Ten Debut Albums That Changed Country Music

TheBoot.com posted a list of ten DEBUT albums that changed country music.  And a few fairly recent ones made the list.

They say they’re all albums that, quote, “ushered in a new sound, brought tradition back to the genre, filled a gap in the market, or were simply a huge and unforgettable force.”  Here are all ten in the order they came out . . .

1.  “Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!”  It came out in 1957, and included two of his biggest hits, “I Walk the Line”and “Folsom Prison Blues”.

2.  Connie Smith’s self-titled debut album from 1965.  Her song “Once a Day“ was the first country debut single by a woman to hit #1.

3.  “Why Not Me” by The Judds in 1984.  It had four #1 hits on it:  “Girls’ Night Out”, “Love Is Alive”, “Why Not Me”, and “Mama He’s Crazy”.

4.  “Storms of Life” by Randy Travis in 1986.  It helped revive the classic country sound.  And it had his first #1 hit, “On the Other Hand”.

5.  “Wide Open Spaces” by The Chicks.  They sold more records than all other country groups COMBINED in 1998.

6.  “Twice the Speed of Life” by Sugarland.  It came out in 2004 and was a Top 20 album across ALL music genres.

7.  Taylor Swift’s self-titled debut album in 2006.  She was only 16 but wrote or co-wrote all 11 songs on it.  Her five singles were “Tim McGraw”, “Teardrops on My Guitar”, “Our Song”, “Picture to Burn”, and “Should’ve Said No”.

8.  “Here’s to the Good Times” by Florida Georgia Line in 2012.  Because it, quote, “kicked off the ‘BRO-country’ trend.”  It had one of their biggest hits to date, “Cruise”, and ended up being the sixth best-selling album in the U.S. in 2013.

9.  “Montevallo” by Sam Hunt in 2014.  It helped usher in a new sound that blended country, hip-hop, and pop.  He was the first in 22 years to top Billboard’s Country Albums, Hot Country Songs, and Country Airplay charts all at once.

10.  “Traveller” by Chris Stapleton in 2015.  It won Album of the Year at the CMAs and AMAs.  He also won Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance at the Grammys.

(The Boot)