narrative landscape

I first heard about Arthur reading this post on Jeremy Huggins' blog. Seeing that his new album was available for a couple of bucks on emusic, I took the recommendation and downloaded it. I've always really enjoyed singer/songwriter kind of guys, and Arthur manages to be both a smart and skilled writer as well as musician. Read Jeremy's post for more info. I've really enjoyed the album--probably have connected with its lyrical content more than anything else I've heard this year. Hear Arthur's music here, and do yourself a favor and download his album.

Josh Rouse - 1972

All Josh does is make smart and polished acoustic pop. A little too sweet for continual listening, but great in small doses. Music your wife will like. Nashville is probably a better album to start with, but I found that one in 2005, so it wasn't eligible.

Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker

If I had found Ryan earlier in the year he'd be part of my top four. Amazing. Definitely the artist I'm most excited about getting into in the coming year. Alt-country singer-songwriter, sort of a modern day Gram Parsons, but with a bit more edge. You can download a free Ryan Adams concert here.

Sufjan Stevens-Avalanche

The king of the indie pop just keeps on producing. This is an album of b-sides from Illinois that holds together well in its own right. If you haven't heard Sufjan yet, what're you waiting for? Join emusic now and get Michigan or Illinois. Seeing him live in St. Louis in September was definitely a highlight of the fall. You can download basically that same show performed a few days later in New York right here. Oh, and all the cool kids call him "Soof-jan."