Country Universe

The Fifty Best Debut Singles of All-Time: Part 3

January 3, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 5

The Fifty Best Debut Singles of All-Time Part 3: #30-#21 #30 Toby Keith, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” Debut: March 6, 1993/Peak: #1 Take your pick: it’s the introduction of one of the best male

The Fifty Best Debut Singles of All-Time: Part 2

January 2, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 7

The Fifty Best Debut Singles of All-Time Part 2: #40-#31 #40 John Michael Montgomery, “Life’s a Dance” Debut: October 3, 1992/Peak: #4 Quite possibly the perfect early nineties country song, with an arrangement and

The Fifty Best Debut Singles of All-Time: Part 1

January 1, 2008 Kevin John Coyne 9

Although it became a somewhat more frequent occurrence over the past two decades, it’s always been exceptionally rare for a country artist to hit with their very first single. But sometimes, lightning strikes, and a

Best Reissues and Compilations of 2007

December 31, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 7

It’s no surprise that the catalog releases just keep getting better each year. Labels have learned that the best way to lift up their sagging bottom lines is to repackage their old material, and

My Favorite Live Moment of 2007

December 29, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 3

Kathy Mattea, “Black Lung” Joe’s Pub, New York City – October 24, 2007

The Best Country Albums of 2007

December 24, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 8

#15 Let it Go Tim McGraw Tim McGraw’s previous album, Live Like You Were Dying, topped my first year-end album list back in 2004. Let it Go strays from the musical formula that Dying

The Fifty Best Singles of 2007, Part 5: #10-#1

December 21, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 14

When I did this list in 2006 and in 2004, I knew the number one song before I started. This year was more like 2005, where the song revealed itself to me as I was

The Fifty Best Singles of 2007, Part 4: #20-#11

December 20, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 5

I have to say that any one of these songs could have been in my top ten in years past. It’s just been a great year for country singles. #20 George Strait, “How ‘Bout Them

The Fifty Best Singles of 2007, Part 3: #30-#21

December 19, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 1

We’re getting closer to the top. Here’s the next ten: #30 Amy Dalley, “Let’s Try Goodbye” The latest attempt from Dalley pulls yet another excellent song from her long-shelved debut album, and it rivals “I

500k

December 19, 2007 Kevin John Coyne 1

Sometime last night, while I slept, Country Universe hit 500,000 in page views, according to the handy little stat box that WordPress provides. The fact that people read this site at all used to surprise