Sometimes albums don't get the love they merit when they are initially released. Or people forget about them because they came out a long time back. That is a reason to give them another try. Even the most lauded artists drop LPs that eventually get lost in the shuffle, never to be resurrected. Well, we can fix that right now. Here are four suggestions for albums you might want to devote some time to soon. You will be richly rewarded.
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'Same Trailer, Different Park' By Kacey Musgraves
Per The Boot, "...Musgraves' voice is empathetic but even-keeled; the emotions she exudes make the songs' vivid characters even more relatable." This 2013 album bears Musgraves' distinctive stamp through and through. It was her freshman studio LP and she had quite a hand in all of it. She co-produced it and co-wrote the songs. The disc earned some pretty big accolades like Album of the Year from the ACM, along with a Grammy for Best Contemporary Country Album. Plus, Musgraves was only 25 years old at the time. Songs like "Dandelion" simply defy forgetting. Wow.
'Wanted! The Outlaws'
Willie Nelson, Tompall Glaser, Waylon Jennings, and Jessi Colter joined forces in 1976 to make this landmark album. The outlaw subgenre in country music was never the same after that. Per the outlet, it became "the first-ever country record to be certified platinum" and was "one of the most iconic country albums of all time." An antidote to slick commercialism in country, the LP featured emblematic songs like "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" and "Honky Tonk Heroes (Like Me)." To many, these four outstanding artists were heroes themselves.
'Time Well Wasted' By Brad Paisley
Per Entertainment Weekly, "You can say country's good old days are gone, and maybe they are, but country has never had a more well-rounded star than Brad Paisley." Amen. He can be witty, wacky, and wonderful, practically all in the same track. The disc earned Album of the Year kudos from the CMA. It spun off a quartet of singles, three of which went to number one.
'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' By Miranda Lambert
Lambert was just getting started on her remarkable career in 2007 when this superb album dropped. Her sophomore studio effort, it heralded the presence of a true country music supernova. Per the outlet, the LP showcases "intense vengeance tracks with sensitive balladry that could truly leave your heart in pieces." It was the ACM's Album of the Year and also occupied the first-place rung on the Top Country Albums chart. Lambert convincingly proved she was on the country music scene to stay.
