2010 in Country Music: Album Cuts

This was definitely the hardest of the three lists to put together, because of the sheer number of songs involved. I had a list of about 60 possibilities, with about 25 that I could have put in my top ten. So I decided to expand to my top 15 and I decided to limit it to two songs from any one artist to allow for more variety.

15. Marty Stuart - Branded

A solid number about a fugitive on the run that hearkens back to some of Marty Stuart's biggest hits.







14. Gary Allan - No Regrets

Most country songs detailing breakups are heavy on despair and regret, but on this one Allan chooses to convey a sense of gratitude for what he had. It's a nice change of pace to focus on the good things that happened during the relationship rather than being in despair because it's over.



13. Randy Houser - Addicted

The notion of love as a drug is not exactly a new metaphor in music, and this song doesn't break any new ground, but Houser sells it really well.




12. Alan Jackson - Taillights Blue

Jackson's latest album is pretty unremarkable for the most part, but there are a few songs on it that show he can still be as good as anyone in the industry when given the right material.





11. Jamey Johnson - Lonely at the Top

Jamey Johnson is the main reason I imposed the two songs per artist limit on this list, otherwise half of it would be from The Guitar Song. This one happens to be a Keith Whitley song that Whitley himself never recorded before his death. It talks about some of the struggles that come with celebrity while keeping in mind that "It may be lonely at the top, but it's a bitch on the bottom."



10. Gary Allan - That Ain't Gonna Fly

In stark contrast to No Regrets, this time around Allan deals with a breakup by self-destructing. It may not fly, but it sure sounds like fun when he sings it.





9. Marty Stuart - Hangman

The last song Johnny Cash wrote, just four days before his death, looks inside the troubled mind of an executioner who has to find a way to cope with the fact that killing people is his job. This song sounds more like something I would expect to hear from Rodney Crowell or Cash himself rather than Stuart, but Marty pulls it off.



8. Johnny Cash - Ain't No Grave

In his final farewell, the Man in Black declares victory over death while still acknowledging his own mortality.






7. Dierks Bentley - Rovin' Gambler

On an album that melds bluegrass with other forms of country, this is probably the song that veers most into traditional bluegrass territory.




6. Jamey Johnson - Heartache

This song makes me start to think Johnson might be capable of personifying just about anything. In this one, a heartache becomes not just a feeling, but a person working behind the scenes to stir up trouble.

5. Dailey & Vincent - Elizabeth

This is one of my favorite Statler Brothers songs, and as long as the harmonies are tight, it pretty much sounds good regardless of who sings it.



4. Rhonda Vincent - In The Garden by the Fountain

Who doesn't love a good song about murdering your lover and burying him in the garden? Especially when sung by someone with a voice as good as Rhonda Vincent.




3. Alan Jackson and Lee Ann Womack - Till The End

I can't think of anyone better suited to cover an old Vern Gosdin hit than Alan Jackson. And there is no better woman in the industry to join him on it than Lee Ann Womack.



2. Chely Wright - Notes To The Coroner

Chely made news earlier this year when she announced publicly that she's a lesbian. That got quite a bit of publicity in country music circles, but what really deserves attention is the music she was promoting at the time. This is an exceptional song about a woman who has died from a broken heart and left her diary as evidence.



1. Teea Goans - Walking The Floor Over You

The first time I heard this, all I could say was, "Wow." Teea Goans has an incredible voice and this is one hell of a cover of an Ernest Tubb classic that is contemporary while still being faithful to the original.