Any errors in spelling, counting, etc. are, probably, mine. If anyone can answer the odd questions that are dotted about I'd be grateful if you emailed me about them (rmp6@le.ac.uk)... Quotes are from various list makers, thanks again to all 90 of you...
| Place | Artist | Title | Votes | Comments |
| 1 | Nanci Griffith | Other Voices, Too | 58 | "It would still be in my top 10, even if I had bought a million others." |
| 2 | Lucinda Williams | Car Wheels On A Gravel Road | 55 | "Nothing even comes close..." |
| 3 | Emmylou Harris | Spyboy | 31 | The album which attracted the most uses of the word "amazing"! |
| 4 | Lyle Lovett | Step Into This House | 30 | "Lyle could make me ache if he sang my water bill" |
| 5 | Various Artists | Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf | 26 | "...a very heartfelt collection..." |
| 6 | Kate Campbell | Visions Of Plenty | 22 | Her best yet? |
| 7 | Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell | Cry Cry Cry | 21 | "*** (*'s mean favorite)" |
| 8 | Various Artists | Horse Whiperer Soundtrack | 18 | "Not a bad song in the bunch." |
| 9 | Gillian Welch | Hell Among The Yearlings | 16 | |
| 10 | Billy Bragg and Wilco | Mermaid Avenue | 15 | How anyone can have a record collection without 'California Stars' in it is beyond me... one of my favourite songs of the year... |
| 11 | Various Artists | Where Have All the Flowers Gone: Songs of Pete Seeger | 11 | |
| 12 | Bob Dylan | Live 1966 The Albert Hall Concerts | 8 | |
| 12 | Kate and Anna McGarrigle | The McGarrigle Hour | 8 | |
| 12 | Susan Werner | Time Between Trains | 8 | |
| 15 | John Gorka | After Yesterday | 7 | |
| 15 | REM | Up | 7 | |
| 17 | The Dixie Chicks | Wide Open Spaces | 6 | |
| 17 | Ellis Paul | Translucent Soul | 6 | |
| 19 | Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach | Painted From Memory | 5 | "...fabulous songwriting lyrics and melody..." |
| 19 | Stacey Earle | Simple Gearle | 5 | "...powerful and beautiful...I can't recommend this one enough..." |
| 19 | Marcia Ball, Irma Thomas and Tracy Nelson | Sing It! | 5 | |
| 19 | The Mavericks | Trampoline | 5 | "The most unique innovative record I heard this year." |
| 19 | Liz Phair | whitechocolatespaceegg | 5 | |
| 19 | Son Volt | Wide Swing Tremelo | 5 | |
| 19 | Bruce Springsteen | Tracks | 5 | "...powerful...moving...incredible..." |
| 26 | Barenaked Ladies | Stunt | 4 | |
| 26 | Jonatha Brooke | 10 Cent Wings (1997) | 4 | |
| 26 | Cowboy Junkies | Miles From Our Home | 4 | |
| 26 | Sara Hickman | Two Kinds Of Laughter | 4 | |
| 26 | Jewel | Spirit | 4 | (4 votes before it's even officially released...is this a record?) |
| 26 | Jones and Leva | Journey Home | 4 | "Exquisite vocals, harmonies and lyrics. I love this!" |
| 26 | Lynn Miles | Night In A Strange Town | 4 | (another not out until January 1999?) |
| 26 | Dave Matthews Band | Before These Crowded Streets | 4 | |
| 26 | Willie Nelson | Teatro | 4 | |
| 26 | Linda Ronstadt | We Ran | 4 | |
| 26 | Randy Scruggs | Crown of Jewels | 4 | |
| 26 | Eric Taylor | Resurrect | 4 | |
| 38 | Sheryl Crow | The Globe Sessions | 3 | "...just keeps getting better..." |
| 38 | Sandy Denny | Gold Dust: Live At The Royalty | 3 | |
| 38 | Robert Earl Keen | Walking Distance | 3 | |
| 38 | Bela Fleck | Left Of Cool | 3 | |
| 38 | Patty Griffin | Flaming Red | 3 | |
| 38 | Terri Hendrix | Wilory Farm | 3 | |
| 38 | Bruce Hornsby | Spirit Trail | 3 | "...full of gems..." |
| 38 | Kate Jacobs | Hydrangea | 3 | |
| 38 | Jennifer Kimball | Veering From The Wave | 3 | |
| 38 | Mary Lou Lord | Got No Shadows | 3 | |
| 38 | Los Super Seven | Los Super Seven | 3 | Contains the next best version of 'Deportees' released this year... |
| 38 | Natalie Merchant | Ophelia | 3 | |
| 38 | Van Morrison | The Philosopher's Stone | 3 | |
| 38 | Dolly Parton | Hungry Again | 3 | |
| 38 | Rufus Wainwright | Rufus Wainwright | 3 | "...truly remarkable" |
| 38 | Jerry Jeff Walker | Cowboy Boots and Bathin' Suits | 3 | |
| 38 | Valerie Smith | Patchwork Heart (1997) | 3 | |
| 55 | Air | Moon Saferi | 2 | |
| 55 | Dave Alvin | Blackjack David | 2 | |
| 55 | The Band | Jubilation | 2 | |
| 55 | Suzy Bogguss | Nobody Love, Nobody Gets Hurt | 2 | |
| 55 | Judy Collins | Both Sides Now | 2 | |
| 55 | Shawn Colvin | Holiday Songs and Lullabies | 2 | |
| 55 | Jerry Douglas | Restless On The Farm | 2 | |
| 55 | Eddie From Ohio | Portable EFO Show | 2 | "Turn it up to 'comfortably' loud setting and then sit back and enjoy." |
| 55 | Joe Ely | Twistin' In The Wind | 2 | |
| 55 | John Fogerty | Premonition | 2 | |
| 55 | Freakwater | Springtime | 2 | |
| 55 | Jerry Garcia and David Grisman | So What | 2 | |
| 55 | Ian & Sylvia | Best Of The Vanguard Years | 2 | |
| 55 | Chris Isaak | Speak Of The Devil | 2 | |
| 55 | Bap Kennedy | Domestic Blues | 2 | Nanci and Steve Earle featured again. |
| 55 | Cheri Knight | The Northeast Kingdom | 2 | |
| 55 | Chris Knight | Chris Knight | 2 | "Debut of the year" |
| 55 | Celeste Krenz | Wishin' | 2 | "...truly amazing work of writing and singing..." |
| 55 | Sinead Lohan | No Mermaid | 2 | "...bought on a whim [and] loved the first time I played it..." |
| 55 | Madonna | Ray of Light | 2 | |
| 55 | John Mellancamp | John Mellancamp | 2 | "...the comeback record of the year...probably his best ever." |
| 55 | Joni Mitchell | Taming The Tiger | 2 | |
| 55 | Pearl Jam | Yield | 2 | |
| 55 | Rebecca Pidgeon | Four Marys | 2 | "Beautiful.." |
| 55 | Pine Valley Cosmonauts | Salute The Majesty of Bob Wills | 2 | "...perfect..." and (for all you punk fans) it features someone from The Mekons! |
| 55 | Tanya Savory | Town To Town (1997) | 2 | |
| 55 | Gove Scrivenor | Shine On | 2 | |
| 55 | Semisonic | Feeling Strangely Fine | 2 | |
| 55 | Brian Setzer Orchestra | The Dirty Boogie Woogie | 2 | "...this is swing music." |
| 55 | Jules Shear | Between Us | 2 | |
| 55 | Ricky Skaggs | Bluegrass Rules | 2 | |
| 55 | Tiny Town | Tiny Town | 2 | "Not a weak cut on it." |
| 55 | Various Artists | 'Hope Floats' Soundtrack | 2 | "...skip the movie...just listen to the soundtrack." |
| 55 | Various Artists | Lillith Fair | 2 | |
| 55 | Victoria Williams | Musings From A Creekdipper | 2 | |
| 55 | Lucinda Williams | Lucinda Williams (reissue) | 2 | |
| 55 | Lee Ann Womack | Some Things I Know | 2 | |
| 55 | Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings | Struttin' Our Stuff | 2 | |
| 93 | John Adams | Gnarly Buttons | 0 | |
| 93 | Johnny Adams | Man Of My Word | 1 | |
| 93 | Amazing Rhythm Aces | Chock Full Of Country Goodness | 1 | |
| 93 | Anam | Riptide | 1 | |
| 93 | Eric Anderson | Memory Of The Future | 1 | "...best folk CD of the year." |
| 93 | Andersen, Alnaes and Cartensen | Sommerblrisen | 1 | |
| 93 | Craig Armstong | The Space Between Us | 1 | |
| 93 | Athenaeum | Radience | 1 | |
| 93 | Lori B | Hurricane Child | 1 | |
| 93 | The Band | The Shape I'm In | 1 | |
| 93 | BeeGees | One Night Only | 1 | |
| 93 | Belle and Sebastian | The Boy With The Arab Strap | 1 | "Brilliant sardonic pop from Scotland." |
| 93 | Dan Bern | Smartie Mine | 1 | "By far his best album" |
| 93 | Dan Bern | 50 Eggs | 1 | |
| 93 | Beta Band | The 3 Eps | 1 | |
| 93 | Briele | Briele | 1 | |
| 93 | Chuck Brodsky | Radio | 1 | |
| 93 | Junior Brown | Long Walk Back | 1 | |
| 93 | Jackson Browne | Cantame Mis Cancione | 1 | |
| 93 | Richard Buckner | Since | 1 | "Haunting and rocking at the same time" |
| 93 | Jimmy Buffett | Don't Stop The Carnival | 1 | |
| 93 | Sam Bush | Howlin' At The Moon | 1 | |
| 93 | Neko Case and Her Boyfriends | The Virginian | 1 | |
| 93 | Peter Case | Full Service No Waiting | 1 | |
| 93 | Eva Cassidy | Songbird | 1 | "Simply stunning" |
| 93 | Vikky Clayton | It Suits Me Well | 1 | |
| 93 | Marc Cohn | Burning The Daze | 1 | |
| 93 | Jesse Cook | Vertigo | 1 | |
| 93 | Dee Carstensen | The Map | 1 | |
| 93 | Stuart Davis | 16 Nudes | 1 | |
| 93 | Ani Di Franco | Little Plastic Castles | 1 | "Her lyrics are amazing" |
| 93 | Al Di Meola | The Infinite Desire | 1 | |
| 93 | Bob Dylan | Time Out of Mind (1997) | 1 | |
| 93 | Steve Earle and the Dukes | Come Back Woody Guthrie (Live) | 1 | I can't find any official details on this, is it a bootleg? |
| 93 | Kurt Elling | This Time It's Love | 1 | "The Sinatra of our times." |
| 93 | Ramblin' Jack Elliot | Friends Of Mine | 1 | |
| 93 | Gloria Estefan | Gloria! | 1 | |
| 93 | Marianne Faithful | The 7 Deadly Sins | 1 | |
| 93 | Fastball | All The Pain Money Can Buy | 1 | |
| 93 | Neil Finn | Try Whistling This | 1 | "Perfect pop for grownups..." |
| 93 | Rosie Flores | Dance Hall Dreams (1999) | 1 | "...well worth saving some of your Christmas money for..." |
| 93 | Sue Foley | Ten Days in November | 1 | |
| 93 | Steve Forbert | Streets Of This Town (1988) | 1 | |
| 93 | The Freighthoppers | Waiting On The Gravy Train | 1 | |
| 93 | Robbie Fulks | Lets Kill Saturday Night | 1 | |
| 93 | Gaelic Storm | Gaelic Storm | 1 | "Gets my toes tapping." |
| 93 | Garbage | Version 2.0 | 1 | |
| 93 | Golden Smog | Weird Tales | 1 | |
| 93 | The Gourds | Stadium Blitzer | 1 | |
| 93 | Grateful Dead | Dick Picks 12 | 1 | "...from 1974...this Pick is excellent...wonderful clear sound..." |
| 93 | Great Western Squares | Almost Sober | 1 | "...grabbed me on the first spin" |
| 93 | Cindy Green | Winona City Limits | 1 | |
| 93 | Gypsy Soul | New Flamenco | 1 | |
| 93 | Hank Dogs | Bareback | 1 | |
| 93 | Annie Haslam | Live Under Brazilian Skies | 1 | |
| 93 | John Hiatt | Greatest Hits | 1 | |
| 93 | Bobby Hicks | Fiddle Patch | 1 | |
| 93 | Faith Hill | Faith | 1 | |
| 93 | Lauryn Hill | The Miseducation of… | 1 | |
| 93 | Tish Hinojosa | Sonar del Labarinto | 1 | |
| 93 | Natalie Imbruglia | Left Of The Middle | 1 | |
| 93 | Colin James | Little Big Band II | 1 | |
| 93 | Johnsmith | Hole In The Clouds | 1 | "This CD will make your world brighter." |
| 93 | Freddy Jones | Lucid (1997) | 1 | |
| 93 | Brenda Kahn | 1 | I can't find the title of this one either, but her latest release was 'Outside The Beauty' from 1997... | |
| 93 | The Kennedys | Angel Fire | 1 | |
| 93 | K's Choice | Cocoon Crash | 1 | |
| 93 | Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver | Gospel Radio Gems | 1 | |
| 93 | John Lennon | Anthology | 1 | |
| 93 | John Lennon | Wonsaponatime | 1 | |
| 93 | Lightening Seeds | Like You Do | 1 | |
| 93 | Little Feat | Under The Radar | 1 | |
| 93 | Deborah Liv Johnson | Softly and Tenderly | 1 | |
| 93 | Los Hombres Calientes | Los Hombres Calientes | 1 | "Experimental jazz and Cuban music" |
| 93 | Nick Lowe | Dig My Mood | 1 | "I love it" |
| 93 | Mahler | Das Klagende Lied"(conductor: Kent Nagano) | 1 | |
| 93 | Marilyn Manson | Mechanical Animals | 1 | |
| 93 | Massive Attack | Mezzanine | 1 | |
| 93 | Kavisha Mazzerella | Fisherman's Daughter | 1 | "...wonderful voice...lovely stuff" |
| 93 | Peter Maxwell Davies | Mavis in Las Vegas | 1 | |
| 93 | Kate McDonnell | Next | 1 | "...a mighty fine voice." |
| 93 | Sarah McLaughlan | Surfacing (1997) | 1 | |
| 93 | James McMurty | Walk Between The Raindrops | 1 | |
| 93 | Chris Mills | Every Night Fight For Your Life | 1 | |
| 93 | Keb Mo | Slow Down | 1 | |
| 93 | Katy Moffatt | Angel Town | 1 | |
| 93 | Allison Moorer | Alabama Song | 1 | "A fabulous debut...she should become a major star" |
| 93 | Morcheeba | Big Calm | 1 | |
| 93 | Alanis Morisette | Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie | 1 | |
| 93 | Shawn Mullins | Souls Core | 1 | |
| 93 | Mysteries of Life | Come Clean | 1 | "...kind of quirky, contemporary and retro at the same time." |
| 93 | Beth Neilson Chapman | Sand and Water (1997) | 1 | |
| 93 | Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash | VH1 Storytellers | 1 | |
| 93 | Randy Newman | Guilty | 1 | |
| 93 | New Patrons | New Patrons | 1 | |
| 93 | Mark Newton | Living A Dream | 1 | |
| 93 | Stevie Nicks | Enchanted | 1 | |
| 93 | Beaver Nelson | The Last Hurrah | 1 | "...some of the best songs of the year" |
| 93 | Nields | Mousse | 1 | |
| 93 | Nields | Play | 1 | |
| 93 | Mark O'Connor | Midnight On The Water | 1 | |
| 93 | Tom Pacheco | Bare Bones and Barbed Wire | 1 | "...every bit as good as Townes and Guy...every home should have a copy" |
| 93 | PanAmerican | PanAmerican | 1 | "Post-rocks second finest hour" |
| 93 | Murray Perahia | Bach "English Suites' No. 1, 3 and 6 | 1 | |
| 93 | Pierce Pettis | Everything Matters | 1 | |
| 93 | Philip Pickett with Richard Thompson | The Bones Of All Men | 1 | |
| 93 | Pullman | Turnstyles and Junkpiles | 1 | "Kind of slowed down bluegrass for people who don't like bluegrass" |
| 93 | Bonnie Raitt | Fundamental | 1 | |
| 93 | Collin Raye | The Walls Came Down | 1 | |
| 93 | Amy Rigby | Middlescence | 1 | |
| 93 | Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys | Bayou Ruler | 1 | |
| 93 | Johnny Rivers | Last Train To Memphis | 1 | |
| 93 | Robbie Robertson | Contact From The Underworld Of Red Boy | 1 | |
| 93 | Suzzy Roche | Holy Smokes | 1 | |
| 93 | Rasheen Roland Kirk | Dog Years In The Forth Ring | 1 | |
| 93 | Rolling Stones | No Security | 1 | |
| 93 | Kate Rusby | Hourglass | 1 | |
| 93 | Cathie Ryan | Music Of What Happens | 1 | |
| 93 | Salamander Crossing | Bottleneck Dreams | 1 | |
| 93 | John Schofield | A Go Go | 1 | "...some very funky organ grooves..." |
| 93 | Frank Sinatra and Antonia Jobim | (reissue) | 1 | |
| 93 | Cory Sipper | Orbiter | 1 | |
| 93 | Solas | The Words That Remain | 1 | |
| 93 | Squirrel Nut Zippers | Perennial Favorites | 1 | |
| 93 | Stravinsky | The Mono Years' | 1 | |
| 93 | Angela Strehli | Deja Blue | 1 | |
| 93 | Sweet Honey In The Rock | Twenty Five | 1 | |
| 93 | Chip Taylor | 7 Days in May | 1 | Contributions from NN favourites Lucinda Williams and Guy Clark |
| 93 | Susan Tedechi | Just Won't Burn | 1 | "An amazing debut..." |
| 93 | Todd Thibaud | Favorite Waste Of Time | 1 | |
| 93 | Richard Thompson | Celtschermz | 1 | |
| 93 | Tortoise | TNT | 1 | "Post-rocks finest hour" |
| 93 | Train | Train | 1 | |
| 93 | Greg Trooper | Popular Demons | 1 | |
| 93 | UNKLE | Psyence Fiction | 1 | |
| 93 | Various Artists | "The Apostle" Soundtrack | 1 | |
| 93 | Various Artists | The Best of the Cambridge Folk Festival | 1 | |
| 93 | Various Artists | Folkscene | 1 | |
| 93 | Various Artists | What's That I Hear: Songs of Phil Ochs | 1 | |
| 93 | Various Artists | The Look Of Love | 1 | Bacharach tribute |
| 93 | Various Artists | Rhythm and Smoke | 1 | |
| 93 | Various Artists | Songs From The Smoke | 1 | |
| 93 | Various Artists | Sounds of Wood and Steel | 1 | |
| 93 | Various Artists | Tammy Wynette Remembered | 1 | |
| 93 | Various Artists | Troubadour | 1 | |
| 93 | Various Artists | VH1 Divas Live | 1 | |
| 93 | Loudon Wainwright III | Attempted Moustache (1973 reissue) | 1 | |
| 93 | Loudon Wainwright III | Little Ship | 1 | |
| 93 | Steve Wariner | Burning The Road House Down | 1 | |
| 93 | Papa Wemba | Molokai | 1 | |
| 93 | Chris Whitley | Dirt Floor | 1 | "A sensual, haunting acoustic set..." |
| 93 | Victoria Williams | Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers | 1 | Another confusing one, should this be 'Musings of a Creek Dipper' or is a bootleg or something else? |
| 93 | John Williamson | Pipedream | 1 | |
| 93 | Mare Winningham | Lonesomers | 1 | "...beautiful rhythms and melodies..." |
| 93 | Whisky Town | 1 | Can't find the title of this one, anyone remember putting it down? | |
| 93 | Brian Wilson | Imagination | 1 | |
| 93 | Wiseman, Watson and McCoury | Mac, Doc and Del | 1 | |
| 93 | Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings | Anyway The Wind Blows | 1 | Can't find this one anywhere either...should this be the JJ Cale album released in 1997? |
| 93 | Yellow Balloon | Yellow Balloon (reissue) | 1 | "...absolutely wonderful" |
| 93 | Dwight Yoakam | A Long Way Home | 1 | "Classic country for now people" |
| 93 | Zawinul Syndicate | World Tour | 1 | "Full of ambient world beaty grooves" |
...or about 250 albums, who said 1998 was a bad year? I wouldn't like to count 'em up in a good one! And don't forget 1999 starts of in the best possible way with a new Cheryl Wheeler album out in about two weeks...