Hellbound Glory Tops Country California's Best of 2011 List

Another year end best of list putting Hellbound Glory at the top, damn right. Keep on Supporting Real Country Music and the artists which continually put out great music. 

Link to California's Country Best Of List

  Hellbound Glory - Bastard Child by RustyKnuckles

Country California’s Best of 2011 Lists 

January 5, 2012 by C.M. Wilcox

Sick of lists yet? We’ll make this quick and dirty.

 

Best Country Albums of 2011
1. Pistol Annies – Hell on Heels

2. Hellbound Glory – Damaged Goods

3. Various Artists – This One’s for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark
4. Matraca Berg – The Dreaming Fields
5. Reckless Kelly – Good Luck and True Love
6. LeAnn Rimes – Lady and Gentlemen
7. Justin Haigh – People Like Me
8. Hayes Carll – KMAG YOYO
9. Miranda Lambert – Four the Record
10. Dirt Drifters – This Is My Blood

(Complete list with comments only at Engine 145.)

Best Country Songs of 2011
1. Ronnie Dunn – “Cost of Livin’”
2. Matraca Berg – “Your Husband’s Cheating on Us”

3. Hellbound Glory – “Better Hope You Die Young”

4. Miranda Lambert – “Same Old You”
5. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – “Codeine”
6. Randy Travis w/ Jamey Johnson – “A Few Ole Country Boys”
7. Pistol Annies – “Trailer for Rent”
8. Sunny Sweeney – “Staying’s Worse Than Leaving”
9. Justin Haigh – “In Jail”
10. Pistol Annies – “Lemon Drop”

Best Country Singles of 2011
1. Ronnie Dunn – “Cost of Livin’”
2. Kenny Chesney w/ Grace Potter – “You and Tequila”
3. Sunny Sweeney – “Staying’s Worse Than Leaving”
4. Dirt Drifters – “Always a Reason”
5. Billy Currington – “Love Done Gone”
6. Pistol Annies – “Hell on Heels”
7. George Strait – “Here for a Good Time”
8. Jacob Lyda – “I’m Doing Alright”
9. Taylor Swift – “Mean”
10. Bradley Gaskin – “Mr. Bartender”

Best Bluegrass Albums of 2011
1. Chris Thile & Michael Daves – Sleep with One Eye Open
2. Dale Ann Bradley – Somewhere South of Crazy
3. Jimmie Dale Gilmore & the Wronglers – Heirloom Music
4. Various Artists – I’ll Take Love (from the Pen of Louisa Branscomb)
5. Charlie Sizemore – Heartache Looking for a Home
6. Gibson Brothers – Help My Brother
7. Alison Krauss & Union Station – Paper Airplane
8. Del McCoury Band – Old Memories: Songs of Bill Monroe
9. Sierra Hull – Daybreak
10. Junior Sisk and Ramblers Choice – The Heart of a Song

Best Live Albums of 2011
1. Todd Snider – The Storyteller
2. Byron Hill – Radio Songs
3. Slaid Cleaves – Sorrow and Smoke: Live at the Horseshoe Lounge
4. Newfound Road – Live at the Down Home
5. The Steel Wheels – Live at Goose Creek

Best Covers/Tribute Albums of 2011
1. Various Artists – This One’s for Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark
2. LeAnn Rimes – Lady & Gentlemen
3. Chris Thile & Michael Daves – Sleep With One Eye Open
4. Chris Isaak – Beyond the Sun
5. Suzy Bogguss – American Folk Songbook
6. Jimmie Dale Gilmore & The Wronglers – Heirloom Music
7. Various Artists – I Love: Tom T. Hall’s Songs of Fox Hollow
8. Carrie Rodriguez & Ben Kyle – We Still Love Our Country
9. Willie Nelson – Remember Me, Volume 1
10. Del McCoury Band – Old Memories: Songs of Bill Monroe

(Hybrid covers or tribute albums containing a fair amount of new material, including those by Randy Travis and Nell Robinson, have been ruled out.)

Best Debut Albums of 2011
1. Pistol Annies – Hell on Heels
2. The Dirt Drifters – This Is My Blood
3. Erin Enderlin – Erin Enderlin (EP)
4. Andy Vaughan & the Driveline – Long Gone
5. Randy Montana – Randy Montana

Country California voted Hellbound Glory as of the best country albums of 2011

Hellbound Glory Voted In Top Albums Of 2011 By Engine 145

Leroy, Frank and Rico of Hellbound Glory have done it again. They are in another year end best of list and are now being touted by roots music publication Engine 145, in their 2011 best of list. Check out the full post below from their site.

Engine 145 2011 Best Of List

Best Albums of 2011: #10-1
10. Sunny Sweeney – Concrete
Rooted in traditional country, Sunny Sweeney’s sophomore album is slick enough for contemporary, as she netted her first Top 10 single with “From a Table Away.” Sweeney’s taken a big step with her songwriting since debut record Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame, co-writing seven of Concrete’s ten tracks with talent like Radney Foster and Brennen Leigh (the latter co-wrotethe stellar “Amy,” written from the perspective of the other woman). That skill, combined with her voice, which sounds like a Miranda Lambert-Natalie Maines hybrid, means Sweeney’s got a bright future ahead of her, especially if she can capitalize on her foothold on radio.

9. The Dirt Drifters – This is My Blood
Despite what country radio says, rural living is hard. Blue collar life can be grueling at times, and sometimes, back roads are just dirty. The Dirt Drifters understand. This five-piece band infused their music with a real life perspective of back-breaking work that is equal parts of pride and grit. They backed it with tons of musical energy and gave away 30,000 copies of the album during their live shows this year.

8. Vince Gill – Guitar Slinger
Following up on a tour de force project like These Days is no easy task, but if anyone’s up to the task, it’s Vince Gill. On Guitar Slinger he covers a wide variety of country styles, even dabbling into soul and R&B, with typical Gill finesse. Make sure to give a listen to murder-suicide song “Billy Paul,” which features backing vocals from Gill’s preteen daughter. Read Ken Morton, Jr.’s review here.

7. Various Artists – This One’s for Him: Songs of Guy Clark
Tribute records tend to be hit or miss. This double-disc collection is strictly the former. With a roster overflowing with talent and material that any songwriter would give a kidney for, it’s the best country music tribute album since the salute to the Louvin Brothers, Livin’ Lovin’ Losin’. Radney Foster’s magnificent version of “L.A. Freeway” in particular stands out, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a song that isn’t worthy of being placed on “repeat.” Read Sam Gazdziak’s feature on Guy Clark here.

6. Hellbound Glory – Damaged Goods
We can’t get enough of these guys and their brand of “scumbag country.” The Reno-based band’s third album is their most mature work to date, with top-notch, Haggardian songwriting from Leroy Virgil and a ragged, addictive sound that’s got the ability to gain a few fans on the mainstream side of the country music aisle.


5. Chris Young – Neon
Young ditched a longtime companion, his cowboy hat, for the album cover, but his country influences can still be found in the music. From the touching sentiment found on the father-son song “Flashlight” to the “weekend on the rocks [and] an old school jukebox” of the title track—which is arguably the best song Young has ever recorded—Neon is a solid collection of music from one of country’s most talented young stars. Read Juli Thanki’s review here.

4. Hayes Carll – KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories)

Whether he’s growling out fierce country rockers like “Stomp & Holler” or twanging through minimalist banjo tunes like “Bye Bye Baby,” this Americana A-lister can captivate a crowd like few others. KMAG YOYO harnesses that live energy on several standout songs, most notably the “Subterranean Homesick Blues” flavored, hallucinatory title track and the hilarious, “opposites attract” duet with Cary Ann Hearst, “Another Like You.”

3. Matraca Berg – The Dreaming Fields
It had been nearly 12 years between Berg albums. The Dreaming Fields was more than worth the wait. “You and Tequila,” co-written with Deana Carter, got the lion’s share of attention in 2011 thanks to Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter’s recording, but it’s just one in a collection of 11 stellar songs; from the piano-laced title track about the death of the family farm (which also appeared on Trisha Yearwood’s Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love) to the bluesy, hard-edged other woman tale “Your Husband’s Cheating on Us,” Berg proves why she’s one of the best singer-songwriters in country and roots music. Oh, Matraca. Don’t ever leave us again.

2. Miranda Lambert – Four the Record
Four the Record was one of our most anticipated records of 2011, and Miranda didn’t disappoint. She effortlessly covers a lot of musical ground here, from the rocking “Fastest Girl in Town” to the fuzzy, bluesy-sexy “Fine Tune,” to straight up country on “Dear Diamond,” which is one of the best songs she’s written to date. Well-chosen covers of songs by Gillian Welch and Brandi Carlile round out another solid outing. Read Karlie Justus’ review here.

1. Pistol Annies – Hell on Heels
Turns out the best things do come in threes: Ashley Monroe, Miranda Lambert, and Angaleena Presley made our year with a debut record full of impeccable writing, and toe-tapping arrangements. Let’s hope that the Annies’ New Year’s resolution is to put out another record ASAP. Read Karlie Justus’ review here.

Hellbound Glory featured on Engine 145's, 2011 Best Of List