Emmylou Harris

Heartache’s a bitch, but it’s nothing that Mr. Jack Daniels can’t fix. Soul ache’s a different story. And there’s nothing like listening to Emmylou Harris to help you realize just how perversely good being alone can feel. The honey-voiced Harris returned to her songwriting roots on 2000’s Red Dirt Girl — her first record of mostly original material since 1985’s The Ballad of Sally Rose — an exquisite album that critics snubbed for having too much awe and not enough shucks. Her 2003 Stumble Into Grace was shot through with similarly pained flawlessness. What the fuck else was a girl to do? When your soul aches, your soul aches. Can’t help if it’s pretty.