The Nashville Scene is a hip paper that has tremendous readership across the area. It appeals to the people who frequent local nightchlubs, coffee houses, tattoo parlors, etc. You get the drift. The recent issue listed “The Ninth Annual Nashville Scene Country Music Critics Poll”. We have no idea who the “critics” are, but they are working writers across North America from alternative weekly newspapers to magazines, blogs, etc.  Basically, writers of this ilk care less about the national charts, media hype, etc. They are the type that takes things on artistic values without being influenced by the music industry trade papers, etc. Do they listen to country radio? Probably not.

As you can imagine, we get so tired of the hype of radio ads, climbing chart positions, etc.  We love these picks but truly doubt the standings. The top album chosen was “That Lonesome Song” (Mercury), Jamey Johnson. The second best was Hayes Carll’s “Trouble In Mind”, (Lost Highway). Third was Lee Ann Womack’s “Call Me Crazy”, (MCA). The top three singles were, “In Color”, Jamey Johnson, then, Lee Ann Womack’s “Last Call” and Miranda Lambert’s “Gunpowder and Lead”. We usually enjoy reading polls and most of the time, we read them with a jaded feel, realizing the hype and multi votes from industry people. But this poll is perhaps the most interesting one I’ve ever seen. We did find a lot of humor in the winners that were chosen. However, I agree that Jamey Johnson is a top writer, a writer who stands convicted to his songs and the stories they tell. His album is a sparkler. We are big Lee Ann Womack fans, as well.

To check out The Ninth Annual Nashville Scene County Music Critics Poll - Click Here