What a year! We’ve heard stunning debuts, reveled in career-defining efforts, satiated our appetites for long-awaited albums, been surprised out of the blue, felt local pride, shed a few tears, and generally found ourselves giddy from a headrush of music. Below are 100 favorite albums from 2021 (arranged by release date) as handpicked by the staff and contributors of 100.9 The Creek & Sound and Soul!
J.T., Steve Earle & The Dukes
Earle has written songs and recorded albums in tribute to his heroes & mentors Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, but it’s heartbreaking that he’s found himself in a position to do the same for his son, Justin Townes Earle. Every dollar of profit from J.T. goes into a trust fund for Justin’s daughter, Etta St. James.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
Introducing…, Aaron Frazer
A throwback soul crooner and ace drummer that stepped out from behind Durand Jones and The Indications to release his own debut. With an assist from producer Dan Auerbach, Aaron casts a shadow that his bandmates might not be able to escape. My favorite album of the year.
— Wes Griffith, 100.9 The Creek
Learning to Crawl, Hello Again
A lot of times, the “Macon Sound” gets reduced to only southern rock, soul, and blues. Those are certainly a few of the beautiful components that our city’s sonic landscape is built around. But I like knowing there are other artists out there adding different layers.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Calico Jim, Pony Bradshaw
James “Pony” Bradshaw has one of the better Southern accents in Americana. He recognizes beauty and danger in the everyday life he leads in the North Georgia mountains and distills both into a potent truth. Can’t wait to hear what he’s been cookin’ up for ’22!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Strawberry Mansion, Langhorne Slim
Written in the thick of 2020’s quarantine period, Strawberry Mansion tackles the fear and anxiety of not only the pandemic but of an artist hitting a wall creatively. Slim rises to the challenge and nails the frustration of that particular point in time, though I’m not entirely sure we’re out of the fryin’ pan or the fire.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!, Aaron Lee Tasjan
If Tom Petty circa 1985 dropped an album today I’m pretty sure it would sound a lot like this, and I’m all about it. Tasjan continues to stretch and evolve as an artist with every new album he releases.
— Anthony Ennis, 100.9 The Creek
Music City Joke, Mac Leaphart
This ain’t Mac’s first rodeo, but this was my introduction to his particular style of humor, wisdom, and good ‘ol fashioned rock n’ roll spirit. A perfect album for any occasion involving a back porch or gathering of good timin’ folks.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Open Door Policy, The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady are rock n’ roll’s most complete band. Crain Finn’s a poet, straight up– and not in a Jim Morrison-teenage-diary-open-mic kinda way– and his band condenses six decades of r n’ r into 44 minutes of bar band fuss and backbeat.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
10 For Slim: Charley Crockett Sings James Hand
Out of all the albums I’ve purchased this year, I’ve probably listened to 10 For Slim the most. I confess that while I was aware of James Hand, I’d never really gone down the rabbit hole– but thanks to Charley, I believe I’ve seen the light.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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All My Shame, Mando Saenz
Give one of the best songwriters working in Nashville free rein to explore his favorite sounds and this is what happens.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Damage Control, Curtis Salgado
Salgado’s so cool that Belushi made him the template for Joliet Jake. At 67 and 11 albums in, Curtis is still crushing it.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Little Oblivions, Julien Baker
Baker doubles down on the orchestration, giving you the soundtrack for hitting the streets at 2am when you’re confronting your demons, not running away from them.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
Rare Bird, Sara Petite
After I talked to Sara, it’s hard to imagine how music wasn’t always at the top of her list. Luckily, it is now. Excellent songs with emotional and amazing backstories.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Girl I Used To Be, Garrison Starr
First time I saw Garrison perform, she was givin’ some drunk heckler hell at the Georgia Theatre before she launched into her set. Cool as the other side of the pillow and still delivering the best kind of bad attitude.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Vivian Leva & Riley Calcagno
Barely in their 20’s, these two shouldn’t be as good as they are. I know, I know– age is just a number! Of course, it helps that they’ve been playing since they could walk. Gorgeous and articulate songs that defy era.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Daddy’s Country Gold, Melissa Carper
CLASSIC, CLASSIC, CLASSIC, COUNTRY! I couldn’t stop listening to this album, and I look forward to her upcoming album with bluegrass jug band Sad Daddy!
— Ashley Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
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Still Woman Enough, Loretta Lynn
Here we go again with CLASSIC Loretta! The spoken-word version of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” makes me cry every time, so does “Old Kentucky Home”. Like Loretta, I am a Kentucky girl!
— Ashley Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
Gild The Black Lily, Queen Esther
I call her “Queen” and you should too. A Georgia native, Queen Esther currently reigns in New York where she combines her love of jazz & blues with her inherent twang to form Black Americana. An EPIC interview, I’m looking forward to reconnecting over her next project.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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How Many Times, Esther Rose
Rose comes up with swift melodies that make camp in your head. I hope we get to talk again ’cause our last interview left me pondering. Underrated songwriter and an album worth your attention.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Seeker, Brigitte DeMeyer
Easy and flowing like a summer river, this bluesy and personal set channels Southern soul with just the right amount of cool bay breeze.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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G_d’s Pee at State’s End!, Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Each of this Canadian collective’s records registers like an event, a post-apocalyptic heft that is meticulous, austere, and surreal. Their latest feels particularly poignant given the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
Raise A Banner, Zach Schmidt
Raise A Banner may get the rub for being produced by Sadler Vaden and featuring the rest of the 400 Unit, but honestly, Zach could’ve delivered these songs just him and a guitar, and I’da been satisfied. If you managed to skip this one, hang a u-turn.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Introducing… The Pink Stones
The Pink Stones give me confidence that there’s still alt-country magic alive and well in Athens, GA. It’s New Wave Cosmic Americana, and no 2021 playlist is complete without it.
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They’re Calling Me Home, Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi
While some artists are reluctant to deem anything a “pandemic” project, Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi took the early months of the 2020 quarantine and used it as a time to reflect and plan this poignant response. It’s life and death and all the emotion in between. In the future, we’ll remember this album which sprang from the chaos.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Parts & Labor
Recorded at the legendary and newly renovated Capricorn Sound Studios in Macon, GA, Parts & Labor revel in a southern rock pedigree while espousing a jam band philosophy. No strings attached fun to carry you into the night or out of the morning
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
Help Yourself, Andy Johnson
Andy Johnson piles a lot on this sonic plate– but to outstanding effect. The Thomaston, GA native utilizes some of Central Georgia’s finest musicians to deliver a defining album in Help Yourself.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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First Agnostic Church of Wonder, Todd Snider
If you walk into the First Agnostic Church of Wonder expecting some sort of conceptualist revival, you’ll likely receive one. But this is really an artist dealing with his heart and his hopes in real-time with accompaniment. My talk with Todd was, like the last time I saw him perform, everything I wanted it to be, and my appreciation for this record grew immensely.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Bullseye, The Shootouts
Produced by Chuck Mead, Bullseye sparkles like a rhinestone and satisfies all my classic country cravings. I’m especially excited to hear what the Ohio outfit’s been wranglin’ with Ray Benson for 2022!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Floral Deposits, Nomenclature
Denny Hanson calls this “the best record to come out of Macon, Georgia in 4 decades.” The only way you’ll prove him right or wrong is to listen to it.
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The Marfa Tapes, Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall
Put this album on if you want to feel like you’re literally sitting under a diamond-studded night sky in the middle of the desert next to a campfire. “In His Arms” and “Ghost” are two of my favorites!
— Ashley Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
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Mercy Rising, Maia Sharp
I confess that I wasn’t familiar with Maia before this album, but something about it caught me just right and knocked me out. Sensual and cool.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Ramble On, Charlie Marie
Vocally, I don’t know if anybody can touch the Rhode Island Rambler. Charlie’s teased greatness with her previous EPs, but Ramble On is a true stunner.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Slappers, Bangers & Certified Twangers Vol. 1, American Aquarium
THIS is the album we didn’t know we needed so badly! THIS is my childhood. THIS is the gift that just keeps on giving, and I cannot wait for the next installment of ’90s country from BJ and the boys!
— Ashley Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
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Delta Kream, The Black Keys
The Black Keys are a chameleon band. This is my Black Keys– straight-up ripping off Delta Blues.
— Tony Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
Start It Over, Riley Downing
On his solo debut, Riley does an excellent job of establishing his own identity and putting a stamp on the fact that all of the guys in The Deslondes are incredibly talented individuals. The jangly piano, solid guitar riffs, and talk/singing come across so smooth.
— Anthony Ennis, 100.9 The Creek
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That Kind of Life, Michigan Rattlers
The sophomore effort from the Little Traverse Bay outfit gets a little more rock n’ roll. Smooth but not too smooth. Sunshine or starlight, it’s just the kind of music I want to hear on my radio while I’m driving.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Always Smilin’, Oliver Wood
I didn’t know how much we (or at least I) needed an Oliver Wood solo record. I got spoiled on hours and hours of Oliver Wood with King Johnson in the early 2000s at 550 Blues here in Macon. This takes me back. Less jazzy and complex than the Wood Brothers records, this one is dripping with soul and backwoods southern country blues funk. Oliver Wood is the embodiment of my type of Americana.
— Wes Griffith, 100.9 The Creek
Sharecropper’s Son, Robert Finley
100% southern soul-blues. Lyrically, Finley gets into some heavier topics and shares his struggles while still maintaining a sense of hope.
— Anthony Ennis, 100.9 The Creek
Little Black Flies, Eddie 9V
Former Georgia Flood member Brooks Mason delivers a bluesy masterpiece under his stage name Eddie 9V.
— Tony Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
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Morning Stars and Angel Sings, Sean Solo
Macon, GA’s Sean Solo remains a constant on the scene not only as a performer but as a producer and engineer for other area artists. His latest full-length album (he’s also one-half of the duo Hello Again) finds him expanding his skills both lyrically and in the studio.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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The Waylon Sessions, Shannon McNally
Somebody asked me, “Do you really need this album?” And if you have to ask that, do you really know me at all?
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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You Hear Georgia, Blackberry Smoke
If guitar-driven rock n’ roll harmony is what you’re after, there’s no better purveyor than Blackberry Smoke. Did I hear there’s something new in the works? If I did, it might sound like a particular city in Georgia!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Fire On The Ridge, Jenny Don’t and The Spurs
Rowdy Stumptown twang! Lean & mean with everything you need and nothin’ you DON’T!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Country Westerns EP
We’re past the point of “The Return of Rock n’ Roll” discussions, but the CWs make a case anyway for having some drinks and talking shit about the second coming of The Replacements. Plus, there’s their cover of Richard and Linda Thompson’s “Wall of Death” that I can’t shake.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
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Queen Of The In Between, K.C. Jones
If I say folky cosmic country glam, does that make you go, “Hm? Wonder what that sounds like?” Go find out!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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I Be Trying, Cedric Burnside
Cedric has taken what he learned from his grandfather and made a sound that is all his own while still paying homage to his roots. Killer guitar, solid pocket drums, and the epitome of the modern Mississippi Hill Country blues.
— Anthony Ennis, 100.9 The Creek
Quietly Blowing It, Hiss Golden Messenger
Quietly Blowing It perfectly encapsulates so many thoughts, feelings, and experiences a lot of us had in 2020. M.C. Taylor leans into his best Bob Dylan meets James Taylor-esque sound and delivers without feeling contrived.
— Anthony Ennis, 100.9 The Creek
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Vincent Neil Emerson
Without an atom of doubt, one of the best albums of the year and an exemplary example of this generation’s Texas singer-songwriter. Just get it!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Magnolia Moon II
If there was an intergalactic conference of rock n’ roll from different planets, and Earth’s delegation could include one Macon band, Magnolia Moon gets my vote. Epic in every sense.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
Miss’ry Pacific, Erik Shicotte
“There’ll always be a lonesome whistle whinin’ somewhere, ’cause that freight’s gotta move one way or the other and that’s the most efficient. The industry will never die. It might get its balls chopped off and lose every bit of romance it once had, but them trains are still gonna move! And someone’s gonna have to sing about it!” That’s one of my favorite quotes of the year from an artist I know isn’t getting the recognition he deserves.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Treasure of Love, The Flatlanders
These Flatlanders are more wise than whimsical, offering an earned perspective with a mix of covers and originals that commemorate country music’s history and their beloved Texas. “I’m just thankful this old road’s a friend of mine,” indeed.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
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Church of Better Daze, Boy Golden
My favorite surprise of 2021! Liam Duncan aka Boy Golden gives you an album full of great stoner/pop-rock Americana. The perfect record to throw on, kick back and enjoy the ride– wherever that might take you!
— Anthony Ennis, 100.9 The Creek
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662, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Hard not to like this kid from Clarksdale, MS. Straight up electric Delta Blues– and I’m a sucker for some good blues!
— Anthony Ennis, 100.9 The Creek
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Dallas Burrow
I admire Dallas’s dedication. He’s been a globetrotter and hit the bottom of the barrel, but his faith and dedication to music and family have brought him up shoulder to shoulder with the best Texas poets & songwriters working today. He’s been back in the studio getting something ready for ’22, and I expect he’ll be back on this list next year!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Triage, Rodney Crowell
It would be easy, expected even, for an artist this advanced in his career to simply go through the motions, but Rodney Crowell is still deeply driven to move the world. There’s no substitute for this kind of songwriting; you either mean it or you don’t.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Unearthed, The Creature Preachers
Fun, frightening, reverb-laden swamp surf from Warner Robins, GA! The duo of Greg Regular and Scary Gary has been making the rounds on the Georgia surf rock scene, and I’m mighty interested to hear what they’ve been working on for ’22!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Stand For Myself, Yola
To me, soul music is at its best when it challenges society and gives a voice to what Yola calls the “other”.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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A Horrible Beautiful Dream, Sean McConnell
Intentional or not, Sean McConnell captures life before and after the pandemic with the kind of skill and empathy that commentators hype as making him the “go-to” songwriter in Nashville. Of course, it’s true. Sean’s a facilitator of emotion. Another album we’ll remember of this era.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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First Time Feeling, Leah Blevins
Leah Blevins mined a lot of heartaches to get this debut right. Full of style and great, honest songs.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Never Too Late To Call, Paul Thorn
Personal, revelatory, familial, groovy, and everything else that makes Paul Thorn one of the finest storytellers working today. Really, Never Too Late To Call should be considered among his very best work.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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One To Grow On, Mike and The Moonpies
While fans and commentators (including this one) continue to debate what real country music is or isn’t, Mike and The Moonpies simply prove it’s alive and kickin’ with every stellar release.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Different Kinds Of Light, Jade Bird
Do I think Jade is Americana? I do not. And this album isn’t either. It’s the kind of alt-ish rock n’ roll that stained my teeth and ears when I was a teenager, and today, it fills me with that same sense of angsty hope and joy I had when the world was flat and I wanted to run right off it.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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The Cry of The Heart, Connie Smith
When you got it, you got it, and Connie Smith has never lost it. For this album, Connie sounds as good as she did when she stepped into RCA Studio B for the first time 57 years ago!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Have A Seat, Maggie Rose
“For Your Consideration” earns this album a spot on my Top 10. Song of the Year.
— Tony Doolin, 100. 9 The Creek
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I Love San Antone, Garrett T. Capps
Anthony Ennis brought this album to my attention, and it ranks right up there with Lasers Lasers Birmingham and a buffalo chicken sandwich he bought me years ago as one the best things he’s contributed to my life.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Year of the Spider, Shannon and The Clams
The gang continues their sashay towards the well-deserved big time. “Mary, Don’t Go” is the year’s best last-chance-for-a-slow-dance material, and “Flowers Will Return” is the Lindsey Buckingham tune we’ve been waiting for and this writer’s Song of the Year. Check my credentials.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
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The Horses and the Hounds, James McMurtry
The GOAT returns with another set of songs that feel like they should’ve taken 100 years to write. McMurtry’s songs are like miniature versions of his father’s novels. They just cover a lot of time and material.
— Wes Griffith, 100.9 The Creek
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Bad Romantic, Summer Dean
This album is like being in Texas at Gilley’s for a remake of Urban Cowboy as Urban Cowgirl in the BEST possible way! My favorite is “You’re Lucky She’s Lonely”. I can hear a little Jessi Colter in this album, and I am not mad at it. I would actually love for Summer to do a Jessi Colter cover album!
— Ashley Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
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To The Passage Of Time, Jason Eady
I’ve resisted calling this the best album of Eady’s career, and I just don’t have the will to fight it anymore. I’m in awe of how good this guy is. And what makes him truly elite is how much he loves writing and performing. You can’t teach, sell, smoke, or shoot that. But you can and should buy this album.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Here For It All, Sean Devine
Devine is a generous storyteller and this modern Western of an album is populated with courage and heart. This is a “zero distractions” kind of record– just you, a glass of something warm and dark, and the songs.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Comfort To Me, Amyl and The Sniffers
Amyl and company do real damage, brutalizing with wallops of blitzkrieg pop from the Lucky Country. In an era when would-be tastemakers seemingly begrudge the existence of guitar-based music, this band does more with feedback, kiss-offs, and power(ful) chords than any sucker fool sipping White Claw, jockeying a laptop.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
A Southern Gothic, Adia Victoria
This one snuck up on me at the last minute because I didn’t take the time to listen to it when it was released (shame on me). A perfect blend of soul, folk, R&B, and Americana. Adia Victoria is a force to be reckoned with.
— Anthony Ennis, 100.9 The Creek
A Thousand Turns, The Delevantes
It’s wonderful to have the Delevante brothers back! If sparkling, twangy, Rickenbacker jangle is your cup o’ whatever, this is the record for you. Bright and warm and right on time!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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For Louisiana, Rod Gator
Three of my favorite albums all came from artists I discovered in 2021. Rod Gator has been making music for nearly a decade under his given name (Rod Melancon) but switched it to his new moniker for this release. Steeped in the Deep South, oozing with Louisiana, Rod creates a sound all his own. A southern gothic, swamp-rock-a-billy, blues– and I am all about it!
— Anthony Ennis, 100.9 The Creek
From Dreams To Dust, The Felice Brothers
The storytelling in this is just awesome! I find myself humming “Jazz on the Autoban” daily.
— Ashley Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
Music City USA, Charley Crockett
Charley did this one so right (not that he’s ever done one wrong)! From the album to the marketing, this is great all the way around!
— Ashley Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
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Proper Smoker, Blunt Bangs
A power pop band that actually delivers, instead of simply namechecking the right bands during interviews and press releases. This debut has filled the Superchunk-shaped void in my family’s loving home. If “Silence Is Golden”, Proper Smoker should go platinum.
Back Down Home, Tony Kamel
Didn’t follow his band Wood & Wire that closely, but Tony’s debut solo record smacked me in the mouth. This one is a real Third Coast Americana treasure.
— Wes Griffith, 100.9 The Creek
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Goodbye L.A., Jeremy Pinnell
In addition to being one of my favorite records of the year, this one also ranks up there as one of the best album covers. Slick and hillbilly with just whiff o’ ’70s county funk.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Half A Hundred Years, Asleep At The Wheel
Fifty years of western swing, fiddle, steel, telecaster twang, hillbilly jazz, and Texas-sized shenanigans! Ray Benson brings together band members past and present, unearths some long-lost recordings, and gives me faith that the Wheel can keep on rollin’ for half a hundred more!
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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In These Silent Days, Brandi Carlile
This album is taking Brandi to new places– like the musical guest for SNL for starters!
— Ashley Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
Blue Blue Blue, Noel McKay
McKay is on another level. Razor-sharp timing, dreamy melodies, and lines that leave you wondering where they’ve been hiding all these years.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Gregory Dwane
Whenever a new artist’s album arrives in the mail or through my inbox, I always have an anticipation of, “Is this gonna be everything I want it to be?” Greg’s debut solo effort is why I love my job.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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See You Next Time, Joshua Ray Walker
Another Album of the Year effort. The big, big man from the Big D continues his hot streak and closes out a honky tonk trilogy it took him a decade to live and write.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Buffalo Nichols
Carl “Buffalo” Nichols is the real deal. An accomplished student of the blues, he’s been around the block, and his debut for Fat Possum Records celebrates a variety of African American musical traditions, including some of that rocking Mississippi Hill Country Blues that Fat Possum is known for. He is a sight for sore eyes, a mature, fully-formed torchbearer that understands the true weight and responsibility of celebrating and maintaining these traditions while also pushing them to new places.
— Wes Griffith, 100.9 The Creek
The Incredible Heat Machine, TK & The Holy Know-Nothings
I loved the Portland, Oregon outfit’s last album, Arguably OK, and this one’s even better. There’s a note of self-destruction in each one of Taylor Kingman’s songs, and I think he’s one of the best pure brawling songwriters alive right now.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Breaking Point, Jackson+Sellers
This one was a lightning bolt out of a clear blue sky that I never saw coming. Again, like Jade Bird’s Different Kinds Of Light, this is not an Americana album, but if it’s announcing a new rock n’ roll trend within the genre, then I’m for it. Lyrically, it’s got some weight to it, but Jade Jackson and Aubrie Sellers are clearly having the time of their lives, and that (and Ethan Ballinger’s guitar) is what drives Breaking Point home.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Seven Cities Of Gold, Moot Davis
While Davis continues to utilize a throwback sound abounding with telecaster-y twang, Seven Cities Of Gold also finds him working out a different set of raucous rock n’ roll muscles that may surprise longtime fans. Confrontational and confessional, this is some of Moot’s finest songwriting to date.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Time in the Sun, SUSTO
Justin Osborne continues to grow as a songwriter. On Time in the Sun, he switches gears musically from other SUSTO albums to make it stand on its own as a kind of Southern Psychedelia.
— Anthony Ennis, 100.9 The Creek
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You Get It All, Hayes Carll
He may be the best songwriter in the game. Top 5 for sure, in my opinion.
— Wes Griffith, 100.9 The Creek
Cockadoodledeux, The Legendary Shack Shakers
J.D. Wilkes plays like the Great American Songbook’s version of The Apocrypha, a collection of shoulda-been sainted standards yet to be received by those in need. Cockadoodledeux is The Shack Shakers’ tribute to old, honest county music, yet the album refuses nostalgia and cosplay revivalism. Wilkes is a wild man, but he’s also a scholar and devotee. This record is all heart.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
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How the Mighty Fall, Charles Wesley Godwin
CWG has it all– a unique voice, a solid band, and songs that could hold up a mountain. Godwin captures his home and the characters in it with literary savvy and an obstructed view. One of the very, very best this year has offered.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Jungleland, Lynx Deluxe
The debut from this Atlanta outfit led by ex-Nightporter Andy Browne rocks and roils with a King Kong backbeat and calculated songs. Seger might’ve said, “Rock n’ roll never forgets,” but Browne & co. prove it.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Pohorylle, Margo Cilker
A remarkable full-length debut from Cilker, and one of the best new artists of ’21. Margo’s released some EPs (worth the effort of tracking down) and enjoyed some regional success, but if she’s willing and able, I think Pohorylle could be her ticket to bigger and better.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Voyage, ABBA
One of the best parts about being 43 is no longer having to qualify any of my tastes as “guilty pleasures”. Eurovision’s answer to the Beach Boys returns after a 40-year hiatus with melodies as grandiose and lyrics as bizarre as those during their initial reign.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
An Evening with Silk Sonic
Aaron Irons hates the fact that this album made my list since The Creek doesn’t play it. I don’t care. This R&B throwback album from Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars is perfect.
— Tony Doolin, 100.9 The Creek
Dragnet, NRBQ
NRBQ remains unclassifiable and an acquired taste for many. Are they tongue-in-cheek? Sincere? Does it matter? They’re a bar band at heart, a sentient collection of your favorite records. Stick around for the tender moments.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal
A bittersweet tribute that brings into focus the life and music of Neal Casal. Astounding in scope, this set features 41 of Casal’s songs performed by a wealth of friends and admirers for the benefit of music education and mental health support through the Neal Casal Foundation.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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Glowing Lantern, The Mother Hips
The Hips are music lifers, true believers of melody and its promises. Past the point of concerns for making the industry push, the group is writing for themselves, creating a record that relies on hooks as much as it does unflinching honesty. The result is an unsettling mix of romanticism and realism, the group’s rustic, West Coast prayer for what now passes as our reality.
— Charlie Farmer, Sound and Soul
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The Light Saw Me, Jason Boland & The Stragglers
This actually is my favorite album cover of ’21. Boland & The Stragglers crafted a Mars Red Dirt sci-fi odyssey that covers alien abduction and time travel, boldly going where no other country music record even dares.
— Aaron Irons, Sound and Soul
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