Alison Krauss & Union Station's 2011 CD, Paper Airplane. Photo courtesy of Rounder Records.

Billboard.com has released their list of the Top 50 Bluegrass Albums of 2011. Albums were ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Congratulations to Alison Krauss & Union Station for having the Top Bluegrass Album of the year with Paper Airplane! What do you think of this ranking? Who’d top YOUR Top 50 list? Leave us a comment below!

1. Paper Airplane – Alison Krauss & Union Station
2. Rare Bird Alert – Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers
3. Up On The Ridge – Dierks Bentley
4. The Goat Rodeo Sessions – Yo-Yo Ma/Stuart Duncan/Edgar Meyer/Chris Thile
5. Follow Me Down – Sarah Jarosz
6. The Grascals and Friends: Country Classics With A Bluegrass Spin – The Grascals
7. Palomino – Trampled By Turtles
8. Bright Morning Stars – The Wailin’ Jennys
9. Genuine Negro Jigs – Carolina Chocolate Drops
10. Best of Bluegrass – Steve Ivey
11. Antifogmatic – Punch Brothers
12. City of Refuge – Abigail Washburn
13. Christmas – The Isaacs
14. Sleep With One Eye Open – Chris Thile & Michael Daves
15. Reckless – The SteelDrivers
16. Daybreak – Sierra Hull
17. Dailey & Vincent Sing The Statler Brothers – Dailey & Vincent
18. The Isaacs Naturally: An Almost A Cappella Collection – The Isaacs
19. Taken – Rhonda Vincent
20. Country Hits Bluegrass Style – Ricky Skaggs Continue Reading

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Taylor Swift photo courtesy of Big Machine Records.

Billboard.com has released their list of the Top Country Artists of 2011. Artists are ranked based on album sales, song downloads and airplay, touring revenue, Social 50 chart action, ringtone sales and streaming data provided by Nielsen BDS. Congratulations to Taylor Swift for being named the Top Country Artist of 2011! What do you think of this ranking? Who’d top YOUR Top 50 list? Leave us a comment below!

1. Taylor Swift
2. Jason Aldean
3. Lady Antebellum
4. Zac Brown Band
5. Blake Shelton
6. The Band Perry
7. Rascal Flatts
8. Kenny Chesney
9. Brad Paisley
10. Luke Bryan
11. Keith Urban
12. Miranda Lambert
13. Sugarland
14. Eric Church
15. Scotty McCreery
16. Toby Keith
17. Thompson Square
18. Chris Young
19. Billy Currington
20. Tim McGraw Continue Reading

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Eli Young Band photo courtesy of Universal Records South.

Billboard.com has released their year-end Top Country Songs chart for 2011. Here are the 50 most popular country songs of the year based on radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen BDS. Congratulations to Eli Young Band for having the No. 1 song of the year with “Crazy Girl!” Of note, the song was co-written by Lee Brice who recorded “Love Like Crazy,” the Top Song of 2010.

1. “Crazy Girl” – Eli Young Band
2. “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” – Jake Owen
3. “Take A Back Road” – Rodney Atkins
4. “Tomorrow” – Chris Young
5. “You Lie” – The Band Perry
6. “Am I The Only One” – Dierks Bentley
7. “You and Tequila” – Kenny Chesney
8. “Honey Bee” – Blake Shelton
9. “Just Fishin’” – Trace Adkins
10. “Let Me Down Easy” – Billy Currington
11. “Here For A Good Time” – George Strait
12. “Knee Deep” – Zac Brown Band
13. “Just A Kiss” – Lady Antebellum
14. “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” – Justin Moore
15. “Made In America” – Toby Keith
16. “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” – Luke Bryan
17. “Heart Like Mine” – Miranda Lambert
18. “God Gave Me You” – Blake Shelton
19. “Don’t You Wanna Stay” – Jason Aldean w/Kelly Clarkson
20. “What Do You Want” – Jerrod Niemann Continue Reading

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Was Blake Shelton’s “God Gave Me You” your favorite video of the year? Or maybe it was Jake Owen’s “Barefoot Blue Jean Night.” A video from a new artist could have also caught your eye, like Hunter Hayes’ “Storm Warning” or Lauren Alaina’s “Like My Mother Does.” GAC is once again letting you, the fans, select the Top 50 Videos of 2011! Our online voting poll is now open and runs through November 30. Vote Now >>

More than 130 videos are featured on the ballot, which allows you to sort by artist or song title. You can vote once a day. Nominated videos include hits from hot new artists like Hunter and Lauren as well as videos from legends like Reba and Alan Jackson. Thirty artists have at least two videos nominated, while Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Reba, Taylor Swift and Zac Brown Band all have three videos each in the running.

GAC is also giving you the chance to win $5,000 in cash as a ‘thank you’ for voting. Enter our Top 50 Videos Sweepstakes after you place your vote and you could be kicking off the new year with a little extra spending money. The sweepstakes ends December 12. Continue Reading

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GAC asked you, the fans, to help us pick the Top 50 Videos of the ’90s and all this week host Neal McCoy counted  them down! Here’s the final list — we hope each song title brings back lots of good memories! See the re-air times for the series HERE.  Check out the list below and leave us a comment to tell us about your favorite video from the ’90s.

GAC’s Top 50 Videos of the ’90s: Continue Reading

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(l-r): Keith Anderson, JT Hodges, Neal McCoy.

GAC went to the experts – you, the viewers – to help us compile the Top 20 Tailgating Songs and the Top 50 videos of the 90s. Your votes have been counted and the results will be revealed beginning this weekend in two GAC specials, Top 20 Tailgating Songs premiering August 13 at 9/8 CT, and Top 50 Videos of the ’90s premiering on August 15 at 8/7 CT.

“GAC viewers always respond enthusiastically when we invite them to pick their favorite programming, and ‘Top 20 Tailgating Songs’ and ‘Top 50 Videos of the ‘90’s’ puts the fans in the driver’s seat for 7 prime time hours!” said Suzanne Gordon, VP of Programming for GAC.  “From a great party mix to some of the best videos you haven’t seen in a while, these fan-voted specials prove that country music is the perfect soundtrack for the end of summer!” Continue Reading

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Blake Shelton photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

Each year GAC asks fans to help us choose the best of the best country music videos released during the prior 12 months for our year end Top 50 Videos of the Year countdown. Here are the voting results for 2010 based on videos released and added to the GAC playlist from Nov. 1, 2009 to Oct. 31, 2010.

1. Blake Shelton — “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”
2. Miranda Lambert — “The House That Built Me”
3. Blake Shelton — “All About Tonight”
4. Carrie Underwood — “Mama’s Song”
5. Carrie Underwood — “Temporary Home”
6. Taylor Swift — “Mine”
7. Carrie Underwood — “Undo It”
8. Taylor Swift — “Fearless”
9. Sugarland — “Stuck Like Glue”
10. Lady Antebellum — “American Honey” Continue Reading

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The Americana Music Association announced its year end Top 100 Albums of the Year.  The Top 100 albums are based on those records reported to the Americana Airplay Chart during the period of November 17, 2009 through November 15, 2010.  We’ll serve up the first half of the list and you can visit the Americana Music Association website to access the full list of all 100 albums…

The Top 50 most played albums, as charted on the Americana Airplay Chart are:

1.       Various Artists, Crazy Heart Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, New West

2.       Rosanne Cash, The List, Manhattan

3.       John Hiatt, The Open Road, New West

4.       Carolina Chocolate Drops, Genuine Negro Jig, Nonesuch

5.       Ray Wylie Hubbard, A Enlightenment B Endarkenment Hint There Is No C, Bordello/Thirty Tigers

6.       Robert Earl Keen, The Rose Hotel, Lost Highway

7.       Band Of Heathens, One Foot In The Ether, BOH Records

8.       Avett Brothers, I And Love And You, Columbia

9.       Patty Griffin, Downtown Church, Credential

10.   Reckless Kelly, Somewhere In Time, Yep Roc Continue Reading

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Laura Bell Bundy with GAC's Nan Kelley on the set of Top 20 Country Countdown.

GAC’s 62,000 video plays of 2010 are winding down to a final 50.

Trace Adkins, Rascal Flatts, Laura Bell Bundy and Luke Bryan are among the stars who join Nan Kelley for GAC’s Top 50 Videos Of 2010, a five-part countdown that kicks off Monday, Dec. 27, and comes to its conclusion Friday, Dec. 31.

Josh Turner, Blake Shelton, Reba McEntire, Easton Corbin, The Band Perry, Steel Magnolia, Uncle Kracker, comedian Jeff Dunham and GAC’s Storme Warren are also part of the countdown, derived from votes by GAC viewers. Nan shepherds the entire event poolside from the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.

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Lady Antebellum's Need You Now CD. Photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Billboard.com has just released its year-end charts for 2010. Here are the 50 most popular country albums for the year (based on album sales). Congrats to Lady Antebellum for taking the top spot!

1. Need You Now - Lady Antebellum
2. Fearless – Taylor Swift
3. Speak Now- Taylor Swift
4. Play On – Carrie Underwood
5. The Foundation – Zac Brown Band
6. Lady Antebellum – Lady Antebellum
7. Revolution – Miranda Lambert
8. Wide Open – Jason Aldean
9. Southern Voice – Tim McGraw
10. The Incredible Machine – Sugarland Continue Reading

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