The Story So Far. . .THE 25 TOP CDs. . .mid-1995 through mid-2005
We’ve written about a lot of good records in ten years, so narrowing that down to the very best of the (ahem) No Depression era means crossing off plenty of worthy contenders along the way. We asked ND‘s senior and contributing editors to help us compile this list; what follows is the closest measure of consensus to emerge from our 19 voters.
It’s worth noting that several artists suffered from having votes spread among their various releases. Buddy Miller was the prime example, with five different records receiving votes (four solo albums plus his collaborative disc with wife Julie Miller). Alejandro Escovedo and Robbie Fulks each had four releases getting votes; Steve Earle had three solo discs plus his collaboration with the Del McCoury band. Others with three albums cited were Johnny Cash, Gillian Welch, Wilco, the Jayhawks, Dolly Parton, the Old 97′s, Patty Griffin, and Jon Dee Graham.
The rules: Voters submitted a list of 20 records. First-place received 20 points, second-place 19, and so on; alternatively, unranked lists were counted at 10.5 points for each entry. Only albums appearing on at least three voters’ lists were included in the top 25.
1. Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels On A Gravel Road (Mercury, 1998)
2. Son Volt, Trace (Warner Bros., 1995)
3. Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator) (Acony, 2001)
4. O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack (Mercury/Lost Highway, 2000)
5. Bob Dylan, Love And Theft (Columbia, 2001)
6. Whiskeytown, Strangers Almanac (Outpost, 1997)
7. Steve Earle, I Feel Alright (E-Squared, 1996)
8. Billy Bragg & Wilco, Mermaid Avenue (Elektra, 1998)
9. Emmylou Harris, Wrecking Ball (Elektra, 1995)
10. Patty Loveless, Mountain Soul (Epic, 2001)
11. Rodney Crowell, The Houston Kid (Sugar Hill, 2001)
12. Marah, Kids In Philly (Artemis, 2000)
13. Bob Dylan, Time Out Of Mind (Columbia, 1997)
14. Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Nonesuch, 2002)
15. Dixie Chicks, Home (Columbia, 2002)
16. Caitlin Cary, While You Weren’t Looking (Yep Roc, 2002)
17. Robbie Fulks, South Mouth (Bloodshot, 1997)
18. Alejandro Escovedo, A Man Under The Influence (Bloodshot, 2001)
19. Shelby Lynne, I Am Shelby Lynne (Mercury, 2000)
20. Mike Ireland & Holler, Try Again (Ashmont, 2002)
20. (tie) Johnny Cash, Unchained (American, 1996)
VOTERS: Grant Alden, Peter Blackstock, Paul Cantin, David Cantwell, John T. Davis, Bill Friskics-Warren, Silas House, Roy Kasten, Rich Kienzle, Jesse Fox Mayshark, Barry Mazor, Don McLeese, David Menconi, Joe Nick Patoski, Linda Ray, Kurt B. Reighley, Lloyd Sachs, Allison Stewart, Jon Weisberger.
