Ricky Skaggs, “Highway 40 Blues.” Loved the mandolin and steel guitar on this record; it and “Cajun Moon” are my two favorites from that time period from RS, who for my money ranked right up there with George Strait during the ’80s neo-traditionalist movement.

Jack Ingram,” Barbie Doll,” from Unleashed Live, recorded at Gruene Hall with Charlie & Bruce Robison. Cliched? Obnoxious? Maybe? Fun? You can wager your donkey on that one. The best recording of the song, in fact.

“Right Or Wrong,” Merle Haggard. Ahhh, Hag doing Bob Wills. IIRC, he recorded it with some of the members of the Texas Playboys. You can tell they were having a blast doing it, too.

“Live Forever,” Shaver. The definitive version of this song is found on Shaver’s 1993 cd Tramp On Your Street. The acoustic guitar break pierces my soul every time I hear it.

Metallica, “For Whom The Bell Tolls.” My second favorite tune from Ride the Lightning after “Creeping Death.” The church-bell intro to this meditation on the soldier’s travails sends me scrambling for the volume knob every time.

Steve Wariner and Garth Brooks, “Burnin’ the Roadhouse Down.” Who knew Steve Wariner could do Western swing so damn good? Love the acoustic guitar and stand-up bass on this record, my favorite track on the album — which, if you don’t have, you really need to find, as it’s arguably the best thing Steve Wariner has ever recorded.

Jamey Johnson, “In Color.” One of the best songs of 2008, from one of the best albums of 2008.

George Strait, “She Told Me So.” Love the traditional fiddle-and-steel arrangement on this song, and the lyric has a neat little twist: “Each night she thanks God for, the day she found me/Why, when she came home this morning, she told me so.”

Queensryche, “Anybody Listening.” A positively epic record, the closing track from 1990′s Empire cd explores the emotions of one living life on stage, in the vein of Rush’s “Limelight.” I think this is the better take on that theme, though. “Is there anybody listening? Is there anyone who sees what’s going on?” Geoff Tate has one of the best voices in music, period. A lot of people dissed Empire’s more commercial sound, but I think Tate and the guys did a really good job here of staying true to their prog-metal roots while exploring the more commercial sound.

*Summertime Blues – The Who. I didn’t know they sang this song. But maybe it’s not even the same song I’m thinking of.

The Unwelcome Guest – Billy Bragg. Why did I ever buy his album? Probably because of his affiliation with Wilco.

I.D. – Kassabian. BritPop? Who can remember?

Legs – ZZ Top. I remember when they didn’t suck for 2 whole albums.

*Better Life – 3 Doors Down. I seem to recall they had one good song when I was in grad school.

*Invisible Sun – the Police. I think I like maybe 3 Police songs. This isn’t one of them.

*I’m Free – the Rolling Stones. I like a whole lot more of the Rolling Stones songs. But this isn’t one of them.

*Rock & Roll, Pt. 2 – Gary Glitter. Na na na / na na na / hey hey hey / get back to work.

*Santeria – Sublime. I don’t know anything about Sublime. All for songs, though, that might have something to do with animal sacrificing cults.

*Viola Lee Blues – Grateful Balllickers. I’m all for an attitude of gratitude.

“It’s the Song” – Chely Wright
Makes me see what life is like for the artist but also realize how much I really like her.

“Bobby” – Reba
Always brings a tear to my eye.

“Fighter” – Christina Aguliera
One of my favorites by her, and I love the message behind the song.

“You ain’t down home” – Julie Roberts
Reminds me of people I grew up with, but a great song by a woman I wish would do more…

“I Walk The Line” – Johnny Cash
Need I say more.

“When There’s No One Around” – Garth Brooks
Classic Garth

“Bobby Darwin’s Daughter” – Tracey Lawrence
Tracey is so good at doing story songs, and this is one that gets me every time.

“Love is an Army” – LeAnn Rimes
Slow and haunting, and proves the there were some good songs on her Twisted Angel album, at least in my mind.

“I Meant To” – Brad Cotter
I actually like a lot of songs from his album, he is a great song writer and a good singer, I wish he had done better.

“It Ain’t Easy” Janie Frickie
My love affair with the 80′s can be traced back to a few individuals, and jingle-singin’ headband-wearin’ gal is one of them.

“Just Another Love” Tanya Tucker
Tanya, like Crystal Gayle is one of those artists that seem to be all but forgotten by anything calling themselves country radio, and that is a shame, as both have a massive country catalogue that is stunningly good.

“Mowing Down the Roses” Jamey Johnson
This guy seems like the real deal – kind of the feeling I get from listening to Alan jackson. I hope that Jamey takes a page from Alan’s how-to-be-a-country-star manual and never makes the career-killing move of taking himself too serious.

“The Girl Who Has Everything” Reba McEntire
I don’t have much Reba – but the few I do are good ones…I think Kevin or someone just mentioned this song in a post a littel while ago, and thats funny, ’cause it wasn’t a hit, but obviously struck a chord with some folks…me included.

“Trouble In Paradise” Loretta Lynn
I just got Loretta’s “Honky Tonk Girl” boxed set, and there is a lot of gems – like this one…but my current favorite is “Here I am Again” – That is a killer song.

“I’d Lie To You For Your Love” The Bellamy Brothers
These guys have so many great tunes as well – I’ll bet that whomever wrote Kenny Chesney’s recent song about “going out last” night liked this song too…

“Chisled In Stone” Vern Gosdin
Nothing makes me happier than a good ol’ sad song. I literally take sad songs off CDs and compile them on one – Thats how much I love sad songs. Favorite line in this song; “So I brought these pretty flowers hoping you would understand sometimes a man is such a fool”

“When I Call Your Name” Vince Gill
Another GREAT singer of sad songs…Vince is another one who could sing the phone book, and I’d buy it.

“Monday Morning Church” Alan Jackson
Ok, so now I AM reaching for the whiskey bottle…Alan is the total package…and Patty sounds like she always does…amazing.

“Two Story House” George and Tammy
Two of my very favorite voices in country music…

And Kevin – You are right…that line in “A Good Year for the Roses” is one of the best written…you should do a post about the best lines written in a song – there is a million of them…

Missing You – Tyler Hilton
This is a really great cover of the song.

The Game Of Love – Santana & Michelle Branch
And to think I didn’t know of Santana till “Smooth” came out.

Mr. Jones – Counting Crows
This song is timeless.

Hungry Heart – Bruce Springsteen
I’ve never been a big fan of 80′s music but Bruce Springsteen has become a favorite of mine in the past few months.

Trying To Love You – Trisha Yearwood
This is probably one of her best songs of the past decade.

Long Shot – Kelly Clarkson
If you haven’t bought Kelly’s new cd, this song is enough reason to.

No One Needs To Know – Shania Twain
Shania always has a good song to turn around any bad day.

The Sign – Ace Of Base
Just my 90′s nostalga kicking in.

Breakaway – Kelly Clarkson
Did I forget to mention I was a big Kelly Clarkson fan?

(1) “Shoulder to the Plow,” Fred Eaglesmith. Love the church piano on this one and the low-fi production. Hopefully, the cover of “Time to Get a Gun” on the new Miranda Lambert album will earn him some more attention.

(2) “All I Want is Everything,” Mindy McCready. Could do without the “Whoo!” crowd noises, but, otherwise, a nearly perfect example of how to get the “pop” half of pop-country exactly right.

(3) “Jesus on the Radio,” Guster. A pop band records a terrific, banjo-driven country one-off.

(4) “Runaway Train,” Rosanne Cash. I heart her.

(5) “The Rescue Blues,” Ryan Adams. Not my favorite cut from Gold, but I dig the Hammond organ on this one, and it’s one of his most soulful vocal turns.

(6) “Toxic,” Nickel Creek. Just because.

(7) “She’s Acting Single,” Gary Stewart. The self-loathing in his vocal performance on this is just extraordinary stuff. Can’t think of any current male vocalist who could pull that off this well.

(8) “Rated X,” Neko Case. There’s only one Loretta, obviously, but Neko is no slouch.

(9) “Caroline,” Outlaw Family Band. Always love a good murder ballad, especially when the banjo is used this well.

(10) “Coalmine,” Sara Evans. The timing of the single release was catastrophically poor, but I love it when she goes the twang-and-fiddle route.

That’s what makes this whole blogging thing worth it!