This One's For the Girls

I find that I often prefer to listen to female country singers.  In fact, when I first discovered Pandora online, the first few radio stations I set up were Blackmore's Night, Great Big Sea, and Country Women (this station being specifically classic country women). I find my preference for female country singers even more pronounced with modern country these days, so here's a A-Z collection of modern female country singers (1990's to present).

The Napster playlist is here.
The Youtube playlist is here.
The Spotify playlist is here.

1. Ashley Monroe   "Like a Rose"
2. Brandy Clark "What'll Keep Me Out of Heaven"
3. Cam  "Burning House
4. Danielle Bradbery "The Heart of Dixie"
5. Elizabeth Cook  "Rainbows At Midnight"
6. Faith Hill "Piece of My Heart"
7. Gretchen Wilson  "Salt Mines"
8. Heidi Newfield  "Johnny and June"
9. Ira Wolf  "The Devil and Me"
10. Jana Kramer  "I Got The Boy"
11. Kacey Musgraves "Biscuits"
12. Lucy Hale  "Loved"
13. Maren Morris  "80s Mercedes"
14. Nora Eckler "This Road"
15. Olivia Lane "Love Thing"
16. Patty Loveless "Blame It On Your Heart"
17. Quenby  "Sean Sweeney"
18. Reba McEntire "I Keep On Lovin' You"
19. Sarah  Jarosz "Tell Me True"
20. Tammy Cochran "Angels in Waiting"
21. Underhill Rose "Sublime Charm"
22. Victoria Shaw "Just To Say We Did"
23. Wendy Newcomer "Going Til You're Gone"
24. LeXie Hayden "Rainin' On a Wednesday"
25. Yvette Landry "My Next Mr. Ex"
26. Zoe Louisa "Tangled"

27. Andrews, Jessica "Who I Am"
28. Ballerini, Kelsea "Peter Pan"
29. Carter, Deana "Strawberry Wine"
30. Dalley, Amy "Men Don't Change"
31. Evans, Sara  "Born to Fly"
32. Freeman, Adrianna "Either You Do or You Don't"
33. Gearing, Ashley "Out There Somewhere"
34. Hough, Julianne "That Song In My Head"
35. Isaacs, Sonya "I Know Where There's Water"
36. Judd, Wynonna "No One Else On Earth"
37. Krauss, Alison  "Paper Airplane"
38. Lambert, Miranda "Automatic"
39. Messina, Jo Dee "Bye Bye"
40. Nettles, Jennifer  "That Girl"
41. O'Neal, Jamie "Somebody's Hero"
42. Pickler, Kellie "Best Days Of Your Life"
43. Quinn, Alanna "The Other Side of the Hill"
44. Rimes, LeAnn "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)"
45. Swift, Taylor "You Belong With Me"
46. Twain, Shania "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?"
47. Underwood, Carrie "Temporary Home"
48. Vann, Vicki "Reckless Heart"
49. Womack, Lee Ann "I Hope You Dance"
50. BowersoX, Crystal "Better World"
51. Yearwood, Trisha "She's In Love With The Boy"
52. Zonn, Andrea "Ferris Wheel"

53. McBride, Martina "This One's For the Girls"

Unknown Christmas Songs A-Z

While the same Christmas songs seems to be played on repeat every year, there are some truly lovely songs that are just overlooked and never heard.  Here is an A-Z list of some beautiful (or at least unknown) Christmas songs that are worth a listen.

The Napster playlist is here.
The Spotify playlist is here.
The Youtube playlist is here.

1. "Ain't That a Rockin'" by Sally Jones
2. "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" by Jasmine Commerce
3. "Christmas Mornings" by Richard Marx
4. "Dear Joseph" by Golden Bough
5. "Emmanuel" by Carolyn Cavanagh
6. "For Mary for Joseph" by The Barra MacNeils
7. "The Greatest Gift" by The Celts
8. "His Favorite Christmas Story" by Capital Lights
9. "It Must Have Been the Mistletoe" by Jana Petersen
10. "Joseph's Song" by Michael Card
11. "Kris Kringle" by Kate Rusby (Not on Spotify Playlist)
12. "Little Road To Bethlehem" by Shawn Colvin
13. "Merry Christmas Ho, Ho, Ho" by Ronnie Bowman, Sharon Skaggs (Not on Spotify Playlist)
14. "New York Christmas" by Amanda Droste
15. "One Bright Star" by Sarah Jarosz
16. "A Prayer for Christmas" by Jay Pothier
17. "A Quiet Christmas With You" by Snow Business (Not on Youtube  or Spotify playlist)
18. "Remember Me" by Daniel O'Donnell
19. "Santa Will Find You" by Mindy Smith
20. "The Three Great Ships" by Winter Harp Ensemble
21. "Underneath the Christmas Tree" by Ann Chaplin (Not on Spotify Playlist)
22. "Very Merry Christmas" by Zoe Bentley
23. "What Would Christmas Be?" by Na Leo Pilimehana (Not on Youtube playlist)
24. "Xmas Eve" by Penny Reign
25. "Your Present to Me" by Paul Scott (Not on Youtube or Spotify playlist)
26. "'Zat You, Santa Claus?" by Abney Park

Celtic Folksongs A-Z

There are some great treasures in the realm of Celtic folk songs.  Well, most of them are about drinking, oppression, and murder, but they're still pretty great songs all the same.  Here is an A-Z list of some of the best traditional Celtic songs by 26 great folk groups out there.

The Napster playlist is here.
The Spotify playlist is here.
The Youtube playlist is here.

1. "As I Roved Out" by Celticana
2. "Back Home in Derry" by Blackthorn
3. "Caledonia" by No Frontiers
4. "Dirty Old Town" by Sligo Rags
5. "Early in the Morning" by The Henry Girls (Not on Spotify or Youtube playlists)
6. "Finnegan's Wake" by The Malarkey Brothers
7. "Galway Bay" by Noel McLoughlin
8. "The Hills of Connemara" by Cu Chulainn
9. "Irish Rover" by T. Duggins
10. "Johnny Jump Up" by The Stone Soup Band
11. "Keg of Brandy" by Christa Burch
12. "Lannigan's Ball" by Waxies Dargle
13. "Marie's Wedding" by The High Kings
14. "Nancy Whiskey" by Gaelic Storm (The Spotify song is by Shane McGowan)
15. "Only Our Rivers Run Free" by Patsy Watchorn
16. "Poor Paddy Works on the Railways" by The Blarney Lads
17. "The Queen of Connemara" by Sonas
18. "Raggle Taggle Gypsy" by The Chieftains
19. "Star of the County Down" by Nantathren
20. "The Town I Loved So Well" by The Dubliners
21. "Unquiet Grave" by Karen Mal
22. "The Verdant Braes of Skreen" by Briege Murphy(Spotify and Youtube song is by Wild Geese)
23. "The Water is Wide" by Niamh Parsons
24. "X-Prep Set" by Smoky Finish
25. "Ye Jacobites By Name" by Beth Patterson
26. "Zeto" by Wolfstone (Not on Spotify Playlist)


If you are looking for more great Celtic music, you can't go wrong with the High Kings.  Anything they do is excellent.

Composers A-Z 2

With this list we return to the roots of Western music with another A-Z list of classical composers similar to the list in my first entry (Composers A-Z).  Feel free to list to the lists back to back if you have time--there are no repeated composers between the two.

The Napster playlist is here.
The Spotify playlist is here.
The Youtube playlist is here.



1. Antheil, George "Allegro"
2. Beethoven, Ludwig van "Moonlight Sonata"
3. Copland, Aaron, "Hoe-Down"
4. Dvorak, Antonin "New World Symhony--Largo"
5. Enesco, Georges "Legend"
6. Faure, Gabriel "Sicilienne"
7. Gershwin, George "Rhapsody in Blue"
8. Handel, George Frideric Handel, "Water Music--Air"
9. Ives, Charles "Symphony No. 2--Andante Moderato"
10. Jarnefelt, Armas "Berceuse"
11. Kabalevsky, Dmitry Borisovich "Comedian's Galop"
12. Lully, Jean-Baptiste "Symphonie"
13. Mussorgsky, Modest "Pictures at and Exhibition--Great Gate of Kiev"
14. Nazareth, Ernesto "Brejeiro"
15. Obrecht, Jacob "Stat in Meskin"
16. Paganini, Nicolo "Caprice No. 9"
17. Quiroga, Manuel "Larghetto" (not on Spotify playlist)
18. Rodrigo, Joaquin "Allegro Gentile"
19. Schumann, Robert "Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70: II. Allegro" (The Youtube and Spotify versions has the full song instead of just the 2nd movement)
20. Telemann, Georg Philipp "Concerto for Viola: Andante"
21. Uematsu, Nobuo "Aerith's Theme (Final Fantasy VII)
22. Verdi, Giuseppe "Triumphal March"
23. Weber, Carl Maria von "La Tarantella-Prestissimo: Finale"
24. Xueyan, Liu "Flowing Waters of a Little River" (Not on Youtube playlist)
25. Young, Victor "Black"
26. Zamboni, Giovanni "Sonata in C minor: III. Giga"

Hipster Country A-Z

Are you tired of hearing the same top 40 country songs on the radio all day long? So many modern country stations seem to play last month's top 10 country songs on repeat and ignore everything else. If you are looking for some great new songs, you're in luck with this playlist!  Here is a collection of songs from country artists so obscure that as of 9/14/16 (the date I have published this blog post) they don't even have their own Wikipedia page. In addition, this is an A-Z playlist with first names then last names.

Enjoy!

The Napster playlist is here: Hipster Country on Napster
The Youtube playlist is here: Hipster Country on YouTube
The Spotify playlist is here: Hipster Country on Spotify

1. Adam Sanders "Thunder"
2. Blaire Hanks "She Picks Me Up"
3. Clayton Anderson "Shotgun Rider"
4. David Adam Byrnes "More Afraid of Livin'"
5. Earl Wear "Walking to Wyoming"
6. Fiona Culley "Anywhere With You"
7. George Molton "Bluegrass On My Mind"
8. Hank Barbee "These Were the Days"
9. Ira Wolf "Can't Say"
10. Jeremiah Wheeler "I Call Home"
11. Keith Sewell "Sawdust Hill"
12. Lisa Dames "Just Another Day"
13. Michelle Poe "Just One of the Boys
14. Natalie Metcalf "Detour"
15. Olivia Rose "Cowboy Song"
16. Phillip Clarkson "Silvery Gray Barn"
17. Rainey Qualley "Me and Johnny Cash"
18. Ralph Stanley II "Georgia"
19. Steve Spurgin "Fire on the Kettle"
20. Travis Marvin "That's the Way We Roll" (The Youtube playlist has "Typically Taken")
21. Clay Underwood "We Got It All in the Country"
22. Vanessa Branson "Moon Shine"
23. Wyatt Turner "John Wayne"
24. Alex Runions "Little Bit of Sunshine"
25. Yvette Landry "Where Memories Are Gold"
26. Zach Dubois "Work Harder"

27. Allen, Jason "He's Still Dancin' With Her"
28. Burton, Julie "Never Got to Say"
29. Collins, Travis "Don't Win Enough"
30. Doell, Jordan "Scars"
31. Edwards, Keri "Trouble Waters"
32. Foster, Jordan "Running on Empty"
33. Golden, Cari "Hearts on Fire"
34. Hand, Craig "Dancin' With the Devil"
35. Irving, Mark "Hold On"
36. Joyner, Bryan Adam "Could Not Stay"
37. Kinder, Ryan "Tonight"
38. Lane, Jaryd "Country Boy Blues"
39. Matthews, Jason "Life Happened"
40. Norman, Jennifer "Lover's Moon"
41. Owens, Natalie "Love Me Like Louisiana"
42. Pettersen, Jennifer "The Fool Who Rushed Away"
43. Quinn, Emory "Idabel"
44. Ryan, Mike "Dancing All Around It"
45. Stogner, Jason "Country In Me"
46. Turner, Rachael "Aftershock"
47. Upchurch, Ryan "Stuck on 17"
48. Van Rys, Chad "And They All Came Home But Me (Once a Marine)" (The Spotify Playlist has the song "Blue Collar Fighting Man")
49. Winter, Carter "Whiskey and Wine"
50. Fox, Bryan "Be That Kind of Man"
51. Yoder, Keith "Rise and Shine"
52. Ziegler, Eric "23rd Psalm"

A-Z Modern Country Artists

Here you will find some of the biggest names in modern country music, along with a few unknown artists as well, presented in A-Z format. The list goes through the alphabet twice, one with last names, one with first names, and never repeats a singer.  I did have to cheat for letters X (the names end with x instead of start with them) and Q (both lists have a person whose last name starts with Q).  If anybody knows of a country artist that has a first name starting with Q or either name starting with X, please let me know.  I would love to add them to my list.

For this list, I highly recommend the Youtube version if you have the time to watch.  Most of the songs are the official music videos.

The Napster playlist is here.
The Spotify playlist is here.
The Youtube playlist is here.

1. Aldean, Jason "Dirt Road Anthem"
2. Ballerini Kelsea "Love Me Like You Mean It"
3. Chesney, Kenny "The Good Stuff"
4. Darling, Sarah "Home to Me
5. Evans, Sarah "Suds in the Bucket"
6. Farr, Tyler "Whiskey in My Water"
7. Gilbert, Brantley "One Hell Of An Amen"
8. Hunt, Sam "Leave the Night On"
9. Isabella, Kira "Country's Written All Over Me"
10. Jackson, Alan "Drive (For Daddy Gene)"
11. Keith, Toby "American Ride
12. Lambert, Miranda "The House That Built Me"
13. McGraw, Tim "Humble and Kind"
14. Nettles, Jennifer "His Hands"
15. Olsen, Steven Lee "Make Hay While the Sun Shines"
16. Paisley, Brad "Mud on the Tires"
17. Qualley, Rainey "Never Mine"
18. Rucker, Darius "Wagon Wheel"
19. Swift, Taylor "White Horse" (The Spotify playlist uses "Should've Said No")
20. Turner, Josh "Long Black Train"
21. Underwood, Carrie "Something in the Water"
22. Vassar, Phil "Don't Miss Your Life"
23. Wilson, Gretchen "Redneck Woman"
24. Fox, Steve "The Road of Life"
25. Yearwood, Trisha "She's in Love With the Boy"
26. Zach, Tim "Like Him"

27. Alison Krauss "When You Say Nothing At All"
28. Brett Eldredge "Drunk On Your Love"
29. Cole Swindell "Middle of  Memory"
30. Dierks Bentley "Somewhere On A Beach"
31. Eric Church "Springsteen"
32. Faith Hill "Mississippi Girl"
33. Granger Smith "Miles and Mud Tires"
34. Hunter Hayes "I Want Crazy"
35. Ira Dean "Rollin' Thru the Moonshine
36. Jamey Johnson "In Color
37. Kacey Musgraves "Merry Go 'Round"
38. Luke Bryan "Drink a Beer"
39. Martina McBride "This One's For the Girls"
40. Nancy Apple "Cadillac Man"
41. Olivia Lane "Love Thing"
42. Paul Brandt "A Little in Love"
43. Emory Quinn "Highways of Gold"
44. Randy Houser "Like a Cowboy"
45. Scotty McCreery "See You Tonight"
46. Travis Tritt "It's a Great Day to Be Alive"
47. Uriah Shelton "Anything for You"
48. Vanessa Bransan "Who I Am"
49. William Michael Morgan "I Met a Girl"
50. Alex Runions "You're My Excuse"
51. Yvette Landry "120 Proof" (The Youtube playlist uses "Another Lesson Learned")
52. Zach Dylan "That's Just Me"

Composers A-Z

I've been building unusual music playlists for years, often using odd themes or strict rules that I assign myself.  I simply enjoy the challenge, but this has a secondary effect of allowing me to discover interesting and unusual music I would have never found otherwise. After years of this somewhat odd hobby, I decided it was time to share some of my playlists with the world.

The most appropriate way to start this blog seems like it should be with the very first playlist I ever built, way back during my college days as a music education major. As you might imagine, during this period of my life I was completely and totally immersed in classical music, which is how this list came about.

I build my playlists primarily with Napster (formerly Rhapsody), so if you have a Napster account, this will be the most complete, original list. You can find the playlist here: A-Z Composers on Napster
If you prefer Spotify, you can find the playlist here: A-Z Composers on Spotify
If you prefer to listen through Youtube, this playlist contains as much of the original list as I was able to find on youtube, but I did not spend any time critiquing the videos as this is primarily focused on sound.   The playlist can be found here:
A-Z Composers on Youtube

And if you just want to see the list without bothering to listen to it, here it is below:

Albinoni, Tomaso: Adagio in G Minor: Giazotto
Bach, Johann Sebastian: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
Chopin, Frederic: Prelude, Op. 28 No. 13 in F sharp major, Lento
Debussy, Claude: Clair De Lune
Elgar, Edward: Salut d'amour
Franck, Cesar: Violin Sonata in A Major: III Recitativo
Grieg, Edvard: Peer Gynt Suite: In the Hall of the Mountain King
Haydn, Franz Joseph: Symphony No. 94, Surprise Minuet
Isaac, Heinrich: Carmen a 5
Janacek, Leos: Idyll for Strings, Adagio
Katchaturian, Aram: Sabre Dance
Liszt, Franz: Mephisto waltz No.1
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K 525 Allegro
Nielsen, Carl: Canto Serioso
Offenbach, Jacques: Barcarolle from "The Tales of Hoffman"
Prokofiev, Sergey: Romeo and Juliet: Dance of the Knights
Quantz, Johann Joachim: Concerto for Flute, Bassoon, Strings, and B.C. in G Major - III Allegretto (The Spotify playlist has a different song by Quantz: Flute Concerto in A Minor: Allegretto)
Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai: Flight of the Bumble Bee
Schubert, Franz: Piano Sonata No. 6 in E minor - IV. Rondo Allegretto ( the Spotify and youtube video include the first movement - I. Moderato)
Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Illyich: Neapolitan Dance
Ullman, Viktor: Piano Sonata N. 5 Op. 45 - Andante
Vivaldi, Antonio: Four Seasons Violin Concert in E Major - "Spring"
Wagner, Richard: Ride of the Valkyries
Xenakis, Iannis: Six Chansons pour piano
Ysaye, Eugene: Sonata No, 1 in G minor - I. Grave (Lento assai)
Ziehrer, Carl Michael: Pfiffig op. 384 Polka Francaise pfiffig