Comments on: The 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade, Part 8: #30-#21

By: Maureen McCole

Maureen McCole — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:02:52 +0000

Where is George Strait?

By: Erik North

Erik North — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:14:13 +0000

The fact that Trisha is thought of so highly by the good folks here at Country Universe says a lot about her, more than just her being the singer of “She’s In Love With The Boy” or being Garth Brooks’ significant other. But it also says a lot about the way country radio has treated her the last ten years–which is to say…well, rather shabbily, in my opinion.

I don’t think Trisha’s albums are being docked any rankings here simply because she is an interpreter as opposed to being a songwriter (a trait she shares, incidentally, with both Patsy Cline and, especially, Linda Ronstadt). However, I do believe that song interpreters like Trisha should be at least given some credit for not only putting their own stamp on songs while maintaining the spirit of the songwriter’s ideas, but also exposing listeners to those very tunesmiths.

By: Dan Milliken

Dan Milliken — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:52:23 +0000

@ Bob

It seems to me that as a whole, the CU writers value lyrics over vocals to a very large extent. Peter Cooper and Todd Snider rated higher than Trisha Yearwood. Really? To me HHPL is one of the best cds of Trisha’s career considering the material she chose. I realize she’s not a songwriter.

This is probably at least partially true of me. My focus is usually songwriting-first, and it’s easier for me to like a great song with a mediocre vocal than the reverse. I wouldn’t withhold a high spot to anyone on the list simply because they’re not themselves a songwriter, though. The Yearwood, Loveless and Tillis albums ranked below the Snider album for me personally simply because I didn’t think their material was as consistently memorable as his.

That said, a spot in the top 30 of a decade’s worth of material is still really, really good. I wouldn’t worry too much about a difference of a few spots, especially given that the list came from such a diverse pool of tastes with very few common albums between them.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:28:18 +0000

@ razor x

…well, if you want to capture what country music was like in this particular decade, the sugarland album is exemplary. it takes you in all sorts of directions but they make sure you always know that you’re in country. jennifer nettles’ vocals are the best in the business right now, when it comes to express the whole range of emotions – especially the positive ones.

By: Leeann Ward

Leeann Ward — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:48:00 +0000

For the record, Paul’s comment is in response to a comment that I accidentally deleted when I went in to edit it. I just remember that I said that one example of terrible does not thoroughly prove the point.

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:50:50 +0000

It gives me hope not seeing Vince Gill’s These Days yet. That was an awesome album, and I’m hopeful it placed really high (I’m just assuming since I haven’t seen it yet…)

By: Paul Dennis

Paul Dennis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:30:05 +0000

I agree Leeann but usually when you use terms like “distinctive” and “expressive” it’s in lieu of the terms like “good” or “excellent” and usually used to describe a mediocre singer such as Todd Snider and Kris K. Compared to either of them , Ernest Tubb was Pavrotti or Caruso

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:01:07 +0000

Excellent point. I had forgotten about Mrs. Miller but You-Tube refreshed my memory. She was as you say – distinctive and expressive and terrible.

By: Paul Dennis

Paul Dennis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:51:04 +0000

Distinctive and expresive are not enough. Mrs Elva Miller was distinctive and expressive AND terrible

By: Razor X

Razor X — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:59:58 +0000

I’m surprised that the Loveless, Tillis and Yearwood albums aren’t a bit higher given the panel voting on this list – all three are really good albums

I’ll second that. How did the Sugarland album rank higher than these?