Phil Leadbetter's "Slide Effects" easily came into first place for a number of reasons. No matter how we evaluated our reader's choices, this album was an all around hit. Phil's solo album combined artistry with originality with a smooth production of his mastery of the resonator guitar.

Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver: You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper was their first Rounder release and what a hit it was. This is an excellent all-around bluegrass and gospel album that is immaculately produced and presented. Everybody seems to love this album. It almost made the #1 spot but our reader responses put it just shy of the top - not by much though.

Larry Sparks hit album "40" surprised us as the response to this album and it's review was outstanding. We knew Larry was great and that his anticipated album would be one folks would chase after but the Cybergrass readers know a good thing when they hear it and this album was way at the top of our lists in multiple categories.

James Reams and The Barnstormers album and DVD was an extreme joy for our readers. The added material and the quality of the music combined to rate this album as a "Must Have" by our general bluegrass community. We are not one to argue. This is one of those albums you can enjoy over and over again and we look forward to more great music from this band.

James King: The Bluegrass Storyteller got off to a slow start but as people found out about it, it didn't take long to pick up steam. And HOT steam it was. James King is hot and the Bluegrass Storyteller is what bluegrass music is really all about - great music and great stories.

The Grascals released their debut album and with their exposure, professionalism and quality all combined, this album really got a lot of marks right out of the gate. The marks are still coming in and this bluegrass band is showing how it's done. They do it right. The album is a nice blend of the music and artistry of The Grascals. Expect more great things from this band.

Rhonda Vincent's First Ever Live DVD "Ragin' Live" had high marks in the announcement, the reviews and obviously in every other area. She has a strong fan base and many are also regular readers of Cybergrass. Ragin' Live would probably been higher up on our charts except that some of the other albums got a head start. There is absolutely nothing lacking on this production.

Cedar Hill's Stories was another storytelling album that received a real warm welcome by our readers. Echo Mountain was obviously the topic of the day but it wasn't the only song getting outstanding comments and review. The entire album is a fresh sound to bluegrass music and is presented in a fresh way.

Alecia Nugent: Alecia Nugent was an album that got off to a hot start but then cooled down as the year progressed. The initial response was extremely high and remained that way for over two months. Alecia has received much praise for your vocal qualities and this album shows off her talent quite well.

Ricky Skaggs hit album, Brand New Strings, was never red hot with our readers but it had the ability to sustain a great deal of interest for a very long time. This reflects the strength of this album. Ricky has managed to surround himself with outstanding musicians and his love of bluegrass comes through with great clarity on this album. If you like hot and soulful bluegrass then you'll enjoy this album.

Honorable Mention goes to a few outstanding albums. These albums stood out as having significant interest among our readers. Although they didn't rate in the top 10, they surely deserve honorable mention.

Cherryholmes debut self-titled album was always hot and after the IBMA awards, got white hot. This band is hot and their rapid rise to stardom and popularity is well deserved. This album is a great introduction to this outstanding band.

Another album that received great interest was Nickel Creek's "Why Should the Fire Die?" It seems that everybody is talking about this album but there is mixed opinion about it. Overall, people like the musical talent and the uniqueness of the album but maybe not so much the material actually on the album. Our readers wanted more of a bluegrass sound.

The boxed set Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers: You Ain''t Talkin' To Me - Charlie Poole and the Roots of Country Music was an unexpected surprise to the bluegrass community. Our readers seemed to really love this set. Between the announcement and the reviews, this collection continues to receive a lot of activity from both our registered users and the guest community of readers. People just seem to like this kind of material now and then and the timing must have been great for this release.

Tony Rice - 58957: The Bluegrass Guitar Collection was another album with great timing. Released when there wasn't anything really exciting going on, this Rounder release awakened our readers with a bang! This release contains some of the hottest instrumentals and guitar work ever. The music is solid, fast and bright. It is no wonder why Rice is the man others try to follow as he is the leader in the guitar department. The number 58957 isn't a train -- its the serial number of the guitar played on all the tracks. Its a guitar built by C.F. Martin on January 23rd, 1935.

This is a summary of what our readers enjoyed. Although not a scientific survey, it pretty well reflects how the bluegrass readers of Cybergrass view their bluegrass music. We'll see how they do for 2006 next year.

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