PLAY List
Country Music 2003
2004 __ Volume 5
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PLAY List 2004 __ Volume 5 |
The PLAY Lists >> The Best alt-Country, Country, and Americana CDs of 2003 — A Critical Consensus
With the demise of Country Music and its critics' poll, the alt-country magazine No Depression and the selections made by contributors to Country Music Today became the primary resources for putting this listing together, and a decided tilt in the alt-country/Americana direction was the inevitable result. This is a good thing as far as I'm concerned because it moves the focus off the manufactured stars of country music and the conservative approach they take to music-making. The downside—if identifying good music has a downside—is that artists like The White Stripes, Joe Strummer, and Television make an appearance here, not because they play country music (although Jack White has just coaxed an excellent record out of country music legend Loretta Lynn), but because they play honest music.
Rodney Crowell—thanks to his spot on the Country Weekly 100 greatest albums listing—just edged Lucinda Williams to heads this PLAY List, but the first few places are pretty tightly packed with country icon Emmylou Harris and The Jayhawks (who topped the No Depression poll) right on her tail. Just behind them comes a 5-CD set that documents the last (and exceptionally well-spent) years of Johnny Cash's life.
Revised July 30, 2004
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Country Music — Reissues
Neil Young's On The Beach and the Byrds' Sweetheart Of The Rodeo finally surfaced on CD, creating considerable joy among listeners and critics alike, we get a deeper look into the primary source material of Willie Nelson's earliest sessions, and the contributions of alt-country pioneers Uncle Tupelo are recognized with a slew of reissues.
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Quantifying Critical Consensus: Methodology >>
Sources >>The No Depression critics poll, which ranges well beyond conventional country music, served as the primary resource for this year's PLAY List, and was weighted at 1.5. End of the year rankings published in Country Music Today, USA Today, the Pittsburg Post-Gazette, and the Austin American-Statesman were regarded as the most authoritative sources after No Depression and so they were weighted at 1.25. After that I looked at several relatively new magazines—Harp and Paste—that deal extensively, if not exclusively, with contemporary country and Americana styles of music. I also used Acoustic Guitar and two British publications Mojo and Uncut that, again, devote considerable attention to many of the same artists and CDs that appeared on the No Depression list. Additonally, Mojo has a "Best Americana" category that helped expand the data pool of quality CD releases. All these sources were weighted at 1.0. The Country Weekly 100 greatest albums (since it began publishing) proved a bit of a challenge to incorporate into the calculations. Six 2003 CDs made the cut, with Brooks and Dunn's Red Dirt Road placing highest at No. 12. Rodney Crowell and Reba McEntire were in the 60s, Gary Allan's See If I Care placed at No. 77, and Rosanne Cash and a live ablum from Ricky Skaggs were in the 80s. I awarded Brooks and Dunn 20 points and the rest 10 each.
See Quantifying Critical Consensus for more detail.
- [AAS] — Davis, John T. "The 10 Best Country/Americana CDs." Austin American-Statesman (January 1, 2004): Sect: Williamson County This Week, p. 15.
- [AG] — "Jump Street: The Top CDs of 2003." Acoustic Guitar Vol. 14, No. 8 (February 2004): pp. 16-18.
- [CMT] — "Jump Stret: The Top CDs of 2003." Acoustic Guitar Vol. 14, No. 8 (February 2004): pp. 16-18.
- [CMA-37] — "Contributors' Picks: The Best of Country Music 2003."Country Music Today Vol. 4, Issue 20 (January/February 2004): pp. 30-31.
- [CW-100] — "The 100 Greatest Albums." Country Weekly (March 16, 2004): pp. 38-48.
- [Harp] — "Year in Music." Harp Vol. 3, No. 12 (December 2003/January 2004): pp. 89-100.
- [Mojo] — "The Best of the Year 2003." Mojo Issue 122 (January 2004): pp. 56-63.
- [Mojo-A] — "Best Americana." Mojo Issue 122 (January 2004): p. 58.
- [ND] — "The 1st Annual No Depression Critics' Poll and Hot Stove Recap of the Year 2003 in Music (with the Usual Digressions)." No Depression Issue #49 (January-February 2004): pp. 38-41.
- [P] — "20 Signs of Life from 2003." Paste Issue #7 (December 2003/January 2004): pp. 58-67.
- [PPG] — Hayes, John. "The Best of 2003: Best Country CD: Dixie Chicks." Pittsburg Post-Gazette (December 26, 2003): Sect: Arts & Entertainment, p. 27.
- [UC] — "Uncut Albums of the Year." Uncut Take 80 (January 2004): pp. 84-87.
- [USA-T] — Mansfield, Brian. "Sweet Sounds and Sour Notes." USA Today (December 31, 2003): Sect: D, p. 3.
Connections >>
- No Depression Archive Issue #49 January- February 2004 — include critic-by-critic Best of 2003 Ballots and Best Reissues of 2003 Ballots
The PLAY Lists Archive >>
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