Alt Country-Americana
- Maybe-Alison Krauss (Compellingly sung lyrics about a relationship that doesn't work.)
- (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66-Charles Brown (The piano augments the vocals appealingly; you win much of your audience over from the start by choosing a melody like this that has been covered for decades.)
- Take Me To The Alley-Gregory Porter (Movingly sung vocals convey lyrics that work on a spiritual level.)
- Dance In The Graveyard-Runa (One of the best songs I've heard in recent days; wonderfully warm, spirited vocals and Celtic-style fiddling make these lyrics about celebrating life while you can sink in.)
- Tin Tin Deo-Arturo Sandoval (A fine, raucous tribute to the spirit of Dizzy Gillespie.)
- Rotterdam (Or Anywhere)-The Beautiful South (The skipping-along-a-cobblestone road guitar arrangement suits the vocals well, especially on the chorus. I never hear this group on the radio, and it's such a missed opportunity.)
- Ilha Vergem-Jovens Do Prenda (A seemingly ska-influenced guitar-based instrumental; the album cover to the "Angola" soundtrack lists "psychedelic merengue" as one of the styles represented, which describes the tune's hypnotic feel as well as anything.)
