Now that CMJ has dropped their alt country music reporting for independent, community and college radio stations, thank God we have John Conquest at Third Coast Music to take up the cause. As part of his work with the essential publication for roots music, John has put together a collective of alt country djs under the moniker Freeform American Roots - FAR - and compiles a monthly listing of "real music played by real djs for real people."

According to the Third Coast Music website, "FAR charts are compiled from reports sent in by actual DJs with freeform (i.e. no playlists) radio shows on public, college and community stations round the country (and world). Each of them lists the six albums they took most pleasure in playing, one of which can be their Album of the Month (designated by a * and their initials)." This is of course, in direct opposition to most other radio stations, country or not, where music is picked by computer or by committee based on a tangled metric of advertising, demographics, payola, and voodoo. You can view the FAR charts for November here.

In addition to the charts, TCM also compiles a year-end "Best Of", so I thought I'd share this years Best of 2007 with you. While I don't agree with all these picks, nor even play them on my own show, they make a nice alternative checklist for those of you looking for some real roots music to check out.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
#1 Starline Rhythm Boys: Red’s Place
2 Sam Baker: Pretty World
3 Levon Helm: Dirt Farmer
4 Steve Earle: Washington Square Serenade
5 Eilen Jewell: Letters From Sinners And Strangers
6 Cornell Hurd Band: Beyond The Purple Hills
7 Teddy Thompson: Upfront And Down Low
8 Gurf Morlix: Diamonds To Dust
9 Dwight Yoakam: Dwight Sings Buck
10 John Lilly: Haunted Honky Tonk
11 Ry Cooder: My Name Is Buddy
12 Elizabeth Cook: Balls
13 Jimmy LaFave: Cimarron Manifesto
14 David Serby: Another Sleepness Night
15 The Rizdales: Radio Country
16 Mavis Staples: We’ll Never Turn Back
17 Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Raising Sand
18 Yarn
19 Dennis Brennan: Engagement
20 Bill Kirchen: Hammer Of The Honky-Tonk Gods

DEBUT ALBUM
#1 Kendall Carson: Rearview Mirror Tears [6]
2 Rachel Harrington: The Bootlegger’s Daughter
3 Ryan Bingham: Mescalito
4 Martha Scanlan: The West Was Burning
5 Laura Bell: Looking for A Place Already Gone

VARIOUS ARTISTS/TRIBUTE ALBUM
#1 Goin’ Home; A Tribute To Fats Domino
2 Wounded Heart Of America; Tom Russell Songs
3 Song Of America
4 Dwight Yoakam: Dwight Sings Buck
5 Just One More; A Tribute To Larry Brown
5 Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook Vols 2 & 3
6 Always Lift Him Up; Tribute To Blind Alfred Reed