Best of 2008 – Country Universe

The First Annual Country Universe Readers’ Choice Awards

January 24, 2009 Kevin John Coyne 27

Carrie Underwood is the top winner of the inaugural Country Universe Reader’s Choice Awards, earning first place in all four of the races in which she was eligible. In addition to being named Artist of

Discussion: Favorite Country Music Moments of 2008

December 31, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 9

Expanding on Blake’s discussion last night, let’s end 2008 with a look back on our favorite country music happenings in 2008. My personal favorite was this year’s stunning Country Music Hall of Fame inductee list.

Kevin J. Coyne’s Top Ten Albums of 2008

December 28, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 19

This is my fifth such list in as many years, and I have to say that I was mostly underwhelmed by the albums of 2008. If it wasn’t for the contributions of the other writers,

Kevin J. Coyne’s Top Singles of 2008

December 28, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 14

Gone are the days where this would just be called the Country Universe’s Top Singles of 2008. The collective tastes of our writers makes for more distinguished lists, but thankfully, there’s still a place for

Leeann Ward’s Top Ten Albums of 2008

December 27, 2008 Leeann Ward 7

#10 The SteelDrivers, The SteelDrivers Chris Stapleton’s voice just blows me away. As Lee Ann Womack has recently observed, he sings like a real man. He takes Travis Tritt’s soulfulness to a whole new level.

Leeann Ward’s Top Singles of 2008

December 27, 2008 Leeann Ward 12

Here are my favorite singles of 2008. As Dan has done, I lifted the entries that I had already written from our collective list for this article. #20: Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, “Please Read

Top Ten Albums of 2008

December 22, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 24

In a year where excellent mainstream country albums were few and far between, there were still many wonderful projects waiting to be discovered by listeners willing to look for them. Among all releases, mainstream and

Lynn’s Favorite Songs of 2008

December 22, 2008 Guest Contributor 10

Country Universe has presented you with its top 40 singles of 2008, but as you know, singles rarely scratch the surface of a great album. Over the course of the past year, while listening to

Best Country Singles of 2008, Part 4: #10-#1

December 19, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 37

Our top ten singles of the year represent the very best of what country music is and what country music can be. With a combination of rising stars and veteran artists, it’s clear that the

Discussion: Best Music Videos of 2008

December 18, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 16

Music videos feel like a dying art form in country music, if only because so few videos are played on CMT and the life cycle of a single often stretches past six months. But there

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