While I could theoretically write a novel about each of the artists and their songs on this playlist, I decided to take a slightly less conventional approach to my year end list. Rather than write ups, I decided to challenge the norm and try to sum up the songs on my year end playlist into a single phrase. That’s right, a song with a multitude of words, rhymes, melodies, verses and so on, summed into into a single “couple word” phrase, based on how it made me feel the first time I listened to it in this polarizing year where we needed the music so much. 

So, here you go. These are 21 tunes from 21 artists in 2016 that simply slayed my soul, hacked apart my heart and left me feeling so much this year.

“Hurricane” – Julie Rhodes : earth-shaking-blues-badassery

“Forget the Address” – Ian Fitzgerald : transformative-songwriting-juggernaut-catchiness

“Hard Travelin'” – Mandolin Orange : shit-kicking-barn-burner-sweetness 

“Stanley Park (live)” – Aoife O’ Donovan : ghostly-stillness-pin drop-heart stop 

“Success” – Aaron Lee Tasjan : funky-swinging-truth-bringing-blues

“Wendy” – Zach Schmidt: barroom dance-infectious-two step

“Still Life” – Sarah Jarosz : break-my-heart-sparse-harmony-beauty

“Beast” – Sam Moss : fingerpick-my-soul-to-death

“Liquor Up” – Michaela Anne : classic-but-new-rompin’-real

“Pine Tree Waltz” – Joe K. Walsh : tradition-reimagined-infused-with-vibrancy

“Bury the Body” – Ruby Rose Fox : holy-f*ck-bona-fide-fierceness

“This Town Gets Around” – Margo Price : in-your-face-bravery-honky tonk

“Canary” – Honeysuckle : virtuous-instrumentation-hard-hitting-vocal-smack

“Good to You” – Lula Wiles : chest-caving-harmony-wrapped-warmth

‘Tear My Stillhouse Down (Home Demo)” – Gillian Welch: fall-in-love-again-look-inside-a-trailblazer

“Grief and Praise” – Glen Phillips : epic-human-emotion-hits-like-brick

“Young Lady, You’re Scaring Me” – Ron Gallo : ass-kicking-head-exploding-rock-attitude

“Let it Ride” – The Silks : old-school-guitar-riffing-face-punch

“The Stone” – Muddy Ruckus : driving-percussion-ride-pluckin’-fun

“Sea Legs” – The Ballroom Thieves : balance-building-cavernous-otherwordly-experience

“The Magic Kid” – Hayes Carll : heartwarming-genuine-deep-realness