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 album on Rounder Records, following her 2016 release Weighted Mind. Sierra Hull is an American bluegrass mandolinist and vocalist who first gained attention as a teenager and has been recognized with multiple IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year awards. The album reached N...
Punch is the 2008 debut album by the progressive acoustic group Punch Brothers, released under the Nonesuch Records label. The album is distinguished by its complex arrangements and is centered around the four-movement suite titled "The Blind Leaving the Blind," composed by mandolinist Chris Thile....
The Mandolin Concerto in C major, catalogued as RV 425, is a Baroque instrumental work composed by Antonio Vivaldi in the early 18th century. Written for solo mandolin, strings, and basso continuo, the piece follows the standard three-movement fast-slow-fast structure typical of Vivaldi's concertos....
Not All Who Wander Are Lost is a solo album by mandolin player Chris Thile, released in 2001 on the Sugar Hill label. The project is a primarily instrumental, progressive acoustic recording that showcases Thile's advanced compositional and improvisational skills. It features collaborations with prom...
Once and for Always is a bluegrass and gospel album by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, released in 1985 on the Sugar Hill label. Doyle Lawson, a former member of the Country Gentlemen, founded Quicksilver in 1979, establishing the group as a significant force in traditional bluegrass with emphasis on ti...
History of the Future is a bluegrass album released in 2001 by mandolinist Ricky Skaggs and his backing band, Kentucky Thunder. The record blends traditional bluegrass instrumentation with gospel influences, featuring a mix of original compositions and covers of artists like Bill Monroe. Skaggs's ma...
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 a progressive bluegrass album by mandolinist Sam Bush, released in 2004 on Sugar Hill Records. As a foundational figure in the newgrass movement, Bush blends traditional string band sounds with elements of rock, jazz, and country on this recording. The album achieved notable co...
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 the second solo album by American mandolinist and bluegrass musician Sam Bush, released in 1996 on the Sugar Hill Records label. The album serves as a defining record of his post-New Grass Revival career, heavily featuring the personnel of his newly formed Sam Bush Band. It blends...
Daybreak is a bluegrass album by mandolinist and singer Sierra Hull, released in 2011 on Rounder Records. The album was produced by Barry Bales and features contributions from musicians including Bryan Sutton, Dan Tyminski, Randy Kohrs, Shawn Lane, and Ronnie Bowman. Hull, a Tennessee native and for...
Ice Caps: Peaks of Telluride is a live album by American mandolinist and newgrass musician Sam Bush, released in 2000 on Sugar Hill Records. The recording documents his enduring musical relationship with the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado, capturing performances from his long-standing appe...
Released in 2004 on Sugar Hill Records, "Deceiver" is the second solo album by American mandolinist Chris Thile. The record is distinguished by its highly experimental approach to progressive bluegrass, featuring Thile personally performing all 39 instruments heard across the tracks, including mando...
"Late as Usual" is a progressive bluegrass album by American mandolinist and fiddler Sam Bush, released on Rounder Records in 1985. The record marked Bush's solo debut while he was still a central driving force in the pioneering newgrass band New Grass Revival. The album blends traditional bluegrass...
Storyman is a progressive bluegrass studio album by mandolinist Sam Bush, released in 2016. The project features original tracks written or co-written by Bush, showcasing his signature newgrass acoustic sound that blends elements of country, folk, and rock. The album reached number three on the Bill...
Secrets is the debut studio album by American bluegrass singer and mandolinist Sierra Hull, released in 2008 on Rounder Records. Co-produced by Alison Krauss and Ron Block, the album showcases Hull's vocal and instrumental talents. It was recorded and released when she was a teenager, establishing h...
Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Mandolins in G major, RV 532, is an Italian Baroque double concerto that prominently features paired mandolins or guitars as soloists. The piece follows the standard three-movement fast-slow-fast structure, allowing the soloists to engage in contrapuntal dialogue a...
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...
