Listmania!
Records of 2008 by Grambo
Real AnimalReal Animal by Alejandro Escovedo
Buy new: £19.99
Why was this not released in the UK? The Mainman of Americana and a man who refused to perform his 2001 rock-out song Castanets because it was on George Bush's i-pod. Key track: Sister Lost Soul
Hymn and HerHymn and Her by Earlimart
Buy new: £10.98 / Used from: £3.72
Stone Roses meets Grandaddy; the same spacey sound but more Americana. Losing bandmates mean that Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray prove "less is more". Key track: Face Down in the Right Town"
The Stand InsThe Stand Ins by Okkervil River
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £4.92
Less is indeed more as Will Sheff manages without former member and current Shearwater leader Jonathan Meiburg other than a duet on the key Track : Lost Coastlines
RookRook by Shearwater
Buy new: £7.48 / Used from: £8.99
Two for one: Jonathan Meiburg continues without Will Sheff and indulges in his obession with birds. Key track: Rooks
Day After TomorrowDay After Tomorrow by Joan Baez
Buy new: £8.98 / Used from: £6.03
The voice is back with a Steve Earle produced CD. Impeccable covers including one from the Cold Mountain Soundtrack by Elvis Costello & T-Bone Burnett. Key track: The Lower Road by UK's Thea Gilmore
ProvisionsProvisions by Giant Sand
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £4.29
"Back to form; a PJ Harvey cover, recordings in Arizona and Denmark and even Isobel Campbell on the opener. Best since Chore of Enchantment Key track: Belly Full Of Fire
Carried to DustCarried to Dust by Calexico
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £4.49
Joey Burns & John Convertino, Giant Sand’s orginal rhythm section continue to release “Dust-bowl Mexicana” with this return to form - the Mariachi horns are back. Key track: News About William
Fleet FoxesFleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £4.43
Who says the old stuff beats new music? This is beyond something that CNSY could have achieved in their drug-addled pomp. There are gorgeous harmonies but too much reverb. Key track: Ragged Wood
MissilesMissiles by The Dears
Buy new: £8.98 / Used from: £1.70
Radiohead with fewer guitars and a more feminine touch; Montreal’s Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak dump their band-mates, marry and honeymoon listening to only OK-Computer. Key track: Lights Off
The Felice BrothersThe Felice Brothers by The Felice Brothers
Buy new: £6.78
These brothers from Woodstock prove the spirit of those days’ lives on. Eat your hearts out Kings of Leon; this has guitars, Hammond organs, sing-songs and much fun. Key track; Frankie’s Gun
Meet Glen CampbellMeet Glen Campbell by Glen Campbell
Buy used from: £10.46
If smiling is the goal of all music, this takes to biscuit. Glen gives the Rhinestone treatment to Foo Fighters, U2, Green Day, Travis and even the Velvet’s plea to Jesus. Key track: Times Like These
Accelerate (digipack)Accelerate (digipack) by R.E.M.
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £1.08
If it ain’t broke why fix it? Out with the synchs and back with the guitars. At 34 minutes, less is more – gone is the stodge that fills-out their recent CDs. Key track: Man-Sized Wreath
CardinologyCardinology by Ryan Adams
Buy new: £6.28 / Used from: £6.52
Sober, back to just one CD per year and using a edit button, Ryan delivers a set of songs with a delicacy and range not seen since Heartbreaker. Key track: Born into a Light
A Thing Of The PastA Thing Of The Past by Vetiver
Buy new: £7.98
A hackneyed covers CD this is not – It revives Ronnie Lane's arrangement of Derroll Adams' "Roll on Babe". Hawkwind's "Hurry on Sundown" gets the full freak-folk jam. Key track: Road to Ronderlin
A Piece Of What You NeedA Piece Of What You Need by Teddy Thompson
Buy new: £8.98 / Used from: £1.54
Teddy goes pop; may he have the commercial success that eluded his folk parents, guitar-god Richard and singer Linda. Teddy does do a drunken Johnny Cash on Can't Sing Straight. Key track: In My Arms
Oracular SpectacularOracular Spectacular by MGMT
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £2.67
Genius transcends genres: Superficially electronic but with Dave Fridmann ex- Mercury Rev Bassist producing it touches alt-country on songs like The Youth & Pieces of What. Key track: Time to Pretend
Lovers at the Gun ClubLovers at the Gun Club by Jackie Leven
Buy new: £8.98 / Used from: £6.72
Other than John Martyn, Jackie Leven is the music of choice for Rebus. Impossible to categorise: even the alt-country king of dead-pan, Johnny Dowd pops up. Key track: Lovers at the Gun Club
A Drunkard's MasterpieceA Drunkard's Masterpiece by Johnny Dowd
Buy new: £11.98 / Used from: £6.39
The dead-pan king himself, sharing vocals duties with long-time contributor, Kim Sherwood-Caso. Named on the long-list of Grammy nominations – enjoy it before it sweeps all! Key track: Caboose
SaturnaliaSaturnalia by The Gutter Twins
Buy new: £7.98 / Used from: £4.00
Voice for hire – Mark Lanegan teams with Afghan Whig’s Greg Dulli to follow up earlier ones with Isobel Campbell, Soulsavers and Queens of the Stone Age. It is pure melancholy. Key track: The Station
Sunday At Devil DirtSunday At Devil Dirt by Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
Buy new: £5.78 / Used from: £2.49
Him again, but this time partnered a whispering chanteuse who wrote all the songs. Previously, Mercury nominated but this time lost out to Robert Plant & Alison Krauss. Key track: Who Built The Road
FireproofFireproof by Dawn Landes
Buy used from: £6.00
She is an audio engineer who took up the studio microphone after making home-recordings and plays almost everything herself. This is Gillian Welch meets Ryan Adams – nuff said. Key track: Twlight
This Earthly SpellThis Earthly Spell by Karine Polwart
Buy new: £8.98 / Used from: £7.20
This can be easily categorised as Radio 2 folk. Forget any preconceptions and concentrate on the fragile, Scottish beauty of the songs. Key track: Sorry
Here's to Being HereHere's to Being Here by Jason Collett
Buy new: £10.79 / Used from: £9.81
He is a man of principle who only serves organic food on his tour bus. Nevertheless, he is championing for the release prisoners from Guantanamo Bay detention centre. Key track: Out of Time
Micah P. Hinson and the Red Empire OrchestraMicah P. Hinson and the Red Empire Orchestra by Micah P. Hinson
Buy new: £6.98 / Used from: £6.49
Only 27 years old but with a history of drug addiction, prison, bankruptcy and homelessness of an old-time country artist. This is a CD of grace and lushness. Key track: I Keep Havin' These Dreams
HomeHome by Peter Broderick
Buy new: £5.98 / Used from: £6.95
What is about Denmark that attracts alt-country artists? Recorded in Copenhagen with Scandinavian experimentalists Efterklang, this is a pastoral CD heaven with harmonies. Key track: And It’s Alright