The Jacket's Americana Jukebox - Show #28

• Lindi Ortega ‘Cigarettes and Truckstops’ taken from the 2012 Last Gang Records album ‘Cigarettes and Truckstops’

• Anais Mitchell ‘Young Man In America’ taken from the 2012 Wilderland Records album ‘Young Man In America’

• Gilmore and Roberts ‘The Innocent Left’ taken from the 2012 Navigator Records album ‘The Innocent Left’

• Phantom Limb ‘High and Dry’ taken from the 2012 Naim Edge album ‘The Pines’

• Rob Baird ‘I Can’t Get Over You’ taken from the 2012 Carnival Recording Company album ‘I Swear It’s The Truth’

• Quiet Loner ‘We Will Not Forget’ taken from the 2012 Little Red Rabbit Records album ‘Greedy Magicians’

• Cahalen Morrison and Eli West ‘Our Lady of the Tall Trees’ taken from the 2012 Independent album ‘Our Lady of the Tall Trees’

• Fred Eaglesmith ‘Trucker Speed’ taken from the 2012 Bluewater Music album ‘6 Volts’

• Pete Gow ‘Child Bride' taken from the 2012 Clubhouse Records album ‘The Nebraska Sessions – A Tribute’

• Sons of Bill ‘Turn It Up’ taken from the 2012 Blue Rose Records album ‘Sirens’

This is my 'best of' list for 2012.  It was a real struggle to get down to just ten albums and if I had picked it a week earlier or a week later it would undoubtedly been different.  

The tribute to Guy Clark 'This Ones For Him' lost out to the Nebraska Sessions as I only wanted one various artists album on my list.  John Fullbright got in on one draft in place of Rob Baird but narrowly missed the final cut.  Morgan O'Kane occupies similar territory to Morrison and West but the sheer joy of 'Our Lady of The Tall Trees' meant that my Ol Timey / Bluegrassy slot when to them.

It pained me to leave out 'Hello Cruel World' by Gretchen Peters, 'Waiting For The Operator' by Mad Staring Eyes' and 'Live At Blue Rock' by MAry Gauthier.  If I had started listening to 'Babel' a bit earlier then Mumford and Sons may have made the cut and I completely missed that Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit had a live album out as I have immersed myself in 'Here We Rest' not realising that it was released last year.

But a top ten must, by definition, contain only ten albums and I am happy with my choices.  To see what the other Americana UK writers picked and for the combined top ten click here.