Rolling Stone Includes Kacey Musgraves, Ashley Monroe + Pistol Annies in Mid-Year Best Albums Report

NPR recently called 2013 country music's 'Year of the Woman,' and now it looks like Rolling Stone magazine agrees. RollingStone.com singled out three of country's hottest female acts for special mention in their Best Albums of 2013 Mid-Year Report, which they published last week.

Not surprisingly, one of the albums they picked was 'Same Trailer Different Park' by Kacey Musgraves, which has been receiving critical accolades across the board as one of the year's pivotal albums for its no-nonsense portrayal of rural America. According to Rolling Stone, "Musgraves lays bare small-town life with the unflinching frankness of someone whose bags have been packed since she turned 17."

Ashley Monroe's recent solo album, 'Like a Rose,' is another critical favorite, one that is likely to appear on a number of other best-of lists by the end of the year for its marriage of traditional country and modern female empowerment. Rolling Stone calls the album "Nine songs, 32 minutes, no false moves."

Finally, Pistol Annies' second album, 'Annie Up,' was recognized for its blend of "attitude and guffaws, delivered in three-part harmony over down-home country, rockabilly romps and anthemic mutant bluegrass." The trio composed of Miranda Lambert, Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe have vowed to continue making new music together despite their busy separate solo careers.