Best Modern Vocal

Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story is a landmark American musical composition blending classical music with jazz and Broadway traditions. The work powerfully portrays intergroup conflict through its innovative score and dramatic narrative. It remains notable for its integration of diverse musical s...

Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire, Op. 21 is a seminal early work of modern music. This chamber piece for voice and orchestra utilizes atonality and explores themes of love, loss, and despair through evocative Sprechstimme—a vocal style blending speech and song. Composed in 1912, it’s notable for...

Crooked Tree is a bluegrass album by American singer and guitarist Molly Tuttle, released in 2022 in collaboration with her band, Golden Highway. Co-produced by Tuttle and dobro player Jerry Douglas, the record features a mix of original songs deeply rooted in traditional bluegrass instrumentation....

Home is the second studio album by American bluegrass musician Billy Strings, released on Rounder Records in September 2019. The album reached number one on Billboard's Bluegrass Albums chart. It won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021. Strings co-wrote...

"City of Gold" is a bluegrass album released in 2023 by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway on the Nonesuch Records label. Co-produced by Tuttle and acclaimed dobro player Jerry Douglas, the album features a mix of original songs and traditional influences driven by Tuttle's distinctive guitar work and vo...

Why Should the Fire Die? is the third major studio album by the American acoustic trio Nickel Creek, released in 2005. The album features band members Chris Thile, Sara Watkins, and Sean Watkins, blending traditional acoustic instrumentation with progressive bluegrass and modern indie-folk elements....

Highway Prayers is the 2024 studio album by the American bluegrass musician Billy Strings, released through Reprise Records. Co-produced by Strings and Jon Brion, the record marks a stylistic expansion, blending his traditional acoustic bluegrass roots with more expansive, genre-blending studio arra...

The Lewitt LCT 440 PURE is a modern condenser microphone designed for exceptional clarity and low self-noise. Its neutral sound signature makes it incredibly versatile, suitable for a wide range of vocal styles and instruments. The PURE version focuses on a more transparent and uncolored response co...

Renewal is the fourth studio album by American bluegrass singer and guitarist Billy Strings, released in September 2021 via Rounder Records. The project blends traditional bluegrass instrumentation with elements of progressive rock, metal, and psychedelic jam band music, reflecting Strings' wide ran...

Who's Feeling Young Now? is the third studio album by the American progressive bluegrass band Punch Brothers, released in 2012 on Nonesuch Records. The group, comprising Chris Thile, Gabe Witcher, Noam Pikelny, Chris Eldridge, and Paul Kowert, recorded the album at Blackbird Studio in Nashville with...

The Phosphorescent Blues is the fourth studio album by the American progressive bluegrass band Punch Brothers, released on January 27, 2015, via Nonesuch Records. The album was produced by T Bone Burnett and explores themes related to technology's impact on human interaction and daily life. The albu...

Fork in the Road is the debut album by American bluegrass band The Infamous Stringdusters, released on Sugar Hill Records in 2007. The album earned the International Bluegrass Music Association's Album of the Year award, while its title track won Song of the Year. The recording helped establish the...

Turmoil & Tinfoil is the 2017 solo studio debut album by American bluegrass musician Billy Strings. It was released on the Apostol label and reached number 3 on Billboard's Bluegrass Albums chart. The album features original songs that blend bluegrass with elements of jam, progressive, and acoustic...

The SteelDrivers is the 2008 Rounder Records debut album by the Nashville bluegrass band of the same name. It features Chris Stapleton as lead vocalist and guitarist, alongside Mike Henderson, Tammy Rogers, Mike Fleming, and Richard Bailey, combining acoustic bluegrass instrumentation with blues, co...

The Muscle Shoals Recordings is the fourth studio album by the American bluegrass band The SteelDrivers, released in 2015 on Rounder Records. The album features the band's signature sound, which blends traditional bluegrass instrumentation with elements of country, soul, and blues. It was recorded a...

Laws of Gravity is a studio album by the American bluegrass band The Infamous Stringdusters, released on January 13, 2017, under Compass Records. The album consists entirely of original songs written or co-written by the band members, reflecting their collaborative approach to songwriting and instru...

Wheels is a 2008 bluegrass album by American singer, mandolinist, and guitarist Dan Tyminski, released by Rounder Records. The recording combines lead and harmony vocals with an acoustic string-band approach rooted in contemporary and traditional bluegrass, and it reached number one on Billboard's b...

"Nobody Knows You" is the 2012 studio album by the American bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers, released on the Rounder Records label. The album features a mix of original compositions and traditional acoustic instrumentation, highlighting the group's proficiency on the banjo, fiddle, and mandolin....

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...

Reckless is a bluegrass album by the band The SteelDrivers, released in 2010 on the Rounder Records label. The album achieved notable commercial success, peaking at No. 2 on the bluegrass music charts. It was subsequently nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, marking a signif...

Papertown is the 2012 bluegrass album by the band Balsam Range, titled in reference to the town of Canton, North Carolina. The record earned the group critical recognition within the genre, specifically winning the Album of the Year award at the 2013 International Bluegrass Music Association awards....

The Travelin' McCourys is the self-titled studio album by the American bluegrass band of the same name. The group was formed by brothers Ronnie and Rob McCoury, sons of bluegrass musician Del McCoury, and performs a blend of traditional bluegrass with modern improvisational elements. The album featu...

Released in 2006 on Rounder Records, "Long List of Heartaches" is the second studio album by the American bluegrass band The Grascals. The record features vocal and instrumental contributions from prominent country music guests, including George Jones, Vince Gill, and Dierks Bentley. It achieved sig...

Antifogmatic is the second studio album by Punch Brothers, released in 2010 on Nonesuch Records. The progressive bluegrass quintet, led by mandolinist Chris Thile, expands the boundaries of traditional bluegrass with complex compositions incorporating elements of classical chamber music, jazz, and c...

The Grascals is the Nashville bluegrass band's 2005 Rounder debut, a Grammy-nominated album that reached No. 3 on Billboard's bluegrass chart.

Into My Own is a 2014 album by American bluegrass guitarist and singer Bryan Sutton, released by Sugar Hill Records. The recording combines Sutton's flatpicking and vocals with bluegrass ensemble playing while also making room for material and guests beyond a strictly traditional format, including g...

Things That Fly is a 2010 album by the Infamous Stringdusters, released by Sugar Hill Records. It combines bluegrass instrumentation and ensemble picking with contemporary songwriting and the exploratory approach often associated with progressive bluegrass and jamgrass. The instrumental track "Magic...

"This World Oft Can Be" is the second full-length studio album by the all-female bluegrass band Della Mae, released on Rounder Records in 2013. The Boston-formed group blends traditional bluegrass instrumentation with modern acoustic songwriting on this release. The album was produced by Bryan Sutto...

"Five" is the 2014 studio album by the acoustic bluegrass group Balsam Range, originating from Haywood County, North Carolina. The record features the track "Moon Over Memphis," which earned the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Song of the Year award in 2015. The album highlights the...