Yes, that means great titles like Country Squire by Tyler Childers didn’t even make it, though that is in no way a rebuke of the quality of that record as much as a sign of how tough the field of contenders was in 2019. Albums that are not nominees here, but still deserve your utmost consideration and attention are: At the top of the list are always the “Most Essential” albums that should be considered right up there with the Album of the Year nominees as some of the best releases all year. However, these albums and many more will be highlighted in Saving Country Music’s upcoming and more-expansive Essential Albums List that will be published near the end of the year. These are albums that in previous years would have probably been considered major nominees. Even then, it feels borderline criminal that multiple albums ended up on the bubble. This year, eight albums have pulled away from the rest to be considered for Album of the Year.

There have been as few as three, and as many as 10 nominees in a given year. But make no mistake, all nominees deserve top commendation, with the ultimate winner being the country music fans who’ve been able to bask in such quality this year. As a matter of tradition, we’ll try to whittle it down to one. All of them could, and likely would have won on previous years. The albums selected to be considered for Saving Country Music’s Album of the Year are so elite, all of them should be considered the winners.

Though it feels like we say that every year, 2019 truly was exceptional. When it comes to top-tier releases in the country and roots realm, 2019 was a year like we’ve never seen before.

How to merge letter in daylite 6