Lambert is a country music legend in the making, and the most vital artist Music Row has produced in a generation.
The songs on American Doll Posse that really work are reminders of how gifted a songwriter Amos is.
For an act that lives and dies based on their energy and conviction, Tied & True sets a bad precedent.
From the Cradle to the Grave is steeped in death, but Dale Watson’s stories are alive with real wit and insight.
As strong as the uptempo cuts are, it’s Rhinestoned’s ballads that best showcase Pam Tillis’s phenomenal interpretive skills.
On Because of the Times, Kings of Leon display one hell of a learning curve.
Even without the self-canonization, Last of the Breed stands as a fine example of why traditional country is a sound worth preserving.
Norah Jones has given more than just an offhand indication that she’s ready to break out of her Starbucks niche.
Its sharp thematic focus draws from the difficult emotions surrounding specific events.
Children Running Through positions Griffin as a true artist, rather than just a well-regarded singer-songwriter.
City Beach combines laidback pop melodies with half-tempo hip-hop rhythms and a healthy dose of modern rock’s nervous energy.
There’s no denying the reverence or the sheer talent that Southern Culture on the Skids bring to Countrypolitan Favorites.
The Cost is both the Frames’s most accomplished album and deeper and more rewarding than U2’s recent work.
The Shins experiment with their trademark sound without sacrificing any of their peerless melodicism.
At least everyone can agree that Britney Spears’s rediscovery of underwear is an encouraging trend that will, we hope, continue into 2007.
The album flies in the face of most every expectation that it should rank among the year’s best mainstream country offerings.
The punchiness of the album’s sound should allow it to continue Sugarland’s commercial hot streak.
Harpooner gives a first impression that it might play out as some Matmos-style avant-garde noise-pop.
The album only scratches the surface of what Osborne could do were she to stick around long enough to record an album that’s a little bit riskier.
Long Island Shores is simply pretty for the sake of being pretty.