Front Row Seat to Earth might not be the most immediate record released this year, but it never turns its back on you. Accessible without ever being simple, it's one worth getting into, even if the way is labyrinthine.
Golden Sings That Have Been Sung is a personal best for Walker, innovation for the genre and in general, just a damn good listen.
On Strangers, Nadler seems to have her perfected her craft, adding even more confidence to keep her winning streak alive and well.
It's not just McCombs' Technicolor aspirations that make his latest, Mangy Love, so absorbing, but his generous use of instrumentation and collaboration.
Midwest Farmer's Daughter will almost certainly stand among the best country records of 2016.
Simpson ... seems hell-bent on disassembling the genre and piecing it back together the only way that sounds right to him. While the best of the best learn to master country music, he's turning it into a whole new monster, one that's his and his only.