Henning Memorial United Methodist Church

Amid a young crop of female singers who consider technique and flash to be the highest virtues, Thomas’s no-frills delivery on Simply Grand is, while not consistently grand, always superbly simple.

Sugarland’s third album, Love on the Inside, collects emotions and life lessons while avoiding the oversimplification of much mainstream country.

Perhaps the most inspirational aspect of Big Blue Ball, aside from the heavenly notion of “every tribe and tongue” it represents, is the suggestion that peaceful coexistence—especially during a time of such global discord—might be more than just a beautiful dream.

Singer/songwriter Amos Lee creates music that shares the quality of his unpretentious name. Accordingly, neither of his first two albums left any footprints on the Top 40. But with the release of Last Days at the Lodge, it becomes evident that Lee’s unassuming style is one of his strengths.

The eclectic menu on Spring and Summer neither fully supports nor belies its title, other than through symbols of regeneration. As much as anything, it’s the second harvest of a prolific but reluctant rock star whose career is experiencing a fruitful change of season.

On Mellencamp’s 23rd outing, he trades his anthemic, sing-along choruses for bare bones blues- and folk-influenced fare that explores the ills of American society.

Its examination of human failure and dysfunction leaves Flavors of Entanglement with some bitter moments. But, provided you find its digital textures appetizing, its aftertaste is one of healthy possibilities.

The culmination of her rule-breaking career’s various phases on All I Intended To Be is proof, if anyone doubted it, that Harris’s vision remains every bit as sharp as her roots are deep.

On Green’s 1977 exit from secular music, The Belle Album, he described his struggle in the line, “It’s you that I want, but Him that I need.” The singer seems to have reconciled the conflicting realities of spirit and flesh on Lay It Down, an album that lovers of classic-style soul will find to be a sweet surrender.

Though the statements on faith are often limited to images of new mornings and distant shores, the passionate performances on Nine Lives often speak eloquently about a world that, despite its pleasures, leaves us longing for something more.

On new tracks that blend longtime Diamond trademarks with a few unexpected turns, the classic pop stylist reveals deeper vulnerabilities than perhaps ever before.

Stacey’s identity is nearly as fully formed musically as he claims it to be spiritually, and indeed, on his engaging and stylistically forward-thinking first outing, the two parts are all but inseparable.