Best Mandolin
Bluegrass Rules! is a bluegrass album by Ricky Skaggs and his band Kentucky Thunder, released in 1997 on the Rounder label. The album marked Skaggs's return to traditional bluegrass after years in mainstream country music and features standards such as bill Monroe's "Raw Hide." It won the Grammy Awa...
Weighted Mind is the second studio album by American bluegrass musician Sierra Hull, released on January 29, 2016, through Rounder Records. Produced by banjo player Béla Fleck, the album features a sparse, acoustic arrangement centered heavily on Hull's mandolin and vocals, backed primarily by bass...
Southern Flavor is a studio album by American bluegrass musician Bill Monroe, released in 1988 on the MCA Records label. The album features Monroe's signature mandolin playing and singing alongside his band, the Blue Grass Boys. At the 31st Annual Grammy Awards in 1989, Southern Flavor received the...
Ancient Tones is a bluegrass album by Ricky Skaggs and his band Kentucky Thunder, released in 1999 on the Skaggs Family Records label. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album at the 42nd Grammy Awards in 2000. It features Skaggs on mandolin and vocals alongside a lineup of bluegrass...
Uncle Pen is a 1972 Decca album credited to Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys. Its title refers to Monroe's uncle Pendleton Vandiver, a Kentucky fiddler whom Monroe commemorated in the song "Uncle Pen," and the program draws heavily on fiddle-centered material arranged for Monroe's bluegrass ensem...
How to Grow a Woman from the Ground is a progressive bluegrass album by mandolinist Chris Thile, released in 2006 on the Sugar Hill record label. The album features a transitional ensemble of musicians who would later become known as the band Punch Brothers, including guitarist Chris Eldridge and ba...
"Brand New Strings" is a bluegrass album by Ricky Skaggs and his backing band, Kentucky Thunder, released in 2004 on Skaggs Family Records. The project heavily features Skaggs's proficient mandolin playing alongside traditional acoustic instrumentation, including banjo, fiddle, and guitar. It achiev...
25 Trips is Sierra Hull's 2020 Rounder album, released after Weighted Mind and reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Bluegrass Albums chart.
Punch is Punch Brothers' 2008 Nonesuch debut, centered on Chris Thile's four-movement suite The Blind Leaving the Blind.
Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto in C major, RV 425, is an early 18th-century Italian concerto prized as one of the Baroque era's best-known mandolin works.
Not All Who Wander Are Lost is Chris Thile's 2001 Sugar Hill solo album, featuring guests such as Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and Bryan Sutton.
Once and for Always is a 1985 Sugar Hill album by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, recorded during the lineup with Randy Graham, Terry Baucom, and Jimmy Haley.
History of the Future is a 2001 album by Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album.
The Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE offers a vintage aesthetic and contemporary acoustic performance. Its distinctive sunburst finish replicates the appearance of early mandolins while incorporating modern electronics for amplified sound. This instrument is well-suited for classical guitarists, songwr...
King of My World is Sam Bush's 2004 Sugar Hill album, reaching No. 2 on Billboard's Bluegrass Albums chart and No. 64 on Top Country Albums.
The Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE is a high-quality acoustic guitar offering a blend of vintage aesthetics and modern features. Constructed with an all-solid wood body featuring a classic vintage sunburst finish it boasts premium electronics suitable for both stage performance and detailed recording...
Glamour & Grits is Sam Bush's 1996 Sugar Hill album, his second solo release and an early statement from his post-New Grass Revival band era.
Daybreak is Sierra Hull's 2011 Rounder album, produced by Barry Bales and featuring Bryan Sutton, Randy Kohrs, Dan Tyminski, Shawn Lane, and Ronnie Bowman.
Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride is Sam Bush's 2000 live album, documenting his long association with Colorado's Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
Deceiver is Chris Thile's 2004 Sugar Hill solo album, notable because Thile played all 39 instruments heard on the recording.
Late as Usual is Sam Bush's 1985 Rounder solo debut, made while he was still a central member of New Grass Revival.
Storyman is Sam Bush's 2016 album, a late-career solo release that reached No. 3 on Billboard's Bluegrass Albums chart.
Secrets is Sierra Hull's 2008 Rounder vocal debut, co-produced by Alison Krauss and Ron Block and released when the Tennessee mandolinist was 16.
Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Mandolins in G major, RV 532, is an Italian Baroque double concerto notable for giving paired mandolins solo roles.
The Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE is a semi-hollow acoustic guitar blending vintage aesthetics with modern electronics. Constructed with select solid woods including mahogany and maple, it features a bone nut and saddle for enhanced tonal clarity. The integrated Fishman Ellipse Matrix Blend pickup a...
