57. SO RUNS THE WORLD AWAY by Josh Ritter

Though many consider Josh Ritter’s 2006 record “The Animal Years” as his most essential album and a good one to start out with, I picked this 2010 outing to share with you as this is the record that served as my introduction to him. A singer-songwriter in the Americana or folk tradition, Ritter has been compared to Bob Dylan and named among the best living songwriters. Listening to any of his albums or career spanning playlists on whichever streaming service you use will confirm this. But, to truly appreciate his music is to see him live in concert. The energy and enthusiasm he shows when performing raises already great songs to another level. Getting back to this particular record, my big three are ‘Change of Time,’ ‘The Curse’ and ‘Folk Bloodbath’ but I really hope that listening to these (or any) tracks off this album will serve as a springboard for you to explore his back catalog further - you won’t regret it!