Best Alt-Country & Americana

25th Anniversary Edition.

Implementing 25 instruments, played mostly by Sufjan himself, a two-handed horn section, string quartet and small choir, "Illinois" conjures up images of Danny Elfman conducting a Gilbert and Sullivan company, a minimalist ensemble, and the Marion Catholic Marching Band on a windswept prairie football field.

With one foot in the field and the other in the factory, The SteelDrivers are a beacon beaming their own version of rhythm'n'bluegrass far across the musical landscape.

After his career peaked with one of the most unlikely top five hits ever, the gloom-laden 1976 narrative "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Lightfoot's production tailed off sharply, though this anthology's "Stay Loose" ('86) and "Restless" ('93) are testament to his enduring skills as a songwriter and performer.

With one foot in the field and the other in the factory, The SteelDrivers are a beacon beaming their own version of rhythm'n'bluegrass far across the musical landscape.

Sony.

Yet, though it barely scratches the surface, 2002's The Essential Johnny Cash --part of a series of compilations and reissues celebrating Cash's 70th birthday--does present three-dozen satisfying and balanced snapshots of some of the Man in Black's most memorable work for the Sun, Columbia, and Mercury labels.

Long before he was the King of rock, Elvis loved gospel music.

2009 essential greatest hits collection gathers all of Glen Campbell's hit songs in one contemporary package.

Twisting strains of Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, and Gram Parsons into a stripped-down sound wholly his own, Yoakam is one of music's true mavericks, and his body of work is one of the most innovative in all of country. Rooted in the purest country traditions, and wrapped in raw rock 'n' roll attitude, Yoakam's art rivets fans of both genres and remains as utterly original today as when it started burning up the charts in the '80s.

1 songs, Urban amassed an eclectic group of Grammy, CMA, ACM Award-winning writers and co-producers, who that have collectively worked with the likes of Adele, Jason Aldean, David Bowie, Luke Bryan, Kelly Clarkson, Brett Eldredge, Fun, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Madonna, Daft Punk, Pink and Taylor Swift. They include new collaborations with Jeff Bhasker, busbee, Greg Wells and Nile Rodgers, as well as those who Urban has worked with before, including Shane McAnally, Ross Cooperman, Dann Huff and Nathan Chapman all of whom worked with Urban on his previous No.

This collection of 50 chart-toppers, spanning 22 years, showcases the Cadillac of country singers at his best, blending traditional and contemporary stylings, but never straying too far from the core of his Texas barroom sound. This retrospective's one new track, "I Hate Everything," about a man in a bar who's besotted more from pain than whiskey, doesn't match up with the singer's best material, but it's still got that irresistible Strait hook: average-guy sincerity wrapped in a down-to-earth heart.

This collection of 50 chart-toppers, spanning 22 years, showcases the Cadillac of country singers at his best, blending traditional and contemporary stylings, but never straying too far from the core of his Texas barroom sound. This retrospective's one new track, "I Hate Everything," about a man in a bar who's besotted more from pain than whiskey, doesn't match up with the singer's best material, but it's still got that irresistible Strait hook: average-guy sincerity wrapped in a down-to-earth heart.