Trailblazer is a revelation, an exercise in letting go and letting be; and in between its sturdy proverbs, born from a lifetime spent trying to figure it all out, an essential country album has been allowed to naturally unfold.
In a year when a lot of the albums released by country's big hitters have landed like bloops, Kelsea Ballerini has smashed it out of the park with a country pop grand slam.
All in all, Highway Prayers is a comfort, a salve for when the road ahead is long, hard and unforgiving.
The Red Clay Strays are a band on the cusp of stardom, and Made By These Moments is a superb documentation of why.
Passage Du Desir arrives with a Parisian air of mystery, launching a new musical era of country's finest genre bender.
Megan Moroney delivers one of the best country albums of the year as she delves ever deeper into the hook ups, break-ups and sometimes toxic relationships that women have with men... even if it's ultimately an album about the friendships that women have with each other.