RUNNERS-UP: True Love Cast Out All Evil (Anti-), Roky Erickson with Okkervil River; Myth of the Heart (Playing in Traffic), Sahara Smith; Songs for Staying In, Quiet Company; El Existential (Nat Geo Music), Grupo Fantasma; Texas Treasures (Deep South), Los Texas Wranglers; Break, One-Eyed Doll; Hexadecagon (Peek-A-Boo), the Octopus Project; Up Close (EMI/Vortexan), Eric Johnson; Street Songs of Love (Fantasy/Concord), Alejandro Escovedo; Phosphene Dream (Blue Horizon), Black Angels; Let the Light In (Root House), Amy Cook; Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites (Shout! Factory), Jimmie Vaughan; The Bright Lights, Saints of Valory; The Laziest Girl in Town, Elizabeth McQueen; Codename: Rondo (Trashy Moped), Ghostland Observatory; ¡Està Bueno! (Bismeaux), Texas Tornados; Green Diamond, Eric Tessmer; Downtown Church (Credential), Patty Griffin; New Morning (Hollywood), Alpha Rev

This article appears in March 25 • 2011.

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