2015 saw a lot of great songs come out from a lot of great artists. 2015 also saw some good songs come from otherwise underwhelming artists who put out underwhelming albums.
The following is a list of 25 essential songs from 2015. These are not necessarily the "best" 25 songs of the year (though some may deserve to be on such a list). Also, this list is not a ranking. Unlike ranking albums, ranking songs can be a lot more difficult. So, rather, this is simply a list of 25 essential songs from 2015.
I also expanded my rules a bit from what I did with my albums list:
1) I included songs from artists who made impacts on the Americana charts, even if they were not necessarily country
2) I could have chosen the entire Randy Rogers/Wade Bowen album and filled ten slots - so for that reason, I decided to limit entries to ONE song per artist (or rather, per album).
Again, this list is not a ranking. I sorted alphabetically, by artist.
"Gone Before You Met Me"
Alan Jackson
Angels & Alcohol
"Smoke Break"
Carrie Underwood
Storyteller
"When the Stars Come Out"
Chris Stapleton
Traveller
"I'm Comin' Over"
Chris Young
I'm Comin' Over
"So This Is Life"
Courtney Patton
So This Is Life
"Old Friend"
Dean Brody
Gypsy Road
"That Old Flame"
Don Henley w/ Martina McBride
Cass County
"Second Hand Heart"
Dwight Yoakam
Second Hand Heart
"Record Year"
Eric Church
Mr. Misunderstood
"Everything I See"
George Strait
Cold Beer Conversation
"Just Some Things"
Jamie Lin Wilson feat Wade Bowen
Holidays & Wedding Rings
"All I've Got"
Jana Kramer
Thirty-One (Deluxe Edition)
"Speed Trap Town"
Jason Isbell
Something More Than Free
"Where the Night Goes"
Josh Ritter
Sermon on the Rocks
"Dime Store Cowgirl"
Kacey Musgraves
Pageant Material
"That Was Us"
Kip Moore
Wild Ones
"Faded Gloryville"
Lindi Ortega
Faded Gloryville
"Unfair Weather Friend"
Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson
Django & Jimmie
"El Dorado"
Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen
Hold My Beer, Vol. 1
"Broken Heart Tattoos"
Ryan Bingham
Fear and Saturday Night
"Til the Morning Comes"
Stoney LaRue
Us Time
"Like Lovers"
Striking Matches
Nothing But the Silence
"Humble and Kind"
Tim McGraw
Damn Country Music
"Ringing in the Year"
Turnpike Troubadours
The Turnpike Troubadours
"Suffer In Peace"
Tyler Farr
Suffer In Peace
Chime in below. What are your thoughts? What were your favorite songs of the year?