Year-End Rodeo 2016: The Master Lists

It’s that time again: We’re kicking off our 2016 Year-End Rodeo!

Before the end of the year, we’ll be showcasing the Country Universe staff’s Top 40 Singles and Top 20 Albums, along with the individual writers’ ballots for each countdown. Because everyone loves a good list or a meta-list made up of other lists.

As ever, list-making is an inexact science, in that the sheer volume of new music that gets released during any given year makes it nearly impossible to catch everything. But we’ve done our best to identify as many eligible contenders for both the Albums and Singles lists as possible, and we’re sharing our Master Lists with you so that you can– calmly and politely, and without screaming at us about how negligent we are for forgetting [YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST]– let us know if there’s anything we’ve missed along the way!

Obviously, we’re not tipping our hands with the images we’ve chosen to accompany these master lists. Y’all know better.

Albums

We set a cut-off date of 12/02/2016 for eligibility for this year and rolled last year’s December releases– including Cam’s Untamed— forward for this year. We didn’t include reissues here, and we generally excluded albums that were entirely self-released without having at least a distribution deal, if not necessarily backing from a record label.

First Last Title
Ben Abraham Sirens
Dave Adkins Dave Adkins
Jason Aldean They Don’t Know
American Young AY
Andrew Leahey & The Homestead Skyline in Central Time
Angie & The Deserters Blood Like Wine
Michaela Anne Bright Lights & The Fame
Applewood Road Applewood Road
Eddy Arnold Let’s Make Memories One More Time
Avett Brothers True Sadness
Rob Baird Wrong Side of the River
Drew Baldridge Dirt On Us
Frankie Ballard El Rio
Band of Horses Why Are You OK?
Moe Bandy Lucky Me
Devendra Banhart Ape in Pink Marble
Sam Beam & Jessica Hoop Love Letter for Fire
Ryan Beaver Rx
Bethany Becker I Want Love
Luke Bell Luke Bell
Dierks Bentley Black
John Berry What I Love the Most
Bonnie Bishop Ain’t Who I Was
Black Feathers Soaked to the Bone
Blackberry Smoke Like An Arrow
Blackfoot Southern Native
Blind Pilot And Then Like Lions
Blue Rodeo 1000 Arms
Bo-Keys Heartaches by the Number
Bobby Bones & The Raging Idiots The Critics Give It Five Stars
Wade Bowen Then Sings My Soul
Eric Brace & Peter Cooper C&O Canal
Brad Mehldau Trio Blues & Ballads
Billy Bragg & Joe Henry Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad
Doyle Bramhall II Rich Man
Carl Broemel 4th of July
Garth Brooks Gunslinger
Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood Christmas Together
Brothers Osborne Pawn Shop
Marc Broussard Save Our Soul II: Soul on a Mission
Hollis Brown Cluster of Pearls
Kane Brown Kane Brown
Luke Bryan Farm Tour: Here’s to the Farmer EP
Paul Burch Meridian Rising
Sam Bush Storyman
Cadillac Three Bury Me in Boots
Cam Untamed
Hayes Carll Lovers and Leavers
Mary Chapin Carpenter The Things That We Are Made Of
Bill Carter Innocent Victims & Evil Companions
Troy Cartwright Don’t Fade EP
case/lang/viers case/lang/viers
Caleb Caudle Carolina Ghost
Chatham County Line Autumn
Kenny Chesney Cosmic Hallelujah
Mark Chesnutt Tradition Lives
Chris Robinson Brotherhood Anyway You Love, We Know How You Feel
Chris Robinson Brotherhood If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home by Now
Chris Stalcup & The Grange Downhearted Fools
Churchwood Hex City
Brandy Clark Big Day in a Small Town
Coal Porters No. 6
Brent Cobb Shine On Rainy Day
Charly Cole Gotcha
Jason Collett Song & Dance Man
Shawn Colvin & Steve Earle Colvin & Earle
RJ Comer Nightly Suicide
Confederate Railroad Lucky to Be Alive
Elizabeth Cook Exodus of Venus
Diana Corcoran In America
Billy Ray Cyrus Thin Line
Anthony D’Amato Cold Snap
Dan + Shay Obsessed
Charlie Daniels Nighthawk
Elise Davis The Token
Dawes We’re All Gonna Die
Dawg Yawp Dawg Yawp
Jared Deck Jared Deck
Del McCoury Band Del and Woody
Devil Makes Three Redemption & Ruin
Alex Dezen Alex Dezen
Luther Dickinson Blues & Ballads: A Folksinger’s Songbook
John Doe The Westerner
Casey Donahew All Night Party
Drive-By Truckers American Band
Ronnie Dunn Tattooed Heart
Earls of Leicester Rattle & Roar
Stewart Eastham Dancers in the Mansion
Tim Easton American Fork
Edison Familiar Spirit
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros PersonA
Brett Eldredge Glow
Robert Ellis Robert Ellis
Will Erickson The Five Year Weight
Alejandro Escovedo Burn Something Beautiful
John Evans Polyester
Florida Georgia Line Dig Your Roots
John Fogerty Tales from the Bayou
Sawyer Fredericks A Good Storm
Dori Freeman Dori Freeman
Robbie Fulks Upland Stories
Gaither Vocal Band Better Together
Vince Gill Down to My Last Bad Habit
Grascals …and then there’s this
Great American Canyon Band Only You Remain
Green River Ordinance Fifteen
Greensky Bluegrass Shouted, Written Down, & Quoted
Wayne Hancock Slingin’ Rhythm
Handsome Family Unseen
Hard Working Americans Rest in Chaos
Kree Harrisson This Old Thing
Harvest Thieves Rival
Ty Herndon House on Fire
Herrick Cottonfields
Fay Hield Old Adam
High Valley Dear Life
Gary Hoey Dust & Bones
Randy Houser Fired Up
Sierra Hull Weighted Mind
Infamous Stringdusters Ladies & Gentlemen
Jack Ingram Midnight Motel
Jim James Eternally Even
James Edge & The Mindstep On a Red Horse
Sarah Jarosz Undercurrents
Jayhawks Paging Mr. Proust
Shooter Jennings Countach (For Giorgio)
Cody Jinks I’m Not the Devil
Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers Sacred Memories
Joey+Rory To Joey, With Love
Joey+Rory Hymns That are Important to Us
Buck Johnson Enjoying the Ride
Robby Johnson Don’t Look Back
Cody Johnson Gotta Be Me
Eric Johnson EJ
Norah Jones Day Breaks
Cledus T. Judd Things I Remember Before I Forget
Damien Jurado Visions of Us on the Land
Kacy & Clayton Strange Country
Robert Earl Keen Live Dinner Reunion
Josh Kelley New Lane Road
Charles Kelley The Driver
Irene Kelley These Hills
Paul Kelley & Charlie Owen Death’s Dateless Nights
Stephen Kellogg South, West, North, East
Pete Kent The Hidden Hand
Kentucky Headhunters On Safari
Kris Kristofferson The Cedar Creek Sessions
Daniel Kushnir Nothin Left to Give
Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur Penny’s Farm
Lake Street Drive Side Pony
Seth Lakeman Ballads of the Broken Few
Lambchop FLOTUS: For Love Often Turns Us Still
Miranda Lambert The Weight of These Wings
Ray LaMontagne Ouroboros
Chris Lane Girl Problems
Greg Laswell Everyone Thinks I Dodged a Bullet
Cyndi Lauper Detour
Johnny Lee You Ain’t Never Been to Texas
Amos Lee Spirit
Brennen Leigh Sings Lefty Frizzell
Aaron Lewis Sinner
Bob Lind Magellan Was Wrong
Lissie My Wild West
Little Big Town Wanderlust
Bill Lloyd Lloyd-ering
Lonesome River Band Bridging the Tradition
Lonestar Never Enders
Liz Longley Weightless
Lydia Loveless Real
Loving Mary Band Little Bit of Love
Claire Lynch North by South
Loretta Lynn White Christmas Blue
Loretta Lynn Full Circle
Mandolin Orange Blindfaller
Martina McBride Reckless
Edwin McCain O Edwin, Where Art Thou?
Leyla McCalla A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey
Neal McCoy You Don’t Know Me
Michael McDermott Willow Springs
Lori McKenna The Bird & The Rifle
James Vincent McMorrow We Move
Tony Memmel We’ll Be on the Radio
Buddy Miller & Friends Cayamo Sessions at Sea
Parker Millsap The Very Last Day
Monkeyjunk Time to Roll
Justin Moore Kinda Don’t Care
Kip Moore Underground
Craig Morgan A Whole Lot More of Me
Lorrie Morgan Letting Go…Slow
William Michael Morgan Vinyl
Mount Moriah How to Dance
Mountain Heart Blue Skies
Michael Martin Murphey High Stakes: Cowboy Songs VII
Kacey Musgraves A Very Kacey Christmas
David Nail Fighter
Jeremy Nail My Mountain
Graham Nash This Path Tonight
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats A Little More From… EP
Tami Neilson Don’t Be Afraid
Willie Nelson For the Good Times: A Tribute to Ray Price
Willie Nelson Summertime – Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin
Jennifer Nettles Playing with Fire
Carrie Newcomer The Beautiful Not Yet
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band & Friends Circlin’ Back
Nudie Everything’s Different in the Light
O’Connor Band Coming Home
Aofie O’Donovan In the Magic Hour
O’s Honeycomb
Conor Oberst Ruminations
Marie Osmond Music is Medicine
Jake Owen American Love
Jon Pardi California Sunrise
Dolly Parton Pure & Simple
Jason Paulson Crow River Ramble
Grant-Lee Phillips The Narrows
Pines Above the Prairie
Mo Pitney Behind This Guitar
Margo Price Midwest Farmer’s Daughter
Price Sisters Price Sisters
John Prine For Better or Worse
Joe Purdy Who Will Be Next
Bonnie Raitt Dig In Deep
Randy Rogers Band Nothing Shines Like Neon
Johnny Rawls Tiger in a Cage
Reckless Kelly Sunset Motel
Kelly Richey Shakedown Soul
Rides Pierced Arrow
LeAnn Rimes Remnants
Carrie Rodriguez Lola
Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen Watch This
Daniel Romano Mosey
Dex Romweber Carrboro
Chelle Rose Blue Ridge Blood
Rossington Take It on Faith
Bobby Rush Porcupine Meat
John Scofield Country for Old Men
Darrell Scott Couchville Sessions
Hillary Scott & The Scott Family Love Remains
Aubrie Sellers New City Blues
Blake Shelton If I’m Honest
Shenandoah Good News Travels Fast
Amanda Shires My Piece of Land
Shires My Universe
Shovels & Rope Little Seeds
Sturgill Simpson A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
Sister Hazel Lighter in the Dark
David G. Smith First Love
Elliott Smith Heaven Adores You OST
Granger Smith Remington
Todd Snider Eastside Bulldog
Snowapple Tracks
Frank Solivan Family, Friends, & Heroes
Southern Culture on the Skids Electric Pinecones
Mavis Staples Livin’ on a High Note
Stray Birds Magic Fire
Streets of Laredo Wild Mercury
Kiefer Sutherland Down in a Hole
Cole Swindell You Should Be Here
Sylvia It’s All in the Family
Tall Heights Neptune
Aaron Lee Tasjan Silver Tears
Jack Tempchin One More Song
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down A Man Alive
The Cactus Blossoms You’re Dreaming
The Lumineers Cleopatra
The Roosevelts The Greatest Thing You’ll Ever Learn
Ward Thomas Cartwheels
Teddy Thompson & Kelly Jones Little Windows
Time Jumpers Kid Sister
Trent Tomlinson That’s What’s Working Right Now
Steven Tyler We’re All Somebody from Somewhere
Keith Urban Ripcord
Vandaveer Wild Mercury
Various Artists The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris
Various Artists Southern Family
Various Artists God Don’t Never Change: The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson
Various Artists I Saw the Light OST
Various Artists Bright Star – Original Broadway Cast Recording
Various Artists Feel Like Going Home: The Songs of Charlie Rich
Phil Vassar American Soul
Rhonda Vincent All the Rage Volume 1
Waco Brothers Going Down in History
Henry Wagons After What I Did Last Night
Kelsey Waldon I’ve Got a Way
Jason Walker All Night Ghost Town
Wheeler Walker Jr. Redneck Shit
Steve Wariner All Over the Map
Sara Watkins Young in All the Wrong Ways
Sean Watkins What to Fear
Gene Watson Real Country Music
Bob Weir Blue Mountain
Whiskey Myers Mud
Tony Joe White Rain Crow
Drake White Spark
John Paul White Beulah
Jenny Whiteley The Original Jenny Whiteley
Chuck Wicks Turning Point
Wilco Schmilco
Lucinda Williams The Ghosts of Highway 20
Marlon Williams Marlon Williams
Joy Williams Venus EP
Hank Williams Jr. It’s About Time
Luke Winslow-King I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Always Last
Bob Woodruff The Year We Tried to Kill the Pain
Chely Wright I am the Rain
Wynonna & The Big Noise Wynonna & The Big Noise
Dwight Yoakam Swimming Pools, Movie Stars…
Pete Yorn Arranging Time

Singles

Note that we defined official “singles” as having had an add-on date at country radio, having an official music video (or, as much as it pains me to write this, an “official” lyric video), having been added by at least 3 stations at AAA radio, or having otherwise been tagged as a single by an artist’s promotional team. We’re fairly generous with what we considered for this list, even taking a second look at some singles that were released late in 2015 but that didn’t have their greatest commercial impact until 2016.

We also tried to weed out things that were obvious album tracks or potential 2017 singles. As with the albums, we set a cut-off of 12/02– meaning some terrific singles like Drake White’s “Makin’ Me Look Good Again” and Candi Carpenter’s “Burn the Bed”– will have to wait until our 2017 list.

First Last Title
A Thousand Horses Southernality
Trace Adkins Lit
Trace Adkins Jesus & Jones
Lauren Alaina Road Less Traveled
Jason Aldean A Little More Summertime
Jason Aldean Lights Came On
Gary Allan Do You Wish It Was Me
Avett Brothers Ain’t No Man
Avett Brothers True Sadness
Frankie Ballard Cigarette
Frankie Ballard It All Started With a Beer
Kelsea Ballerini Yeah Boy
Kelsea Ballerini Peter Pan
Band Perry Comeback Kid
Banditos Old Ways
Jeff Bates That Thing We Do
Tucker Beathard Momma and Jesus
Tucker Beathard Rock On
Luke Bell Sometimes
Dierks Bentley Black
Dierks Bentley Somewhere on a Beach
Dierks Bentley feat. Elle King Different for Girls
Beyonce w/Dixie Chicks Daddy Lessons
Big & Rich Lovin’ Lately (with McGraw)
Bonnie Bishop Mercy
Blackberry Smoke Sunrise in Texas
Blackberry Smoke Let It Burn
Billy Bragg & Joe Henry The Midnight Special
Doyle Bramhall II Mama Can’t Help You
Garth Brooks Baby Let’s Lady Down and Dance
Brothers Osborne 21 Summer
Kane Brown Thunder in the Rain
Kane Brown Used to Love You Sober
Luke Bryan Home Alone Tonight (w/Karen Fairchild)
Luke Bryan Huntin, Fishin, Lovin’ Every Day
Luke Bryan Move
Chase Bryant Room to Breathe
Sam Bush Transcendental Meditation Blues
Cactus Blossoms Stoplight Kisses
Cadillac Three Graffiti
Calexico Falling from the Sky
Cam Mayday
Craig Campbell Outskirts of Heaven
Hayes Carll The Love That We Need
Mary Chapin Carpenter Something Tamed, Something Wild
case/lang/viers Atomic Number
Caleb Caudle Carolina Ghost
Kenny Chesney Noise
Kenny Chesney w/ Pink Setting the World on Fire
Mark Chesnutt Oughta Miss Me By Now
Chris Robinson Brotherhood Leave My Guitar Alone
Eric Church Kill a Word (w/ Rhiannon Giddens)
Eric Church Record Year
Brandy Clark Girl Next Door
Brandy Clark Love Can Go to Hell
Coal Porters The Day the Last Ramone Died
Brent Cobb Down Home
Colvin & Earle You’re Right (I’m Wrong)
Luke Combs Hurricane
RJ Comer One Day
RJ Comer The Moon Ain’t Fallen On Me Yet
Elizabeth Cook Dyin’
Easton Corbin Are You With Me
Billy Currington It Don’t Hurt Like it Used to
Dan + Shay From the Ground Up
Dan + Shay How Not To
Elise Davis The Token
Dawg Yawp Lost at Sea
Jared Deck 17 Miles
Devil Makes Three Drunken Hearted Man
Luther Dickinson Hurry Up Sunrise
Casey Donahew Kiss Me
Drive-By Truckers Surrender Under Protest
Ronnie Dunn Damn Drunk (w/Kix Brooks)
Clare Dunn Tuxedo
Earls of Leicester The Train That Carried My Girl from Town
Anderson East Devil in Me
Stewart Eastham Leavin’ By Sundown
Tim Easton Right Before Your Own Eyes
Tim Easton Elmore James (feat. Megan Palmer)
Brooke Eden Diamonds
Brett Eldredge Wanna Be That Song
Eli Young Band Saltwater Gospel
Alejandro Escovedo Heartbeat Smile
Farewell Angelina If It Ain’t With You
Farewell Angelina Shotgun Summer
Tyler Farr Our Town
Felice Brothers Plunder
Florida Georgia Line H.O.L.Y.
Florida Georgia Line May We All (with Tim McGraw)
Ryan Folesse Float Your Boat
Colt Ford 4 Lane Gone
Kevin Fowler Sellout Song (feat. Zane Williams)
Sawyer Fredericks Take It All
Dori Freeman Fine Fine Fine
Brantley Gilbert The Weekend
Vince Gill Me and My Girl
Shakey Graves Tomorrow
Green River Ordinance Red Fire Night
Mickey Guyton Heartbreak Song
Merle Haggard Kern River Blues
Trent Harmon There’s a Girl
Kree Harrison This Old Thing
Kree Harrison Dead Man’s House
Hunter Hayes Yesterday’s Song
Henningsens Sugar Rush
Ty Herndon That Kind of Night
High Valley Make You Mine
Randy Houser Chasing Down a Good Time
Randy Houser Song Number 7
Randy Houser We Went
Sierra Hull Black River
Sam Hunt Make You Miss Me
Infamous Stringdusters Sirens
Jack Ingram I’m Drinking Through It
Alan Jackson The One You’re Waiting On
Chris Janson Holdin’ Her
Sarah Jarosz House Of Mercy
Jayhawks Quiet Corners & Empty Spaces
Cody Jinks I’m Not the Devil
Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers All Dressed Up
Cody Johnson With You I Am
Robby Johnson Together
Norah Jones Carry On
Kacy & Clayton Strange Country
Toby Keith A Few More Cowboys
Toby Keith Beautiful Stranger
Charles Kelley Lonely Girl
Josh Kelley It’s Your Move
Kristen Kelly Fire
Jana Kramer Said No One Ever
Jana Kramer Circles
April Kry Fireflies
Seth Lakeman Meet Me in the Twilight
Miranda Lambert Vice
Ray LaMontagne Hey, No Pressure
Lanco Long Live Tonight
Chris Lane Fix
Chris Lane For Her
Olivia Lane Make My Own Sunshine
Last Bandoleros Where Do You Go?
Cyndi Lauper Funnel of Love
Brennen Leigh Mama
Aaron Lewis That Ain’t Country
Lissie Don’t You Give Up On Me
Little Big Town Better Man
Little Texas Slow Ride Home
LoCash I Know Somebody
Liz Longley Swing
Love and Theft Candyland
Lydia Loveless Longer
Lydia Loveless Same to You
Loving Mary Band Little Bit of Love
Lumineers Ophelia
Lumineers Cleopatra
Dustin Lynch Seein’ Red
Claire Lynch Molly May
Lera Lynn Shape Shifter
Loretta Lynn & Elvis Costello Everything It Takes
Maddie & Tae Sierra
Martina McBride Reckless
Martina McBride Just Around the Corner
Michael McDermott Shadow In the Window
Reba McEntire Just Like Them Horses
Tim McGraw How I’ll Always Be
Tim McGraw Humble and Kind
Lori McKenna Wreck You
James Vincent McMorrow Get Low
Midlan Drinkin’ Problem
Parker Millsap Pining
Steve Moakler Suitcase
Kip Moore Running for You
William Michael Morgan I Met a Girl
Craig Morgan I’ll Be Home Soon
Maren Morris 80s Mercedes
Maren Morris My Church
Mount Moriah How to Dance
Kacey Musgraves Late to the Party
David Nail Good At Tonight (w/Brothers Osborne)
Tami Neilson Holy Moses
Jennifer Nettles Hey Heartbreak
Jennifer Nettles Unlove You
Jarrod Niemann A Little More Love (w/Lee Brice)
Nudie It Ain’t Gonna Happen Today
Old Dominion Snapback
Old Dominion Song for Another Time
Os Halfway Sideways
Jake Owen American Country Love Song
Jake Owen If He Ain’t Gonna Love You (w/Chris Stapleton)
Brad Paisley Today
Brad Paisley (w/Demi Lovato) Without a Fight
Jon Pardi Dirt on My Boots
Parmalee Roots
Dolly Parton Outside Your Door
Dolly Parton Pure & Simple
Eric Paslay Angels in This Town
Mo Pitney Everywhere
Cassadee Pope Summer
Margo Price Four Years of Chances
Margo Price Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)
Stephanie Quayle Drinking With Dolly
RaeLynn Love Triangle
Jordan Rager Now That I Know Your Name
Randy Rogers Band Tequila Eyes
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Look It Here
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats I Need Never Get Old
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Wasting Time
Michael Ray Think a Little Less
Restless Heart Wichita Lineman
Thomas Rhett Star of the Show
Thomas Rhett T-Shirt
Thomas Rhett Vacation
Chase Rice Everybody We Know Does
Chase Rice Whisper
LeAnn Rimes Celebrate Me Home (w/Gavin DeGraw)
LeAnn Rimes How to Kiss a Boy
LeAnn Rimes The Story
Chelle Rose Reckon With the Devil
Rossington Take It On Faith
Darius Rucker If I Told You
Runaway June Lipstick
SaraBeth Runnin’ Outta Lipstick
Kalie Schorr He’s Just Not That Into You
Dylan Scott Crazy Over Me
Dylan Scott My Girl
Darrell Scott Down to the River
Hillary Scott & The Scott Family Thy Will
Scott Brothers Hold On
Aubrie Sellers Sit Here and Cry
Aubrie Sellers Light of Day
Blake Shelton A Guy with a Girl
Blake Shelton Came Here to Forget
Blake Shelton Savior’s Shadow
Blake Shelton She’s Got a Way With Words
Amanda Shires When You’re Gone
Kalie Shorr Fight Like a Girl
Shovels & Rope I Know
Shovels & Rope Botched Execution
Dee Jay Silver Just Got Paid (with Austin Webb)
Sturgill Simpson Sugar Daddy
Sturgill Simpson Brace for Impact (Live a Little)
Sturgill Simpson In Bloom
Alex Smith Load it Up
Granger Smith If the Boot Fits
Canaan Smith Hole in a Bottle
Smithfield Hey Whiskey
Todd Snider Ways and Means
Southern Culture on the Skids Grey Skies
Southern Halo Rewind
Jamie Lynn Spears Sleepover
Morgane Stapleton & Chris Stapleton You Are My Sunshine
George Strait Goin’ Goin’ Gone
Striking Matches Trouble Is As Trouble Does
Kiefer Sutherland Not Enough Whiskey
Kiefer Sutherland Can’t Stay Away
Cole Swindell Middle of a Memory
Cole Swindell You Should Be Here
Sylvia Every Time a Train Goes By
Aaron Lee Tasjan Little Movies
Jack Tempchin One More Song
Jack Tempchin Song for You
Tara Thompson Somebody to Take Your Place
Teddy Thompson & Kelly Jones Never Knew You Loved Me Too
Thompson Square You Make it Look So Good
Cyndi Thomson Sippin’ Wine on the Water
Time Jumpers I Miss You
Trent Tomlinson When She Goes There
Rick Trevino Cowboys Like Me
Josh Turner Hometown Girl
Turnpike Troubadours Come As You Are
Steven Tyler Red, White, and You
Steven Tyler We’re All Somebody from Somewhere
Carrie Underwood Church Bells
Carrie Underwood Dirty Laundry
Carrie Underwood Heartbeat
Keith Urban Blue Ain’t Your Color
Keith Urban Wasted Time
Vandaveer Love is Melancholy
Various Artists Forever Country
Phil Vassar American Soul
Waco Brothers Had Enough
Henry Wagons Santa Fe
Kelsey Waldon All By Myself
Wheeler Walker Jr Redneck Shit
Morgan Wallen The Way I Talk
Ward Thomas Carry You Home
Waterloo Revival Backwood Bump
Sean Watkins What To Fear
Sara Watkins Move Me
Sara Watkins Young in All the Wrong Ways
Aaron Watson Outta Style
Aaron Watson Bluebonnets (Julia’s Song)
Bob Weir Only a River
Whiskey Myers Mud
Drake White Livin’ the Dream
John Paul White Simple Song
John Paul White What’s So
White Stripes City Lights
Chuck Wicks She’s Gone
Wilco If I Ever Was a Child
Lucinda Williams Dust
Marlon Williams I’m Lost Without You
Hank Williams Jr. The Party’s On
Chely Wright What About Your Heart
Wynonna & The Big Noise Jesus & A Jukebox
Wynonna & The Big Noise Cool Ya
Wynonna & The Big Noise Ain’t No Thing (feat. Susan Tedeschi)
Trisha Yearwood Broken
Dwight Yoakam These Arms
Pete Yorn Lost Weekend
Pete Yorn I’m Not the One
Brett Young Sleep Without You
Chris Young Sober Saturday Night (w/Vince Gill)
Chris Young Think of You (w/Cassadee Pope)
Zac Brown Band Beautiful Drug
Zac Brown Band Castaway

And there we have it! Over 300 albums and 300 singles– plus anything our sharp-eyed readers have noticed that we’ve missed– that we’re considering for this year’s final lists!

9 Comments

  1. Not that she’ll get in but you guys missed Brooke Eden “Daddy’s Money” (the song isn’t bad, just not good).

    For me my favorite singles came from Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Little Big Town, Lauren Alaina (I know she has no shot), Runaway June, Cole Swindell shockingly and Maddie & Tae.

    For albums the albums from Miranda Lambert, Cam, Brothers Osborne and Drake White. I also didn’t mind the albums from Jake Owen, Maren Morris, Jason Aldean, High Valley, and Cole Swindell. The only album that had an outright hate from me were the latest from Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney as both of them left me unimpressed and Dierks Bentley also didn’t leave a good impression on me with his album.

    I am very excited to see who makes the list!

  2. I didn’t see Mark Chesnutt’s album, “Tradition Lives”. I read that he signed to a company in which his longtime producer, Jimmy Ritchey, is part owner for his new album. Ritchey partnered up with some guys and they formed their own record label. Don’t know if that satisfies your requirements for inclusion here.

  3. singles

    1. Forever Country – Various
    2. Record Year – Eric Church
    3. Are You With Me – Easton Corbin
    4. Peter Pan – Kelsea Ballerini
    5. Humble and Kind – Tim McGraw

  4. My favorite discovery this year was Cody Jinks. I absolutely love I’m Not the Devil. Looking forward to seeing what I missed. Last year it was Turnpike Troubadors but I haven’t heard anything from them sense.

  5. Thanks, gang!

    Re: Brooke Eden. We had “Daddy’s Money” on last year’s eligibility list based upon its initial release date.

    Re: Mark Chesnutt and Lori McKenna. Both of those albums are eligible and were just oversights in compiling the list. They’ve been added in!

    Let us know if there are more additions we need to make!

  6. What about Maren Morris’ Hero album? Not really a country album (though nominated as such for various awards), but an enjoyable album nonetheless.

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