Albums 2017 - Runners Up & Honorable Mention

Albums 2022 - Top Ten

This year unfolded casually for me, musically speaking, with most of my favorite albums arriving during its latter months. At its start 2022 showed no particular promise, no major albums on the horizon, and no favorite artists announcing elaborate album cycles and tours. Years like this often prove to be the most musically rewarding as I get a chance to explore freely, spend time with artists and genres I'd previously neglected, and stumble serendipitously on new favorites. The first half of the year I spent a great deal of time with an era of country music I'd only experienced begrudgingly and in meager doses the first time around - 80's and 90's country. George Strait and Clint Black became new favorites. Even Garth Brooks earned my respect - based on a front-row stadium concert experience this summer that I consider among the best of my life so far. Brooks' charm and energy fall somewhere between that of a preacher and a pro-wrestler, and the songs...

Albums 2023 - Top Ten

Another year done and gone, and what a great year for music. These are my top ten favorite albums of 2023, in alphabetical order by artist name . . . . Baroness: Stone (Abraxan Hymns - 9/15/23) Not so long prior to 2015’s Purple , Baroness’ excellent fourth album in a color-coded series that concluded this year, their tour bus flipped in Bath, England, resulting in both shattered bones and band lineup. Founder and frontman John Baizley remains as the sole original member of this Savannah, GA, sludge and progressive metal group. 2017’s Gold & Grey introduced fans to axe-shredder extraordinaire Gina Gleason, cementing a new and now consistent dynamic that pays dividends on Baroness’ latest LP, Stone . As its title implies, this one is rock solid with drums and bass locked in propulsive motorik tempo, Gleason’s soari...

Albums 2022 - Runners Up & Honorable Mention

These are my runners up and honorable mention albums of 2022, in alphabetical order by artist name . . . . Arctic Monkeys: The Car (Domino - 10/21/22) Ellis Bullard: Piss-Hot Freightlinin' Country Music (Mostly Sober - 4/29/22) Charley Crockett: Lil' G.L. Presents Jukebox Charley (Son of Davy - 4/22/22) Charley Crockett: The Man From Waco (Son of Davy - 9/9/22) Matt Daniel: All I'll Ever Need (KWS - 2/11/22) Fracture & Sam Binga: Omura (Astrophonica - 4/22/22) Ghost: Impera (Loma Vista - 3/11/22) Harmony: Resurgence Episode II (Deep Jungle - 2/2/22) Aaron McDonn...

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