – (read review)
• Carrie Underwood – My Savior – (read review)
• Michigan Rattlers – That Kind of Life – (read review)
• Parker McCollum – Gold Chain Cowboy – (read review)
Connie Smith – The Cry of the Heart – (read review)
Other Albums Reviewed with Postive Grades:
Zac Brown Band – The Comeback – (read review)
J.P Harris’s Dreadful Wind & Rain – Don’t You Marry No Railroad Man – (read review)
Eric Church – Heart & Soul – (read review)
Aaron Watson – American Soul – (read review)
Midland – The Sonic Ranch – (read review)
December 30, 2021 @ 9:31 am
Bought the Hayes Carll, Emily Robinson and Brandi Carlile albums around the same time. All good records, but it’s Robinson’s that stands out. What a voice. What great writing. That album and Let em Burn should have made it to your “Best of” lists. Checked other lists (WNCW, etc) and was disappointed not seeing Emily’s record listed. The word isn’t out yet.
December 30, 2021 @ 9:48 am
Hey Doug,
I appreciate your passion for Emily Scott Robinson’s music, and I share that passion.
Just for clarification, “Let Em Burn” did make my “Best Of” song list. It is a Song of the Year nominee, or if you want to consider it differently, listed in what is the Top 8 songs for 2021.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/saving-country-musics-2021-song-of-the-year-nominees/
I have also not named the Song of the Year yet (it’s the last award to give out), so it still very well could win in 2021. Emily Scott Robinson did win Song of the Year in 2019 for “The Dress,” was nominated again in 2020 for “The Time For Flowers,” and her album “Traveling Mercies” was also nominated for Album of the Year in 2019.
Also, listing Emily Scott Robinson’s new album here is including it on my “Best Of” list.
Aside from maybe Mike and the Moonpies, I’m not sure there is any other artist that has been highlighted on my end-of-year lists more in the past three years than Emily Scott Robinson. I agree the word isn’t out yet about her, and I share your frustration. But I have done everything I can, not just with end-of-year stuff, but dedicated features on her throughout the year, including this year.
December 30, 2021 @ 4:21 pm
Thanks for the response Trigger. Oops, I missed the Let em Burn nomination. I always consult this website to find new stuff or check out people that aren’t on my radar. I knew Emily signed with Oh Boy, but your review of her new album prompted me to check it out. Glad I did!!
December 31, 2021 @ 9:17 am
Plz not again Trig I can’t take it
December 30, 2021 @ 1:10 pm
How does Jeremy Pinnell get a mention on any of the year and lists. Not sure his album was even reviewed though it was mentioned as an anticipated release. My favorite album of the year.
December 31, 2021 @ 2:20 pm
Relax. Trig is just one man. start your own site
December 30, 2021 @ 10:22 am
My Essential Albums 2021:
Michael Waugh – The Cast
Michael Waugh is an australian singer/songwriter & The Cast is his fourth project.
The album is produced by Shane Nicholson. It’s an album written & recorded while Australia was in a very strict lockdown.
Michael Waugh lost both his parents in early 2020 & the songs are about dealing with the truth & the situation…in a more sentimental way like “Too Many Drawers”…the duet with Felicity Urquhart (his mom was a big fan of Felicity U. the singer & of Felicity U. the country music radio host with her weekly show…the show was the highlight of the week for his dying mom)…or being angry, sad, alone (“The Cast”, “Dirty River”).
Montgomery Church – Where The Quiet Can Hide
The second longplayer for the male/female duo & it’s an album you can play on repeat for hours…country, folk, bluegrass, gospel…the sound of the Snowy Mountains (New South Wales).
December 30, 2021 @ 10:27 am
Hopefully anticipating a Jeremy Pinnell review. Great album. The Pink Stones debut would be nice also…
December 30, 2021 @ 10:44 am
According to Spotify, there was no album I listened to more in 2021 than Jeremy Pinnell’s, and I have still yet to post an album review. That’s a good illustration of how difficult it is to post even one album review, let alone over 100 in a year. It’s not just about listening to an album once and throwing some words together about it. You have to know what to say. You have to tell a compelling story about the album and the artist. It’s not unusual for each album review to include a time commitment of well over 10 hours just from listening, research, and writing. And even then, if the words don’t come, it doesn’t matter how much time you commit to it. There is nothing harder to do, and nothing I take more seriously than writing about something an artist has embedded their very soul in. And meanwhile, no matter how many reviews you publish, no matter how in-depth they are, it will be the one that you didn’t write that folks will focus on the most. The publishing of this list each year is a stark reminder of that. And all I can do is continue to do the best I can, and try and write the next album review.
December 30, 2021 @ 11:21 am
Thanks for all you do trig. Can’t say I’m surprised that it was your most listened to album. SOME folks around here have been saying the semi-recent jeremy pinnell album rips extremely hard for a while now…
December 30, 2021 @ 12:22 pm
Respect. Thanks for the thoughtful reply. We all appreciate your hard work.
December 30, 2021 @ 1:12 pm
How do you not have time to review your most listened to album of the year? Just wondering, no ill intent meant.
December 30, 2021 @ 2:08 pm
Hey Darcen,
It’s not a time issue per se. You can’t write a review for an album when you don’t know what to say about it. Reviews are comprised of words, and my reviews must contain at least seven paragraphs, or roughly 550 words. Album reviews are inherently boring and cliche. So to craft a review that is in any way enjoyable to read takes a tremendous amount of brain power and inspiration. And if it’s not there, you can’t just force it out. Trying to is a disservice to the artist who put their life into their work, and it’s a disservice to readers.
A review, or even a mention on a list is not the only way music can be highlighted. There are many folks who were turned onto the Jeremy Pinnell album via Saving Country Music this year. Like you said, his album was included as an anticipated release. Folks talking in the comments section turned others on to him. I reviewed over 100 albums in 2021, and even if I reviewed 100 more, I still would not be able to review everything, and that one album left off at the tail end—which this year was the Jeremy Pinnell album—will always be held up in my face as some sort of dereliction of duty, while folks overlook the incredible amount of other content published here, and offered up for free.
I don’t want to turn this comments section into a gripe fest. But there is something about the mechanics of this “Essential Albums” list every year that makes some folks lose all sense of perspective. Instead of saying, “Whoah, look at all these great albums to check out,” or “Damn, when did you sleep? How did you review all those records?” people’s minds gravitate towards seeking out what they feel are exclusions, and harping on those. It’s so predictable that I almost wrote a whole preface article to this one explaining the point of the Essential Albums list, which I probably should have, but few would have probably read it. Instead, I tried to change the format a bit, and if anything, it’s made it worse. And the more albums I review each year, the more the criticism grows of the albums I didn’t, because it looks like I was purposely avoiding them, or am insulting them, which is not the case whatsoever. In other words, the more albums I review, the worse this problem gets.
What I can assure is this will be the last year for the Essential Albums list, which is unfortunate, because for a lot of the artists featured here, this is the only end-of-year recognition they will receive. That’s the reason I put forth the effort to publish it. But it has become such a vector for criticism and folks being incensed to the point of swearing they will never read this website again because so and so wasn’t included, I just can’t stomach the drama or the negativity it brings to the site.
December 31, 2021 @ 9:33 am
Is his cover of Joey gonna be on a 2022 album or something. I can dig it.
December 30, 2021 @ 11:22 am
I enjoyed the Jeremy Pinnell album too, but I’m not on board with Pink Stones. I listened to one track, and holy crap it really sounds like they ripped off Garrett T. Capps.
December 30, 2021 @ 12:07 pm
I enjoy the Capps album, but personally don’t hear any similarities. Try “Sweat Me Out” – terrific pedal steel on that one.
December 30, 2021 @ 12:47 pm
Does the Pinnell albumin rip?
December 30, 2021 @ 3:45 pm
Can confirm. The semi-recent Jeremy Pinnell album rips extremely hard in a consistent manner.
December 30, 2021 @ 6:44 pm
I’ve checked it out due to the repeated claims of rippage, and I’m on board.
December 30, 2021 @ 10:35 am
Reposted from Facebook:
As anticipated—and increasingly each year—the publishing of this list simply becomes a “Where’s Waldo” exercise, or an outright attack vector as folks want it to affirm their already-held opinions about their favorite albums as opposed to using it as a resource to perhaps discover something they didn’t know about, which is the entire point of the exercise. No human or outlet can cover every single album released in the greater “country” realm, and this is especially true during a year when so many artists released albums, and sometimes two, that they recorded during the downtime of the pandemic.
I appreciate everyone’s passion for their favorite artists, and encourage them to use this forum to share it. But no insult was intended to anyone who was not included on this list, it was intended to compliment the ones that are. And just look at the sheer volume of names and albums listed. That should help illustrate just how many albums were released in 2021.
Also, as it states in the article, more albums will be reviewed, and more names added to this list over the next few weeks.
So please, just appreciate that there are outlets out here doing what they can to cover independent artists the mainstream ignores, and are trying to cover as much music as possible. It’s never perfect, but we’re all doing the best we can to support the artists and music we love.
December 30, 2021 @ 12:51 pm
Right on trigger. I have used your list to lookup quite a few acts to listen to. Now personally I haven’t found anything that makes me go, man how have I not heard this person before, or became instant fans of, though I do like charlie crockett I believe his name was. But I enjoyed listening nonetheless. Keep up the good work.
December 30, 2021 @ 4:35 pm
Trigger, your lists are of great value. As I previously posted your lists help me fill out my music library with stuff I would not have known about. Also, I read the comments to see if there is anything else out there to check out. You can’t review everything. We know that. So let your readers post their favorites also. I don’t think the comment should be taken as criticism. It’s a really big world of music as you know better than anyone.
December 30, 2021 @ 10:37 am
Many thanks Trigger for another year of bringing excellent music to our attention! This time last year I totted up the number of artists SCM had introduced me to in total and it was in the 90s, so now definitely over 100.
The only additions I’d make are Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, and Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs’ 2021 efforts which I also enjoyed.
December 30, 2021 @ 11:18 am
Rob Leines
(And, the guys), they’re like a whole trio. – Blood Sweat and Beers.
Oh, heck yeah …
December 30, 2021 @ 11:32 am
I am new to this site and let me tell you, it is the best site I have ever seen. Thank you so much Trigger for all of your hard work, and I also would like to thank the community for turning me onto some great artists.
You have made a huge fan. Keep up all the great work.
December 30, 2021 @ 12:07 pm
Thanks for reading!
December 30, 2021 @ 9:19 pm
Micah, every year I listen to more new music than the year before. Most people I know stop discovering new artists by the time they are in their 20s. I have been a reader here for almost 10 years or more and still discover more and more. It’s too bad so many people are negative in this particular article’s comment section because this site has put my money into the pockets of dozens of artists I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise.
December 30, 2021 @ 11:39 am
An album that I like that your readers might not is Tona Ohama’s “My Electronic Country Album.”
The electronic artist covered some great country classics with synthesizers and added personal stories between songs.
I realize that many supposed “traditionalists” dislike electronics other than guitar effects pedals, but anyone who isn’t put off by that aspect might find this album an interesting listen.
December 30, 2021 @ 11:44 am
Thanks for the list here Trig. I always look forward to this post at the end of the year as I bookmark it and come back to it.
My favorites I’ve listened to this year in no particular order are:
Cody Jinks – Mercy
Jesse Daniel – Beyond These Walls
Red Shahan – Javelins
The Steel Woods – All of Your Stones
Sierra Ferrell – A Long Time Coming
Rob Leines – Blood, Sweat and Beers
Cole Chaney – Mercy
Charlie Marie – Ramble On
Jason Boland & The Stragglers – The Light Saw Me
December 30, 2021 @ 12:34 pm
I guess this list is every album Trigg reviewed that was 7 or higher.
December 30, 2021 @ 2:03 pm
All excuses aside; “can’t review them all”, “it takes so much time”, “my website, my rules” – even the half-hearted “but it was my most played artist of the year!”.
Jeremy Pinnell.
December 30, 2021 @ 2:33 pm
Really especially enjoyed hearing the Flatland Calvary, The Barlow, and Bo DePena’s albums, musicI never would have about e cept here on SCM.
Love this list to remind me of the great music this year. Thanks for all you do Trigger!
Happy 2022 everyone!!
December 30, 2021 @ 3:01 pm
Nice list. Time to get to work checking them all out!
December 30, 2021 @ 3:13 pm
Connie Smith. Trig perhaps doesn’t like The Cry of The Heart. But I do. And many other folks as well. I know, shes a grandma many times over, and not relevant to many on this site apparently. (Outta the way Granny, its all about Zach Bryan and Charles Godwin, and take that steel guitar with you, nobody wants to hear that crap)
Maybe I’m jaded having seen her with Marty at the Opry performing many of the songs from the new record. Perhaps I am. But man, the power in that voice, the quality of the songs which range from Bakersfield style with Gary Carter killing it on pedal steel, to Hargus Pig Robbins piano, to Chris Scruggs guitar, and Marty’s harmonies, to full-on lush Countrypolitan, its just a killer album and might be her victory lap. Too bad many will never experience it.
Also, the current Marty Stuart Album, Songs I sing in the Dark, while it is a “cover”album, is well made and a very enjoyable listen.
And the Travis Tritt album. Good stuff.
December 30, 2021 @ 5:27 pm
“Connie Smith. Trig perhaps doesn’t like The Cry of The Heart. But I do. And many other folks as well. I know, shes a grandma many times over, and not relevant to many on this site apparently.(Outta the way Granny, its all about Zach Bryan and Charles Godwin, and take that steel guitar with you, nobody wants to hear that crap)”
See?
Understand that on your average week, there are 13 albums released in “country” music. On many weeks in 2021, there were many more than this because the pandemic created extra time for artists to record. Connie Smith’s album was released on August 20th. On August 20th, there were at least 19 albums released into the country market. And on August 20th, it wasn’t just the amount of releases, but what the releases were. August 20th was such an insane release date, I declared it a “Country Music Holiday,” and posted a dedicated run down of all these releases, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to cover them all out of the chute. Here’s the article:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/declaring-august-20th-an-official-new-country-music-holiday/
Now, Connie Smith’s album was featured prominently in this article, but that wasn’t the only time, despite your pretty irresponsible claim that since she’s so old, she’s not relevant to this site or its readers. If this was the case, why did I also post a dedicated article announcing Connie Smith’s new album?
Link:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/connie-smith-announces-new-marty-stuart-produced-album/
And why did I also add her song “Look Out Heart” to the Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist, where it remained for many months?
Link:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/newest-adds-to-saving-country-musics-top-25-current-playlist-84/
Plain and simple, the more albums I review, the more I receive criticism for the albums I don’t review. Who else in country music is posting on average over 100 album reviews annually that aren’t just one or two paragraph summations? I post more album reviews than anyone, and this doesn’t include all the other country music coverage, the song features, the obituaries, the tour and live coverage, let alone news stories and think pieces. Yet here I am—someone who has been a loud advocate for older artists and a staunch opponent of ageism in country music for going on 14 years—being criticized for not reviewing an artist for their age. This is absolutely insane and ridiculous, and irresponsible.
And by the way, as I stated in the article, QUOTE, “More albums will eventually end up on the Essential Albums List. More 2021 albums will be reviewed in the comings days into the first few weeks of January before 2022 releases start in earnest.”
I did this last year, and I will do that this year. That very well might include the Connie Smith and Jeremy Pinnell albums as well.
But what I can guarantee you, is that I will NEVER be posting another Essential Albums list ever again, and the victims of this development will be all of the independent artists who benefit from being named on this post. From posted an article highlighting 91 artists and their works, I have received more criticism for not featuring artists than if I had not posted anything at all. This is absolute sheer madness.
December 30, 2021 @ 6:39 pm
Wow! Understand, its not always easy to get where someone is coming from. My comment in reference to readers not being interested in the veteran artists is in part a bit of sarcasm, and i make the point based on an observation from the comment section over the last few weeks. Not so much you Trig. Of course you write about legends, thats understood. What im noticing in most comments, is what everyone is excited about, and listening to. And what im not seeing, is many commentors mention in their lists,the “legends” who made albums in 2021.
And my own observation is in general, that readers are much more interested in the Zach Bryans, Charles Godwins, Billy Strings etc than an album by an Opry legend in the twilight of her career. And i guess thats par for the course. The music industry is always more interested in the “next big thing”. And i think many readers are as well. Cash once said that he found it annoying that the industry was always looking for “the next Randy Travis” but ignoring the Randy Travis we already have. So, yeah im big on the legends, but i still listen to the upcoming talent too.
Dont take my comment as a slam on you or your site. You know im a homer for this team.
As for your essential album list, its a good thing, not a negative. DO NOT get rid of it. We understand your deal, you cant review all albums. Fair enough. I chose to comment as i feel this album deserves consideration and you ask for feedback.
In the meantime, have a couple shots of the good stuff. ( im drinking Bookers bourbon) and enjoy the years end. Thanks for all you do!
December 30, 2021 @ 6:56 pm
How do you listen to Marty Stuart’s “Songs I Sing in the Dark”?
December 30, 2021 @ 8:26 pm
Hey Kevin,
If I didn’t pick up on certain elements that were supposed to be taken as sarcasm, I apologize. But as soon as I posted this article this morning, people started swinging for my nuts, and that’s after I was already concerned because a similar experience went down last year, and so my dander is up.
But I do think that the feedback I got on this article does illustrate that there’s some sort of strange disconnect when it comes to this site and the readership that has been persistent for years that insists I must review every album, cover every death, mention every artist and song, and if I don’t, the only reason can be because I hate them. And one of the things that is fueling this is because I cover so many individual artists and albums. If I only reviewed 50 albums a year as opposed to 100, I would receive less criticism about this. People would understand that every album review is an undertaking, and you just can’t feature everything. I do try to feature everything, and I work my ass off toards that end. And so when something happens that goes uncovered, people think I’m making some sort of statement from my silence as opposed to the reality, which is I’m working my ass off on something else and just don’t have the time, or in the case of some album review, just don’t have anything interesting to say.
December 30, 2021 @ 9:26 pm
Fair enough Trig. Your reviews are top notch. And you are much more creative in how you do them, than the competition. Hands down, SCM is the best site for Country music. As for this list, its a great resource for all. Please KEEP the list. Most of us get it. Again , im a sarcastic bugger and use hyperbole from time to time. My only real point ive tried to make, is a plea to music fans to not overlook our legend performers when evaluating new albums, thats all.
December 30, 2021 @ 9:26 pm
Trig, thanks for this. Just want to add to the positive comments here. Really appreciate the work and how you are a sort of music curator for a number of us here.
December 30, 2021 @ 7:00 pm
Can you turn off the comments to articles? Because these lists are valuable. Come next month when the number of new releases usually are sparse, I’ll be referring to this list to see what albums I’ve overlooked. And artist do appreciate them (so you’ll be doing yourself a disservice).
Just turn them off.
December 30, 2021 @ 8:33 pm
Turning the comments off would just make the angry people feel repressed, and make them angrier. Ideally, people would come here and if they saw an album they thought should be included, they would leave a comment saying so and why, instead of acting like it’s some sort of travesty that so and so has not been mentioned, and question the credibility of the entire operation. This is a community, and I listen to suggestions and readers opinions. In some respects I’m glad I’m seeing so much negative feedback so I know where the public sentiment is. Something about the mechanics of this particular list makes people very angry. That is important feedback.
Unlikely the Essential Albums list will return. After last year I said I would never do it again. I should have listened to myself then. One of the many reasons is it just takes an extremely long time to put it together, and compared to the other lists, barely anyone reads it. Meanwhile, it becomes a funnel for anger at me and the site. I may try to figure out how to tweak it to make it better. But the tweaks I made this year either didn’t help, or made it worse.
December 30, 2021 @ 9:01 pm
I don’t know, obviously do whatever you want to do, but letting a handful of angry people change what you post seems pretty fucked up and out of character for someone willing to go head to head with the cancel mob every now and then.
January 4, 2022 @ 2:25 pm
Please don’t stop the Essential Album List! I can’t tell you how many times over and over when I’m looking for an album to listen to I log on here and do a search for “Essential Albums”… Sure, when I look at that sometimes I’m like “I would have rated that one higher and that one not at all…” but whatever. In fact, sometimes I re-listen to an album that I either didn’t care for previously or completely slept on and found something that I hadn’t heard before. I think that people really lose sense of what you offer here. I would not have heard of > 75% of the artists that you review because basically nobody / no organization puts all this stuff together like you do. I don’t like all your opinions or all of your reviews but I sure do fucking love your website and I bet you’re a good dude to hang with as well, man. The only time I get anxiety from SCM is when I log on at noon and there’s no new article or review to read!
January 4, 2022 @ 11:45 pm
Thanks for reading Frank.
January 5, 2022 @ 7:35 am
I think it’s a testament to just how good this site is. I came to country music ironically by being a longtime Pitchfork reader and although I don’t care for their politics and a lot of other things they still do a lot of things right: they introduced me to tons of new music from hip hop to metal to country which is ironically how I discovered this site. I got hooked on John Moreland, Sturgill Simson, and the Delondes via Pitchfork and a Goggle search brought me to reviews here where I unearthed an entire standalone universe devoted to good, independent country and I instantly became completely fucking hooked and it’s been about 6 or 7 years now. This site has introduced me to music that would have taken me 10 lifetimes to find on my own as well as a lot of other great things in the daily posts. And the most mind blowing thing is that SCM is just one person! And that’s where things run afoul sometimes is that people forget what a fucking gift this site is — try and find ANYTHING like it anywhere else — and end up heaping criticism and scorn because it’s really just one persons take on Country Music. If Social Media has taught me one thing it’s to keep my fucking opinions to myself or at least don’t fire them into the “comments” section. It’s a shame that oftentimes things devolve into petty criticism – it’s one thing to debate a hot topic, it’s another to make it personal. Every single reader is going to have times where they don’t like your opinion or don’t like a review but if we all directed this criticism towards the sole originator of content here you’d be in therapy for the next 100 years. I’ll close in saying Happy New Year and keep on truckin… it’s almost embarrassing how good we all have it thanks to you, Trigger.
December 30, 2021 @ 7:27 pm
“But what I can guarantee you, is that I will NEVER be posting another Essential Albums list ever again, and the victims of this development will be all of the independent artists who benefit from being named on this post. From posted an article highlighting 91 artists and their works, I have received more criticism for not featuring artists than if I had not posted anything at all. This is absolute sheer madness.”
*INCOMING …
Alright Trig, just hold up.
We will be looking forward to the 2022 Essential Album List, next December.
And Kevin, i say this with all kindness…
JUST SHUT THE HELL UP. ????
December 30, 2021 @ 3:23 pm
Giving thanks for 2021, this is an impressive list of music. I’ve listened to a lot of it and there’s still a lot I’ve yet to hear. Margot Cilker completely fell through the cracks for me and she’s an Eastern Oregon girl. That album is amazing. We are blessed to live in a time where independent music is as accessible as it is.
I for one am thankful for this site to help distill it down and review it. Trigger, I appreciated your response to a post I had on Tylor and the Train Robber where you said there were hundreds of artists that don’t get a review. Clearly this list is a testament to that. Anyway, you’re a terrific writer. Keep doing what you do which most importantly is offering a window into these artists and being an advocate Independent music.
Happy New Year
December 30, 2021 @ 3:48 pm
Trig, you could benefit a lot of folks to do an essential best dinner making albums of the last decade at some point. I think about how much joy it has brought my friends and me from my dinner making albums. Terry Allen’s last album, cheap silver, My Favorite Picture of You, etc. It is yet another way to get wives to really sign up on the tunes so many of us like and another way to spread the joy that real country tunes have the opportunity to bring.
December 30, 2021 @ 4:02 pm
A novel idea. How about we embrace this list and use it to listen to artists that we ma not have previously and quit whining about the ones that were not listed? I have done my share of that in the past, but we can argue on another thread. I will be ready if you will.
December 30, 2021 @ 6:41 pm
I love this site and all the hard work you do Trigger.
Thanks for keeping us informed about another great year in music.
Happy New Year to you!
Myles
December 30, 2021 @ 7:23 pm
Carly, Flatland Cavalry, and Hailey Whitters are all great picks for the most essential albums list. All three acts have a very bright future in the classic/traditional country lane, and I’m very much looking forward to what 2022 holds for them!
December 30, 2021 @ 9:19 pm
The Essentials Albums List is an invaluable source of information. I really hope it doesn’t go away in the future. I bookmark it and constantly refer to it for months when looking for music to listen to.
Trig please don’t let these crybabies ruin this feature. It’s my favorite part of SCM.
December 30, 2021 @ 10:58 pm
Trigger, thanks to your site, some great music has find its way all the way to Croatia, Europe. It’s ok to explain yourself, but no need apologizing for marvelous job you’re doing.
December 31, 2021 @ 7:04 am
I was surprised that Arlo McKinley wasn’t on any year end list, I thought it was a fantastic album. Ironically when we saw him live, he was joined with Jeremy Pinnell. Great to see others agree.
Thank Trigger for all you do, Happy New year!
December 31, 2021 @ 7:16 am
Do’h just remembered Arlo was your album of the year last year, oh the past couple years have blended!
December 31, 2021 @ 7:24 am
This is a great list and I enjoy the daily does of SCM every morning, thanks Trig.
I just wanted to add another one for consideration: Tony Kamel’s “Back Down Home” It is a well played mix of JJ Cale Laid-back and just a bit of Appalachia/bluegrass. That one and John R. Miller’s “depreciated” were tops to my ears.
December 31, 2021 @ 7:56 am
Thanks for the list, Trigger. As always, great stuff. My tops are probably Margo Cilker’s Pohorylle, John R. Miller’s Depreciated, Garrett T Capps’ I Love San Antone, Charles Wesley Godwin’s How The Mighty Fall, Dallas Moore’s The Rain… at least based on how much I listened to them. Flatland, American Aquarium and Restless Kelly (9-/11 Demos) are next. Even this this, I am certainly forgetting some and most of those were discovered with your assistance.
Have a great 2022!
December 31, 2021 @ 8:01 am
You forgot Cody Wolfe, he’s 1# on iTunes.
December 31, 2021 @ 8:47 am
It could be an interesting point of discussion that there’s an artist that didn’t make the best albums of the year, didn’t even make the ‘most” essential albums list. Didn’t make the best live performances list, but is the “artist of the year.” Kind of puts that distinction into perspective.
And yes, I did read the first paragraph, of the artist of the year article. Which makes it even more interesting, since the artist is often described as something other than country.
Regardless of any criticism, opinions are like assholes, and these lists and awards are invaluable to me. And I do realize the work that goes in. Thank you
December 31, 2021 @ 9:07 am
So happy to see Hope Dunbar make the list! I discovered her through this site and her Sweetheartland album is my number 1 of the year. I love her second album too. Thank you for the website, you introduced me some phenomenal music this year that I would have missed out on otherwise. My personal top ten, in no particular order:-
Hope Dunbar – Sweetheartland
Hope Dunbar – You Let The Light In
Sierra Ferrell – Long Time Coming
Carly Pearce – 29: Written In Stone
Billy Strings – Renewal
Chapel Hart – The Girls Are Back In Town
Mose Wilson – Mose Wilson
Charles Wesley Godwin – How The Mighty Fall
Vincent Neil Emerson – Vincent Neil Emerson
Claudia Buckley – Hell Raisin’ Flower
December 31, 2021 @ 9:26 am
Looking at this list raises an important question that isn’t being talked about enough. What’s with the women singing these emboldened degenerate drinking smoking and cheating songs these days? There seems to be an awful lot. I’m not really comfortable with that tbh. They’re my favourite kind of songs but I can’t relate when it’s women singing them. Is that what we really want for our daughters sisters and mothers? Is this what living in the 21st century is gonna be like? What happened to Stand by your Man and Jolene and You Ain’t women enough? What do you say Trig?
December 31, 2021 @ 9:38 am
Also tattoos and excessive piercings. Baseball hats too. Dyed hair. I just don’t get it. Is anyone else uncomfortable with this?
December 31, 2021 @ 9:53 am
I wouldn’t say I’m uncomfortable with it, or dislike it for the same reasons as you, but any tribal, cliche, fronting behavior is boring and laughable to me, whether it’s from men or women.
December 31, 2021 @ 12:51 pm
I’m uncomfortable with it, Blockman. I don’t think it’s okay for men though, just expected. I like drinking and cheating songs, with a grevious tone, not a celebratory one.
This is another example of modernism destroying, or twisting historic themes in C(c)ountry Music. I hate it.
December 31, 2021 @ 1:50 pm
I’m glad I’m not the only one. I agree the tone is important. ETC – Holding Her… Is a great example. Sadly this sort of modern degeneracy is encouraged and rewarded in the name of progress. As someone who has fallen short I know it’s not to be celebrated. Happy New Year.
December 31, 2021 @ 10:19 am
I’m not really spying this as a trend in 2021, or over the past couple of years or anything. I guess you’re making allusions to Morgan Wade? I’m not really sure I have an opinion on this, except to point out that Tammy Wynette didn’t just sing “Stand By Your Man,” she also sang “Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad.”
December 31, 2021 @ 10:29 am
I heard Sunny McSweeny Bottle by my Bed which is recent ish thinking it was the Boland tune and it got me thinking of it. Sounds like she has a bad attitude tbh . Lambert has a whole career based off this stuff. I like Kristina Murrary so I’m not hating on women in country. I love women.
January 1, 2022 @ 9:33 pm
You aren’t the only one. Those who have a lifestyle rooted in traditional values will not approve and we don’t want our daughters to turn out like that.
And it feels weird when a woman sings those songs because there are different virtues for men and women; a man who has undergone hardships is tough and gained wisdom/knows how to defend himself, while the ultimate virtue of a woman is purity that leads to successful motherhood, and clearly, we don’t see that in women like Wade.
December 31, 2021 @ 9:36 am
But..but…but Dan and Shay put out an album this year too! Whaaaa!
Trig, thanks for all the hard work and great reviews and writing this year. Over time the music brought forth here has increasingly formed the backbone of my daily listening.
December 31, 2021 @ 10:34 am
Man, thanks so much for including me on this list. We appreciate what you do for our music!
December 31, 2021 @ 11:04 am
Some great music this year. My favourites in no particular order includes Alan Jackson, Travis Tritt, Brandi Carlile, Charlie Crockett, Emmylou Harris, Eric Church, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Cody Jinks…….Many interesting and informative reviews and articles this year on Savingcountry.com. A great resource for country music fans. It has introduced me to so much great music again this year. Many thanks for that and happy new year to all. Lets hope 2022 is a great year for more great music.
December 31, 2021 @ 11:34 am
Hey Trigger, Many thanks for all the hard work you put in to SCM and the year-end lists. I am very grateful for all the new music and artists that I discovered this year thanks to you. I hope you continue with the Essential Albums list, it is such an invaluable resource! Happy New Year from the UK!
December 31, 2021 @ 1:44 pm
I recently discovered my most essential album of this year that I haven’t stopped listening to since. I think some folks here might enjoy it too.
Le Ren – Leftovers
Happy New Year!
December 31, 2021 @ 1:51 pm
Trigger – don’t let a few dipshits get to you. The vast majority of readers, including myself, love this list and look forward to it every year. Always find a few I missed and need to check out.
December 31, 2021 @ 2:15 pm
Mega bummed that Charlie Marie has apparently stopped touring and performing, and taking a break from music. Sigh.
December 31, 2021 @ 2:34 pm
Don’t stop Trig. You built this by yourself . Now you have no need to solicit donations from retards like me. It’s come a long way. Who else is going to give a platform to aforementioned retards? Happy new year!
December 31, 2021 @ 5:18 pm
I reviewed the list and while you’ve got some great ones on there I’m surprised that Mick Mullin’s – “Mullin It Over” didn’t make an appearance. There’s a few big names up there and I see y’all trying to rep the growing ones—-give a listen to another real one. On his album “mullin it over” he has one of my all-time favorite songs, “Keep All My Roses.” Authentic, heart-felt, and real. But really the whole album is great. Give er a listen. You’ll see what I’m sayin!
December 31, 2021 @ 7:20 pm
From someone who covers the country and southern rock artists in Illinois and surrounding states. Here are some of the best albums released from that region. https://www.facebook.com/groups/2893468644218367/permalink/3268023766762851/
December 31, 2021 @ 8:43 pm
Love your lists and effort Trigger!
Here’s an addition: George Shingleton’s 2 albums are both essential in my book. Fans of Stapleton, Whitey Morgan, Cody Jinks will probably love him.
To all – Check out the great voice and song at the bottom of this link and read his story at the top.
https://www.rockridgemusic.com/george-shingleton-mgmt
January 1, 2022 @ 8:31 am
Trigger, just now going through the list and looking at comments. Please do not stop the essential list, it really is essential to many (most) of us. I don’t care for rankings, so whether or not an album is #1 or #25 is irrelevant for me, they’re all great, so it becomes a matter of personal taste. Currently listening to Hope Dunbar because of the list and it won’t be the last time, thanks to you.
As an aside, I’d recommend to anyone to listen to Bella White’s album “Just Like Leaving”, it’s fantastic and just the beginning of a great career. 20 years old with songs from her late teenage years, it’s hard to believe once you hear them. Maturity beyond those years and pretty incredible live.
Keep on keeping on!
January 2, 2022 @ 8:05 am
Great list, as always. Lot’s of stuff to discover. I hope you will continu to publish it as it is very difficult to catch all those new records coming out when you live overseas.
I was wondering what this year’s great country music books / (auto)biographies are?
January 2, 2022 @ 9:15 am
Unfortunately I am not as good on the book beat as I wish I was. I devote so much time to listening/reviewing music, and reading as research for articles I have limited bandwidth for covering books. No Depression usually does a good job running down the musical books for a given year:
https://www.nodepression.com/the-reading-room-the-best-music-books-of-2021/
January 2, 2022 @ 11:39 am
Thanks for the link. I can totally imagine that you don’t have time to read. Keep on listening en writing! ????
January 3, 2022 @ 10:09 am
Thank you Trigger for all that you do to promote artists and bands who otherwise wouldn’t get recognized by the vast majority of other music review sites. I really enjoy your album reviews because I can tell they’ve subject to a rigorous personal road testing. Our musical tastes are pretty simpatico, however, if they weren’t I’d still be an avid reader of your site. Some people have no understanding of what it takes to produce copy for a website such as this one. I do and I sincerely appreciate every considered syllable and punctuation mark that occupies your precious time. Please keep up the great work you do and f#ck the begrudgers brother!
January 3, 2022 @ 10:09 am
My 2021 Top 15 Albums-
Flatland Cavalry-Welcome to Countryland
Morgan Wade-Reckless
Charles Wesley Godwin-How the Mighty Fall
Steel Woods-All of Your Stones
Jeremy Parsons-Things to Come
Cole Chaney-Mercy
Red Shahan-Javelina
Mike and the Moonpies-One to Grow On
James McMurtry-The Horses and the Hounds
Elijah Ocean-Born Blue
Eric Church-Heart & Soul
John R. Miller-Depreciated
Emily Scott Robinson-American Siren
Vincent Neil Emerson
Billy Strings-Renewal
January 5, 2022 @ 7:20 am
We have a great list to study review and follow all this artists along this new year, in we didn’t know. There’s a bunch of artists that I didn’t know yet. Thanks for sharing! It shows that if we dig right we can still see real country music! Thanks Saving Country Music!