8) Charlie Robison 9) Sam Bush 10) Grant Langston

Sam Bush and Grant Langston have previous reviews here on AWT. Coming in at number 8 Charlie Robison rates higher than both. Beautiful Day is both a kiss off to Emily, his Dixie Chick ex-wife, and an embrace of new found freedom. It has three main ingredients heartache, piss and vinegar. It also has an awesome cover of Bobby Bare Jr.'s "Nothin' Better to Do."

Numbers 11 and 12: Lucero and Wrinkle Neck Mules

12) Wrinkle Neck Mules - Readers of AWT know how much I love the Mules so I will just point you to my Previous Post. Now on to ...

11) Lucero-1372 Overton Park - This band has building something great for almost ten years. With 1372 Overton Park, they created the perfect record that blends their Drive-By-Truckers meets The Replacemenrts sound and the perfect amount of hometown Memphis R&B.

The best of 2009

The Winner is...
Tis the season... The best of lists are coming out in force. So I am going to get ahead of the curve. This year is particularly interesting if you want to check out the top "Twang" lists. Keep your eye on Twangville for a collaborative list for those of us in the Posse, as well as individual lists. The best best of list will be The Bird List, but there will be more on this later. For now let's just focus on my humble list here on AWT.

In my mid-year list, Buddy and Julie were on top, but they have been replaced by Band of Heathens in the final list. This was actually a close call and was decided by addiction. Once I listened to the first song, One Foot in the Ether became audio crack. Other new entries into the top ten are Roseanne Cash, Two Tons of Steel, Sam Bush and Grant Langston. Enough banter the list is below and then I will spend the remainder of the year writing individual posts on my top 12. (Sort of a twelve days of Christmas with no turtle doves.)

1 Band of Heathens - One foot in the Ether
2 Buddy & Julie Miller - Written in Chalk
3 Roseanne Cash - The List
4 Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses - Roadhouse Sun
5 Roman Candle - Oh Tall Tree in the Ear
6 Two Tons of Steel - Not That Lucky
7 M. Ward - Hold Time
8 Charlie Robison - Beautiful Day
9 Sam Bush - Circles Around Me
10 Grant Langston - Stand Up Man
11 Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
12 Wrinkle Neck Mules - Let the Lead Fly
13 Monsters of Folk - Self Titles
14 Wilco - The Album
15 Slaid Cleaves - Everything You Love Will be Taken Away
16 Justin Townes Earle - Midnight at the Movies
17 Stephen Kellog and the Sixers - The Bear
18 Brendan Benson - My Old Familiar Friend
19 Sarah Jarosz - Song Up in Her Head
20 Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles - The Stars are Out
21 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Speed of Life
22 Elvis Costello - Secret, Profane and Sugarcane
23 Guy Clark - Sometimes the Song Writes You
24 Scott Miller & the Commonwealth - For Cryin' Out Loud
25 Hill Country Review - Self Titled
26 Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band - Outer South
27 The Gourds - Haymaker!
28 Donna Ulisse - Walk this Mountain Down
29 Bottle Rockets - Lean Forward
30 The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
31 Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
32 Chuck Prophet - Let Freedom Ring
33 Derek Trucks - Already Free
34 The Flatlanders - Hills and Valleys
35 Dallas Wayne - I'll Take the Fifth
36 Red Stick Ramblers - My Suitcase is Always Packed
37 Chuck Mead - Journeyman's Wager
38 Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
39 Gina Villalobos - Days on Their Side
40 Cracker - Sunshine in the Land of Milk and Honey
41 Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Self Titled
42 Kieran Kane - Somewhere Beyond the Roses
43 Radney Foster Revival
44 Mindy Smith - Stupid Love
45 Mark Olson & Gary Louris - Ready for the Flood
46 Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Gru Grux King
47 Pter Holsapple and Chris Stamey - Here and Now
48 Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
49 Sara Watkins - Self Titled
50 Dierks Bentley - Feel that Fire