Best Country Albums from Female Artists in 2008

Country newcomer Ashton Shepherd released her debut album Sounds So Good on March 4th. The first single, "Takin' off this Pain," had me hooked. She's got a rich, true country voice, and she wrote all but one track on this debut. Anyone that enjoys a more traditional sound would enjoy listening to Ashton's music. She's a breath of fresh air in a country music scene that seems to be filled with pop country stylists.
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Carlene Carter has a wonderful country pedigree, as the daughter of June Carter Cash and Carl Smith. The title of her album Stronger comes from the old cliche, "what don't kill you only makes you stronger." The album was released on March 4th. Her voice is better than ever and her sound is timeless.
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Over the past few years, Dolly Parton has been releasing bluegrass albums. In fact, Backwoods Barbie is her first mainstream country album in 17 years. The album is the first she's released on her own record label, and it came out on February 26th. The album debuted at Number 2 on the Billboard country charts and Number 17 overall; this album is an absolute must-have for any Dolly fan.
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Country music icon Emmylou Harris released her 21st studio album, entitled All I Intended to Be, on June 10th. The album is her first in five years, and contains songs written by Emmylou and some well-chosen covers. It also includes duets with Billy Joe Shaver and Dolly Parton.
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Perfectly Clear is Jewel's first attempt at making a country music album after many years of being marketed as pop/folk. Unlike many artists dipping their toes in the country music genre, she has really immersed herself in the whole history and feeling behind the country artists from the past as well as today's stars. This album was released on June 3rd.
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Kellie Pickler released her sophomore album on September 30th, and it debuted at No. 1 on the charts. It's a fun CD with heartfelt ballads, attitude and uptempo pop country. Kellie uses the same formula as she used on her debut album, which gave her three hits. She even includes a song she co-wrote with best bud Taylor Swift called "Best Days of Your Life."
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It's been a while since we've heard new music from Lee Ann Womack. Her previous album, There's More Where That Came From, was the CMA Album of the Year in 2005. She released Call Me Crazy on October 21st. The album is produced by Tony Brown and includes the single "Last Call." This album finds Lee Ann continuing to record songs with a more traditional country sound like those that made her famous in the late 1990s.
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Patty Loveless released Sleepless Nights on September 9th. In this newest collection, Loveless gathers up some of the grand and glorious songs from the golden age of country music and gives them her own stamp, turning out what is, of course, nothing less than brilliant.
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Bluegrass queen Rhonda Vincent released Good Thing Going on January 8th. The album contains songs about life, love and anything in between. There's even a duet with Keith Urban on the track "The Water is Wide."
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Teen queen Taylor Swift released her sophomore album, Fearless, on November 11th. She takes the blueprint from her debut, which is closing in on 3 million copies sold, and puts out a solid release. The 13 tracks contain stories of boys, broken hearts and relationships, and Taylor has written or co-written every track. Sounds like there's no stopping Taylor any time soon.
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