It’s that time of year again…our last show of the year and we look back at some of the very best Americana albums of 2016. Dave Stroud runs down the list…from bottom to top and even takes a little time to share the runners-up. This was a year of tribute albums (Dr. John, Emmylou, Charlie Rich, Jerry Garcia, and others) and some incredible blues and soul that made the list. Indies, outliers, Canadian songwriters, and breakout traditional revelries abound. Be sure to tune in for a look back at the music of the ‘year of darkness’…2016.
| No. | Artist | Title | Album | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colvin & Earle | You Were On My Mind | Colvin & Earle |  |
| 2 | Dwight Yoakam | I Wouldn't Put it Past Me | Swimmin Pools Movie Stars. | |
| 3 | Lucinda Williams | Place In My Heart | The Ghosts Of Highway 20 (Disc 1) | |
| 4 | Bob Weir | One More River to Cross | Blue Mountain | |
| 5 | Jim Lauderdale | This Changes Everything | This Changes Everything | |
| 6 | Sean McConnell | Queen Of Saint Mary's Choir | Sean McConnell | |
| 7 | Bill Kirchen | Somebody's Going Home | Transatlanticana | |
| 8 | Mudcrutch | I Forgive It All | Mudcrutch 2 | |
| 9 | Bonnie Raitt | Need You Tonight | Dig in Deep | |
| 10 | Buddy Miller & Friends/Nikki Lane | Just Someone I Used To Know | Cayamo Sessions at Sea | |
| 11 | The Earls of Leicester | All I Want Is You | Rattle & Roar | |
| 12 | Loretta Lynn | Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven | Full Circle | |
| 13 | Cyndi Lauper | Detour (Featuring Emmylou Harris) | Detour | |
| 14 | Sturgill Simpson | In Bloom | A Sailor's Guide to Earth | |
| 15 | Eric Clapton | Can't Let You Do It | I Still Do | |
| 16 | Southern Culture On The Skids | Freak Flag | The Electric Pinecones | |
| 17 | Brothers Comatose | City Painted Gold (feat. T Sisters) | City Painted Gold | |
| 18 | Levi Parham | These American Blues | These American Blues | |
| 19 | Tom Waits | The Soul Of A Man | God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson | |
| 20 | William Bell | The Three Of Me | This Is Where I Live | |
| 21 | Parker Millsap | Pining | The Very Last Day | |
| 22 | Drive-By Truckers | What It Means | American Band | |
| 23 | Hayes Carll | Love Is So Easy | Lovers and Leavers | |
| 24 | Holly Williams/John Prine | I'm Telling You | For Better, Or Worse | |
| 25 | The Devil Makes Three | Come On Up to the House | Redemption & Ruin | |
| 26 | Frankie Lee | Where Do We Belong | American Dreamer | |
| 27 | John Doe | Get On Board | The Westerner | |
| 28 | Colin James | Bad Bad Whiskey | Blue Highways | |
| 29 | Carrie Rodriguez & The Sacred Hearts | Perfidia | Lola | |
| 30 | The Linemen | Picture Of The Two Of Us | Close The Place Down | |