Top 13 Country Album Picks of 2013!

A lot of great country albums were released this year and I've found myself compiling a list of my favorites. A lot of my favorite albums actually came from a lot of new-comers to country music, releasing their very first albums to the masses. There are also a good mix of artists that have been around for a few years then quite a few years!

*DISCLAIMER* These thoughts are my own and not intended to offend anyone....just my opinion on these artists and albums! :)

13. Luke Bryan- Crash My Party

Starting off at the bottom of my list is Luke Bryan. I love Luke but sadly I wasn't impressed enough with his album to put it right at the top of my list. His lead single from this album, "Crash My Party", was alright but not to the amount of annoyance to me that his second single brought called "That's My Kind Of Night". His current single though, "Drink A Beer" has to be one of my favorites from this album. That song he wrote about the tragic loss of his brother has been a current radio favorite. Overall, the other album songs are traditional picks for Luke, singing songs about love, trucks, and beer. Other favorite songs include "Roller Coaster" and "I See You".

12. Gary Allan- Set You Free

I felt like I didn't hear enough of Gary Allan this year for him to have a new album out! He has to be one of the most underrated country artists and I feel like he deserves more recognition than he gets. This album is a classic example of why he is still around making amazing music. There has been a lot of pain let out in his music due to his wife's tragic death. It feels like since then, you can't have a Gary Allan album without it. Wrong. There is one song on the album called "No Worries" that feels like he is channeling a little Kenny Chesney/ Jimmy Buffett vibe and I love it!! The rest of the album though is pretty depressing, but that's how we like his music!  

11. Ashley Monroe- Like A Rose

This album by Ashley Monroe channels a lot of classic country. I love the vibe and creativity of the songs on "Like A Rose". Her voice is so amazing! A duet with Blake Shelton called "You Ain't Dolly" is pretty humorous, a perfect song for her and Blake. My personal favorite has to be "Weed Instead Of Roses", it's very suggestive and to the point. Probably not a "G" rated song for the kiddos though folks! 

10. Brad Paisley- Wheelhouse

I'm not sure if anyone agrees with me but for years I thought most of Brad Paisley's songs were starting to sound the same. Until now. On Wheelhouse, I thought there was a lot of diversity in the songs he chose. The song that drew me in was "Beat This Summer". I was totally thrown off that it was him at first but it was a good thing. I got the deluxe version of the album on Itunes that included a song called "Facebook Friends". I'm not sure why, but I'm starting to like songs that sound humorous to me and this was one of them. I think Brad redeemed himself well in my opinion with this album! 

9. Parmalee- Feels Like Carolina

Parmalee's debut album just came out earlier this month along with having their single "Carolina" becoming their first #1 country hit! I am obsessed with their song "Day Drinkin'" and can't get enough of it! This is a pretty solid start to their career and am expecting to hear more from them next year. Parmalee has a country sound that is rockin' with "Musta Had A Good Time" and "My Montgomery". 

8. Charlie Worsham- Rubberband

Another debut album from Charlie Worsham, leaves me very impressed. He is very talented with the combination of his songwriting, instrumental-ism and singing. His first single was "Could It Be" and his new single "Want Me Too" is very catchy and I'm hoping that song takes off! His sound includes a lot of his signature banjo that I've seen him play a lot of in concert when we saw him in July. I'm hoping that Charlie's music stays around for a long time! 

7. Thomas Rhett- It Goes Like This

Yet another debut album! Not only a solo artist now but a hit songwriter, Thomas' first album is full of energy. This whole album with the exception of a few songs just makes me want to dance. I think "Beer With Jesus" might be the only slower song on this album. The title track "It Goes Like This" was his very first #1 song and his current single now is called "Get Me Some Of That". I'm pretty tossed on my favorite song for this one. It's between "Make Me Wanna" and "Front Porch Junkies". It's a great record and hope to see more from him in the next coming years also! 

6. Lady Antebellum- Golden

Lady A's new release was great and got even better when they repackaged it with a few more new songs including "Compass". There is a pretty good combination of fun songs like "Downtown" and a little more serious songs like "Goodbye Town". I think they pick a lot of great songs based on not only what they like as artists but what their fans would listen to. 

5. The Band Perry- Pioneer

Every artist fears the dreaded "sophomore slump" after their first album was such a success. Not the case for The Band Perry! Pioneer is one of the newer albums that I could listen to over and over again and not get tired of it. Hits so far that have emerged from Pioneer include "Better Dig Two", "DONE", and "Don't Let Me Be Lonely". I'm hoping for an uptempo as their next single....maybe "Forever Mine Never mind" or "Night Gone Wasted". Either way, I don't think they will disappoint with their next single. 

4. Kacey Musgraves- Same Trailer Different Park

Another debut album, but already a huge fan favorite, Kacey Musgraves busted out onto the country airwaves with this one. Her country-folk sound is amazing and each song tells a different story. I am very excited that my personal favorite "Follow Your Arrow" was released as a single and hope it does well! That song and "Merry Go Round" both tell stories of life and how it was or how it could be. 

The top three albums were pretty hard for me to rank.....but I had to do it! 

3. Days Of Gold- Jake Owen

It pains me to not put one of my favorite artists at the top of my list! If I could have three number one's then I would......anyways....Jake's new album came out earlier this month and am always excited to hear new music from him! Following his last album, I think there is a lot of trying to stay with his Floridian roots with summery sounding songs like "Beachin". "Tall Glass Of Something" is infectious and as I type this it gets stuck in my head (help!). "What We Ain't Got" is going to be the game changer for Jake if and when he releases it as a single to country radio. That's it, that song HAS to be a single. That song is pretty serious and Jake nails it with outstanding vocal ability. Dude, you make me proud :) 

2. Brett Eldredge- Bring You Back

A country newcomer makes it into the top 3!! I've listened to this album enough times, forwards, backwards, upside down, sideways........you get the point. Brett just has such an amazing raspy voice and all of the songs on his album fit together nicely. If I could pick a favorite it would have to be the title track off the album called "Bring You Back". "Don't Ya" was his first #1 single but the song that made me a fan of his is called "Raymond". It's a very sentimental song about a woman that has Alzheimer's and seeing the video for it on CMT one day got me interested. If you haven't gotten this album yet and call yourself a country fan then what are you waiting for?!?!? 

And my #1 pick for best new country album of the year goes to.......

Keith does it again and you can find "A Little Bit Of Everything" on this album! This has to be one of the best albums that he's ever released. I just can't stop listening to it! The duet that he did with Miranda Lambert called "We Were Us" was amazing because I love them both. Was so excited when I saw they did a song together! His new single hitting airwaves now called "Cop Car" is such a good song and is so so clever. "Even The Stars Fall 4U", "Good Thing" and "Gonna B Good" are such great uptempo songs and I can't stop listening to them. I could go on and on about Fuse and it's greatness. 

That basically sums up my favorite country albums from 2013! Did some of your favs make my list? Did I leave some out? Let me know what you think! 

"Musta Had A Good Time"

Last night we saw Parmalee and Chris Cavanaugh at the Rodeo Club in San Jose, CA!! It was another great concert filled with lots of memories. It was a packed house on a Friday night and everyone was there to party! Chris Cavanaugh was up first and he is a fantastic opening act! He got the crowd going with a lot of his original songs and covers from Kenny Chesney, Brooks and Dunn and Garth Brooks. We saw him before earlier this year at the Rodeo Club opening for Florida Georgia Line and he was great then too! I just got a new phone so I was playing with Instagram taking a few videos last night, which I couldn't do before. Here is one I took of Chris sing Hillbilly Deluxe by B&D. http://instagram.com/p/h5Dcjqivgd/

I was really excited to see Parmalee! Not only did their new record "Feels Like Carolina" come out this week but their song "Carolina" is #1 on the country charts this week! We saw them for a little bit at CMA fest in Nashville in June but it wasn't a full show. They played mostly all of the songs from their brand new album and a few covers. The general manager Nate Deaton from the radio station KRTY had his birthday yesterday so Parmalee brought him up on stage so we could sing to him! Another crazy thing that happened last night was when this girl came up on stage to dance during their song called "Dance". It was not planned of course and lets just say the guys got a little show.......of course she got a little too into the dancing and got pulled off stage. It was crazy and totally unexpected! I'm sure all the guys in the room loved it though haha!

Girl dancing on stage........:/ 

Chris Cavanaugh came back up to sing with Parmalee

Another cool thing that happened was when Nate came back on stage to present them with something to celebrate their #1 single Carolina. Every time KRTY has someone new come to the Rodeo Club for a show, they have them sign a condiment bottle. When or if they get their first #1 single, they send the condiment bottle back in the mail. This was the first time ever that they gave the condiment bottle back in person. It was also their 23rd time doing this! I think it's a really awesome thing!! 

Nate presenting the condiment bottle! 

I took a couple videos also of Parmalee and here they are :) 

Parmalee- Musta Had A Good Time (Instagram Video)

Parmalee- Carolina (Facebook Video)

Parmalee- Day Drinkin (Facebook Video)

Had a great time last night!!! Can't wait until the next concert but sadly I don't think that will be until next year!