Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For

I'm Thomas Inskeep, of San Francisco, CA. I wrote some reviews for Allmusic this year, and wrote some on my blog (ohmanchester.blogspot.com), but spent a lot of the year unemployed (which I still am) and living: I moved from LA to SF and got married in October, then spent a chunk of November protesting the stripping of my equality from me by the bigoted voters of CA (Prop 8, I mean).

I listened to less country music this year than in a while, in part because CMT drastically cut back their video programming, and in part because my lack of writing (I spent most of '06 and '07 writing for Stylus, which went black 10/31/07) resulted in my receiving fewer promos from Nashville. I'm working on rectifying that for 2009, ramping of my production for Allmusic and my blog, and who knows who else.

Carrie Underwood's singles from Carnival Ride ruled '08 for me: just between the back-to-back #1s "Just a Dream" and "Last Name" (my #1 and #3) she proved that she's got the stuff of a career artist, and she just seems to get better. I think Carrie's likely to have a career like that of her Oklahoma idol, Reba, and be around for 30 years. Lee Ann Womack released an album that's a good difference-splitter between the trad of There's More Where That Came From and contempo Nashville, and it featured some of her best singing ever. Alan Jackson did what he did best, better than almost anyone - Good Time really IS a good time. Darius Rucker proved that you can move from pop to country and MEAN it, and the fans could tell.

> TOP TEN COUNTRY ALBUMS OF 2008:
1. Call Me Crazy - Lee Ann Womack
2. Good Time - Alan Jackson
3. Duets: Friends & Legends - Anne Murray
4. The High Notes - Ricky Skaggs

> TOP TEN COUNTRY SINGLES OF 2008:
1. Just A Dream - Carrie Underwood
2. Suspicions - Tim McGraw
3. Last Name - Carrie Underwood
4. Gunpowder & Lead - Miranda Lambert
5. Don't Think I Don't Think About It - Darius Rucker
6. Stay - Sugarland
7. Last Call - Lee Ann Womack
8. Troubadour - George Strait
9. Cowgirls Don't Cry - Brooks & Dunn with Reba McEntire
10. Good Time - Alan Jackson

> TOP FIVE COUNTRY REISSUES OF 2008:

> COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST MALE VOCALISTS OF 2008:
1. Alan Jackson
2. Darius Rucker
3. Trace Adkins

> COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST FEMALE VOCALISTS OF 2008:
1. Carrie Underwood
2. Lee Ann Womack
3. Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland)

> COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST LIVE ACTS OF 2008:

> COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST SONGWRITERS OF 2008:

> COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST DUOS, TRIOS OR GROUPS OF 2008:
1. Sugarland
2. Lady Antebellum
3. Brooks & Dunn

> COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST NEW ACTS OF 2008:
1. Darius Rucker
2. Lady Antebellum

> COUNTRY MUSIC’S THREE BEST OVERALL ACTS OF 2008:
1. Carrie Underwood
2. Alan Jackson
3. Lee Ann Womack