Old Things New by Joe Nichols

Drinking songs are a big part of the tradition of country music. In fact, Joe Nichols scored his biggest hit with one: 2005's "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off." He finds more potent inspiration at the bottom of the bottle on Old Things New, one of the year's best country albums. On "Cheaper Than a Shrink," a humorous honky-tonker, Nichols extols the therapeutic benefits of alcohol: "'Bout 18 bucks'll get you four six-packs/ No pouring out your heart to some high-dollar quack." But it's the rehabbed singer's own drinking problem that brings real-life substance to "An Old Friend of Mine," a classic country ballad about giving up booze. On tunes like this and the cozy "This Bed's Too Big," Nichols, with his rich, barrel-deep baritone, sounds like the heir to Johnny Cash.