My Favorite Albums from High School

by Julian Spivey
Social media trends almost never entertain or interest me, always seeming like a lame waste of time – like the Mannequin Challenge that was so popular during the Fall. But, anytime a social media trend includes music it instantly piques my interest.
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On Friday, I started seeing a bunch of posts on Twitter and Facebook about people’s favorite albums during high school or sometimes it was titled “albums that shaped my teens.” In my early years, I listened to a lot of oldies and modern Top 40 in my pre-teens. Once I got older the modern pop stuff seemed too saccharin for me, and that’s something that has never changed. I turned my ears toward the modern country music of the early aughts. So, all the new music I was listening to (and most of what I listened to during this time was older country and rock music) was from the country music genre. I don’t think I had bad tastes in high school – these albums on my list are still ones I love to this day – but I do believe my tastes get infinitely better with each passing year. Anyway, here’s my 10 favorite albums from my high school years – the fall of 2002 through the spring of 2006.
 
10. “For the Last Time: Live from the Astrodome” by George Strait (2003)
George Strait might be the artist I listened to the most during my high school years. The very first Strait album I bought was his first live album – For the Last Time: Live from the Astrodome – which was recorded as the final concert and event that ever took place in Houston’s famed Astrodome venue. The album contained a lot of Strait’s greatest hits from “Amarillo by Morning” and “The Chair” to “Check Yes or No” and “She’ll Leave You with a Smile.” It’s one of my favorite live albums ever.

9. “Live” by Alison Krauss & Union Station (2002)
Speaking of favorite live albums, the one released by Alison Krauss & Union Station in the fall of 2002 simply titled Live is an all-time classic. The angelic voice of Krauss mixed with the perfect instrumentation of Union Station on tunes like “When You Say Nothing at All,” “The Lucky One” and “Let Me Touch You for a While” has always been incredibly soothing to my ear. As a bonus this compilation also includes Dan Tyminski and Union Station’s version of “Man of Constant Sorrow.”

8. “Mud on the Tires” by Brad Paisley (2003)
Brad Paisley’s 2003 album Mud on the Tires is his best album, in my opinion, featuring some of the best songs of his career like the title track, “Little Moments” and his absolute best track “Whiskey Lullaby,” the devastating ballad with Alison Krauss that would win Song of the Year at the 2005 CMA Awards.

7. “Savin’ the Honky Tonk” by Mark Chesnutt (2004)
Even in 2004 Mark Chesnutt could see the writing on the wall as far as country music remaining real country music went – though I don’t think any of us then imagined just how far the genre could and would fall. Savin’ the Honky Tonk was about remaining true to the honky tonk traditional sound that much of the genre was built upon and songs like “The Lord Loves a Drinking Man” and the cover of Billy Joe Shaver’s “Honky Tonk Heroes” really – even at the age of 17 – made me country music to remain traditional.

6. “Somewhere Down in Texas” by George Strait (2005)
Despite being in the country music business for more than 20 years at the time, no one was releasing better country music albums during my high school years than the “King” George Strait. His 2005 release Somewhere Down in Texas showed just why Strait was the best with old school Western swing in “High Tone Woman,” a great story song in “The Seashores of Old Mexico,” inspirational gospel in “You’ll Be There” and all around smoothness on stuff like “Ready for the End of the World” and the title track.

5. “What I Do” by Alan Jackson (2004)
Alan Jackson, like George Strait, pretty much owned country music in the early aughts and his 2004 release What I Do was one of his very best and showed off his terrifically smooth country vocal brilliantly on tracks like the tear-jerking “Monday Morning Church” and the infectious “Too Much of a Good Thing.”

4. “Put the ‘O’ Back in Country” by Shooter Jennings (2005)
Shooter Jennings was the son of country music royalty Waylon Jennings, so he no doubt had gigantic shoes to fill. On his debut album, the slyly titled Put the ‘O’ Back in Country he more than proved he was up to the task. Jennings has released stellar work in the dozen years since, but I still believe his debut is his best work featuring some raucous stuff like “4th of July” and “Busted in Baylor County” with some deep and soulful country in “Lonesome Blues,” his best performance in my opinion.  

3. “Honkytonkville” by George Strait (2003)
George Strait’s 2003 single “Tell Me Something Bad About Tulsa” only topped out on the country music charts at No. 11, making it one of his weakest charting singles, but it instantly stuck out to me as what country music should be about. So, Honkytonkville became the first studio album of Strait’s that I ever purchased and to this day it might still be my favorite. It’s not heavy on greatest hits, but it’s smooth as hell with tracks like “Desperately,” “Look Who’s Back from Town” and the terrific title track.

2. “Chicago Wind” by Merle Haggard (2005)
When I fell in love with country music in the early aughts it was largely because of two artists: Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard and they have the top two spots on my list. I was listening to a ton of Cash and Haggard back then and it was mostly compilations of their greatest hits, but both artists released some of their best career work on new albums in those years. Merle Haggard’s Chicago Wind showed me what a songwriter speaking his mind meant, especially when what was on his mind might go against the masses of his genre. He did this with songs like “America First” and “Where’s All the Freedom” with took a somewhat negative view of the Bush administration and its unfortunate focus on the Iraq War.

1. “American IV: The Man Comes Around” by Johnny Cash (2002)
American IV: The Man Comes Around would be the final album released during Johnny Cash’s lifetime, as he would die less than a year after the album was released. And, when you heard Cash’s version of the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt” and particularly watched the video of it you had the feeling you were hearing and seeing him tell you goodbye. I loved that song and the album as a whole featuring apocalyptic visions “The Man Comes Around,” hardcore rebelliousness “Sam Hall” and much contemplation “I Hung My Head,” “In My Life” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” It was the perfect sendoff for a larger than life legend. 

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