Gosh, I tried to narrow this down to five picks to make it simpler, but there was way too much great music this past year. Even with my top TEN picks, I could still highlight ten more. But I won't.

So here are my favorite records that crossed my desk this past year, listed in no particular order. Some new artists, some not; some funky, some folky, some bluesy … all of it wonderful music that fits perfectly into the Radio Heartland stream.