Charley Crockett’s The Man From Waco is a spellbinding trip through the great and the amazing of styles that country music has to offer.

Five years. Not the Bowie song but the time since Sunny Sweeney’s last new record. Married Alone is worth the wait.

The New Faith, the new album from Jake Blount is a journey through a future world using updated and reimagined “traditional Black spirituals” and is fascinating and brilliant.

Sam Burchfield’s Scoundrel is an epic guitar-led walk through Americana blues of old, writ new for 2022.

The second album from King Margo is a terrific mix of country, folk, and Americana. The songs are great, the musicians are excellent.

Mariel Buckley’s second album this a thing of beauty. By turns soft and coarse, Everything I Used To Be is excellent.

The Local Honeys self-titled album is great, superb storytelling combined with great music, everything to love.

Kelsey Waldon’s No Regular dog is no regular record. It’s a winding road of stories, told authentically and brilliantly.

Tami Neilson’s fifth album is her best yet. Building on the huge promise of 2020’s CHICKABOOM, Kingmaker is full of great songs, big vocals, and evocative lyrics.

Jonah Tolchin’s new album Lava Lamp is part rock, park roots, and all terrific.