Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)

Lucinda Williams's fourth album in 18 years (in fairness, she stepped up the pace after this) was the one that finally brought her to my attention (and the world's), the result for me of randomly happening to hear "Right in Time" on the car radio, one of those sit-bolt-upright and got to know what the hell that was experiences. Having since plowed through the oeuvre past present and future I think there's no denying she's something special. There's a lot of drunkenness in her material, a lot of southern wrack and ruin, and her appreciation for the chosen objects of her affection – Paul Westerberg, X, and rock critics in general, to name a few – often take me by surprise. She's country to her bone. But she's an awful lot more as well. This is as good a primer as any.