Country music and Bill Clinton both affirmed the power of perception in 1996. Each in their own way, both proved that the media tends to fan the fickle winds of what’s hot and what’s not: Once a public image rises or falls, facts are irrelevant. The story instead hinges on the whimsy of popular approval—and popular approval, of course, hinges on the media.

Clinton’s drop and subsequent climb in popularity during his first term had more to do with press-pack journalism than with his effectiveness as a governing leader. We can note a similar trend with the popularity of country music: Even though country sales started increasing dramatically in the mid-1980s, the genre didn’t truly soar into the public consciousness until the early ’90s, when the media transformed Nashville’s success into a never-ending cover story.

But beware the tides of perception—or, as the cliché goes, what goes up must come down. Country music revenues may have quadrupled since 1989, but for the first time since the boom began, sales have begun to slip a bit. It may be a slight downturn when compared to the years of significant growth; it may be a natural adjustment that any expanding field of business is likely to experience. But for the national media, it’s reason enough to ask if country music is in trouble. Before long, the negative stories take on a life of their own; suddenly, country is falling from public favor. Even if the facts don’t support such a conclusion, that’s the image people are left with.

In truth, interest in all fields of popular music is inert at the moment. Although Nashville may feel picked upon, there have been similar negative articles in national magazines about the collapse of gangsta rap, grunge, and alternative rock.

Even if the country music industry can rightfully blame the media for this shift in public perception, it should nevertheless take responsibility for the dark cloud that has moved its way. Which is to say, there’s still plenty wrong with the way things are being run in Nashville: In recent years, optimism has fueled an unprecedented flurry of new record labels and new artist signings. The mad rush has in turn created a glut of artists, causing many newcomers to disappear as quickly as they’ve surfaced. This doesn’t look good to outsiders tracking the music. In addition, the signing boom has bloated the number of struggling mid-level acts—from veterans like Aaron Tippin and Billy Dean to newer acts like Rick Trevino and Michelle Wright—who compete for dwindling space on radio and on concert tours.

No matter how big the pie, it can only be sliced so many times before there’s not enough to go around; with so many careers falling off, it’s no wonder that the media perceives a problem. And yet the truth is that many of country music’s strongest performers are continuing to thrive. The list of artists who enjoyed a solid year at the cash register and at the box office is long and impressive: Alan Jackson, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Clint Black, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, Wynonna, John Michael Montgomery, Tim McGraw, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Faith Hill, Tracy Lawrence, Patty Loveless, Travis Tritt, Trisha Yearwood, Collin Raye, and Mark Chesnutt.

Seven of the top 25 touring acts of 1996 were country performers, as compared to five in 1995. And according to Pollstar, a trade magazine that tracks the concert business, the top 10 country acts on the road saw an increase of 16.4 percent in gross ticket sales over 1995. The CMA Awards show, meanwhile, provided CBS-TV with an outstanding night in the ratings.

Moreover, despite all the newcomers who failed, country music introduced a handful of new artists this year who did find an audience. Last year it was Shania Twain, Terri Clark, Bryan White, and Wade Hayes. This year, the names included LeAnn Rimes, Deana Carter, and Mindy McCready; right behind them were Trace Adkins, Kevin Sharp, Gary Allan, Paul Brandt, and BR-549, all of whom attracted the kind of attention that may keep them around for a few years.

Twain, Rimes, and Carter, the fastest sellers of the bunch, all provided a valuable, if obvious, lesson—although it’s a lesson Nashville seems unwilling to learn. Each of these three women hit big by presenting a sound that stood out markedly from that of her peers. Twain employed a rock producer, whom she married, to help her out; Rimes drew on a timeless torch-song style and recorded the bulk of her album in New Mexico and Texas, far from Music Row’s stifling influence; Carter used nervy song selection and a powerful personality, even as she drew from the same labor pool as every other Nashville country singer.

But while these three women were forging unique musical identities, most other country artists—newcomers and veterans alike—continued to make music that fit the same sound-alike formula. Not that this should be a surprise, since so many singers draw from the same small pool of producers, musicians, and songwriters. Indeed, if Nashville wants to avoid becoming the Bob Dole of the music world, it will have to learn to emphasize its strengths (songs, melodies, realism, good voices) through distinctive performers and recordings. It might help if the Music Row powers-that-be slowed down the factory and stopped issuing so many failed albums and forgettable singers.

Interestingly, some record executives complained this year about the fact that country music is limited to one format, while rock and pop are broken into several sub-genres (modern rock, adult contemporary, adult alternative, etc.). Yet when presented with the viable new Americana format, Nashville did little to help it get off the ground. Independent labels, hungry for radio exposure, rallied behind Americana, but thus far, they haven’t had the financial wherewithal to make it a viable force in the marketplace. That will take the infusion of major-label money.

As it turns out, though, much of the most interesting country music of the year came from outside the mainstream. Creatively speaking, that’s an encouraging sign. At the same time, it’s frustrating that modern country radio refuses to recognize the music of Steve Earle, Gillian Welch, and Iris DeMent as country. Even so, there are plenty of listeners who know better.

Since many of my favorite country albums didn’t come out of the Music Row factory, my list of the year’s best doesn’t reflect the fact that Nashville indeed put out a lot of good records. Beyond the 20 albums ranked below, I also enjoyed 1996 collections by Keith Gattis, Trisha Yearwood, Bobbie Cryner, Harley Allen, Deryl Dodd, Gary Allan, Suzy Bogguss, Mandy Barnett, Travis Tritt, Wynonna, Randy Travis, Wade Hayes, Rhonda Vincent, Chris LeDoux, John Michael Montgomery, Kevin Sharp, Mindy McCready, Paul Brandt, Thrasher-Shriver, and K.T. Oslin. Moreover, there were flawed albums with memorable songs by Deana Carter, LeAnn Rimes, Terri Clark, Trace Adkins, Marty Stuart, Lari White, Vince Gill, Lorrie Morgan, Brooks & Dunn, Linda Davis, Reba McEntire, John Anderson, and Dolly Parton.

My personal favorites from 1996:

Top 10 country albums

1. Steve Earle, I Feel Alright (E Squared/Warner Bros.) Defiant yet bristling with life-affirming resolve, this highly personal country-rock collection fiercely and plaintively explores addiction, faithfulness, loss, and, ultimately, redemption.

2. Gillian Welch, Revival (Almo Sounds) Full of grim fatalism and unerring detail, Welch’s antique country-folk songs zero in on life at its most primal—a place where timeless beauty and harsh survival intermingle daily.

3. Mary Chapin Carpenter, A Place in the World (Columbia) A magical and optimistic look at a woman who takes stock of her life, her goals, and her capacity for love in beautiful verse. The multilayered arrangements cross footloose pop with achingly idyllic ballads.

4. Robbie Fulks, Country Love Songs (Bloodshot) Blunt to the point of brutishness, Fulks revels in bringing a spirit of impudence to raw-boned honky-tonk and high-wired, string-band hoedowns. His cheeky attitude proves outrageously funny as well as harrowingly honest, and it comes from his willingness to take chances by putting a fresh twist on age-old conventions.

5. Johnny Cash, Unchained (American) Cash hooks up with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (as well as six-string expert Marty Stuart) to add color to the dark, soulful sound he explored on his previous outing, American Recordings. Much has been made of Cash’s collaboration with rock producer Rick Rubin, but the album’s strengths are classic ones—a collection of strong songs matched with a distinctive voice and an imposing spirit.

6. Iris DeMent, The Way I Should (Reprise) With a more aggressive and more streamlined sound, DeMent has moved from the personal to the sociopolitical on her third album, all the while maintaining the same gutsy sense of honesty and humanity that has made all of her work so unusually moving.

7. Various artists, True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe (Sugar Hill) A master’s legacy is laid out with passion and precision by modern string musicians paying their debt to the man who inspired them.

8. Alan Jackson, Everything I Love (Arista) Unassuming on the surface but quietly intense underneath, Jackson’s modern honky-tonk balances fiddle-driven bouncers and steel-laden weepers with a sure-handed integrity that has made him the most reliable country star since George Strait.

9. Jim Lauderdale, Persimmons (Upstart) Punchy and unpredictable, Lauderdale swaggers through rootsy country-rockers with an easy assurance. He has a knack for wedding off-kilter melodies to lyrics that are both playful and perceptive.

10. Lyle Lovett, Road to Ensenada (Curb/MCA) More country, and more heartfelt, than on his recent albums, Lovett returns to form with another intelligent collection filled with songs of vengeance, contrition, and self-reflection.

The next 10: Junior Brown, Semi-Crazy (Curb); George Strait, Blue Clear Sky (MCA); Johnny Rodriguez, You Can Say That Again (HighTone); various artists, Rig Rock Deluxe: A Salute to the American Truck Driver (Diesel Only/Upstart); BR5-49, BR5-49 (Arista); Fred Eaglesmith, Drive-In Movie (Vertical); Cox Family, Just When We’re Thinking It’s Over (Asylum); Patty Loveless, The Trouble With the Truth (Epic); Mike Henderson, Edge of Night (Dead Reckoning); Terry Allen, Human Remains (Sugar Hill).

And the rest

In listing my favorite pop/rock and country albums, I’ve omitted many outstanding collections because they don’t fall inside either of those classifications. Some writers avoid this trap simply by listing their top albums of the year without dividing them up by genre. For me, however, it’s difficult to compare work by progressive jazz artist Ornette Coleman or the traditional Celtic band Cherish the Ladies with a collection of songs by Alan Jackson or Social Distortion. That said, here are 10 more worthwhile albums that don’t fall into either pop or country.

1. Cyrus Chestnut, Earth Stories (Atlantic) The powerhouse jazz pianist displays his command while showing that he isn’t afraid to be accessible. From the 12-bar structure of “Grandma’s Blues” to the ragtime rundown of “Nutman’s Invention #1,” Chestnut entertains while dazzling with a virtuosic technique and an inventive experimentalism that turns every tune into an event packed with unexpected, unpredictable glories.

2. Angelique Kidjo, Fifa (Mango) In a reverse version of Paul Simon’s Graceland album, outstanding Afro-pop singer Kidjo recorded percussionists, flutists, and harmony singers in her native Benin, then added her own engaging vocals and synthesized horn lines in Europe to create a pioneering dance sound that moves African music westward with stylish results.

3. Charlie Haden & Quartet West, Now Is the Hour (Verve) Lush, beautiful arrangements aren’t very hip these days, but bassist Haden and his low-key quartet blend with a French orchestra to create a sweet, sentimental sound that’s too accomplished to be considered schmaltzy. This is wonderful late-night listening fare.

4. Aly Bain, Lonely Bird (Green Linnet) A veteran fiddler from the traditional Celtic band Boys of the Lough, Bain offers stripped-down versions of waltzes, reels, and airs taken from Celtic, Finnish, and American sources. The emphasis is on purity and emotion, with Bain extracting beautiful moments etched in both sadness and gaiety.

5. Los Pinkys, Esta Pasion (Rounder) This popular Austin bar band, led by Polish-American multi-instrumentalist Bradley Jaye Williams and accordionist Isidro Samilpa, plays a form of Tex-Mex conjunto music that ripples with rowdiness and heart-on-the-sleeve emotion.

6. James Carter, Conversin’ With the Elders (Atlantic) What’s interesting about the young jazz upstarts of the mid-’90s is that they aren’t as formal as the previous youth wave. Unlike Wynton Marsalis and Marcus Roberts, Cyrus Chesnut and James Carter openly enjoy themselves while embracing everything from the simplest forms of pop and blues to the most progressive avant-garde styles. On his fourth album, saxophonist Carter sounds freewheeling and buoyant, even when dueting with his idols on a collection of standards. Playing off vets as varied as traditionalist Harry “Sweets” Edison and avant-gardist Hamiet Bluiett, Carter radically reinterprets such gems as Charlie Parker’s “Parker’s Mood” and John Coltrane’s “Naima” with potency and playfulness.

7. Altan, Blackwater (Virgin) Celtic music lovers believe that Altan and its charismatic singer and fiddler Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh could broaden interest in traditional Irish music the same way Alison Krauss & Union Station have expanded the audience for bluegrass. It didn’t happen with the group’s 1996 release, but that doesn’t diminish the power of this energized, often beautiful collection. With the innovative spirit of good jazz musicians, the quintet from Gweedore, Ireland, repeatedly finds ways to pry open the conventions of jigs, reels, and waltzes.

8. Alison Brown, Quartet (Vanguard) Acoustic musicians who blur the lines between jazz and folk styles have been creating outstanding instrumental music for decades now, but they still exist in an uncharted area that hasn’t discovered its own marketing niche or radio format. Fortunately, this doesn’t stop a progressive player such as Brown from forging ahead and following her own muse. In this case, the innovative banjoist works with her touring partners on piano, bass, and drums, giving her album more of a straight-ahead jazz flavor than in the past. Don’t let the highfalutin references deter you, though—this is fine, accessible instrumental music that would please a large audience if more people had the chance to hear it.

9. Filé, La Vie Marron (Redbird) The intoxicating, effervescent spirit of Cajun and zydeco music continually gets renewed by bands coming out of Louisiana. This year’s best entry, Filé, emerges after a six-year hiatus with a rollicking album of dance tunes that blend R&B, rock, and all things Louisiane.

10. Eileen Ivers, Wild Blue (Green Linnet) Ostensibly a Celtic fiddler, young Ivers has more in common with the sweet-toned swing of Stephane Grappelli and the rampaging expertise of Mark O’Connor than with any traditional Irish fiddlers. With this album, Ivers leaps further into electrified folk-rock; producer T-Bone Wolk supplies organ, guitar, bass, and accordion on top of a band that features drums, percussion, flute, and uilleann pipes. It’s a kinetic, technically adventurous sound, but Ivers also makes time for some wonderfully nuanced playing.