Best Banjo

J.D. Crowe & The New South is a landmark bluegrass album released in 1975 on Rounder Records, informally known as Rounder 0044. Led by banjo player J.D. Crowe, the ensemble features a notable lineup of Tony Rice on guitar, Ricky Skaggs on mandolin, and Jerry Douglas on dobro. The album seamlessly bl...

"Drive" is an instrumental bluegrass album by banjo player Béla Fleck, released in 1988 on Rounder Records. Recorded near the end of his tenure with the progressive bluegrass group New Grass Revival, the album features Fleck backed by an ensemble of prominent acoustic musicians. Notable collaborator...

"My Bluegrass Heart" is a 2021 studio album by American banjo player Béla Fleck, released on the Renew Records label. It serves as the final installment of a bluegrass trilogy that began with his 1988 album "Drive" and 1995's "Tales from the Acoustic Planet." The album features numerous guest musici...

Mark Twang is a 1976 album by American musician John Hartford, released by Flying Fish Records. Hartford performed the record largely as a solo work, using voice, banjo, fiddle, guitar, and rhythmic foot percussion to create a sparse acoustic sound rooted in bluegrass and traditional folk music. The...

Carrying the Tradition is a bluegrass album by the Lonesome River Band, released in 1991 on Rebel Records. The album features the band's classic early-1990s lineup, which included Dan Tyminski on guitar and vocals, Sammy Shelor on banjo, and Tim Austin on mandolin. It is regarded by bluegrass musici...

"Old Country Town" is a studio album released in 1994 by the American bluegrass group Lonesome River Band, issued on the Sugar Hill Records label. The record features the ensemble's definitive 1990s lineup, comprising Tim Austin, Dan Tyminski, Ronnie Bowman, and Sammy Shelor. It blends traditional b...

Released in 2017 on Rounder Records, "Universal Favorite" is a solo studio album by Noam Pikelny, the banjo player for the progressive acoustic group Punch Brothers. The project features Pikelny playing acoustic instruments entirely by himself, utilizing multitrack recording to layer banjo, guitar,...

The Fabulous Sound of Flatt & Scruggs is a 1964 studio album by the pioneering American bluegrass duo Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, released on Columbia Records. The album is notable for peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard country albums chart, reflecting the duo's significant mainstream success duri...

Beat the Devil and Carry a Rail is the third solo studio album by American banjo player Noam Pikelny, best known as a member of the progressive bluegrass band Punch Brothers. Released in 2011 on Compass Records, the primarily instrumental record showcases Pikelny's technical mastery of the five-stri...

"Finding the Way" is a bluegrass album by the Lonesome River Band, released on Sugar Hill Records in 1998. The album features the group's established 1990s lineup, consisting of Sammy Shelor on banjo, Ronnie Bowman on bass, Don Rigsby on mandolin, and Kenny Smith on guitar. This project showcases th...