Country music

Recruiting the likes of Guy Clark and Vince Gill, the country singer and member of The Pistol Annies works within a tradition that extends back well beyond her twentysomething years. Monroe avoids the pitfalls of cliche, with sentiments on her new album that are nothing if not nicely ambivalent.

A new album of original songs from the Golden Globe-nominated TV series about Music City reflects the tastes of the show's musical producer, T-Bone Burnett, as well as the vocal talents of stars Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere.

From the inescapable "Call Me Maybe" to Fiona Apple's intricate word puzzles to the strikingly gorgeous return of Iris DeMent, the Fresh Air critic counts down hiss favorite albums and musical moments of the year.

Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale just released a new album of duets. Critic Ken Tucker says Buddy and Jim recalls an earlier era of country music. The pair's voices, Tucker says, connect through "shared emotion in a song."

The country-music star has enlisted the help of Merle Haggard, Elvis Costello and others to salute the man behind songs like "Make the World Go Away."

Critic Ken Tucker says that, like all good pop artists, Swift continues to evolve in a manner which challenges her diehard fans while inviting naysayers to give it another listen.

Sing the Delta is the roots-folk singer-songwriter's first album of new songs in 16 years.

The singer-songwriter and actor may not fit the country-music mold, but he carves out his own sound on hew new album, 3 Pears.

Kin: Songs By Mary Karr and Rodney Crowell is a new collaboration between Karr, the bestselling author and poet, and the maverick singer-songwriter. Together, they've written 10 songs, which are performed on the album by a variety of singers, including Norah Jones, Rosanne Cash and Emmylou Harris.

You've heard guitarist James Burton even if you don't know it. Ever since he was 15, he's been recording behind a bewildering number of artists, from Ricky Nelson to Ray Charles. He also managed to put out some records on his own. Rock historian Ed Ward shares his story.