Gary Allan
See If I Care (MCA Nashville)

Gary Allan's fifth release is one of the best country albums of 2003. The disc opens with "Drinkin' Dark Whiskey," a rumbling slice of honky-tonk fueled by a muscular guitar riff. The self-mythologizing "Guys Like Me" shows that Allan can gracefully incorporate the sounds of two of his key influences: Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. Allan displays his sensitive side on "Don't Look Away," a fiddle-laced tearjerker about love growing cold.

Lyle Lovett
My Baby Don't Tolerate (Curb/Lost Highway)

In recent years, Lyle Lovett has put out a double CD of other songwriters' material, a live album, a mostly instrumental soundtrack score, and two compilations. This quirky songwriter is back with a new batch of originals that reveals a love for the open road. "The Truck Song" concerns a man's affection for his old pickup, "Nothing But a Good Ride" celebrates the trucker's life, and "Cute as a Bug" is about a motorist who becomes smitten with a gal he sees while driving on the highway.

Sheryl Crow The Very Best of Sheryl Crow(A&M Records)

In 1994, the infectious single "All I Wanna Do" made Sheryl Crow a bona fide rock star. A reliable, tasteful hit-maker, Crow has been a welcome presence on pop radio for the past decade. This 17-track collection will shame any listener who has taken Crow for granted. It's hard not to sing along with memorable tunes like "My Favorite Mistake," "Strong Enough," "Soak Up the Sun" or her remake of "The First Cut Is the Deepest."