This selection kind of bores me, Miranda’s CD is my favorite out of the list, Paisley being second. There weren’t many albums released that caught my eye last year, period.

Me: They were neither very good albums. In hindsight, “Stones in the Road” was pretty bland – Clintonesque even. When I was in college, I thought the title track was fantastic. With age, I realize lines like “sacred burial ground” to describe JFK’s cemetery plot were absurd. Other than “Shut Up and Kiss Me”, it was a tepid, forgettable album. So the ACM’s probably bet on the right pony.

On a sidenote, I was surprised Alabama won as many album awards as they did. I’m not sure they’re really looked at as “album artists” today, although I admit to liking a lot of their early work, and enjoying some of their albums that won this award. I knew they were red-hot in the early eighties, but I didn’t know the extent that the owned the ACMs. To win entertainer of the year for five years straight, and then take three album of the year trophies alongside of that is just insane. I can imagine they felt some backlash from it all. (Heck, imagine if Taylor Swift has similar hardware in five years. The Country Music Blogosphere would go bonkers.)

As for this year, the award is really wide open. I think all of the nominees, outside of Carrie, have a shot. Lambert and the Zac Brown Band put out quality albums, and while I think the Paisley album is overrated, I can certainly see how it reflected his artistic direction, and why it was included among the nominees. My personal preference would be Miranda, but I have a hunch the award’s going to Lady A. Yeah, the album is over two years old, but they seem to have a lot of support among voters, and the music industry. Hopefully, the voters will have a “Storm of Life” moment, and go with the strongest album nominated.

I haven’t listened to the Paisley, ZBB, or Lady A albums, but I would suspect the latter have a better chance. How does it make since that the Atebellum cd even squeezed in here? It only went platinum, and didn’t produce anything close to a monster hit like “Need You Now.
ZBB has released several qauality singles, and I would suspect the album is solid. Then again, they’re not that well-known, and I would be surprised if a newer nominee was rewarded over an older one.
I’m a huge Underwood fan, but “Play On” isn’t strong enough to win this award, in my opinion. It’s got a few quality singles (“Someday When I Stop Loving You,” “Look At Me,” “Temporary Home,” and I’ll even say “Songs Like This” is quality, compared to some of her past upbeat material. The album has done well sales-wise, but I can’t imagine that overriding the fact that there are several albums here that are far suprior.

I’ll predict a toss-up between Lambert and Paisley. Miranda’s album is one of the strongest albums in awhile, momentum has increased singnifcantly with “White Liar” going #1, and the critics and fans love her albums. The voters like to reward Paisley, and his singles are pretty strong for the most part. But his album hasn’t done as well sales-wise, and I don’t think he has the same buzz Miranda does right now.

My kind of country
whoevers in new england
Rumor has it
for my broken heart.. this one not being nominated makes me the most mad
Read my mind

i mean really people ?